A review by hopecobbledpots
Save Your Breath by Kandi Steiner

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

4.5

Save Your Breath 
Author: Kandi Steiner
Publication Date: March 20, 2025
Star Rating: ๐Ÿ’ ๐Ÿ’๐Ÿ’๐Ÿ’
Scoville Spice Scale: ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถยพ

A fake engagement of a Pop Star and a Hockey Bad Boy who have been friends since their teenage years when he came to live at her home. Mia Love and Aleksander Suter. Aleks. Both need this fake engagement to sell. To sell Mia's new album and her tour and to get Aleks off thin ice with his team and bring in sponsorships. To shut up a vicious entertainment reviewer with Mia in his crosshairs. To keep Aleks's GM delighted with ticket and merch sales. But all the sales and success don't settle the feelings that Mia and Aleks refuse to admit to each other. 

I love Kandi Steiner and her Kings Of The Ice series. The tension between Aleks and Mia, watching them lose their minds over each other, it is insane. They light each other up physically. But what the other doesn't know is they are each pining the heck out of each other and if they would just open their mouths and honesty communicate, we wouldn't have a book. The spice, while not as spicy as Learn Your Lesson, was HOT when we got to it. Aleks knows how to bring Mia complete and utter satisfaction. (One bench!) 

Both of these characters struggle with insecurities. Mia struggles with Imposter Syndrome as a Recording Artist. She has become the obsession of an entertainment reporter who writes heinous maladies about her music. Aleks suffers from low self-esteem, thinking he will never be good enough for Mia, and self-destructive habits. They face their demons and prove the world wrong.

Of the 4 Kings Of The Ice Books, this one had two things in it that knocked it down to a 4.5 for me.

1) Miscommunication - I can only stand this trope for so long in a book. And it went on too long. 
2) Ice Time - I need ice time in my hockey romance. It is important to me in this niche genre that the hockey player plays hockey in the book. 

Thank you to Kandi Steiner and @valentine_pr for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. 

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