Every reason we shouldn't is a delightful read featuring two Asian MCs with a connection of an Ice rink to them.

The book is short sweet and amazing if you loved the movie "Ice Princess" or just quiet YA with heartthrob characters.

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for granting me with the review copy.

4.5/5
I loved the Asian representation in this book. Very nicely woven themes and developed characters. This is one of those books that I wouldn’t get bored rereading. It’s such a cute teen romance, one of the better ones I’ve read. Many of the situations are relatable too—especially being compared with other people and not thinking you’re enough. A much needed story in the YA genre. I would most definitely recommend it. Critique wise, there was a bit of power and “wow” missing. It was a really good story, just not to the wow effect.

This book was so good! I'm going to be honest, it seemed a little cliche at first, but it really picked up after the first few chapters.

As someone who knows very little about ice skating or roller skating, it felt very hard to connect to these characters since that is the main driving force for all of them in some way. I appreciate the focus on a non-traditional sport and also appreciate the Asian MCs, as representation is incredibly important. However, the writing and plot just didn't capture me as much as I'd hoped it would

Contemporary teen romance is basically catnip to me, but I was especially engaged by this book. Olivia and Jonah are realistic, dynamic characters, and are surrounded by a host of enjoyable supporting players as well. Having no real interest in skating, I was surprised by how much richer the setting made the story, and can't wait for some of the skaters in my class to get into this one.

I really enjoyed this one. I'm not usually a huge fan of sports books, but I used to love figure skating so this instantly appealed to me.

Olivia's parents were gold medal Olympians, and until recently, Olivia was following in their footsteps. But a disastrous performance at a competition has ended her career as a skater and now she's trying out life as a 'normal' teen. But her normal isn't actually all that normal. Her parents own a skating rink and it's struggling. Olivia's dad has gone out on tour to try and make some money, leaving Olivia and her mother, who is suffering from a back injury, to run the rink. But Olivia's mother's back injury is getting worse and some days she can barely make it to the rink, let alone teach her classes.

Much of the responsibility for running the rink falls to Mack, Olivia's new best friend and a recent single parent dealing with the way having a baby changes all your life-plans. She's also a roller-derby fan, desperate to get good enough to join the team.

When the Choi family comes to town, things start looking up for the rink. Jonah Choi is a speed skater with Olympic potential and his family will spare no expense to get him that gold. Olivia and Jonah recognize something in each other and are soon finding ways to hang out together both on and off the ice. Their relationship is sweet and based very much on their mutual understanding of the competitive skating world.

The characters in this story were interesting and well drawn and their world felt very real. Olivia's self-sufficiency in the face of her parents' absence was heartbreakingly realistic. And the skating world in which both Jonah and Olivia are a part of felt authentic.

So I'd recommend this one to anyone who is looking for a book that realistically portrays what it's like to be a high-performancce athlete and anyone who is looking for a sweet, young romance.

arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this one. I’m a sucker for sports in a book so getting to read about all things to do with skating was great. I really liked the friendship and family dynamics in this one. It was nice to see such great friendships develop and even the romance was super adorable.

I think because of my age I wasn’t as into this as I would’ve been had I been younger because I wasn’t into the high school drama and some of the teen angst but I’m sure someone their age would love this and relate to it!

Overall, this was a fun read and I’m glad I read it! I can totally see this as a movie too.

3/5 ⭐️

TW: there is a scene where it seems there is a school shooter and there is an active intruder drill happening at the high school so be wary of that.

Do you like:
Ice sports?
Cute first love?
Soft kids following their dreams and learning to believe in themselves?
Kickass female friendship?
Messy but loving families?
Then I think you’d enjoy this book, because it has all of that and more!

I personally really enjoy all the things mentioned above so I really enjoyed this book.
I really enjoyed the characters and how they where all so fleshed out. The romance was really cute but to my surprise and delight this book was more about family, going after your dreams and believing in yourself.
There were some eye rolling moments and a lot of issues that could have been avoided if the characters just talked to each other, buut Since this was about a 15 year old girl I guess it’s realistic!
Overall this was a cute, quick read, that left me with a smile which in my opinion is what a contemporary is supposed to do. It did try to do a teeny tiny bit to Much and so the story felt a bit all over the place at times, which is why I can’t give it more than 3.5 stars. It was good though and I definitely think it’s worth a read if you’re looking for a good ice sports contemporary!

I got an arc of this from nettgalley for free but the opinions are my own

Olivia Kennedy is the daughter of one of the most famous ice-skating former gold medallists couple. She used to be quite a good competitor herself, a junior champion. But when her last competition turns disastrous, she is forced to come back to reality and abandon her Olympic dreams. To add more to the equation, the economic situation of their ice rink is worse than ever, Olivia’s dad is out of town because of work and her mother’s back injury is so bad that most of the time she will be absent from her daughter’s life.

Little did they know that the arrival of gold-material speed skater Jonah Choi, would not only mean a steady income for the family business but his mere presence would also give Olivia the final push she needed to pursue her own dreams.

Reading this book was one of the best things that could have ever happened to me. Yeah, it has some of the typical romantic love story but at the same time it is also much more than that. But not everything will spin around the love story of our young protagonist, because being a teenager whose mom is nowhere around when you need her will wound Olivia to the very deep and that will become a heavy weight to carry upon your shoulders, no matter how tough you are.

The story is full of ice-skating references and techniques that are so very well described, that chances of being confused or bored are very slim. In fact, the first thing you will be looking forward after reading this novel is ice-skating. One of the most valuable lessons that I have learned from this story is that the person who loves you, will support and encourage you to achieve your goals, understanding the sacrifices that come with it. This is some thing that most people do not seem to understand, and I loved the way the author portrayed it so perfectly.

Every Reason We Shouldn’t is fun and adorable, with some very strong points about fulfilling your family expectations and your own goals. Family, love and friendship are the keywords for this story, and I hope you will give it a chance because who would say no to a good romance on the ice?

Firstly a huge thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for this wonderful ARC.
I loved this story. There's not a single part of this that I didn't enjoy. The gradual chemistry and the friendship that these two competitive and athletic individuals found with each other made this one relatable. I loved the female protagonist. She was cool, smart, a girl with purpose but at the same time her character deal with all the complications and burden that came with her talent. I enjoyed her rise after the fall and loved her group of nerdy friends specially Jonah. I knew it was crush at first sight but I loved the way their friendship developed into something more. I really enjoyed this. I recommend it to the fans of Jenny Han. If you loved Lara Jean you are gonna love Olivia. It was my first book of Sara Fujimura and I will definately love to read more from her in the future.
Happy reading!

A soft, feel good book that left me warm on the inside, the kind of f/f fiction I love to indulge myself in! Unsure if this was Sara's debut but I absolutely adored it.

Every Reason We Shouldn't was such a delightful read that drew me out from my reading slump. It was the perfectly fluffy YA book that I needed to get me diving back into stories again.

What I loved:

Every Reason We Shouldn't hooked me right from the first chapter. Olivia Kennedy was such a down-to-earth character, and while I may not have related to her love for skating, I certainly understood her struggles to pursue her passion. I loved the main cast of characters, like Jonah (of course), Mack, and Olivia's parents. Brandon, Naomi, and Erika were also great side characters who challenged Olivia and pushed her to develop her character arc ;)

I liked the romance. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and the fact that it was between two mixed Asian kids sold me from the start. It was cute and I shipped it so much. Also the fist bump thing. Totally nerdy and totally adorable.

Also, I actually found the jokes funny, so I applaud the author for that.

What I didn't like:

Honestly, there isn't much from this book that I can pick on. There were a couple of typos near the end, but I'm sure it's because this is an e-ARC and the book needs to go through another round of edits. The other thing that nagged at me was all the kissing. Look, I like a kissing scene here and there, but if there's too much of it, the scenes start to lose their meaning and it gets repetitive.

Conclusion: Every Reason We Shouldn't was a sweet and cozy read that also gave me a new appreciation for ice skating.

Overall rating: 4 stars

I couldn't finish this book. What I was hoping to be a cute rom/com book turned out to be dull. The main character, Olivia, was angsty and frankly annoying. She lacked depth, and it was upsetting to see her tie up her self worth with a boy. The parent drama wasn't compelling, and she just came off as whiny with it all when there were other characters with real life strife (Mack). The other characters weren't interesting either and it felt like just stereotypes and judgement from Olivia. Jonah was also not well developed, making the romance not worth it. I was hoping the athlete plot would be compelling and inspiring, but it didn't feel like the author did enough research to really feel that come through. 1.5 stars.

I ate this one up. 🤣
Though I honestly didnt like the age range here, felt older, but the MC is only 15. It was a good story and had lots of background to the characters. A little bit of instalove, which wasnt so bad because I enjoyed the way it was written. No cliffhanger, HEA ending. Good for Kasie West lovers and anyone who needs some good fluff filler. ❤

This is a fun and sweet YA romance novel. Olivia is a star in her own right, but her dreams of being a figure skating star have gotten off track. Enter speed skating phenom Jonah Choi. While they don’t get along at first, their passion and talent draw them to each other. But, will their individual goals of being the best keep them apart?

This was gorgeous and I really enjoyed it! At times the drama felt a tad juvenile, but that only reinforced the ease at which the author captured the insecurities and realities of 15 year old romance.

This is a super cute book the combines teen angst, family drama, and the enticing world of competitive ice skating. I loved that the romance happened easily, allowing the plot to support the characters’ struggles and other relationships. This is sure to be popular in my library.

This book was fun for two very explicit reasons: skating and Arizona. I adore everything to do with skating, especially as it pertains to the Olympics, and this story included lots and lots of that. ♥ It's also set in the Valley of the Sun, our nickname for the suburbs of Phoenix. It is always cool to be reading and run across something like a reference to A mountain in Tempe. Also, I really enjoyed how this book kept making references to being a "normal" teen...as if there is such a thing. Well done.

I'm pretty sure this book marks only the second time I've been THIS excited to get an ARC. (Like, seriously, the last and only other time was when a publisher granted my NetGalley wish to read "Tweet Cute". Worth it.) "Every Reason We Shouldn't" went on my TBR the moment I stumbled across it on GoodReads - at the time, it was so far out it didn't even have a cover yet - so when I saw that it was available on NetGalley, you better believe I smashed that "request" button. And I got it! Why was I so excited? 

Simply put, there just aren't enough YA novels about figure skating. I should know - I've been searching for them since my early teens, when I started reading YA. At the time, I was a serious figure skater, and I was absolutely obsessed with my sport, so it always made me sad that the majority of books available about skating were either middle grade (I actually have read a very good, very accurate MG skating book that I'd recommend, though) or...kinda crappy, TBH. To my knowledge, the only high-profile YA skating book released before this one was "Being Sloane Jacobs," which I read and was very meh on, mostly because, as a former skater, it drove me crazy that the skating parts of the book were so friggin' inaccurate. So when I saw that this was a thing, and my request got approved? Heart eyes. I read the entire book within a day of getting the ARC. There were a few considerations that were going to impact my opinion of this book, so let's see how it stacked up to my lofty expectations. 

1. First and foremost: how accurate was the portrayal of figure skating? 

Honestly? For a skating book written by a non-skater (as it appeared from the author's note, et. al.), it was excellent. The protagonist, Olivia, is a pairs skater, and I was in singles, so I can't speak to that. But the elements (moves, basically) that were name-dropped were all actual things, and most of them were used correctly. The program they were doing, technically, was pretty on-par with the majority of "just moved up and getting our butts kicked" senior-level pairs programs that you'd see among the lower-ranked pairs at the U.S. Nationals. The only thing I have to point out here is that Olivia apparently has a triple axel, which...highly unlikely. There are only four or five singles ladies at the junior and senior levels (keep in mind that singles skaters usually have to do much harder jumps and spins than pairs skaters) who can land a triple axel with any sort of consistency in competition right now, let alone female pairs skaters. It's kind of insane that a mid-tier pairs skater would have such a difficult jump in her arsenal when it isn't expected of female skaters, let alone women in pairs, at all. Otherwise, the portrayal of skating was on-point, even in the non-technical aspects.

Oh, and the "your body goes rogue once you stop skating and you look like a normal person again" thing? 

PAINFULLY accurate. 

(No, really. I was sixteen when I quit, so I was almost in the same boat as Olivia is here, and the second I stepped off that ice for the last time...poof! Went from looking 12 to looking 25 overnight. So yeah, I felt that.) 

2. How much of the rom-com goodness promised by the summary was actually there? 

A good amount, as it turns out. 

To start on a positive note: Olivia and Jonah are a lot younger than most YA characters (usually they're 17-18 and juniors or seniors in high school, while in this book the characters are 15-year-old sophomores), and the development of their relationship really mirrors that. "Every Reason We Shouldn't" has one of the most realistic portrayals of high school romance I've seen in a while, despite being between two characters who aren't anything like typical high school kids. It isn't instalove (which annoys me), nor is it enemies-to-lovers (which, though it is an awesome trope, pretty much never happens in high school, to my knowledge), or any other unrealistic romance trope - they start off as friends, and their crushes on each other develop along with the friendship. There's no fanfare or grand gestures, just shared interests, time spent together, and awkward situation after awkward situation slowly pushing them towards each other. It was...nice. I loved that, as well as how skating - something that matters so much to both of them - is a large part of what brings them together. But once they actually become a thing, that sorta derails. I felt as if they became a little...old-married-couple-ish after they started dating, in a way that no 15-year-olds I've ever met have. But mostly, solid rom-com goodness.

3. Were any loose ends left untied? 

Sorta. 

The epilogue wrapped up almost everything quite nicely, but the *spoilers* conflict between Olivia and her a-hole of an ex-pairs partner, Stuart "Egg" Trout, doesn't really get resolved, and I was curious to see how that would work. Never found out - not a huge deal, but still, disappointing. 

So, was it worth the wait? 

...It's a skating rom-com! It may not have been a perfect book, but I'm never going to say "no" and y'all know it. 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

One-Sentence Summary: he was a sk8er boy, she said...wait, no, she didn't, that doesn't work. 

Recommended For: figure skaters, fans of the sport, anyone who likes sports novels (especially of the rom-com variety). 

Objectionable Content: scattered cursing, and a LOT of implicit making-out that could be something a little steamier but is left so ambiguous that one can never know. 

Overall Rating: 4/5 Golden Grasshoppers

I love stories about figure skating, so I was really excited about this one. Olivia is a figure skater who has to give up on her Olympic dreams and figure out who she is without being an Olympian. She meets Jonah, a speed skater, and they fall in love. This one felt a bit juvenile and predictable for me, so I wasn't very engaged. I'll recommend this for teens that are looking for sports romance books.