Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.

Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.

But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right? - Simon & Schuster.com

 

If you’re looking for light, fun romance to escape with during tomorrow’s snowstorm, I suggest the viral social media sensation “Icebreaker.”  I kept seeing this book come up in my TikTok feed but I must admit I wasn’t really interested in it until I saw a review that mentioned it was extremely spicy!  I had no idea based on the cutesy cartoon-ish cover art that its contents were extra hot and recommend for the 18-plus crowd.  

I also thought based on the plot description that it would be a lot like one of my favorite 90’s movies, The Cutting Edge that had a heavy emphasis on the figure skating with a generous heap of a budding romance between formal rivals.  While the core of that story, a serious figure skater clashing with and then begrudgingly paired with a goofy hockey player are present, there is actually little emphasis on their respective sports.  However, there is plenty of romance and college hijinks that the keep the story fresh and entertaining. I also appreciated the emphasis on the character’s mental health, mentions of obtaining consent and relationship development.  The cast of supporting characters, especially Henry are a delight.

Icebreaker is not the best written book of its type and I felt the epilogue was unnecessary but Icebreaker is a lot of fun and a super quick read which makes it just right for cuddling up with on a chilly winter weekend.  

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace is available at bookstores and e-book sites everywhere but more information on purchasing can be found at the publisher’s website.

Overall Rating 3.5 (out of 5) Stars