This was my first foray into hockey romances and it was…fine? This book was wildly hyped up online, so naturally it was underwhelming. (I need to start lowering my expectations for TikTok famous books!)

I liked:
- the university setting and college athlete rivals-to-lovers bit
- the friend group dynamics
- the banter between the main characters

(especially the bit where Nate becomes Anastasia’s stand-in skating partner! That was very sweet and fun!)

- the modeling of a healthy communication style and mutually supportive romantic relationship

I disliked:
-the general flow of the plot. It felt like everything and nothing happened at the same time.
- the excessive amounts of spicy scenes and the cringey dialogue that came along with them. I’m not opposed to a smutty romance, but it felt like every other chapter and, to me, lessened the romantic tension that was being built between the two main characters because there was no slow burn whatsoever.

I have a special complaint about the Uber scene because what do you mean you did that in front of all your friends???? But I will say the Uber slut joke was funny!

- THE EPILOUGE!!!! WHY???

I hate an accidental pregnancy trope and I hate that the author only did a two year time jump. I also feel like Freud would have a lot to say about the paragraph Anastasia narrated on how her unborn baby responds to Nate’s touch. 🤢

Overall, this book is sweet and sporty and fun, but it could have been about half the length and nothing would have been lost.

Content Warnings

tinkerbelle's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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

5.0

i think this might be a favorite of mine now

Content Warnings

macykey's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This book is very long and there were some things I felt could be cut out, some relationships I felt could be tamed down. But overall, I really enjoyed this! The spicy scenes were excellent. Nate as a character is phenomenal. He’s a great example of what healthy masculinity looks like without being perfect.

Content Warnings

kathis_wonderland's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

4.0

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace is the first book in the Maple Hill series. Anastasia is an aspiring figure skater. When problems at university lead to the skating team and the ice hockey team needing to share a rink, problems are inevitable. Sparks fly between Anastasia and Nate, the captain of the hockey team, and not only good ones. But they need to work together, which includes trying to ignore all the good sparks between them.

I love figure skating! In my teenage years I would get up any time during the night during the Olympic Winter Games whenever figure skating was on, because I was just amazed by it. So, is it surprising that I liked this book? No, it isn't. This book was really good to read. I liked the alternating POVs that gave us an insight into figure skating and ice hockey, which I found interesting. What really amazed me in this book was consent. They all took consent very seriously. This is what sexual action should look like. Nate even said somewhere at the beginning of their relationship that Anastasia can withdraw consent anytime she wants to. Loved that.

The communication between Anastasia and Nate was quite good as well. Usually, when it comes to characters in this age group, there often is miscommunication, which annoys me greatly. Their chemistry was amazing as well! Lots of spice in this book.

On thing that bothered me, and this is totally a me thing and has nothing to do with the book by itself, was the name Anastasia. More often than not my mind jumped to Fifty Shades of Grey when I read the name. And this book is completely different to the other series! I don't know what came over me...

I quite enjoyed this book. Sometimes the story seemed a bit dragging, but overall, it was good. I hope I can get back to Maple Hills at some point.

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mindins's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

El resumen de este libro es: En términos, de trama no hay trama.

La idea era muy buena, pero nunca llegó a ser un enemies to lovers, fue un insta-love, donde trataron de crear una rivalidad que nunca existió. De hecho el tema del hielo derretido pudo ser usado para muchas situaciones pero nada.

Las escenas spicy fueron para mi fueron innecesariamente largas, repetitivas y daban un poco de cringe. La pareja estuvo junta al 40% del libro y el resto fue relleno poco interesante. Tiene 0.5 estrellitas sólo porque el tema del amigo tóxico estuvo bien, aunque para tanto escandalo se resolvió como la misma protagonista dijo que no quería que se solucionara, y por como se abordó el asunto de la terapia.

El final fue malísimo y predecible. No pude conectar con los protagonistas en ningún momento y si no estaban culeando, estaban de fiesta y curándose a cagar sólo para "olvidar y relajarse".

En general no entiendo porqué alguien leería esto y lo recomendaría, definitivamente no le hace justicia al hype. Aunque si quieres leer porn without plot, monólogos internos extremadamente repetitivos y ver nombres y nombres de personajes que ni aportan nada, es para ti.

Dato random: No pasa el Test de Bechdel.

Content Warnings

sarahflanders's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.25

Content Warnings

georgiaisreading's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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