stardustandrockets's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Medical content, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual content and Vomit
atsuanna's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I had this on my TBR for so long and I hyped it up so much in my head after I read a similar book that’s one of my favorite romances so I think that’s the reason it didn’t meet the high ass expectations I had! It was very sweet, well written, emotional and funny but it felt so repetitive at some points and it’s not something I’d be itching to re-read. The tropes and characters are not my cup of tea and some of them are things I actively avoid. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it rn? but for now it’s a book I don’t think of often.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Mental illness
Moderate: Abandonment, Misogyny, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia and Vomit
kellysbookverse's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Abandonment, and Mental illness
Moderate: Vomit, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Biphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
fanboyriot's review
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely devoured this book. It was nice being able to get lost in the pages and fall in love with the characters and their world. Rivals to lovers is always the best but adding it to a queer sports book it is downright perfect. It was seriously amazing. The friendships were so wholesome. The friendship between Dorian and Barbie was so comforting to read. The way Mickey was an absolute simp and idiot when it came to Cauler. It was both funny and aggravating at times when he would think one thing and say the other. Delilah and Jade were so wholesome and cute and I loved them both separately and as a couple. Not to mention any of Mickey's sisters, they were all so kind and I loved them all dearly.
The mental health rep was SO good. Some parts were really relatable and it was really comforting in a way to read about it. I really liked the paragraph in the epilogue: "Honestly, don't be ashamed. A lot more people deal with it than you think, and the best way to cope is to acknowledge it and ask for help. Don't suffer alone." (page 307) it was so nice to see how far Mickey had come with his mental health. Such a good read that now I have no idea what I'm going to do. I need more. 10/10 will read again.
Queer Hockey
Mild Hurt/Comfort
Wholesome Friendships
Amazing Mental Health Rep
Mickey's Sisters (so damn wholesome)
The mental health rep was SO good. Some parts were really relatable and it was really comforting in a way to read about it. I really liked the paragraph in the epilogue: "Honestly, don't be ashamed. A lot more people deal with it than you think, and the best way to cope is to acknowledge it and ask for help. Don't suffer alone." (page 307) it was so nice to see how far Mickey had come with his mental health. Such a good read that now I have no idea what I'm going to do. I need more. 10/10 will read again.
Queer Hockey
Mild Hurt/Comfort
Wholesome Friendships
Amazing Mental Health Rep
Mickey's Sisters (so damn wholesome)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Vomit, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
aidanaschons's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Misogyny, Homophobia, and Abandonment
ridesthesun's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Hockey boyfriends 🥺🥺🥺
This is such a fun rivals-to-lovers story. Even if you don't know much about hockey (I like to watch but I don't know all the rules/intricacies) it's really easy to follow all the ins and outs of it through the story. I wasn't expecting such a deep and genuine dive into mental illness, but I was really impressed by the accuracy of it. It wasn't like so many YA books that are just "depression=sad." The apathy, the exhaustion, the things that really take you out at the knees when you're depressed.
My only complaint was how quickly/abruptly everything wrapped up. I wanted to see them navigate a relationship as teammates, growing and healing together. It just felt like so little pay off for all the work they did.
This is such a fun rivals-to-lovers story. Even if you don't know much about hockey (I like to watch but I don't know all the rules/intricacies) it's really easy to follow all the ins and outs of it through the story. I wasn't expecting such a deep and genuine dive into mental illness, but I was really impressed by the accuracy of it. It wasn't like so many YA books that are just "depression=sad." The apathy, the exhaustion, the things that really take you out at the knees when you're depressed.
My only complaint was how quickly/abruptly everything wrapped up. I wanted to see them navigate a relationship as teammates, growing and healing together. It just felt like so little pay off for all the work they did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Blood and Suicidal thoughts
jules_07's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny
bugcollector's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Spoiler
I know all the romance bits are cut out bc pg, but without them I didn't get why the main characters even like each other. there wasn't enough small interactions, and the ones that did appear felt lacking of something. to sum it up the chemestry between the two didn't come through for me.and wtf is that ending
didn't we build up the whole story on who's getting the nhl spot? what kind of "the friends we made along the way" shit is thattt
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Homophobia, and Alcohol
matheo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
Moderate: Blood, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Outing, Racism, Sexual content, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
galacticvampire's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
You know, I get it. Mlm books are bestselling as romances. This is a debut. I see where the choice to market and focus everything on that part of the story comes from. But it's just... Not a romance, not really; and that cover and blurb are sure to mislead readers. There is, certainly, a good chunk of page time dedicated to Mickey and Cauler's interactions, but the plot is not at all about that.
The story itself focuses on Mickey's mental struggle, his untreated depression and the pressure of family legacy; and the romance with Cauler takes a supporting role in helping him deal with it. I have no qualms about this decision, the portrayal of Mickey's mental health felt real, his anxiety was palpable and even when his intrusive thoughts were louder than what the narrative showed to be true I deeply sympathized with him.
Another great point is how complex the representation was. More often than not authors add the queerness and ethnicity/color to characters like it's a box to be ticket out and it barely impacts them or the narrative outside of eventual discussions about the toils of X minority. In Icebreaker every identity shapes the characters, their personal histories, how they interact with the world. It never felt like it was added half a minute ago, but that it was something they were living with all their lives. Even if no character besides MC was really developed, it was nice to see.
Now, my main issue with this book is that I can really feel the potential, it shone in some passages, but mostly it falls flat because the plot doesn't seem to be that solid, it's almost a slice of life but without enough time for us to like it for the characters. This is felt more towards the last 20% or so, when the narrative unravels into a very soft climax that doesn't have many stakes and makes the resolution little satisfying. The epilogue (both the transition from the last chapter to it and the ending itself) was very abrupt and didn't develop much of a pay-off to the whole thing, but I believe this is more of a style preference.
Maybe Icebreaker would've benefited of a hundred or so extra pages, but most likely it is something Graziadei will work on on future projects. It is a debut after all.
The story itself focuses on Mickey's mental struggle, his untreated depression and the pressure of family legacy; and the romance with Cauler takes a supporting role in helping him deal with it. I have no qualms about this decision, the portrayal of Mickey's mental health felt real, his anxiety was palpable and even when his intrusive thoughts were louder than what the narrative showed to be true I deeply sympathized with him.
Another great point is how complex the representation was. More often than not authors add the queerness and ethnicity/color to characters like it's a box to be ticket out and it barely impacts them or the narrative outside of eventual discussions about the toils of X minority. In Icebreaker every identity shapes the characters, their personal histories, how they interact with the world. It never felt like it was added half a minute ago, but that it was something they were living with all their lives. Even if no character besides MC was really developed, it was nice to see.
Now, my main issue with this book is that I can really feel the potential, it shone in some passages, but mostly it falls flat because the plot doesn't seem to be that solid, it's almost a slice of life but without enough time for us to like it for the characters. This is felt more towards the last 20% or so, when the narrative unravels into a very soft climax that doesn't have many stakes and makes the resolution little satisfying. The epilogue (both the transition from the last chapter to it and the ending itself) was very abrupt and didn't develop much of a pay-off to the whole thing, but I believe this is more of a style preference.
Maybe Icebreaker would've benefited of a hundred or so extra pages, but most likely it is something Graziadei will work on on future projects. It is a debut after all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Misogyny