Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

18 reviews

kendal_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.75

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theemangomami's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense 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

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rickireadss's review against another edition

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4.0

wow. the depression rep in this hit a little to close to home. i related to mickey a lot, and it hurt but also was so nice at the same time. i enjoyed the rivals WHILE lovers aspect. the banter between mickey and jayden was just *chef’s kiss*

this book could have easily been a 5 star read for if it hadn’t been for two things: 1) this being marketed as YA seems a little misleading. yes mickey is 17 but it’s his freshman year in college and a lot of the topics were more in the NA age range. 2) the ending was SO abrupt and then we didn’t even get to find out one of the key parts of the plot..??

⚠️: mental illness (clinical depression), panic attacks/disorders, alcohol, alcoholism, drug use, suicidal thoughts, self harm, abandonment, homophobia
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tragicgloom's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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leahkarge's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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fanboyriot's review

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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)
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tiredcath's review against another edition

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funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Enemies to lovers gay hockey romance? Yeah, yeah, you already know I'm there.

Icebreaker centers around Mickey James III as he struggles with the weight of a legacy and unbridled feelings for his rival Jaysen Caulfield.

There's a lot to like about this one, the mental health aspects were handled well, the romance was good- albeit a little rush, I liked all the characters, and it's actually funny. It's easy to read, I got through it so easily because the writing style is fresh and to the point. 

My only gripe with the novel is I wanted more.  The relationship between James and his dad didn't feel as fleshed out as I wanted. I wanted more with the side characters. More about Cauler. More about James' mom. Some aspects were underdeveloped but not to a degree that the novel felt incomplete. I still thoroughly enjoy this and would recommend it. 
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thainerezende's review

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emotional inspiring lighthearted 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? No

4.25

Such good slow burn romance, the only criticism would be it didn't burn enough after all
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wardenred's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing 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

4.5

Have you ever hated someone so much you want to suffocate them with your own tongue?

This book goes straight to the top of the list of my favorite new adult romances of all times. I didn't expect to love it as much as I did, because it's hockey-centric and when it comes to winter sports, I'm way more of a figure skating person. I've watched a bit of hockey here and there, but I don't know all the terms all the details. It's just not a thing I'm into. After reading this book, though, I find myself vaguely interested in watching a few games!

What made this such a stellar read for me, though, wasn't the hockey part. It was everything else around it. This is one of the best cases of representation of anxiety and depression I've encountered. So many experiences the MC went through were viscerally relatable. That combo of anxiety driving you to keep doing something and depression preventing you from doing anything at the same time. The spacing out. The insomnia. Those situations when, with just a bit of effort, you suddenly have a really good day, and it feels like hey, maybe you've got a grasp on this thing called life, maybe you can do it! Except you wake up the next morning, and everything is now way worse than before. Those instances of being able to recite things from memory, yet completely overlooking them when it comes to applying them in practice. The sudden bursts of anger. The initial effect of antidepressants, when you suddenly start feeling things instead of just being empty and indifferent, but at first, they're all sad, hurtful things. How genuinely, wholly difficult it is to accept help or even just validation. How you keep feeling that you're probably faking it, because you don't get to be depressed when there are so many people who have it way worse than you do. I just kept wanting to give Mickey a hug and tell him, "Yeah, this, so much this, I get it." I also dearly appreciated that the MC wasn't the only depressed character in the book, that he got to commiserate with someone on shared experiences.

The romance part was simply amazing. It hits all the beats of what I look for when I'm in the mood for rivals/enemies-to-lovers. The gradual progression from mutual loathing to uneasy understanding and passion that didn't immediately crowd out the loathing to closeness was just 10/10. I appreciated that the reasons for the initial enmity were very real and thoughtful. It wasn't just, "We want the same thing, we're fighting for this number one spot, but we would totally be friends otherwise." Jaysen's reasons for initially detesting Mickey aren't completely fair, but he can't know that—he bases his judgment on what he can see from the outside, and the issues he has with the parts of Mickey's situation that he sees are 100% valid. Mickey also isn't being completely fair to Jaysen, because he interprets a lot of things through the lens of his depression, but his depression is there and real and yes, that's exactly what it can do to relationships. These characters have amazing chemistry, and I loved watching them pile obstacles onto their own path to happiness and then work at disassembling and overcoming them.

There are also so many other great plot threads and important themes laced throughout the narrative. The sibling dynamics, the relationship with estranged parents, lots of queerness including a poly relationship in the background, the heavy load of legacy and expectations, the questions of race, class, misogyny, and homophobia in relation to sports and beyond, the weight of fame and the impact all the attention from the press, the Youtube analytics, and the fanfic writers can have on a young athlete, and so much more. Oh, and the wonderful found family dynamic on the hockey team? Chef's kiss.

Why, then, am I giving this book only 4.5 stars? Sadly, it's the epilogue, especially the very end. While the author has wrapped up Mickey's personal arc, his family arc, and the relationship arc quite nicely, that one external plot question *also* deserved to be answered. I get what the author was aiming at with that decision in the last lines. It didn't work for me at all.

But whatever, this is still very firmly a favorite, and I'd die for a sequel. I want to see Mickey and Jaysen's relationship develop under the new circumstances, I want to see what setbacks they encounter and how they deal with them, and I want to meet all the wonderful characters again. Oh, and the answer to *that* question? Naturally, I want to know it, too, and to see the impact it has on the characters.
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onemamareads's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

Read my full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/icebreaker
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