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lunahale's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
great first read of the year! it was cute and fluffy and had almost no conflict, so this was such a fun, quick read. the character development was great, there’s no third-act breakup, and the banter was immaculate.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
buttermellow's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
thirdeyeangel23's review against another edition
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
4.0
Is it very much Icebreaker coded? Yes. Did I still have a good time? Also yes!
Collide follows Aiden and Summer as they work together to complete Summer’s research for graduate school consideration. As the neglected child of an NHL star Summer has made it her life’s mission to avoid hockey at all costs until she’s forced to accept Aiden’s help and he becomes determined to win her heart.
This loses a star for me as it definitely could’ve been one hundred pages shorter, but I had a really good time. Aiden is somewhat of a reluctant golden retriever where Summer is a grumpy Queen of self sabotage. I also appreciated some of the more realistic aspects of hockey. If you enjoy hockey romance I think you’ll gobble this right up!
Collide follows Aiden and Summer as they work together to complete Summer’s research for graduate school consideration. As the neglected child of an NHL star Summer has made it her life’s mission to avoid hockey at all costs until she’s forced to accept Aiden’s help and he becomes determined to win her heart.
This loses a star for me as it definitely could’ve been one hundred pages shorter, but I had a really good time. Aiden is somewhat of a reluctant golden retriever where Summer is a grumpy Queen of self sabotage. I also appreciated some of the more realistic aspects of hockey. If you enjoy hockey romance I think you’ll gobble this right up!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
turnthepages_nl's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Stalking and Pregnancy
lindsaymck'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
3.25
Summer Preston is a determined future sports psychologist who is forced to work with Aiden Crawford, Captain of the hockey team, on her research project that will be her thesis for her graduate school application. This is bound to be a disaster due to her rocky relationship with hockey (due to feeling de-prioritized by her dad when he went pro in the sport) and she wants no part of the cocky captain… yet. Aiden is loyal to a fault, landing this research project as mandatory community service after taking the blame for his teammates’ mistakes, and soon hockey isn’t the most important thing in his life anymore.
The setup for the sports psychology plot-line was strong early on, then absolutely vanished the second they started working together. Instead of talking about what Summer was doing with Aiden and how it would help her paper, we were just told how helpful (or unhelpful) he was being. I wish the actual work they were doing together had been more developed, because it could’ve made this book stand out among other hockey romances. This ranks below The Deal and Breakaway, but above Icebreaker for me.
The more I loved Aiden as he realized he wanted to be more than “fuckbuddies,” the less I loved Summer as she was fighting against the intimacy of their connection and insisting upon dating other people. If the MMC ever did that to the FMC, it would make people riot! “I know you’re only going on dates to distract yourself. You can pretend all you want, Summer, but we both know it’ll be me in the end.” I get that this makes him come across as a lethal combination of sexy, confident, and patient, but it made her really bratty and unlikably stubborn. She was also very dismissive of Aiden’s feelings at times and made some really questionable decisions. For example, trusting her super suspiciously critical ex-boyfriend (who is also pursuing THE SAME SINGLE SPOT in the grad program) even when Aiden challenges her to question his influence. Another thing I can’t get over is Summer’s unreasonable reaction to Aiden being a gentleman and not wanting their first time together to be in his truck. That being said, the scene where he goes down on her for the first time was WELL-DONE and all the spice was consistently strong.
Summer’s major conflict being her daddy issues wasn’t very believable, however. She resented his career choice and how he left often to play hockey to provide for their family, but every time he tried to do better and reach out in present day, she acted so petulant and dismissive. She also was determined not to associate with hockey players, but then had a lifelong friendship with one of Aiden’s teammates, Tyler, and another serious friendship with Kian - the math didn’t math on her not liking hockey players from the beginning.
I thought the ending was a highlight of the story. It was cool to have the epilogue be years into the future and then a flashback to the proposal scene as a bonus after that. Excited for ‘Spiral!’
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
anna_maria_wirth's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Grief, Car accident, and Abandonment
Minor: Stalking, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
backitupmoony's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Grief, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Stalking and Pregnancy
abidavisf's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
Collide is a fun and quick-witted read. It is primarily a romance, of course, but features a handful of sub-plots that bring both mystery and a more realistic human element to the story.
Summer and Aiden are both such warm characters, and I really loved seeing their individual growth as they got to know each other and let down their walls. In general, however, I think the entire cast of the college kids was just wonderful. Every character played such a stand-out role and I wanted to learn more about them (particularly Eli and Dylan who I have so many questions about).
Just a super fun, chilled and funny book. I really liked it.
Summer and Aiden are both such warm characters, and I really loved seeing their individual growth as they got to know each other and let down their walls. In general, however, I think the entire cast of the college kids was just wonderful. Every character played such a stand-out role and I wanted to learn more about them (particularly Eli and Dylan who I have so many questions about).
Just a super fun, chilled and funny book. I really liked it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
jeanne_burge20's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Car accident