Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Icebreaker

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

60 reviews

icarusandthesun's review against another edition

funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

fanfic-y writing, lots (and i mean lots) of smut and a rather lacking story sums it up pretty well.
if you're looking for comfort or escapism, enjoy reading about possessive and jealous, hormone controlled college students who act like they're still in high-school, paired with inconsequential, unconvincing drama threaded into 440 pages of sex, parties and only a pinch of actual figure skating and ice hockey, i think you might like this book.

but for me personally, all of it was just too much.

i didn't like the characters. they were a little two-dimensional, horny all the damn time and some of the hockey players i simply couldn't tell apart, because they were so similar (douchey, clowny "good guys"). i didn't think there was any substance to work with, no stunning and unique personalities, nothing. the only person that actually summoned some sort of recognizable image in my head upon hearing his name was henry. and it was even worse with the girls, because the author chose to not give some of them any personality at all. there were names and corresponding characteristics (girl 1 is an annoying bitch, girl 2 rejected nathan, and so forth) but that's basically it.

also... the smut, right. i don't have anything against smut in general, but there was just too much of it for my liking. it was really A LOT. and oh my days, if i took a shot every time nathan mentioned his boner and all the little daily things anastasia does that turn him on, i'd have died of alcohol poisoning long before even reaching the second half of the book. also, some of it was just so inappropriate??
the obvious event to mention here would be them literally fucking in an UBER that they shared with all of their friends. but it was the little things, too. like her being turned on by the fact nathan's favorite movie is coco, A KIDS' MOVIE BY THE WAY. or them playing 'house', you know... the thing that children do, and it results in them fucking.
idk, maybe that's just me, but that shit made me uncomfortable to say the least.

there were also quite a lot of generic tropes in there that just weren't done quite well enough. of course there's a scene where the main character gets sexually harassed at a bar and rescued. it was so inconsequential and stupid, sexual harassment used as a means to show that a specific person is "good". great.

the plot wasn't it either. i wanted more figure skating, and ice hockey. i wanted more plot, more things that could make the book unique and interesting. more genuine distress. the 'villain', or antagonist, was boring. the whole drama was boring. everything about the plot was boring.

seriously, aaron's whole performance was just embarassing if anything and didn't have any impact at all. c'mon, there was this intense build-up to the team revealing what aaron said about anastasia and it was about her being adopted, because that's the worst and most offensive thing the guy could come up with. it was so silly because anastasia said it herself that she doesn't care about her birth parents, because her parents love her. so what the fuck.

what threw me off was how self-aware this book was sometimes. when i mentally called out a character on their bullshit, it did occur various times that another character calls them out on said bullshit. but that, too, wasn't done quite well enough, because the calling out had no consequences and was often used as a sort of "joke" or form of comic relief?

i spent most of my time reading wondering who exactly this was written for. because the writing is fanfic-y and so are the tropes, and the characters behave like teenagers. but it's 18+ and contains graphic sex scenes so what...
it felt so off because it never stuck to its supposed tone. it swayed into the adult romance direction and then hits you with the most childish dialogue - i don't know, it was just weird, know i'm saying.

+
gotta give this book credit though where it's due. some jokes were funny. and buddy-reading this did get me out of a reading slump, because it was easy and roastable and so entertaining (in all the wrong and infuriating ways, but entertaining nonetheless).

i was a little scared the representation (for various things) would be overdone and ridiculed when nathan outed jj as pansexual in the first couple of pages. but the rep was very subtle going forward, which was nice.
i also have to admit, the eating disorder representation was spot on. especially the middle part and her (suspiciously fast) recovery journey were relatable, though kept quite short, maybe a little too short to be representative, but the emotions and concerns anastasia conveyed about her weight were realistic.
the whole message surrounding therapy and how it feels hard at first but eventually can be really rewarding was cool, too.
oh, and the book had a romantic line or two in it as well, i guess.

yeah. i can't say i had fun. 440 pages were just a little too much for so little plot, so of course the book started derailing and getting sillier by the page from the second half on.
the epilogue was okay. it made their lives come full-circle. it wasn't interesting or exciting or especially impactful, it was just nice. okay. mid.

but then again, the book probably just wasn't for me. it's not supposed to be overanalyzed that way, it's just a funny little steamy romance for peak escapism. but i tend to take all of my books seriously like that, so here we are.
take from this whatever you will. if you do decide to pick it up, i sincerely hope you'll enjoy it.

Content Warnings

georgia_kemp_95's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

5.0

Content Warnings

artsyghost's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-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

4.5

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katelynprice's review against another edition

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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.

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dxisymitch's review against another edition

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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

4.5

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riannanana's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

1 really loved this book, for me it was just the right amount of plot and spicy scenes. Really touched the fanfic lover within!

I almost wish I would've stopped before the epilogue. I wish we got another chapter on their lives careers after college.

Content Warnings

sienasummerrreads's review against another edition

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funny hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

This follows Anastasia who is training for a spot on the USA team. Nate Hawkins is focused on Hockey and being team captain but falls hard and fast when Anastasia makes an impression. It’s all fun and games until lies and manipulation are involved.

This book was good. It’s very character driven and felt like it was college, parties, a little ice hockey, skating and repeat. Not much plot that kept it interesting. The spice was fantastic though and Nate Hawkins is boyfriend material. It’s also a bit long.
Was hoping I would love it but for me, it’s just a good read.

If you love:

🔹Hockey & Ice Skating
🔹College Friends & Drama
🔹Character Driven
🔹Boyfriend Material
🔹Fantastic Spice
🔹Praising

Genre/Type: Sports Romance 18+
APK: Physical / Audiobook
Pages: 429
Audio Length: 13hrs 23mins
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Series or Stand Alone: Book 1 In Maple Hills Series
Tropes or Themes: Sports Romance, College, Reverse Grumpy Sunshine, Hockey, Ice Skating, Forced Proximity, Gaslighting, Mentions Counting Calories & Fat Comments
Check Triggers ⚠️

All Round Romance Reader

Sienasummerrreads 💕📚

Content Warnings