Sophomore Surge

The second book in this series (and it will be a series, I believe) has just as much breathless, on the edge of your seat hockey action plus more. Sophie is more accustomed to her situation and the nonstop hockey focus pulls back to include even more relationship tension within her team, and also outside it.

This is a slight spoiler so be warned. This book doesn’t feature a romance, but we discover Sophie isn’t ace. There are hints of some possible interests for her in the future, but for the present, Sophie is “hockeysexual”. She has a lot of physical bonding with the guys on her team and in her life, but all of it is completely platonic.

The second book is even better than the first (if that’s possible!). Collins maintains the same intense pitch and the addition of more human interaction really adds a layer of interest and detail. Sophie has hit her stride and we see her acting more than simply reacting as she did in the first book. She has some completely kickass moments that had me cheering for her with all my might. The cast changes a bit from the first book, but the core characters are visible.

I can easily see this becoming a series. The voice it’s written in is so immediate and real that I felt almost overwhelmed at times. The second book of this series didn’t disappoint and ended on a bittersweet but hopeful note.

Rating: five pucks hitting the net at the speed of sound for five well-deserved stars.


I received this ARC via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Like with Breaking The Ice, I have a lot of feelings so there will be a short version and a long version of this review. The short is: as a follow up, this does well to build on the themes and characters set forth in the first novel. Again, the conflict is mostly internal, but the quick pace keeps the narrative from being ponderous and the highly relatable nature of Sophie and her supporting cast brings a level of realism to the book that is not often seen in sports themed stories.

Now for the essay portion.

This is like the sports version of a coming of age story. Because the first book had Sophie so focused on being a model minority, we didn't get to explore her as a new adult in a professional world. With Sophie feeling more secure in her place in the team and the league, Collins takes the time to explore Sophie's relationship with the other players on a deeper level. The subplot with Matty and X is brilliant and showcases both Sophie's youth and how her team has become a family as she desperately tries to hold everyone told. Honestly, it's written almost like she is the child of divorcing parents and I love it. Sophie has had to grow up so fast because of her dominance in hockey and media visibility, so it makes sense that this is where she stumbles.

Once again, Collins handles the double standards for minorities very well and does an even better job of showing how her team has her back by having them not get defensive when she shares her experiences or when she calls them out of their behavior. The writing has the characters grow and learn in a very natural, organic way that I very much appreciate.

Lastly, (for now - I'll probably add more as I reflect on the story) I once again love that there isnt a romance subplot and I love that everyone else is very concerned about her love life as that feels realistic. In the first book, Sophie came off as Ace but in this one she is more clearly Demi and that means that whatever romance we may have to going to be the ultimate slow burn. Collins is definitely setting something up, but honestly I would be completely okay if the only ship to take off is the friendship.