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kaitielou's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
booshort's review against another edition
DNF @ 46%
If I could give this book negative stars I would.
Someone please point me in the direction of the plot, I seem to have lost it entirely.
The Writing:
11% in, I had a feeling I wouldn’t like this book. I really should’ve trusted my gut. If you like books holding your hand through the entire process, this book is for you. There is not one iota of *showing* in this book. There is literally only *telling*.
There’s no description of any surrounding scenery, people’s emotions or expressions; there is only the brief description of each characters appearance when they’re introduced, but you better have a notebook handy, because it’s up to you to remember who is who after that. At one point there wasn’t even a physical description, the FMC was meeting the hockey team members and eventually just said something along the lines of “I mean how else do you describe a hockey player other than big”… and that was it.
Good luck trying to remember who is who and what they look like, because there is about 50 characters that have no reason being there. The author went about describing a group of people at one point leaving an auditorium because they were not-so-subtly called out and shamed by a school admin giving an assembly. We got to know each one of their names, what their situation was, and where they lived… and that’s it. That was the first and last time I had ever heard of those characters.
There is also an obscene amount of time skips, not altogether too long, but the POV character will just offhandedly mention having a conversation with another character “off-screen” so to speak, quite a lot. And it’ll vaguely describe whatever the conversation was, even if it was conflict that could’ve been added to the non-existent plot, it was just swept under the rug as an “oh ya and this happened, anyways…”
The “Plot”:
Now don’t get me wrong when I say this, I in fact am a large consumer of smut and plot-light romance books and I do thoroughly enjoy them; but believe me when I say that this book seriously has *zero* plot.
The “conflict” is the hockey and figure skating teams have to share one ice rink because the other one is broken or something. But they very quickly compromise and are able to build a schedule for both teams without really effecting anyone too much; all within about one chapter. Now everyone is fine, they get their practices in, they just see one another more often.
This all happens and is “resolved” within about the first 15% of the book.
The only other conflict I witnessed other then meaningless drama Anastasia created, was Aaron claimed to be beat up by Nate and he wouldn’t be able to skate anymore. Everyone backed up Nate when he said Aaron was lying, Aaron had literally no proof of anything, but Anastasia believed him. Aaron was skating the next chapter.
So like, why is this book 429 pages?
The Characters:
Jesus Christ the characters. None of them are interesting, the ones you remember are either extremely unlikable or kiddie pool shallow. I know some people are saying Nate and Henry are the only saving grace, and I could agree with that if they were actually well written characters.
Let’s go through the ones I can remember:
FMC/Anastasia: rude, mean, no reason for any of her actions. I get what the author was trying to do, I really do. I struggle with some abandonment issues myself, and I could see how some people would want to avoid it at all costs by being non-committal. What I don’t understand is her being able to pick and choose. She commits to being in a figure skating partnership and *LIVING WITH* one of the most annoying and abusive characters I’ve ever read (more on Aaron later). But can’t commit to people who care and want to support her in a healthy way. Ex. She’s about to go to funky town with our MMC Nate. Nate, responsibly speaks up and says he doesn’t want to have sex with her while they’re both drunk, but that he does want to have sex when they’re sober. Anastasia cries, pretends to go to sleep, but tries to call an Uber after Nate falls asleep. The next day Nate feels like shit, and Anastasia is mad at him. She just seems to be mean, lash out, tease, or cause drama for no apparent reason, yet claims she likes and is good at talking about her feelings. K.
MMC/Nate: hockey guy. Seems nice. I would hang out with him I guess. Deserves better in the love interest, and the writing department.
Aaron: blatantly harassed, belittles, and emotionally/mentally abuses and manipulates people. But *NO ONE* calls him out for it. And if they try to, or start to, Anastasia stops them, or gets mad at them. This man just flat out lies and Anastasia believes it because…?
Lola: stereotypical theatre nerd. Can’t remember anything else.
Ryan: fuck buddy of Anastasia. Actually might be the only side character I thought was written well. Not counting how he slept shirtless with a woman who wasn’t the girl he was dating. Don’t care if it’s right at the beginning of the relationship, if you’re gonna write sus things in your books, those characters better be explaining themselves.
Robby/Bobby: Robby is in a wheelchair but it’s only ever mentioned once. And he was kinda a dick to his best friend to threw him a sick birthday party. I have no idea who Bobby was, but their name kept popping up and I kept getting confused.
Rose/Briar/Kitty/Summer/Aurora/Liv: random women whose only purpose was to sleep with a guy. I think one of the names is unintentionally made up by me, and one is from the synopsis of the second book. I can’t remember which for each.
Henry: oh dear. Let me preface this by saying I am a professionally diagnosed autistic woman. Now, how do I put this without going into a long diatribe about autistic representation in media. I don’t think I can. So I’ll try to keep it to bullet form;
- he is an autistic-*coded* character. And a poor one at that.
- His only reason for existing in this book is to be autistic.
- He has no personality other than “I am blunt and speak my mind no matter what”
- Every other characters reaction to him flip-flops between “omg he’s so cute/quirky!”, “wtf he’s such a dick”, and “we must protect him :,(“
Safe so say I was not happy with this representation. If you’d like to read well written romance books about autistic characters, please read Helen Hoang.
If I could give this book negative stars I would.
Someone please point me in the direction of the plot, I seem to have lost it entirely.
The Writing:
11% in, I had a feeling I wouldn’t like this book. I really should’ve trusted my gut. If you like books holding your hand through the entire process, this book is for you. There is not one iota of *showing* in this book. There is literally only *telling*.
There’s no description of any surrounding scenery, people’s emotions or expressions; there is only the brief description of each characters appearance when they’re introduced, but you better have a notebook handy, because it’s up to you to remember who is who after that. At one point there wasn’t even a physical description, the FMC was meeting the hockey team members and eventually just said something along the lines of “I mean how else do you describe a hockey player other than big”… and that was it.
Good luck trying to remember who is who and what they look like, because there is about 50 characters that have no reason being there. The author went about describing a group of people at one point leaving an auditorium because they were not-so-subtly called out and shamed by a school admin giving an assembly. We got to know each one of their names, what their situation was, and where they lived… and that’s it. That was the first and last time I had ever heard of those characters.
There is also an obscene amount of time skips, not altogether too long, but the POV character will just offhandedly mention having a conversation with another character “off-screen” so to speak, quite a lot. And it’ll vaguely describe whatever the conversation was, even if it was conflict that could’ve been added to the non-existent plot, it was just swept under the rug as an “oh ya and this happened, anyways…”
The “Plot”:
Now don’t get me wrong when I say this, I in fact am a large consumer of smut and plot-light romance books and I do thoroughly enjoy them; but believe me when I say that this book seriously has *zero* plot.
The “conflict” is the hockey and figure skating teams have to share one ice rink because the other one is broken or something. But they very quickly compromise and are able to build a schedule for both teams without really effecting anyone too much; all within about one chapter. Now everyone is fine, they get their practices in, they just see one another more often.
This all happens and is “resolved” within about the first 15% of the book.
The only other conflict I witnessed other then meaningless drama Anastasia created, was Aaron claimed to be beat up by Nate and he wouldn’t be able to skate anymore. Everyone backed up Nate when he said Aaron was lying, Aaron had literally no proof of anything, but Anastasia believed him. Aaron was skating the next chapter.
So like, why is this book 429 pages?
The Characters:
Jesus Christ the characters. None of them are interesting, the ones you remember are either extremely unlikable or kiddie pool shallow. I know some people are saying Nate and Henry are the only saving grace, and I could agree with that if they were actually well written characters.
Let’s go through the ones I can remember:
FMC/Anastasia: rude, mean, no reason for any of her actions. I get what the author was trying to do, I really do. I struggle with some abandonment issues myself, and I could see how some people would want to avoid it at all costs by being non-committal. What I don’t understand is her being able to pick and choose. She commits to being in a figure skating partnership and *LIVING WITH* one of the most annoying and abusive characters I’ve ever read (more on Aaron later). But can’t commit to people who care and want to support her in a healthy way. Ex. She’s about to go to funky town with our MMC Nate. Nate, responsibly speaks up and says he doesn’t want to have sex with her while they’re both drunk, but that he does want to have sex when they’re sober. Anastasia cries, pretends to go to sleep, but tries to call an Uber after Nate falls asleep. The next day Nate feels like shit, and Anastasia is mad at him. She just seems to be mean, lash out, tease, or cause drama for no apparent reason, yet claims she likes and is good at talking about her feelings. K.
MMC/Nate: hockey guy. Seems nice. I would hang out with him I guess. Deserves better in the love interest, and the writing department.
Aaron: blatantly harassed, belittles, and emotionally/mentally abuses and manipulates people. But *NO ONE* calls him out for it. And if they try to, or start to, Anastasia stops them, or gets mad at them. This man just flat out lies and Anastasia believes it because…?
Lola: stereotypical theatre nerd. Can’t remember anything else.
Ryan: fuck buddy of Anastasia. Actually might be the only side character I thought was written well. Not counting how he slept shirtless with a woman who wasn’t the girl he was dating. Don’t care if it’s right at the beginning of the relationship, if you’re gonna write sus things in your books, those characters better be explaining themselves.
Robby/Bobby: Robby is in a wheelchair but it’s only ever mentioned once. And he was kinda a dick to his best friend to threw him a sick birthday party. I have no idea who Bobby was, but their name kept popping up and I kept getting confused.
Rose/Briar/Kitty/Summer/Aurora/Liv: random women whose only purpose was to sleep with a guy. I think one of the names is unintentionally made up by me, and one is from the synopsis of the second book. I can’t remember which for each.
Henry: oh dear. Let me preface this by saying I am a professionally diagnosed autistic woman. Now, how do I put this without going into a long diatribe about autistic representation in media. I don’t think I can. So I’ll try to keep it to bullet form;
- he is an autistic-*coded* character. And a poor one at that.
- His only reason for existing in this book is to be autistic.
- He has no personality other than “I am blunt and speak my mind no matter what”
- Every other characters reaction to him flip-flops between “omg he’s so cute/quirky!”, “wtf he’s such a dick”, and “we must protect him :,(“
Safe so say I was not happy with this representation. If you’d like to read well written romance books about autistic characters, please read Helen Hoang.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
jaynovara's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
zc2's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
Spicier than expected but the way the whole plot ties the book together is beautiful. One of the finest romcoms I’ve read in a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
biloser99's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
cute and unrushed romance, non-cringey smut, and an interesting plot
4/5 🌶🌶🌶
- sex positive
- accurate depictions of eating disorders & abusive (platonic) relationships
- fleshed out side characters
- found family
4/5 🌶🌶🌶
- sex positive
- accurate depictions of eating disorders & abusive (platonic) relationships
- fleshed out side characters
- found family
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Mental illness and Vomit
isitcake's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.5
DRAFT REVIEW
"This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a great book." -Buzzing About Romance
So true. This book went viral and now its on podcasts I listen to, forcing me to read it. I liked the beginning of this book but I stopped around 70% for almost 2 months. This book was way longer than it needed to be.
Likes
-Nate: he's such a cinnamon roll hero, all he wants to do is take of his team, friends, and Anastasia.
-The side characters like Henry and JJ. Henry is great - women are wildly attracted to him and none of the team can figure out what he's doing. But he's also super vulnerable. He's the straight best friend for Anastasia. JJ I didn't realize was gay until the end lol. He's definitely the comic relief. Her best friend Lola and Nate's best friend and assistant coach Robbie were fine. Their relationship happens on the side and helps cement Nate and Stasia.
-
Dislikes
-Anastasia.
"This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a great book." -Buzzing About Romance
So true. This book went viral and now its on podcasts I listen to, forcing me to read it. I liked the beginning of this book but I stopped around 70% for almost 2 months. This book was way longer than it needed to be.
Likes
-Nate: he's such a cinnamon roll hero, all he wants to do is take of his team, friends, and Anastasia.
-The side characters like Henry and JJ. Henry is great - women are wildly attracted to him and none of the team can figure out what he's doing. But he's also super vulnerable. He's the straight best friend for Anastasia. JJ I didn't realize was gay until the end lol. He's definitely the comic relief. Her best friend Lola and Nate's best friend and assistant coach Robbie were fine. Their relationship happens on the side and helps cement Nate and Stasia.
-
Dislikes
-Anastasia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
leahp87's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault
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."
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."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
near drowning, adoptioninked_in_pages's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
GENRE: Romance, Sports-Romance
[TW: emotional abuse, disorder eating, loss of a parent]
What were my overall thoughts about this book?
I enjoyed this book for the most part. I think that Hannah Grace did a great job of representing the intense pressure that collegiate and professional athletes have to do it perfectly which can often lead to their own issues with mental health and physical health.
The chemistry between Nathan and Anastasia was off the charts and I was definitely invested in the "will they? Won't they?" trope.
Nathan is an absolute dreamboat. If you've gotten to know me, you know I am a huge hockey fan and am married to my very own burly hockey player (okay, old man beer league but who's keeping score?) and the relationship that Stassi made with Nathan's teammates made my heart so happy. Some of my very best friends are the guys that I have spent my weekends with during tournaments. #hockeywife
Was there anything you didn't like?
at about pg 250 I found myself wondering what else could possibly happen. It was 423 pages long, pretty nuts for this genre if you ask me! Sometimes I think that authors just do too much. I think she could have achieved the same end goal and have shortened the story by A LOT.
What were your major takeaways?
Sports-Romance is a new genre for me and I could definitely see myself picking another one up in the future. The pressure we put on athletes is pretty wild and I loved how that was addressed in this book.
Who would you recommend this to?
This is a great recommendation for anyone who is looking for spice with a balance of heaviness. This is not a romance to jump into thinking it'll be all rainbows and butterflies…some heavy stuff is addressed while also making you laugh.
[TW: emotional abuse, disorder eating, loss of a parent]
What were my overall thoughts about this book?
I enjoyed this book for the most part. I think that Hannah Grace did a great job of representing the intense pressure that collegiate and professional athletes have to do it perfectly which can often lead to their own issues with mental health and physical health.
The chemistry between Nathan and Anastasia was off the charts and I was definitely invested in the "will they? Won't they?" trope.
Nathan is an absolute dreamboat. If you've gotten to know me, you know I am a huge hockey fan and am married to my very own burly hockey player (okay, old man beer league but who's keeping score?) and the relationship that Stassi made with Nathan's teammates made my heart so happy. Some of my very best friends are the guys that I have spent my weekends with during tournaments. #hockeywife
Was there anything you didn't like?
at about pg 250 I found myself wondering what else could possibly happen. It was 423 pages long, pretty nuts for this genre if you ask me! Sometimes I think that authors just do too much. I think she could have achieved the same end goal and have shortened the story by A LOT.
What were your major takeaways?
Sports-Romance is a new genre for me and I could definitely see myself picking another one up in the future. The pressure we put on athletes is pretty wild and I loved how that was addressed in this book.
Who would you recommend this to?
This is a great recommendation for anyone who is looking for spice with a balance of heaviness. This is not a romance to jump into thinking it'll be all rainbows and butterflies…some heavy stuff is addressed while also making you laugh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
g_c_geeks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
TLDR; I enjoyed it but it wasn’t anything special.
The first half of this book dragged so much for me, and the plot point of Nate helping Stas practice figure skating bc her partner was injured literally happened at the 50% mark, despite that being the main set up according to the blurb.
I did however like the second half, all the characters are very loveable, if a little unrealistic. I enjoyed seeing therapy talked about in a book, and I also enjoyed the communication between the characters in a romance novel for once haha.
really frickin bothered me that she got pregnant in the epilogue, despite saying she didn’t want to, and wanted to adopt instead. Also the fact that they’re both so young and have so much of their careers ahead of them??? Like Anastasia literally just won her first gold in her first olympics, and I assume just graduated?? I totally saw them having kids but why so young 😭 I was excited that she wanted to adopt one day, as that’s not a story line that we get so often, and then they fell pregnant so young.
I know this is just a personal gripe because I don’t necessarily want kids, but it does irk me that we are still setting ‘happily ever afters’ to mean one very heteronormative ending. Anyways whatever I’m happy they’re happy and in love I guess haha.
The first half of this book dragged so much for me, and the plot point of Nate helping Stas practice figure skating bc her partner was injured literally happened at the 50% mark, despite that being the main set up according to the blurb.
I did however like the second half, all the characters are very loveable, if a little unrealistic. I enjoyed seeing therapy talked about in a book, and I also enjoyed the communication between the characters in a romance novel for once haha.
I know this is just a personal gripe because I don’t necessarily want kids, but it does irk me that we are still setting ‘happily ever afters’ to mean one very heteronormative ending. Anyways whatever I’m happy they’re happy and in love I guess haha.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Pregnancy