Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Icebreaker

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

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jennyg1234's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I can see why this is so popular. It’s very GenZ friendly. I liked how healthy they are about communication, but I was pretty casual about finishing it.
I can see this being a movie or a series.

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underscoresyd's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.75

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racheldonna14's review against another edition

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emotional 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? Yes

4.0

Worthy of the hype for the smut content alone. I had a silly goofy fun time and will be reading every other book in this series.

not seeing Anastasia’s solo career is a miss on the authors part. She gains all of this confidence via her man but it would have been so much more interesting to see her do it for a career that is entirely reliant upon herself. The public non-consensual kiss was visceral to read and if it *needed* to be included, it should have happened with more than 20 odd pages left in the book to see some of Anastasia’s growth and processing which we were granted for much less severe plot points.

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jarunach's review against another edition

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funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

This is such a fun romance! You’re left with some plot holes surrounding the skating partner, but the book is still a quick and cute read. The banter definitely had me kicking my feet and giggling lol.

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mmadill227's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

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