It's a Love/Skate Relationship was a fun, sweet and charming sapphic sports romance. This book felt like coming home after school on a Friday and getting cozy to watch the newest made for tv romcom - in the best way.

Charlie and Alexa had good chemistry, and I especially enjoyed Alexa as a character. I only wish to have been able to enjoy parts of the story from her POV.

I usually get bored with the sports bits of sports romance (lol) but I actually really enjoyed all of the figure skating scenes in this! I also really enjoyed learning about Charlies struggles with her mom, as I think that bit offers clarity as to why Charlie sometimes pushes herself harder than she should.

I will definitely check out what Carli J. Corson has to offer in the future!

This was such a fun and easy read! I loved both main characters and it felt very relatable with what is important to teenagers while weaving in a really sweet, movie worthy, love story. Even though the characters have obvious and annoying flaws, I still found myself drawn to them and wanting to see what happens. I'm excited to read any following novels this author writes! 4 stars

This was a sweet YA story following a hockey player ‘forced’ to partner with a pairs figure skater in preparation for a big figure skating competition. Both main characters are relatable and show genuine growth throughout the story. It kind of reminds me of a sapphic twist on the Disney channel movie Go Figure (which I also loved).

Highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a sapphic YA sports, enemies to lovers book.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

This was such a delight, I ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting! Taking the “hockey player and figure skater have to work together” plot and making it a sapphic YA book? Genius. Charlie was such a great main character to follow. When she starts a fight that gets her kicked out of school and off her hockey team, she winds up having to be the new training partner for Alexa, a local pairs figure skater.

One thing I really appreciated about the book was how Charlie and Alexa really do start out disliking one another. They both don’t have any interest in working together and it takes them a long time to warm up to becoming teammates, then friends, then finally girlfriends. I can get annoyed when a story is pitched as rivals or enemies to lovers but then one of the pairing has always been harboring feelings for the other. Or they start liking each other way too quickly, I need the slow burn of things thawing before feelings develop.

I loved watching the ways that Charlie developed throughout the book. She starts out very impulsive and acts without fully thinking through different outcomes, which feels very realistic. The majority of the book is lighter and focused on the sports romance part of the plot. But the serious aspects that come about through her relationship with her mom and the consequences of her impulsive actions felt well incorporated into the story.

Definitely check this one out if you’re in the market for a sapphic YA sports romance. Charlie and Alexa make an excellent pair both on and off the ice.

This book was the sapphic, enemies to lovers, hockey romance DCOM-esque book of my dreams. It requires a certain level of suspension of disbelief as all good Disney Channel Original Movies do, but if you give me butch hockey player must fill in for a prim figure slayer’s partner to atone for injuring him (accidentally) in a fight with her rival school’s hockey team, I’m gonna eat that up.

The first 3/4 of this book were great! I saw someone compare this to a queer Disney Channel Original movie and I felt that was very fitting - kind of hard to believe premise but charming enough if you just went along with it. I think the dialogue and the character work was good, and I appreciated the emphasis on the two romantic leads having other relationships and goals that were important to them. However, there's a pretty intense point that the book rotates on that ends up getting swept away for the romcom of it all and that just really did not work for me. It shook me out of my ability to just accept and enjoy things. It also made me more aware of an issue that I'd been having with the book up to that point, which is that certain things that feel like they'd be important enough to happen directly on page get summarized over after the fact. Ultimately, I feel like characters end up making big choices that I just didn't see the development for on page and so the ending fell very flat for me. Having said that, I do think that this book has a fun premise and good potential - I'd still read the author's next books!

I was really surprised by how refreshing this book was. There were some moments of bullying, anxiety and heartache but through all of that there was a beautiful foundation of friendship and family and love. There was so much support for Charlie throughout this entire book even while everyone was worried for her or not entirely sure what she was doing was the best thing for her they were calm and they showed up for her the entire way.

When Charlie wasn't there for her loved ones the way she should've been they weren't afraid to tell her and she was quick to be thankful for those comments and the opportunity they gave for her to be a better friend instead of getting defensive. Of course, no one is perfect and Charlie definitely had her moments where she wasn't doing the best for her or for the people she cares for but I think it's safe to say she made up for all of it by the end.

Overall, I think this is an absolutely wonderful YA novel and I hope a lot of people get the opportunity to read it and that they get as much joy out of it as I did.

P.s. I love Charlie and Alexa (and all of their wonderful friends) so much and I miss them already. I genuinely can't wait until the day I can reread this and see them and this wonderful story again.

I'm guessing that the target audience is probably not familiar with the 1992 movie The Cutting Edge, however if they are they are definitely going to want to read this! (I had a roommate who was obsessed with it back in the day and ended up watching parts of it more times than I can count.) The hockey player turned figure skater trope is so well done here and I particularly love how Charlie (short for Charlotte) gives her all on both rinks. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and teammates. This book has a great combination of action packed sports sequences and sweet romance. It might be best to have some hot chocolate handy -- they drink a lot of it! Highly recommended for grades 8 & up.

Firstly, thank you so much to the publisher and the author for giving me the arc! I'd been waiting for this book since I saw the cover a few months ago so I am really grateful!

I really loved this book, it was the perfect read for me at this time. I loved the writing, it was very nostalgic to me for some reason. Very wholesome. I loved the characters, especially the main character. Now, were they cringe? Sure, but I loved it, it's the special kind of cringe you can only be when you're 16, you know what I mean? I loved their interactions, it made me miss experiences I've never even had. I really liked Charlie and Alexa, they're cute!

Only a couple complaints, I didn't like how the characters of bullies were written, I felt they were kind of silly and cartoonishly mean. I mean I suppose that may be on par with teenage boy behavior, but I personally cringed so much every time they spoke. I also didn't like the conflict between Alexa and Charlie in the beginning (I don't think I can say much without spoilers), but it wasn't them being at conflict that was the problem, it was the conflict itself.

All in all, read this practically in one sitting, I really enjoyed reading it!

This was impossibly cute! It's like the YA version of Cleat Cute except hockey and skating instead of soccer. I loved that Charlie was more masculine presenting which is something we rarely see in YA sapphic stories. I also loved that she was also ambitious and driven character which makes for a great enemies to lovers romance. I haven't read many sports romances but this was the perfect introduction for me and I'm hooked! Overall, I definitely recommend this sweet sporty romance!

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for a review!

4.5 stars!

I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I adored and devoured this book! It is such a gem and I’m so glad to have found a hockey book that’s sapphic in comparison to what the vast majority of this niche comprises of.

I adored Charlie and felt for her so much throughout this book, and saw a lot of my teenage self in her torn between wanting to do what she can to help others however she can at odds with her impulsive selfishness. She is not always likeable but she is always loveable! Slowly throughout the book we get to see her grow and change in such a gratifying way I found myself feeling so proud of her :’-).

Alexa was a great counterpart of Charlie being able to go toe-to-toe with her snark and also be integral to Charlie’s growth, while Charlie also helped Alexa grow in turn! I do wish we could’ve seen a bit more of her honestly. We get glimpses of her changes throughout (which makes sense they are only glimpses as we are firmly in Charlie’s POV for the whole book), I just wish that maybe some more conversations between her and Charlie could have happened to really emphasize these moments (for sake of spoilers I’m remaining nonspecific, but <spoiler> what comes to mind is her slowly coming to embrace her more nerdy interests after her breakup, along with getting to embrace friendship with other girls which she was previously discouraged to do. Same with her identity/sapphic-ness. We learn Charlie is the first girl she’s ever been with, but it’s not really touched on much beyond that. I just think there were some interesting conversations we could have seen her and Charlie have! </spoiler> ).

I also thought the side characters were excellent. Charlie’s dad and brother were both amazing support for her throughout the book, and Alexa’s mom was a great stern coach figure but also loved her softer moments. The friends of our characters were also great and wonderful and weren’t afraid to also be clear when they felt hurt by something that was going on which was very refreshing to read (it’s not often to read teenagers with relatively good communication skills).

Overall though, despite some minor issues with the writing (some major events or conversations happening off-page with us just being told they happened, a bit of a pet peeve of mine) I love this book so much. This one’s for all those Ice Princess and Go Figure lovers out there!

I definitely enjoyed this read. it would’ve been a hand to hold when i was a preteen/teenager struggling with valuing myself as a bisexual teen. the plot line/ the characters/ and the love story are definitely for a younger reader. but that does not mean anyone cant read this book. Especially with the lack of lgbtq+ books *lets highlight wlw books* on the market. A big thank you to the publisher and Corson, for allowing me to arc read your book. this will help some queer kids feel seen. 4/5 stars

What a sweet and cute love story. I'm a big lover of hockey romances, and this one definitely keeps me loving the genre. I enjoyed the characters and their development because it's believable for teenagers growing up and going through all the emotions. I love the family dynamic, and that there are clear and very present parents , actually parenting. I feel like you don't see that a lot in YA books.
I love a good enemies to lovers story and this nailed it. I also appreciated learning about figure skating and learning the verbage, very interesting!
This was my first book by Corson but it won't be the last!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC copy and the opportunity to read a new author.

if you took the cutting edge and threw them in high school and made them both girls and GAY then you're getting this book. a slow burn with the right amount of enemies to friends to lovers. this was a delight and a half and i love to see sapphics and women WINNING!! the ending genuinely had me tearing up a little?? i love a cute little romcom.

4.5 😭
Okay to say I was excited to read this would be an understatement especially when it comes to reading queer sport romance most of them usually stay in the similar 3 sports ⚽🏀⚾
And to see have be hockey and ice skater I was here for it !!!!!!
The book kind of reminded be of an Disney Channel movie and gay and it. Worked great for me.
I did have some critics on it and they were mostly my own personal dislikes
The romance was really slow building at points I wasn't sure how alexa actually felt about her until like past 60% mark.
But there was so much I honestly did love while reading
Actually made her train in ice skating and ballet and she wasn't automatically perfect just because she was a hockey player and showed while she could be great in both she had to practice and put in the time for both sports because they ultimately very different.
Thank you so much net gallery for this arc i had an amazing time reading

Charlie + Alexa

-sapphic romance
-hockey player x figure skater
-rivals to partners to friends to lovers
-rivals girlfriend

so this was a YA romance story but it sounded so good i needed to read it anyways & it was well well worth it!! i loved it so much, the tension was so amazing!! & the climax killed me!! i was so sad for a second!! but these two were made for each other & i loved the tenacity to never give up for charlie!

This is the sapphic figure skater/female ice hockey player romance we've been asking for!

I absolutely loved the premise, characters and plot progression of this story. Charlie Porter is an ice hockey player on a co-ed team at a private school in a tense rivalry with the local public high school. After a losing match, Charlie is baited by a rival player and lashes out, accidentally injuring a nearby figure skater in the process. To make up for her mistake not only does she have to now attend public high school for six months with the rivals that pushed her, but she also has to stand in on the opposite side of the rink as a figure skater for the person she injured.

Through lots of sarcasm and stubbornness, Charlie actually comes to befriend her new skating partner Alexa while also finding a new love for the more "graceful" ice skating sport. These two have excellent chemistry together, but Alexa is with a boy- one of the ice hockey players that bullies Charlie. There's no way she could be developing feelings for Charlie, too, right?

I was so pleasantly surprised with so many parts of this story. Despite not knowing much about either sport, I fully enjoyed this and am already hoping for a sequel!

~~~~~ SPOILER~~~~~

Charlie and Alexa at the Olympics! And we can't forget Coach Geri and Frankie!

I adored this book! Charlie was such an amazing character, and the romance is written wonderfully. I love how her and Alexa are characterized, as well as the amazing other characters in this story. I’ve always been a fan of books with figure skating/ hockey, and this one didn’t disappoint. The author perfectly balanced plot with romance, and I found myself sucked into this book. The pacing never felt too fast or too slow, and overall I just really liked the writing style. This book was so enjoyable, one of my favorites I’ve read recently, and I would definitely recommend it.

This was a super fun and super cute book to read. It's always nice to read a YA novel and actively observe how an author explores young queer characters. The book itself was quick paced and didn't necessarily contain heavy handed drama or angst. The plot was interesting and well versed. Overall a great YA with easy to connect-to-characters with well rounded development. The side characters were a blast as well! Thank you again to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read this eARC! :D

Charlie Porter, a fiery hockey player, gets into a brawl after a hockey game, which leads to her suspension from school, effectively ending her hockey season and her hopes of playing in front of college scouts. A disciplined figure skater, Alexa's dreams are dashed when her skating partner is injured in the same brawl. She's desperate to find a replacement, and despite Charlie's inexperience in figure skating, she embodies the physicality that could save Alexa's competition hopes. Alexa's Olympian mother will use her connections to get Charlie in front of college scouts if she agrees to partner with Alexa.

The tension between the two is challenged by Charlie's reckless, impulsive nature, which contrasts with Alexa's icy and controlled demeanor, making it hard for them to find common ground. Their differences, at first is a source of friction, gradually become complementary strengths. They develop a deeper connection and true partnership as they train together. Charlie and Alexa navigate trust and vulnerability while exploring their ambition and self-discovery. The romance and personal growth blend makes it a compelling and heartwarming read.

I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins.