A review by originalbooknerd
Sweet Collide by Ava Harrison

dark emotional funny 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

๐Ÿ’—๐’ฎ๐“Œ๐‘’๐‘’๐“‰ ๐’ž๐‘œ๐“๐“๐’พ๐’น๐‘’ - ๐’ฎ๐’ถ๐’พ๐“ƒ๐“‰๐“ˆ ๐‘œ๐’ป ๐‘…๐‘’๐’น๐“‹๐’พ๐“๐“๐‘’ ๐Ÿฃ - ๐‘…๐‘’๐“‹๐’พ๐‘’๐“Œ๐Ÿ’—

โ€œ๐˜ˆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ต, ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ.โ€

Author: Ava Harrison

Couple: Cassidy โ€œPippaโ€ Johnson & Aiden Slate

Tropes: Second Chance Romance, Hidden Identity, Protective NHL MMC with a dirty mouth, Childhood friends to Lovers, โ€Itโ€™s Always Been Youโ€ vibes, Found Family, Rags to Riches, Mental Health Representation, EMOTIONAL, Fake Dating

Review: Sweet Collide sucker punched me from the first word and left my heart in shreds until the last! Ava Harrison wove a tragically beautiful tale of two people who found a safe space within each other. Cassidy and Aiden gave me all the feels while reading their book and be warned that the ups and downs these two go through teat every boundary of attraction, betrayal and love.

Cassidyโ€™s character was such a breath of fresh air in this book. I adored how she was always there for Aiden even when he refused to see or admit to it and loved how she tried to be the best version of herself. Ava captivated me with the unraveling of Cassidyโ€™s past and her true identity as Aidenโ€™s childhood friend but also left my heart aching since she was so hurt by his actions from their childhood. The strength and resilience she had in this book was the backbone of the relationship they shared and I found myself routing for her to get that HEA she deserved!

Aiden Slate was a tragically broken boy who turned into a beautifully broken man. He hid behind his hockey career and Ava did the job right with creating all his fears and mental battles in this book. The way he was afraid to be open and honest with his team about his mental health and the triggers that would occasionally put him out of commission was heartbreaking and I LOVED how once Cassidy came into the equation he was able to slowly open up and accept him faults for his own. I also really enjoyed how his past was slowly uncovered and we learned how hard it was for him to leave his friend โ€œPippaโ€ who unbeknownst to him was his new fake girlfriend the whole time.

Sweet Collide is a medium burn romance that is full of the angsty, emotional turmoil Ava loves to write for us. Aiden and Cassidy are put through the emotional hurdles in this book and I found that the buildup to Aiden finding out who Cassidy really was to be the center point and the breaking point of the book. I could not believe the way Ava was able to weave their romance to provide all the real and raw emotions between them and found myself having a hard time saying good bye to them once it was over. This book was one I thoroughly enjoyed and I cannot wait for the next Saints of Revile book!

Rating: 5/5, Cassidy and Aiden were a full stop SWOON level romance full of angst, second chances and soul mates perfect for anyone who loves an emotionally charged romance!


Thank you Hambright PR & Ava for the eARC copy!


๐Ÿ’—๐’ฎ๐“Œ๐‘’๐‘’๐“‰ ๐’ž๐‘œ๐“๐“๐’พ๐’น๐‘’ - ๐’ฎ๐’ถ๐’พ๐“ƒ๐“‰๐“ˆ ๐‘œ๐’ป ๐‘…๐‘’๐’น๐“‹๐’พ๐“๐“๐‘’ ๐Ÿฃ - ๐’œ๐“Š๐’น๐’พ๐‘œ๐’ท๐‘œ๐‘œ๐“€ ๐‘…๐‘’๐“‹๐’พ๐‘’๐“Œ๐Ÿ’—

Author: Ava Harrison

Narrators: Angelina Rocca & Christian Fox

Couple: Cassidy โ€œPippaโ€ Johnson & Aiden Slate

Tropes: Second Chance Romance, Hidden Identity, Protective NHL MMC with a dirty mouth, Childhood friends to Lovers, โ€Itโ€™s Always Been Youโ€ vibes, Found Family, Rags to Riches, Mental Health Representation, EMOTIONAL, Fake Dating

Review: Ava Harrison knew what she was doing when she casted Angelina Rocca and Christian Fox for Sweet Collide. These two narrators were phenomenal with this book and there was not a single second that I wanted to pause this story! The way these two blended their voices and brought Cassidy ad Aiden to life was EVERYTHING! Reading this book was an emotional rollercoaster but LISTENING to it was a whole new level of emotional angst and feels since both of these characters went through so much to get their HEA.

Christian Fox was the ABSOLUTE star in this book much like how Aiden was in the book. He brought Aiden to life in ways that I didnโ€™t expect and infused so much emotions into the POV as Aiden began to open up to Cassidy and also was able to express all the betrayal when he found out who she truly was. Christian was also able to build the tension with Angelina in the best of ways and the way they pushed and pulled as they narrated this book added to the banter between Avaโ€™s characters!

Angelina Rocca did Cassidy so well that I forgot at times that Cassidy was hiding secrets. Her narration of Cassidyโ€™s struggles and path of forgiveness was brought with emotion and she was able to bring the complexity her character had in this book to the foreground! She also was great at the wit and banter between her and Christian. I found that the back and forth was really my new favorite parts of this romance since Angelina and Christian were so well paired with their expressions of these two MCs!

Sweet Collide was a phenomenal read but it is safe to say the audiobook is where my heart now lies! Ava casted two wonderful narrators to bring her book to life and I cannot wait to see what happens next in the Saints of Revile Series!

Rating: 10/10, Sweet Collideโ€™s Audio outshined everything I had thought about this book and Angelina and Christian truly blew it out of the park with their narration!


Thank you Hambright PR & Ava for the eALC copy!