Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

36 reviews

katelynprice's review

Go to review page

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

3.75

I liked this book and these characters, but it really didn't need to be this long. It could have been trimmed and polished and been a better book. I love the mental health and therapy destigmatization and that the conflict was largely between friends, not romantic partners. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rl_brennan's review

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

reader1292938484's review

Go to review page

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tragicgloom's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

This is one of the best books I've ever read. I can't put into words how much I love this book, the characters, the plot... everything! Absolute perfection!! <3

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nyx_999's review

Go to review page

emotional funny informative 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

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This is a fun and very spicy adult romance about a figure skater and a competitive hockey player who are thrown together when they have to share a rink for practice. I think the synopsis is a little misleading for the book because it implies that Nate and Anastasia have to work together for a lot of the story and learn how to be on the ice together, but in actuality the forced proximity only lasts for about 5 chapters. 

The rivals-to-lovers element is also over very quickly, which I didn't really mind, but if you're coming here for a long, drawn out, slow-burn rivals-to-lovers dynamic, then you might be disappointed. I appreciated the discussions of mental health and the focus on how much of a positive impact therapy can have, but I found the overall story a little underwhelming (the ending was a particular letdown for me). It also took me a while to get used to the nickname of "Stassie" because in the audiobook it sounds like "Stasi" and, well...that has some very specific historical connotations that I imagine the author might not want to be associated with this book.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

c_mariewrites's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The reason I put “it’s complicated” for diversity of characters is because there are a lot of diverse characters but they are secondary to the MC’s. As this is first in a series I hope their stories will be told next (especially Henry)

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

neverlandpages4's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0


I’ve been wanting to read this ever since I started seeing it all over bookstagram, and idk why I waited so long but I’m so glad that I read it! I can definitely see why this is so many people’s favorite!! 

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
I liked the writing style and how casual it was. The author nailed the inner monologues of the main characters, and I loved reading from both their POVs. 

𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐚
I loved Anastasia’s character and her development. I was able to relate to her on some levels and I love how she got the ending she deserved 💗

𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐞
Nate is the epitome of the “golden retriever boy”. He was honestly adorable and the way he cared for other people, even when they made mistakes was amazing to see. And the way he listened to Anastasia and helped her get through some tough things was so wholesome 🥹 I’m glad that we get to see a love interest in a romcom that’s genuinely good and supportive 

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Their relationship is to DIE for!!! It’s such a healthy representation of a good relationship and it was so unlike the previous romcoms I’ve read. I don’t like the miscommunication trope in romance books, so a relationship where they’re honest and communicative was so refreshing to see and I loved it so much!! 

𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
the side characters were such a fun part of the book. Their banter was funny and I loved Anastasia’s friendship with the hockey team. However, there were quite a lot of side characters that we don’t know much about and I was confused whenever they were brought up because I didn’t remember them being introduced. 

𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥
This is definitely a new favorite!! 🫶🏼 The only reason it wasn’t a 5 ⭐️ was because I felt like it was repetitive, it seemed like every other chapter Anastasia and Nate would argue over something, then makeup by hooking up, then go back to arguing. It was just a lot of back and forth. Also, it was a bit too long for my liking. Some scenes really dragged on imo but I’d still highly recommend this!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

storieswithbee's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

coles14_'s review

Go to review page

4.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings