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A review by hart_ley
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
emotional
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
4.0
“We’re still individuals, but we’re individuals together, and I never knew relationships could be like this.”
“I love a woman who enjoys reading.”
God, what a good time !! This was my first dive back into romance after a long genre-slump last February, & this really scratched an itch. I’ve never been one for forced proximity, but this concept, with the teams being forced to share a space & not the individuals MCs, was drastically relatable. Nate Hawkins - written by a woman, for the girlies out there, I salute you. Anastasia Allen - sweet girl, I get it. I too am an overly anxious perfectionist who has high goals & is working on communicating better.
It’s so nice to read a romance with such SMART characters. & especially with the MMC & FMC duel-POVs, we got to see so much more in-depth into their though processes of why they felt a certain way & how they chose to react. Even when that reaction was idiotic, foot-in-the-mouth, we got to see reasoning & regret & characters holding strong to their opinions. Also with smart characters come smart VILLAINS. & manipulation! & things that elevate a romance to something juicy you just get to take a massive bite out of!
My biggest gripe came from the fact that it was a little too long. There were moments where I found myself thinking everything either could have been split into 2 books, or that there were chunks that could’ve been removed entirely & the plot wouldn’t have changed at all. BUT even with all the twists it may or may not have needed, it had me blushing & kicking my feet & gasping & putting the book down to recover until the very end!
Long story short, TL:DR, this was such a fun read & I cannot wait to read Wildfire & Daydream & whatever other Maple Hills fun gets put into the world !
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent