Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

50 reviews

kelly_e's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing slow-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

Title: Icebreaker
Author: Hannah Grace
Series: UCMH, #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: August 23, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Trendy • Delightful • Spicy

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Anastasia has been a figure skater since she was five years old. Now competing with her partner Aaron at Maple Hills, she dreams of landing a spot on the US Olympic team. Her determination and drive to win means she diligently schedules every minute of her day, yet she's a commitment-phobe.

Nathan is the captain of Maple Hills' hockey team, a responsibility he takes very seriously. When an incident forces the closure of one rink, Nate takes the blame to avoid his whole team being benched. And this forces the skating and hockey teams to share a rink - much to everyone's dismay. Benched yet again, in the aftermath of Anastasia’s partner getting hurt, he finds himself swapping his stick for tights.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Romance isn't one of my go-to genres, yet every now and then the mood strikes, and I find myself looking for something lighthearted. That mood struck mid-January, and as an avid hockey fan, Icebreaker felt like a perfect winter read. I was right!

This novel has very good representation including mental health, disability, and LGTBQIA+. Not only that, but it also opens up much needed discussion surrounding relationship consent, as well as therapy things that are often overlooked in literature. It also demonstrates the importance of open and good communication in a relationship, which I loved.

There are a lot of characters introduced, yet it seemed quite straightforward to keep everyone straight. Both protagonists felt well-developed and layered. And don't even get me started on Henry! Everyone needs a Henry in their life. And even though it played a smaller role, I loved the encouragement Nate received from Stassie's dad. It just felt so genuine, and like something he'd been missing out on his entire life.

My main complaint for this one is the length. Because so much happens, it felt quite a bit longer than it needed to be. I think it could have easily been shortened by 80-100 pages and still accomplished what it set out to do. Additionally, the college aspect felt a little immature and like the author was capitalizing on Tik Tok trends. Lastly, I wished her friendship with Ryan had continued into the second portion of the book. There was something about the relationship that I gravitated toward.

For me, this was a solid romance with quite a bit of depth, and some sex scenes that made me blush. It tries to tackle a lot, yet I think Hannah Grace did a fair job putting it all together. I've heard this is going to be a series, and I am definitely looking forward to a second book. I am secretly hoping book two will follow Ryan or Henry.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a new book boyfriend
• fans of sports romance

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"We’re still individuals, but we’re individuals together, and I never knew relationships could be like this." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Body shaming

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia

Minor: Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Sexual assault

near drowning, adoption

josxphinchen's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Alcohol, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Mental illness

Moderate: Eating disorder, Death of parent, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Medical trauma, Grief, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy

angelinarey04's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

Honestly, I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. I loved the main characters, and contrary to what I'd read before, it wasn't too hard to keep up with names. I finished it in a day, and had fun exploring the characters to the depth we did. There was a crap ton of diversity, which I loved. Not only ethnically, but sexual orientation wise as well. Strong main characters, who are self aware of their flaws, and actually make communication, trust and respect a priority. There is talk of disordered eating, so if you're sensitive to these topics, do tread lightly, as it's one of the main themes, but I feel like it was dealt with beautifully. 

I want my own Nate Hawkins. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

chrisljm's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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

this shit had me kicking my feet and twinkling my toes 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Bullying

Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Blood, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, and Car accident

mattiedancer's review against another edition

lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

Writing: 3.75⭐️/5 

The writing was unremarkable. There were one or two lines that were quite well done, but mostly it was adequate and even, which made for a really fast reading experience. Also, much of the writing was VERY tell-y versus actually showing the audience. It wasn’t poorly done, necessarily; I just wish it had been finessed a bit more. 

Characters: 4.5⭐️/5

The characters are uniquely lovable. I’m not sure how realistic they are, but they’re certainly quite fun to read about. I do wish we got a bit more understanding of the motives behind Aaron, our MC’s skating partner, as we aren’t fully let in to understand why he’s doing the things that he’s doing. Otherwise, the characters were very fun and vibrant. 

Plot: 3.75⭐️/5 

The plot was fun, but not extremely well-paced. Certain sections could have been sped up, while others were much too tell-y and not doing enough to show us what was happening. About three-quarters the way through the book I was confused as to how the story wasn’t over, but then the plot “re-thickened,” even though I kind of thought it was resolving. I really wish this was coalesced a bit better instead of feeling so segmented. 

Post-Reading Rating:  3.25⭐️/5

Could have done without the epilogue honestly. Kind of ruined it for me.

Who Should Read This? 

• Fans of modern-day romance
• Fans of enemies to lovers
• Fans of overprotective-without-being-toxic love interests

CW: Death of a parent, pregnancy, eating disorder, blood, sexual content 

Final Rating: 4⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Body shaming

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Car accident

decklededgess's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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

5.0

trigger warnings: sexual content, alcohol, physical injury, eating disorder, toxic friendship, gaslighting, body shaming, emotional abuse, infidelity mention, physical violence, pregnancy mention, vomit/emetophobia, hypothermia

Listen...I have always said hockey romances hit different. I have yet to be disappointed (although I'm incredibly picky about which ones I do read so maybe my discretion has let to biased results lol).

Stassie was an incredible lead to follow. Her backstory is set up so that it felt like I was still getting to know her at 80% of the book because of the layers that made her who she was. It felt like a friendship between me as the reader and Stassie. That really tied me in to the story the entire way through. Same goes for Nate. The slow reveal of both of their histories, childhoods, fears, traumas, and so on was done exquisitely. I was invested in the two of them the entire way through. In fact, I could say that the same goes for all the secondary characters because I want a book for every single one of these dweeby hockey players. I love them all.

The smut in this book is GOD TIER. It's almost one every 10% of the book unless there was an emotional high point to take up space. It was just CHEFS KISS. Horny in the best way, brat x pleasure dom, tender yet rough, and just fun to read.

I loved the way Stassie's eating disorder, toxic friendship with Aaron, and her adoption trauma were addressed throughout the book. It felt respectful, gentle, and authentic to the character. There was no trauma porn with intention to evoke tears. It felt like raw and realistic representation and I loved how well it was done. 

The most stunning part is that this is a DEBUT so I have the highest hopes that the books are just going to get unbelievably better from here. Loved it!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Vomit, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Bullying, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders

culzean's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Classism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

sdupont's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

Wow I just absolutely loved this book! This book is so sweet and will give you the warm fuzzies. Don’t let the cartoon cover fool you this book is hot! I just adored Nate and Stassie, I loved the progression of their relationship. This book had it all pining, frenemies to lovers, golden retriever male love interest all with the backdrop of college sports (hockey and figure skating). The dual POV of this book is everything I love getting both of their preservatives. I also really enjoyed the entire cast- honorable mention to Henry who has me swooning just as much as Nate. I am fully obsessed and need everyone to read this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Body shaming, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

andeng's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Infidelity