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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
[Prologue]
I avoided Icebreaker for a while assuming it was overhyped smut (in fact, it is my pick for the PopSugar Reading Challenge for “book I’ve avoided reading”). But, with my new Amazon Prime Day Kindle in hand and family vacation mode activated, I not only read Icebreaker, but also devoured the entire 3-book series in a few days. Each book in the series focused on a different couple and moved forward in time (#1 Icebreaker: Stassie & Nate [Nate senior year/Stassie junior year]; #2 Wildfire: Russ & Aurora [the following summer]; #3 Daydream Henry & Halle [Henry junior year/Stassie senior year/Nate first year in NHL). Since I read them so quickly back to back, it's hard to separate my thoiughts cleanly across all three books. I can’t really say if I liked one more than the other, though personally Wildfire felt the weakest (and it's the one that I'm less sure where the title comes from), so I’m going to say 3.25 for Icebreaker and Daydream and 3.0 for Wildfire.
One thing is clear: these are not good-good books, but they are fun. Enjoyable like cotton candy: sweet, fluffy, and immediately gone. I definitely read through the lens of “vacation mode + smut engaged” and they delivered for that.
[Wildfire]
One thing is clear: these are not good-good books, but they are fun. Enjoyable like cotton candy: sweet, fluffy, and immediately gone. I definitely read through the lens of “vacation mode + smut engaged” and they delivered for that.
[Wildfire]
The shortest of the trilogy (? or is there more?) and probably my least favorite, Wildfire veers off the hockey-rink path of Icebreaker into a woodsy summer camp romance that never fully catches fire (I may have missed it, but where did the title come from?). Despite a promising setup (one-night stand turned camp coworkers; a forced-proximity trope here) the emotional arc didn’t quite land. It leaned more “trauma-dumping in the woods” than flirty summer romance, and while the vibes were there, the connection felt thin.
Reading these back-to-back I had some confusing continuity issues with characters overlapping/meeting etc but overall the whole thing read like it skipped a round of edits. Still, we carried on with the melodramatic vibes of heavy on spice, light on polish. But Wildfire lacked for me. Less chemistry, less heart. I was rooting for this and usually I enjoy this setting, but it leaned more "trauma-dumping in the woods" than something more.
Reading these back-to-back I had some confusing continuity issues with characters overlapping/meeting etc but overall the whole thing read like it skipped a round of edits. Still, we carried on with the melodramatic vibes of heavy on spice, light on polish. But Wildfire lacked for me. Less chemistry, less heart. I was rooting for this and usually I enjoy this setting, but it leaned more "trauma-dumping in the woods" than something more.
Russ is a golden-retriever love interest: respectful, soft, and emotionally intelligent... but ultimately kind of bland. His backstory is scholarship kid (nod to hockey research: I've heard goalies are in demand) in a school with many wealthy students including those on his hockey team with his family issues: a dad with a gambling addiction, an enabling mom, and tension with his famous-musician brother Ethan. This all should have given him dimension, but it never quite hit for me. He was unfortunately pretty forgettable. I wasn't sure why he was selected to star in this book; Henry and JJ or Robbie (wheelchair bound assistant coach) seemed more compelling. We still caught glimpses of them, and JJ is Russ's good friend and gives advice via text through the book. Maybe it was because Russ was the freshman who causted the actions of the Icebreak book due to a fling with a girl from a rival university. The girl's brother was on that hockey team and thought that Russ impregnated the girl and because of this destroyed Maple Hills Titans's ice rink, making both ice hockey team and figure skating team share one rink.
Rory brought chaotic “pick-me” energy, constantly rehashing her family trauma and overshadowing much of the actual romantic development. Her sister is Elsa, but she explains their names are not Disney-princess-drawn, and she was actually conceived under Northern Lights (oh. okay.). Her dad is a famous Formula One team owner (which could’ve been interesting!), but he’s an absent father playing dad to his new family. It's a little cartoonish. Camp was Rory's real “home,” and her found family (and that had potential), but again, it felt more told than shown.
Rory brought chaotic “pick-me” energy, constantly rehashing her family trauma and overshadowing much of the actual romantic development. Her sister is Elsa, but she explains their names are not Disney-princess-drawn, and she was actually conceived under Northern Lights (oh. okay.). Her dad is a famous Formula One team owner (which could’ve been interesting!), but he’s an absent father playing dad to his new family. It's a little cartoonish. Camp was Rory's real “home,” and her found family (and that had potential), but again, it felt more told than shown.
There were some glimmers. I liked the concept of Honey Acres as a nostalgic, healing space for Rory. The summer camp setting was cozy. The camp side characters added some fun. The counselors of the Brown Bear group were Rory, her roommate/friend Emilia, and Maya, and the males Russ, Xander, and Clay Cole. Xander (Russ’s roommate) was a standout and enjoyable addition. Jenna (Rory’s camp counselor growing up) added warmth, with the stories of Jenna being Rory's tooth fairy when she lost her first tooth, her savior when she got her first period, and her shoulder to cry on after her first kiss. Emilia (her roommate in a relationship with Poppy who is in the UK for the summer) also added diversity and dimension. Clay was weird: he was definitely the negative male character and tried to kiss Rory and was a bit of an asshole, but also very forgettable. But there was less chemistry, less banter, and ultimately, less spark. There also was a bit that the spice/smut between Rory and Russ was a bit like a watered down form Nate and Stassie in regards to the dirty talk/praise kink which also took away something for me.
The hockey link felt tenuous at best. Russ is supposedly a rising goalie, but there’s little sense of training, tension, or athletic ambition during camp. It felt disconnected from the sports-centric energy of the first book. Also, Nate and crew showing up to camp for Russ’s birthday? Cute, but weirdly unrealistic.
That said, the epilogue was more believable than Icebreaker's—Aurora opens a bookshop named Happy Endings, and she and Russ settle down in a renovated home on the Honey Acres property with their inside-joke named dogs (I think they are Tuna and Flounder are a nod to Jenna's dog Fish and puppies Salmon and Trout took to Russ at the summer camp). It felt like a sweet nod to the book’s core theme: seeking safety, peace, and belonging.
Wildfire felt like stale saltwater taffy — still sweet, but sticky and slightly harder to chew after Icebreaker as cotton candy melted in your mouth.
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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
it wasn’t bad AT ALL. i actually really enjoyed it! Russ was such a sweetheart and i didn’t feel like they’re relationship was forced or boring.
the one thing that did bother me was the fact it didn’t have much of a plot — and even though i only just finished it don’t think i can remember much about it :(
maybe im being over cynical about it because i just came out of a fantasy book with quite a heavy plot but i was super disappointed, especially with all the hype around it.
overall, it was still a book i enjoyed and i will probably read again (not after a fantasy book though
the one thing that did bother me was the fact it didn’t have much of a plot — and even though i only just finished it don’t think i can remember much about it :(
maybe im being over cynical about it because i just came out of a fantasy book with quite a heavy plot but i was super disappointed, especially with all the hype around it.
overall, it was still a book i enjoyed and i will probably read again (not after a fantasy book though
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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