I absolutely loved this debut YA Sapphic remix of The cutting edge movie that sees hockey star Charlie getting benched for a year and ending up paired with Alexa, a figure skating Olympic hopeful. This had great enemies to lovers tensions, amazing sports rep and was also good on audio. Highly recommended for fans of books like She drives me crazy or All's fair in love and field hockey. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

*2.5 Stars*
First, thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Now, I can say that this was such an easy read! I read it super fast, and it was super easy to digest; however, it definitely wasn’t the right book for me.

I love reading queer hockey stories, so when I saw a sapphic hockey story it seemed like it was perfect! I was so excited to read it, but I was quickly let down. I didn’t vibe with the writing style, and the dialogue didn’t seem really natural at times. The characters were also a bit too standard and predictable for me.

It’s a debut novel, though, and maybe I just /wasn’t/ the target audience! I would give the author a second chance, definitely, and I’m actually really sorry that I didn’t like this book because I wanted to so badly!!

IT'S A LOVE/SKATE RELATIONSHIP is a wonderful and swoony sapphic YA romance, perfect for fans of enemies to lovers and opposites attract. Thanks to NetGalley and Storytide for the advanced copy!

this was an absolute blast are you kidding me?! i typically find YA’s to be 50/50, but this gave me the same feeling that better than the movies did. from the beginning, i loved our mc charlie and her lil enemies to lovers moment on the ice was chefs kiss!!!! i *will* be recommending this to anybody who wants a sapphic skating romcom 🙂‍↕️🤞🏼

Well, the author of this book has quickly become a must read for me! Growing up, I loved watching any sort of sports movie where teamwork and found family became the focus. I wanted to watch people growing and loving each other as friends and teammates, but of course it was better when there was also a romance. Movies like The Cutting Edge, Ice Princess and Step Up were by far my favorite. This book really hit all of the tropes that I wanted to see from those movies but in a book (which let’s be real, makes it better).

I am so excited to have been able to read this book before it came out. I’m so appreciative. The romance was so cute but more importantly I loved reading about Charlie and how she grew in her mental health journey and how she finally understands that family are the people who show up for you. I think this book hit a lot of really important topics but it was also just a really fun read. I rooted for all the characters so hard from the first chapter and the romance had me unable to put the book down.

I really appreciate NetGalley and Harper Collins Publiser for allowing me to have an advanced reader copy of this book. I cannot wait for the next book written by Carli J.Corson.

I was really excited for this book, as the summary had me hooked! Unfortunately, the writing style took away a lot of my enjoyment. Aside from a few typos and oddly phrased sentences that could easily be fixed with more editing, the dialogue felt odd. It definitely seemed like someone who’s more than a decade removed from high school wrote this book (and I say that as someone who’s a decade removed from high school). The characters also felt extremely cookie cutter. Everyone had their stereotypical role to play, it seemed. I also struggled to root for Alexa with her classic “mean girl who’s dating the popular jock” introduction. I understand her being frustrated with Charlie initially, but it felt like teen movie bully. It was hard for me to get invested in the characters and the love story. Since this is a debut novel, I definitely see a lot of potential for future works by this author!

Carli J. Corson’s It’s a Love/Shake Relationship is a delightful slow-burn romance with humor, heart, and undeniable chemistry. When fiery hockey player Charlie Porter and poised figure skater Alexa Goldstein are forced into an unlikely skating partnership, sparks fly both on and off the ice.

Their clashing personalities’ boldness against icy precision creates tension that gradually melts into a heartfelt connection. Corson’s sharp dialogue, charming characters, and perfectly paced romance make this story as exhilarating as a flawless skating routine.

With its blend of humor, emotional depth, and swoon-worthy moments, It’s a Love/Shake Relationship is the ultimate rom-com to kick off 2025.

I really wanted to like this one because it was so easy to just pick up and read (I made it to 30% of this book in one sitting), but there were just parts that were too much for me. I hated the Taylor Swift references (can't any book go without making them?), I wasn't a fan of how little regard Charlie had for ultra-feminine women, and I didn't like the little care there was about comments about date rape, which really gave me the ick.

Overall the book was decent. I managed to read the entire thing, and I would recommend it to people I think it might be a good fit for. Unfortunately, that person wasn't me. I had two main issues while reading this book.
The first was the pacing. The story takes place over the span of I believe six months, not including the epilogue which has a full six month skip on it's own. No, the main story takes place over the span of six months, and it accomplishes that with a lot of chunky time skips. For me, this made it difficult to follow the story at times and stay immersed in it. We would be experiencing one event then told it's suddenly two months later, the previous events glossed over and moved past already. And a lot of things that should have been given proper time to simmer felt like they were rushed, especially regarding character relationships. The shift from Alexa dating one character to another especially felt rushed.
The second thing was that I typically let my suspension of disbelief stretch pretty far while consuming media but this book asked too much of me. I don't know anything about private schools, so maybe it's possible for a student to get a six month suspension in general, let alone for something that occurred outside of school grounds and after a school-sanctioned event (not even technically during it), but that seems unrealistic to me. A six month suspension, so you have to enroll at a different school for half the year? I don't understand how that could be reasonable, but again, I'm not familiar with private school policies and maybe that's a real thing. The same goes for the event in the epilogue; an entire formal event thrown for a singular student? Possible, I guess, but seems farfetched. Those particular things I'm considering with a grain of salt because it might be my own lack of knowledge that makes them seem so odd.
However, they aren't the only things making me wary. The big focus of this story is sports, which is another thing I don't know a lot about, but even I know that it's unlikely for someone to take up a sport and become Olympic-worthy within one year, no matter what their background was going into it. I appreciate the inclusion of how hard Charlie worked and how much practice she put into learning this new sport, but that still doesn't feel like enough when most people at that skill level would have been training for years. She wins first place in Nationals by perfectly executing moves she, in practice, only got correct approximately one out of five times, and that's after having not practiced figure skating at all for around two months (if I recall correctly). She doesn't even warm up beforehand, just goes right out there and absolutely kills it. I understand wanting to have a happy ending wrapped up in a bow, but this all felt like a stretch.
Also, I wish we'd gotten more of Frankie and Mason. I'm really hoping there's a sequel or spin-off revolving around them because the author only gave us the tiniest hints of them and it felt like it may have been leading into something else.
All of that said, this was still a pretty good book. I had a really hard time getting through it, but it wasn't *bad*. Queer romance in and of itself is always a plus. It was nice to see Charlie put into figure skating, a sport in which women are typically expected to be dainty and graceful and feminine, and embrace it in a way that felt authentic to her. The open, honest communication between Charlie and her closest friends was great to see! There are a lot of good things about this book which is why I would still absolutely recommend it to the right person.

Such a sweet and charismatic read! Charlie Porter was such a real character and I loved hearing her thought process throughout the book. Her and Alexa's dynamic grew soo much throughout the novel, who knew Charlie could be such a romantic! While it's definitely a playful sports romance, I think the heart of the story is Charlie figuring out her complex feelings. Spurred from a neglectful mother and abandonment issues, Charlie sometimes doesn't make the best decisions, but she always finds her way. It's a Love/Skate Relationship is perfect for young adult readers. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5 ✨

I can't even express how much of a fast and enjoyable read it was for me. The writing was so easy to get into. I loved the banter between Charlie and Alexa. It felt real and it helped their friendship evolve, into a healthy relationship. I, for one can eat up any sports romance book but this one was so well done. Plus the cover is just the icing on top.

I received a free e-arc in exchange for a honest review.
When I first heard about this book, I was SO excited. As a queer person and huge hockey fan, seeing more sapphic hockey romances is a dream come true. Unfortunately this one doesn’t live up to the hype for me and I ended up not finishing at the 70% point/end of chapter 21 for several reasons.
Originally my biggest problem was pacing. It just felt so slow. I had been reading for ages but it felt like nothing had happened? I also wanted more on page descriptions of the ice skating or explanations of the moves as Charlie learned them, since we got a pretty detailed hockey game in the first chapter, but that never happened either.
I also found the… abundant mentions of wicked just exhausting to read. I know it’s because the movie just came out - the movie is mentioned on page - but I think I would have minded less if I hadn’t been overloaded with wicked promo for the past year. Despite these issues I was willing to keep reading, however chapter 21, when they go to Alexa’s cousin’s wedding, I had to stop.
Alexa is a Jewish character, and the wedding is Jewish. Love it as a Jewish reader! What I hated was that out of nowhere Alexa’s bubbe is a holocaust survivor?? Which makes no sense for Alexa or her mom’s ages. She was also tattooed, which was actually extremely rare during the holocaust as only certain camps did it. It felt like that was only included so Charlie could go, hey I learned about that in school! In the most awkward way possible. And then our two characters have their first kiss 2 pages later. It just felt so jarring and completely unnecessary. I think the book could have really benefited from a Jewish sensitivity reader, as well as another round of editing.
I would consider reading this authors next book, but I wouldn’t recommend this one to any friends.
2 stars

This was just what I wanted from a sapphic sports romance. Lately I’ve been bored with the typical hockey and sports romance in general, and I’ve been looking for some Queer/Sapphic ones. I had either missed or forgotten the fact that it’s YA and not New Adult, but i enjoyed all the same, if not more for that reason. The main character, Charlie, while flawed in many ways, was very likable. At times both her and Alexa had their “not like other girls” moments, but considering they’re high schoolers it didn’t bother me as much. I do wish we had gotten to know Alexa a bit more. While her relationship with her mom seems quite healthy I wish that had been explored more, or even with her old friend turned enemy. There wasn’t enough exploration of her upbringing and her character evolution as I would have liked, maybe the Single POV has that effect. I’m glad the boys/bullies thing was not dragged all the way to the end of the book, although realistically,I doubt they would have just let them alone so easily, and I wish there had been consequences for the things they said and did to both Charlie and Alexa. I like that Charlie’s relationship with her friends was addressed but kept simple and without unnecessary drama. The third act and ending were very satisfying and deserving to me. Overall a really strong debut

If you, like me, have ever watched the 2005 film Ice Princess and thought to yourself "this would be better if the girls kissed" then you should absolutely pick up this enemies to lovers, hockey + figure skater romance novel. Perfect for fans of Dahlia Adler and Kelly Quindlen.

This book seemed like a typical enemies to lovers story with the title which got me intrigued and I’m glad I did because it was great. You should read this book!!! It gives you a little plot twist of course.

I don't care that some of the elements of this LGBTQIAP+ sports romance are super far fetched. I came for the realization of a long held wish for a sapphic The Cutting Edge and I got it. Immensely impressed by author Carli J. Corson's ability to make me care about such true in behavior teens. The HEA was worth all the suspension of disbelief. But even more pleasurable was the character growth. Overwhelmingly enjoyed!

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books | Storytide and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Overall I enjoyed this and I would likely read more from this author in the future.

I read a different review that basically said this was like a DCOM and I fully agree. In no world would everything have worked out as perfectly as this did. But that being said, it was fun and I did like that none of the drama revolved around the characters being queer.

I did drop my rating a little because I thought some of the pacing was off, and a few things felt unresolved. Also, I really think seeing Alexa’s POV would’ve helped build her connection with Charlie.

3.5 rounded up because this is trope catnip for me. Enjoyable and fun, as long as you are prepared going in for a cheesy YA sports romance and the suspension of disbelief that you would expect. There’s a lot of familiar tropes, from the enemies to lovers to being forced to work together to the hockey and ice skater trope to high school parties and many more. In that sense, it’s fun and light, with a lot of heart. Charlie gets a lot of development as she works through being uprooted from her school and her sport, with Alexa quite a bit less, but such is a single-PoV romance.

The biggest suspension of disbelief comes at the very end - absolutely NO way are they doing both the short and long programs on the same day, even for juniors, much less all the travel nonsense, but at that point, you’re pretty invested and close enough to the end that it gets a pass. It still had me stopping and shouting NO under my breath a lot.

Fans of Rachael Lippincott, as well as sports fans, should check this out. It is definitely a book for teen/YA audiences with its high school drama and sports rivalry, but it is ultimately a cute enemies-to-lovers story. There is an engaging cast of characters and a charming brother/sister kinship portrayal and theatrics with almost everyone. I'm not an athlete, but even I had trouble believing someone could turn into an Olympic-bound figure skater in a few months. That aside, this should be a "gong-show" for readers looking for a sports-centered high school romance.
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