A review by mhairi_reads
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

emotional funny lighthearted slow-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

3.5

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Tropes: Frenemies to lovers, reverse grumpy / sunshine, college romance, sports romance, guy falls first.
POV: Dual - Anastasia & Nathan

I fell for the cute cover and the figure skater trope. As a young competitive figure skater these plots really call to me but this wasn’t everything I was hoping it would be.

Nate our MMC and captain of the hockey team is genuinely just *chef’s kiss. I loved him so much. He is completely.

Anastasia is our FMC and a talented figure skater aiming for the Olympics. I did take a little to warm up to her but I loved her in the end. Her take-no-bullshit attitude was fantastic and her positive talk about therapy was something you don’t see too often in books which I appreciated.

Due to a series of events the skaters and hockey players are forced to share the rink at UCMH, essentially where we pick up. As Nate and Stas get closer, Stas’ skating partner Aaron becomes more manipulative and emotionally abusive.

The chemistry between Nate and Stas was well written and I lived for it. The sex scenes - I don’t even have words. The were great! Even just the lazing around scenes showcased a beautiful relationship that literally gave me all the vibes. This is relationship goals right here.

The side characters were honestly just as good as Anastasia and Nate. The puckbunnies had my heart😍. There was definitely a diverse range of characters here and while it was fantastic to see I almost feel like some of the characters were only there to create diversity, if you know what I mean.


⚠️ Content Warnings: Mental health rep, emotional abuse, toxic friendship, disordered eating, death of parent, adoption, alcohol use, sexual content.
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