I received a copy of this audiobook for my honest review

I loved the narrators of this book! It really brought the story to life!

Our MMC was the fastest forward in the NHL, but then he and 5 of his teammates were in a plane crash - and he was the only survivor. He was able to rehab the physical injuries, and was picked up by a new team, but the mental injuries stayed very present. So present that he refused to do anything to his apartment. His coach decided he either needed to decorate his apartment - or go to counseling. This is when he meets our FMC, an interior designer who has dreams of opening her own firm. But for now, she is working under one of the top in the industry - even though she is the worst. He agrees to hire her as the designer, and through their interactions they each begin to open up about their past. Things seem to be going well with them, until they sleep together and he sends her flowers to her job. It causes her boss to fire her, plus she learned that she had him sign the wrong contract, and now her boss can use his home as marketing promotions. Are they strong enough to move beyond their past, or will the miscommunications cause the end of something that could be special?

4 stars - a really solid read + listen!

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the ALC via NetGalley! These are my honest thoughts.

This is my first Katie Kennedy, and I'm in my hockey era, so no one should be surprised that I really enjoyed this listen! Alyssa and Nick both have had a hard time of things. Alyssa has some lingering childhood trauma that really influences her approach to work and life, while Nick just experienced the tragedy of losing his best friends in a plane accident where he was the only survivor. These two meet because Nick's coach is forcing him to set up his new life in Detroit, requiring that he fills his apartment this things. Enter: Alyssa, interior designer who sees beyond what Nick presents to the world. She takes the time to get to know him, what his likes are, analyzing the choices he's making in the present but not really understanding where they are coming from.

Throughout their interactions, I just thought these two had so much chemistry. It jumped off the page. In the first couple of chapters, a church renovation is brought up, and I for sure thought this was going to be a closed door book after that, and IT IS NOT CLOSED DOOR (NOT a bad surprise, just surprising!). Some of the "other" stuff really took away from my enjoyment of the book (i.e. both main characters choosing not to talk to one another about something that's driving them apart for "fear" of the other being unhappy). It happened just one or two or three too many times for my own personal preference... That, and we frequently hear the FMC refer to certain parts of her body by a nickname. Once is funny, but after that, it's just weird - "his face was right by my xxxxx" was a little too far for me in that regard. These are the reasons I'm rating it 4 stars...

I loved how therapy, hockey, art, homelessness, job security, death, dreams, loss, grieving, and hope were all entangled in this story, because it felt like real life. We're complex humans and we're all going through more than just the *one* thing. I like fiction, but sometimes it focuses too much on that one thing, and this book focused on all the things but did it so well!

I really enjoyed the audiobook! Both narrators brought their characters to life, and I always looked forward to the POV changing so that I could get the other voice/perspective. Overall, a very solid 5-star performance.

LOVE a hockey romance 😍 These characters were fun and the storyline was interesting. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration. This is the first romance book this author has made and a great one to start with. 😊

Who doesn’t love a good hockey romance? And throw in some workplace romance too.

Struggling with the past and haunted by tragedy, Nick finds himself looking to redo his apartment. He hires Alyssa for the like job. Their personal and work relationship hits some bumps along the way.

I enjoyed parts of this book, however I feel like the pacing was off. Some parts seemed to happen really fast while other areas of the book seemed drawn out. Narrators did a good job with the audiobook. I did enjoy their performance, but I think the storyline itself took away from the listening experience.

General information:
- Contemporary romance/women's fiction.
- 3rd person, single timeline.
- Standalone (At least at the moment of this review)

Tropes:
- Hockey romance
- Forced proximity
- Decorating an apartment
- Past trauma (check your trigger warnings)

Synopsis:
Nick is a troubled hockey player who was the only survivor of plane crash. He is dealing with survivor's gilt but also with coming back to play professionally after the injury. His teammates notice that his apartment bearly has furniture (or any other stuff for that matter) and they kindda trick him to work with Alyssa who decorated the house of one of his teammates. You can guess where it goes from there, it's a romance after all.

My opinion:
- In my opinion it's a nice read where the character development overweights the plot. Don't be missled by the cover, it's not really a cute and wholesome read in the sense that both FMC and MMC are handling some difficult stuff in their lives. I would say this book is mostly about overcoming personal problems/emotions bagage through falling in love.
- I do believe 3rd person national made me connect less with the character, but that's just personal reference.
- The romance itself was cute and it's nice to see how they both helped each other to overcome their past trauma. I would even say it was mostly on the slow-burn side. It did have third act break up, which I personally am not a fan of, but otherwise I don't have any complaints about it.
- The audiobook was really nice and I had no problems with either of the narrators. I do believe the audiobook made my overall enjoyment of the book even better.

* I received an ALC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you everyone involved in ALC distribution. All opinions are my own.

I’m a fan of sports romances, especially hockey romance. I mean who doesn’t love a hockey player?! At the start of the story, Nick has gone through a tragic experience and working to get himself back on the ice as well as back to his old self. Enter Alyssa with her own necessary healing journey thrown together with Nick under the task of decorating his completely empty apartment. I thought their story started off on the right track, but slowly I started to second guess the compatibility of the couple based on the multiple instances of miscommunication stemming from both their avoidance of their traumatic pasts. I think both would do better in therapy instead of jumping into a relationship.

It’s written in third person POV, which is not my favorite for romances. I prefer first person for romances by far. This might have lead to my disinterest in the couple towards the end because it didn’t feel as intimate as if the story had been written in first person. While I enjoy romances with characters that have flaws and depths, there were really heavy circumstances for both Nick and Alyssa that pulled me away from the lightheartedness of the actual love story which I did enjoy.


My review will be posted to the following platforms on the given dates:

Instagram - 6/12/2024
Goodreads - 6/12/2024
Amazon - 6/18/2024

I have linked already posted reviews. On publishing day, I will share my Instagram feed post to my stories to remind my audience of the new release.

Rating: 3.75 ⭐️s
Spice: 🌶️



Thank you Netgalley and Katie Kennedy for this ALC


My thoughts:

* Nick is such a good book BF, standing up against the infuriating Boss
* Alyssa and Nick’s miscommunication gave me the ICK and had me rolled my eyes way too many times. Like why can’t they just talk? They opened up with the nitty gritty details of their past but not about the contract and what they want from each other.
* I wish Alyssa and her mom’s confrontation was more. Mom literally was BITCH for years and it was solve in less than a minute.
* I wish the brotherly relationship between Ryan and Alyssa was explored more. Ryan and Nick’s as well.


Overall it’s an easy listen. Light and fluffy and sex scenes are mostly fade to black.

4/5 - Story
4/5 - Performance

- Debut Novel
- Emotional RomCom
- Pro Hockey Player
- Interior Designer
- Mental Health Rep

I enjoyed listening to Hearts on Thin Ice. The narraters did a great job telling the story and keeping my engaged. I think the author did a fantastic job at tackling some heavy topics while also maintaining cute romcom vibes. There were a handful of scenes that felt a little odd in an attempt at comedy that had me cringing a bit, but I can overlook those in the grand scheme of things.

Thank you to the author, Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

2.75 stars

Specifically for the audiobook, I liked the narrators quite a bit! The book however was a mixed bag. The storyline had a lot of potential and for the first maybe 3/4 of the book, I was in it. Some things were a bit strange, I especially felt like the spicy scenes came almost out of nowhere with no real build-up (I would skip back in the audio because I was afraid I missed something). But overall I was enjoying the first 75% pretty well. It was the last act that it all fell apart. The miscommunication was more just assumptions and refusing to talk. The big fight made no sense to me both where it came from and what they were even saying. And the grand gestures were not sweet but felt somewhat "I know what's best for you so I'll just force it on you". The MMC was somewhat of a book boyfriend up until that last bit when his red flags came out in droves, it felt like therapy actually made him worse?? And in reaction, the FMC also got worse?

There were also things that came up but then were never mentioned again. For example, did she ever find out whose baby he was holding?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC.

I am a huge hockey romance fan, so was really excited to get this novel as an ARC. Unfortunately, it was only okay for me.

I’ll start with some things that I liked. It was set in Michigan, with the MMC playing for the Detroit Red Wheels (nice play on the Red Wings), so I always love a home state setting! This book dealt with a lot of grief from both of the characters, which is something that I always think adds to the book. With this one, their stories didn’t really work for me personally BUT I think others could really get attached to them and what they experienced. The book was a good blend of spice and plot, which is always what I want in a sports romance. It was dual POV as well, which is essential for me with romances now days.

Unfortunately, I really just couldn’t connect with the characters, especially the FMC. I found their behaviors to be immature a lot of the time, and it just really made the trauma aspects hard for me to connect with. There also was a lot of miscommunication/lack of communication which I really hate. Even up until the end when they were getting together, they were arguing and not communicating. So between immature characters and miscomm, I really had a hard time getting into this. It was overall fine and I think there are plenty of other people who could enjoy it more than me, but it just wasn’t a win in my book.

ALC Review!

Thank you NG & Dreamscape media for the ALC. overall, this story fell a little flat for me. A times I wanted to DNF, however, I was blessed to have the audio to push me through to the end! I really enjoyed Scarlett and Nick as this was my first time listening to them! Also I struggled with this being in 3rd person POV, so just a heads up!
Overall 3⭐️

I loved this book! The characters were complex while still being likeable, and the chemistry was amazing

After surviving a plane crash that killed his 5 closest friends and hockey teammates, Nick is traded to a new team and has to start over in a new city while rehabbing the injuries sustained in the crash. He keeps his apartment sparse, with a mattress on the floor of the bedroom and a single chair in the living room making up his only furniture. When his coach finds out, Nick is given two options: fix his apartment to look like someone actually lives there or go to therapy. Enter Alyssa, an interior designer trying to prove herself in order to start her own business and move out from under the thumb of her terrible boss. Naturally, the two hit it off.

Nick and Alyssa do have chemistry, though I wish it were portrayed as more than a physical attraction, which seems to be the basis of their relationship. The story arc about Alyssa’s professional growth was a nice side plot that wove into the romance well. I thought the portrayal of Nick’s survivor’s guilt was well done, however, I was very bothered by the presentation of therapy (or lack thereof). It seemed like Nick was not only vehemently opposed to going to therapy, but even when he is forced to, it seems like he thinks it’s some kind of joke that could never help him, and all he’ll talk about is hockey stats. I thought his opposition to therapy felt realistic, but the way the story treats therapy felt belittling to the amount of help therapy could have given someone in Nick’s position.

Overall, I thought the book was a cute, fun, quick read. I enjoyed the dual POV, and I thought both the readers of the audiobook were great.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC of this audiobook!

I enjoyed this but it was a bit confusing. I felt like the idea was there but the execution was a bit off for me. The timeline was a bit weird for me but I absolutely loved the narrators. I would definitely give more books by Katie Kennedy a shot!

This one couldn't hold my attention unfortunately and I ended up not finishing it. I usually try to do at least 30% before getting to that point but I just found this was annoying.

Went into this expecting a cutesy Rom-Com with a side a spice and banter, but was surprised when the book carried the topic of survivors guilt for the main MMC.

The story is written in a way for the emotional impact to hit but not overwhelm; and with a topic of survivor guilt it could be easy to lose that balance. It progresses the love story, character development, and even opens up some over the top situations (that yes, in the real world probably wouldn’t happen, but thankfully in between the pages it totally does).

Overall the story is still 100% Rom-Com with Hockey sprinkled in, an over the top situation, spicy scenes, a few eye roll moments at what they did, and all the feels. The Narrators did a FANTASTIC job, they gave a solid vocal performance with more of a story leading then voice acting leading. Clear production that was able to be listened at 2.75

Nick Sorensen is a hockey player who was in a plane crash that killed all his teammates and best friends, leaving him as the only survivor. He's working on returning his life to normal but his coach doesn't think he's ready. To prove he's fine, Nick hires Alyssa, an interior designer to decorate his apartment.

This was a dual-pov hockey romance that showcased how grief and PTSD can have a large toll on someone's life. Both Alyssa and Nick have their own problems and are trying to fix them. Until it happens, they don't realize that they both need the push from each other. I thought this book was cute but towards the end, I felt that there was too much about interior design. I hoped that we would see more elements of hockey in this book.

I think that for a debut this book is good. It has a lot of promise, and I can see this author doing great work.

Thank you to the publisher Alcove Press, @alcovepress, and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

thank you netgalley and dreamscape media for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review !!

unfortunately this was a dnf for me. the narrators were amazing but the writing didn’t reach my expectations and i couldn’t listen to it anymore. i really liked the cover and tropes so i’m really sad that this was the outcome.

This book is well-written and well-narrated, but I wasn’t prepared for the level of trauma. The cute illustrated cover led me to expect a more light-hearted read.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.