This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I LOVE sports romance books, and this is one of the first I’ve read with a queer couple. And these were girls with two different sports. I was so ready for this to be released. And I’m 1,000% glad it lived up to my expectations.

Ok so the main thing about this was the way it made me feel. I cannot tell y’all the way this book frustrated me. Like from beginning to end. I was frustrated that she let that a-hole hype her up enough to hit him, I was frustrated at the principal for that BS decision, I was frustrated that she decided to change that one thing at the last minute, and so much more. I remember asking myself when was the last time I was this mad at a romance book the entire time lol And y’all already know how I feel about enemies to lovers, so yeah that wasn’t helping. It was a lot lol I cried at one point in this too. When the accident happened I cried because I was worried about her. (I felt like her mom) She could’ve been injured really bad on that ice. That fear and anxiety got me all choked up. I had to put the book down to think please don’t do this girl! And then when I read that she did it, I had to put it down again. It was really scary.

The romance was cute tho. I obviously didn’t like the way they were in the beginning, but I don’t like anyone in enemies to lovers in the beginning. I was mostly mad about the fact that she was this ice skating princess who had to be stuck up and snooty lol Like we couldn’t think of any other way to make her than the stereotypes? But besides that, they were cute. I can say that I was happy with the way they got together tho. Usually I hate the way they jump from enemies straight to lovers with like no groveling or anything, but this one worked well. I THINK it was because of the way she already had a small crush on her to begin with. I think that’s the only way to do it.

The sports aspect of this was cool tho. I love when sports books actually have some of the sports scenes in the book. As a former athlete (no I didn’t play hockey, but still) I enjoy getting to read about them making a big play or something. I always feel like their proud librarian lol Which is also why I got frustrated because of the way she was so careless with that one thing. She had no care for her “team mate” and it showed. And as someone on a team sport, I would have thought she knew better. Especially when something that serious could have happened. I was stunned that she was so careless.

The characters in this tho were terrible. The other school?! Lordt I felt for her because I understood her wanting to take him out. He was an asshole. And I don’t want to say he deserved it, but damn it, he did lol And I’m sorry, but her mom wasn’t great either. I get that she was happy and healing, but to make your daughter feel that way and to marry a person who obviously doesn’t like your daughter and her lifestyle is kinda gross actually? There’s a lot more people in this book I didn’t like, but I don’t want to spoil it. Those were just the two that stuck out to me.

It had it’s issues, but I thought it was really cute. I don’t think there was anything terrible about it, just a few minor things here and there. I truly think teens will enjoy this book even tho it is a romance. I think the promise of sports and a terrible cast of characters will make them pick this up instead.

When Charlie is suspended from her school and hockey team after punching a rival making inappropriate comments and inadvertently starting a fight, she's worried about what it might mean for her hockey career. She's not healed - she feels bad about the people who got hurt in the fight, especially Frankie, a figure skater who injured his leg. Which is how Charlie ends up agreeing to take Frankie's place during training with Alexa so they'll still have a shot at winning the upcoming championship. What Charlie doesn't expect is to start falling for Alexa - especially after their very rocky start.

In some ways, this book follows a pretty traditional enemies-to-lovers plot, but with a Sapphic lens. Charlie's narration is clever and often funny, and it's refreshing to see friendships that are healthy and conflicts resolved. Charlie's difficulties and trauma with her mom feel real. A quick and enjoyable read for fans of romance.

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!