First, a big thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC of Bal Khabra's "Spiral” – “He’s on edge while she’s en pointe in this fake-dating sports romance from the author of the smash hit Collide.”

Let me start with I love a ballet romance. Immediately I am obsessed with the premise of this book. Elias or Eli is a hockey player struggling in his career and Sage is an aspiring ballerina with hopes of joining a ballet theatre. When I say that I read this book in one sitting I am not kidding. I could not put it down. This is a really sweet and heartwarming sports romance with fake dating, forced proximity, and a dual POV.

This book felt like a treat to the acts of service as a love language. I truly enjoyed both characters and how selfless they were to each other. It felt like a really healthy relationship. The writing was easy and well put together. The banter and chemistry in this was everything. I really felt like Eli and Sage were well paired and honest. This book felt really genuine.

Elias Westbrook is easily one of the sweetest male main characters I’ve come across in recent reads. He is so genuine and caring about everyone around him. I really loved this character.

Sage Beaumont was also a genuinely lovely character. She’s a character that does so much for others but doesn’t realize how deserving she is of having others love and take care of her. Overall Sage is a selfless female main character, she is a wonderful sister and an amazing niece. I also really loved that she is a ballerina and overcomes so many fears and insecurities.

This book was filled with so much love, gratitude, and a found family. If you liked Collide by Bal - this one is even better. Characters definitely cross over from the first book which was good to see. Definitely check this book out!

Thank you NG and Berkley for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

Oh my gourd! Like I couldn't love another couple from Bal's mind. Elias and Sage have made me fall in love all over again. Watch out Summer and Aiden you have competition. Will be buying a copy as soon as I can.

Stop I loved this so much 😭😭 I love me some hockey romance😋

Elias & Sage are perfect and perfect for each other; I will accept no slander.

It was nice to see both of them grow, both separately and together as a couple. I wish we got a little more about Sage’s parents, but overall I was very pleased.

i just didn’t enjoy this, i think the fake dating trope is so overdone and at this point the reasoning for them fake dating is unoriginal. the couple was okay but not people i really root for and the smut was boring.

Absolutely loved this book! The main characters were so sweet together, and the slow burn tension that built throughout the story was perfect for me. This read had everything I love about ice hockey romances!

I’m going to go ahead and round this up from a 3.5 to a 4. I realize I gave Collide 4 stars as well, even though I like that one better than this one.

Things I liked: I liked the meet-cute. Sage bidding on Elias at the auction was fun. I enjoyed their banter, as well. I really like the friend group; their dynamic is fun to read. I liked that we got to see a lot of Aiden and Summer again, too.

However, there were a few things that I wasn’t too keen on. I felt like both Elias and Sage were a little wishy-washy? I know that’s par for the course with a fake dating trope, but they ran hot and cold a little too much for my liking. There were also certain plot points that fell a little flat for me, namely Eli’s story with his dad, and with Sage’s uncle as well.

In the end, though, I will still recommend this book and series. I like the friend group too much not to!

Thank you for the ARC.

i had such a fun time reading this! i enjoyed this one even more than collide - i felt the chemistry between the characters was much more palpable. the pacing felt appropriate and even loved the banter!! thank you net galley for the arc.

Oh my goodness, this book was just the sweetest thing ever! It totally had all the tropes I adore, especially the fake dating theme, but trust me, there’s so much more to love! I can't even express how much I enjoyed reading it! Hockey romance always gets me, but there’s just something about a guy who seems like a playboy but isn’t really that drives me wild. Elias is such a gem! He starts off not wanting a relationship, but he’s honestly the best at being in one. He cooks, gives piggyback rides, and gets so adorable when she calls him by his full name instead of just Eli! When she says her feet hurt, he’s like, “I’ll carry you.” Seriously, it’s the little gestures that make Elias so special to me. I'm a sucker for acts of service, and he really delivers! Plus, everything he says is just swoon-worthy. I caught myself looking around, hoping no one could see how head over heels I was for this book!

And then there’s Sage—oh, sweet Sage! She feels like a kindred spirit in so many ways. I could relate to her, especially with that whole people-pleaser vibe and how she’s always there for everyone else, while often feeling alone until she finds her true support system. It really tugged at my heartstrings. Her determination to stay strong for her brother, even when times get tough, was incredibly inspiring. I loved how Elias showed her how important it is for her to value herself, too.

I can’t help but love the found family trope, and this sports romance did such a fantastic job portraying that. Watching the relationships grow not just with Aiden and Summer, but now with Elias and Sage, has me totally obsessed! I’m eagerly waiting for the next installment and hoping it focuses on Dylan!

There were definitely some surprising twists in this story that left me shocked, but the chemistry, the tension, and the angst between Elias and Sage were just fantastic! Watching them discover themselves and each other made the journey even more special. I truly hope anyone who picks up this book enjoys it as much as I did because I simply couldn't put it down!

“elias and sage unfiltered?”
“elias and sage unfiltered.”

my hopes were very high for this book, and bal absolutely delivered, as she did with collide. collide was a 5 star read for me last year, so when i heard about spiral, i knew it was going to be just as good, if not better, and i was right!! immediate five star.

fake dating tropes are always interesting to read to see how it will play out, and what each person needs from the other to benefit from a fake relationship. in this case, sage needed a major social media following for ballet, and elias needed to show the media he is in a committed relationship so they leave him alone and stop making him out to be a playboy.

eli could not have been any more sweeter, i was giggling every time he opened his mouth. he was so attentive & passionate with sage, and treated her so so well. he’s a softie and i just absolutely adored him. love u eli <3

sage was one of the funnest fmc i have come across in my reading journey. she was so outspoken and spunky, nearly everything that came out of her mouth was relatable. on top of that, she was also very strong & independent which was refreshing!

this couple was just everything to me! the banter was soooo good and the slow burn was definitely slow-burning. i adore the way they took care of each other and truly paid attention to one another. they made my heart warm & fuzzy the entire book.

+ aiden & summer snippets were everything 🫶🏻

thank you so much NetGalley for this arc, i am so grateful!!

4.5 Stars! I am a sucker for fake dating, and this scratched the itch. I loved the slow burn between Sage and Elias--it was on the slower burn side, but it worked for the story. I also liked how they both had plot lines for personal growth, and it wasn't overly focused on one character over another. Of course I also loved the snippets of Aiden and Summer :)

I was so happy to receive the ARC! Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity!

I loveddd this book!! Sage was written as pure sunshine, I felt like everytime I read about her I could picture her standing with a glow around her. She seems so beautiful inside and out, truly like she's glowing. I loved Elias, how protective and sweet he was. At some points it was giving Logan and Rory from girlmore girls, Elias was also doing anything he could for Sage. It was such a sweet read and I can't wait to buy it when it comes out!! And of course the fake dating is to die for, love love love it!!

Bal Khabra is definitely a romance author to watch! All of her woks so far have been beyond swoonworthy and so compelling! Khabra is definitely an auto-buy author for me now!

I think that this book was extremely cute! It’s such an amazing book coming off of Bal Khabra’s debut novel Collide. She keeps getting better and better as a writer, and I can’t wait to see how much her writing improves throughout her books.

Elias is such an amazing MMC.. I mean, a man who can cook and bake AND is somewhat in touch with his emotions and emotional availability?!

Sage too is such a compelling FMC. An older sibling who takes on the role of parent is such a specific and interesting trauma to explore her character.

The ending also took me by completely surprise.

This book was an immediate five stars. I couldn't help but love Eli, the perfect book boyfriend. Both main characters had so much depth to them, and right away I wanted to slay all of Sage's (metaphorical) enemies!! The writing was spectacular, and I was easily sucked in every time I picked it up. It was so addictive I read it within 24 hours and definitely did not want to put it down to go to sleep.

This is one of those series that each book is a stand-alone. Typically for those I feel like I'm missing out if I don't read each one, but this book doesn't give that vibe at all. If I had only read this one, I would be completely satisfied and not feel like I'm missing some inside joke or something by not knowing the original couple. So if you're someone who doesn't like diving into these sorts of series because you don't want to start from the beginning, have no fear! (Though the first book is totally worth a read, too.) Along those lines, I feel like Eli, despite being in the first book of the series, still had so much depth to him to uncover; I didn't already know simply because of the first book, which is what helped this one stand so well on it's own, I think.

If you love sensitive yet protective book boyfriends, spicy scenes, sports romances, and fake dating (my favorite trope), this book is definitely for you! I'm not super familiar with the pepper scale, but I think this would be a 4 or 5.

Okay so I have not read the first book in this series. But I plan on it now. This was such a fun read fake dating/forced proximity??! Yes and yes!!!

It is a slow burn but it was a good tension build!!! The banter was so great. The book itself very cutesy. I loved these characters together truly!!

Some of it I did feel like I have read before in other books just minor differences hence why I am rating a 3.5 but overall the plot was there and it was a good read!!!

This is an ARC read via NetGalley 🤍—Reviews/Opinions are honest and my own. I will review on TIKTOK after release date- @abbi.dawn2

Release Date-2025

Oh my gosh!!! I am so so so happy about this book! This was my very first eARC 🥹 and I couldn't have hoped for a better one.

Where to begin- the writing? Amazing. Storyline? Yes, please. The romance? I don't even need to say it, do I? Sage and Elisa were such good characters, and I'm so sad that I can't read this book for the first time again. They each had their own struggles, and while I would love to see some more depth to them, there was enough to explain their actions, emotions, and vulnerability.

For Sage, I can only say one thing: I LOVED her! It was obvious that she had huge personal growth in this book, but her humor was unmatched. As someone that also has, what my friends call, "dry humor," I really could just see myself in her. Aside from her crazy comments, she was such a well thought out character.

Now, Elisa. Are you real? I mean, I know you're not technically, but there has to be one out there like you...right? Well, regardless, you are a top contender for book boyfriend of the year, pal. Love you and your "vow" hehe. How'd that work out for you, huh? Anyway, Elisa really was a great character, and even though we probably know a little bit more about his past than Sage, I still felt I could have been given a little more. Regardless, he's perfect-end of story.

Side note- Summer and Aiden!!! I missed you guys 🥹 Best couple from a debut book, hands down, and I was so happy to see them again. Summer was the perfect sister soul mate for Sage, and I wanted more content with them!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the eARC, and Berkley Publishing for taking a chance on lil ole me 😁

I loved this book! What really drew me to it is Sage being a ballerina and not letting anything stop her from her goals. She is the representation we need to see in books today. Thank you so much for allowing me to read it!

Okay! I just slapped my head too hard! It hurts like hell! But I made stupid decisions! Don’t get me wrong—reading this book was the smartest decision ever, but my biggest mistake was procrastinating! Why didn’t I request it sooner? Why did I have second thoughts? Well, lately, I’ve been reading too many sports romances, and I guess I was looking for something different. But that’s still a lame excuse because I loved Collide, the first book of the series. And, fun fact, the second books in most sports series are even better than the first.

At least, that’s my perception. Anyway, in this case, my opinion holds: Spiral is an even better, cozy, cuddly, sweet romance than Collide, which already earned my five hockey-ballet-sweetest-main-characters-impressive-fake-dating-forced-proximity-sports-romance stars!

Elias, a rising hockey star, is trying to prove his place on the team. He hasn’t scored a goal yet and is dealing with paparazzi who are trying to ruin his reputation with sexcapades he wasn’t even involved in! He’s just trying to be part of the team, working hard to change their manager’s biased perception of him as a rich daddy’s boy who always gets his way.

His path crosses with Sage, a young ballerina working tooth and nail to become the Swan Queen at the latest theater auditions, where a strong social media presence is more important than a professional resume. After being abandoned by her drug-addict parents, Sage raised her little brother, who suffers from diabetes and is bullied at school. He’s now thirteen and at boarding school, thanks to her support.

Sage attends a charity sports auction as a last-minute replacement for the dance performers. When Elias’ teammate and best friend Aiden, who shares the same table with her, asks for help to win the auction for Elias, she agrees to help save Elias from a stalker.

What Sage didn’t expect is that after their forced charity date, the press would catch them together. When Elias, ever the gentleman, carries Sage to help her walk after her feet start aching, rumors begin to swirl that Sage is his girlfriend.

Sage comes up with an idea that could benefit them both: they’ll fake date to achieve their goals. For Sage, it’s the social media attention she needs to catch the Swan Lake judges’ eye, and for Elias, it’s shaking off the paparazzi by appearing to be in a stable relationship.

Elias reluctantly agrees to the plan, laying down some ground rules, but as they spend more time together—and a tragedy forces them to share a room—he realizes those rules might be bendable. Even though he’s hiding a secret he’s kept for four years that could affect their relationship, he can barely resist falling for her. But when the heart wants what it wants, all rules and promises are bound to fail.

Overall, I loved the slow-blooming romance and the strong chemistry between Sage and Elias, as well as the mature way they dealt with their family issues. Elias is definitely the best, most caring, sensitive, and giving boyfriend—even if he insists it’s all fake, his actions say otherwise.

I’m promising myself that as soon as the next book in the series comes out, I’ll dive into it without hesitation! This was so much fun!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this addictive romance‘s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange of my honest thoughts.

thank you netgalley and berkley publishing group for the e-arc!!

give me a fake dating sports romance, and most of the time i will finish it in one sitting because it’s like there’s ✨crack✨ in these books. this just hit the spot for me on so many different points.

i will say this one did have a bit more of a plot than collide, but it wasn’t by that much. it was still mostly just a romantic vibes kind of book plot. however, that didn’t bother me because not only were the characters just so loveable, but their romance!!!

sage’s and elias’s moments and chemistry just had me giggling and kicking my feet, and it kind of made me emotional reading about them falling in love despite the odds and complications. their romance was slow burning in the best way possible and the tension between these two was so good. i was highlighting and annotating every single moment these two had. elias westbrook is an acts of service type of man and the eldest daughter in me was eating it up!!!

i won't give too much away, but i did really enjoy this!! 🏒🩰

The much anticipated follow up book to Collide, this was one of my most anticipated reads and I feel so lucky that I got to read this so early. *tears of joy* Spiral made for a really great companion book to Collide and one of the most surprising things about this book is how it is no longer set in college. Elias, who is our love interest in this book, is a professional hockey player in the NHL. This is his rookie season whom he gets to experience with his best friend, Aidan, the love interest of Collide. Elias is having a less than ideal season as his performance on the ice isn't up to par and on top of that, the tabloids are heavily reporting on his late night escapades with various women. The media is painting him out to be a massive playboy and also not performing at the level that a professional hockey player should be at. This is where Sage comes in.

Sage is a ballerina who is working towards securing a principle ballerina role in her dream production of Swan Lake. But the studio isn't taking her auditions since she is not social media famous. When she gets told that in order to even be considered for an audition, she needs to boost her social standing, she decides to hang up her dream. Until she meets Elias. They meet at a hockey fundraiser where they were auctioning dates with the team's players. Sage bids on Elias as a favor to his friend so Elias doesn't have to go on a date with an overbearing superfan. Elias decided to take Sage on the date anyways and the two have electric chemistry. Thinking they would part ways post date, that doesn't become a reality when the media seeing photos of them on their date and decide that the two are in a committed relationship. This is later confirmed by Elias during a press conference when he is confronted with the question. And this is how the seeds of their fake dating scheme are planted.

I had much a great time with this novel and loved how Sage and Elias couldn't get out of each other's orbit. Highly recommend!

“Spiral” is Bal Khabra’s sequel to “Collide”.

I remember finding “Collide” before it got picked up for traditional publishing. I was so happy to find a hockey romance that wasn’t toxic and full of red flag behavior, and I loved “Spiral” even more for continuing that trend!

Elias is such a softie - would do anything for his friends, family, loved ones, cooks AND bakes, and is always there to take care of Sage. He recognizes that she wants to be taken care of without asking for it, because she doesn’t want to be a burden or be let down, and he sees right through that and consistently shows up 🥹

Sage was such a strong female character for me. Her determination, grit, fierceness, and protectiveness all blended together to make her a force to be reckoned with. I loved her character arc and how she eventually opened up and became more vulnerable with Elias, while maintaining her strength. 💗

I’m excited to see Bal Khabra continue to grow as an author!!