Scan barcode
bookswstella's review
challenging
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
I get shiver’s down my back just thinking about this book because I loved it so much! I love the tropes, and the characters, I love them even more!!🥹🫶 I love Anastasia and Nathan together, they have so much chemistry, love and respect towards one another<3 Anastasia is a strong female character I’ll always look up to🫶 And Nathan freaking Hawkins is this a golden retriever hockey player, who’s also the captain of the team(!!), that’s really attractive and has a big beautiful heart, who could say no to that?!😮💨🤌 Not me, I’ll always love him to the moon and back!🫶
And the hockey team of Maple hills? I love all of them with my whole heart, especially Henry🫶🫶
This book was so cute it made me giggle and swoon so many times!🥹 The banter was phenomenal and I loved all of the witty little comments! I have laughed so much, I have done the famous mouth slap a numerous amount of times and I have felt all of the existing emotions at some point while reading this book🫶
Hanna Grace’s writing made me feel like Anastasia and Nathan, along with the whole hockey team, was my family because all of them feels like real-life humans. It felt like I was there in the room with everyone while I read. I felt connected to the characters and I don’t want to let them go now that I’ve finished the book. It feels as if I have to leave my family😭🫶
And the epilogue?! LOVED IT!! It was perfect!! I want more of Anastasia and Nathan!!
And the epilogue?! LOVED IT!! It was perfect!! I want more of Anastasia and Nathan!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Violence
storieswithbee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
5.0
TikTok (more specifically Booktok) has been pumping my TBR full of books for the last couple of years, so I decided that I needed to tackle a book that I've been curious about for a long time, and that book was 'Icebreaker' by Hannah Grace!
Plain and simple, I ADORED this book! It had the wit, the humour, the contemporary modernism that made you feel like you were reading about a real-life college romance, and some incredible representation. Going past that, this book has literally put me into the BIGGEST reading slump now that I've finished it. On one hand, that's kind of a nice thing because it means that I've taken a little bit to really engage in all my emotions and feelings towards the book. But on the other hand, I have been given far too many ARCs this month that I'm not able to neglect!
The characters were great. The romance was heartwarming. The spice was... *chef's kiss*. Even better again, I live in Australia, so our university system is vastly different to the American college system, but the book was so well written that I didn't feel so polarised as I have been with other college romances.
Lastly, it was a very classic romance genre HEA epilogue ending, which I think if you're looking for that in a read, then this book is great. At the same time, if you're not in the headspace for that, then this book can come across as a little predictable, and, dare I even say, eye-roll-inducing.
There are some trigger warnings in this book. It is definitely for 18+ readers, but there is also some themes that some reader may find very uncomfortable. These include sexual content, slut-shaming, sexual assault (on-page), food shaming, dieting & calorie-counting, disordered eating, death of a parent (mentioned), toxic friendship, swearing, pregnancy, etc. Please check if this is the right book for you.
Plain and simple, I ADORED this book! It had the wit, the humour, the contemporary modernism that made you feel like you were reading about a real-life college romance, and some incredible representation. Going past that, this book has literally put me into the BIGGEST reading slump now that I've finished it. On one hand, that's kind of a nice thing because it means that I've taken a little bit to really engage in all my emotions and feelings towards the book. But on the other hand, I have been given far too many ARCs this month that I'm not able to neglect!
The characters were great. The romance was heartwarming. The spice was... *chef's kiss*. Even better again, I live in Australia, so our university system is vastly different to the American college system, but the book was so well written that I didn't feel so polarised as I have been with other college romances.
Lastly, it was a very classic romance genre HEA epilogue ending, which I think if you're looking for that in a read, then this book is great. At the same time, if you're not in the headspace for that, then this book can come across as a little predictable, and, dare I even say, eye-roll-inducing.
There are some trigger warnings in this book. It is definitely for 18+ readers, but there is also some themes that some reader may find very uncomfortable. These include sexual content, slut-shaming, sexual assault (on-page), food shaming, dieting & calorie-counting, disordered eating, death of a parent (mentioned), toxic friendship, swearing, pregnancy, etc. Please check if this is the right book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Sexism, Misogyny, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Classism, and Blood
Minor: Cancer, Grief, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders
More...