Wow! What an amazing novel! I felt like I was living this story along with the main characters, Amaliya and Tyler. This book really had heart. I connected with these characters right away and was so invested in their journey.

The way Tyler and Amaliya first met was so fun. But the real beauty of this book was watching as Tyler and Amaliya grew together, both in their skills as a pairs team and also as they grew to have feelings for each other.

I loved this book from start to finish! The story was a beautiful combination of heartache, romance, and the art and dedication needed to become world class ice skaters.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

An Unlikely Pair is a cute read told in the Young Adult vein. I was surprised when I started reading that the book was originally written in the 1980s but aside from technology and advancement and changes in figure skating it was less noticeable than expected. Figure skating and rom-com fans will enjoy this sweet story of rising ballet star Amaliya and figure-skating champion Tyler. Growing up in hockey skates as the daughter of a famous NHL player now head coach along with her world-class ballerina mother, Amaliya traded hockey skates for toe shoes. When the unexpected happens, Amaliya is starting over in a new town and feels the lure of the local arena. Tyler, shocked by his sister's (and pairs partner) retirement announcement, notices a graceful beauty on the ice. Convinced Amaliya has natural talent and ability he tries to convince her and her family they have a shot at the Olympics.

While the story is sweet and a little predictable fans of figure skating will certainly enjoy this story, especially leading up to the Olympics.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Ok, I'm a bit on the fence with this one.
I love books about iceskating and I was excited for this one. Unfortunately, it didnt's exactly deliver.

The book overall was cute and Amaliya's reltionship with her parents was lovely, but other things made it hard for me to completly enjoy it.

1. At the begining Amaliya's parents, and Amaliya herself, are worried about their financial situation due to the accident and hospital stay. And yet, later, we see that the're super loaded, living in a literal mansion with a live-in help. There's no talk about how expensive rink time is, hiring a new coach isn't a problem wither. Like, ok, I suppose?
2.Amaliya is a ballet dancer, who knows how to skate. But apparently she's a skating prodigy who is capable to prepare for the Olympics like 5 minutes after skating in pair for the first time in her life. Suuuureeeee.
3. This dialogue made me take a whole one star out of the rating:
<i>"I'm Sarah by the way"
"Amaliya"
"That's an usual name" Sarah's face lit with amusement. "Don't tell me it's French".
<b>"EUROPEAN"</b> Amaliya said. <b>NOT FRENCH</b></i>
Like, wfaf.

Also Amaliya's and Tylor's relationship was a bit lukewarm and I didn't really feel like there were any true emotions involved.
It was interesting to read about all the technical aspects of competitive iceskating, even though it all felt a bit rushed.
It's a fast read though.

I've loved ballet for 50 years and I love to watch ice skating, especially ice dancing--the dancers and skaters are so graceful and make it look effortless, which I know it isn't--and I love Traci Abramson's writing, so I didn't even have to think about buying, requesting or reading this book--it was a no brainer.

Amaliya Marcell is the daughter of a famous Russian ballerina and a Canadian pro-hockey player, so she grew up in a dance studio and on an ice rink. She's headed to follow in her mother's pointe shoed steps when her parents are both seriously injured in an automobile accident. Amaliya moves in with close family friends in another state while her parents are in the hospital. It's there that she meets Tyler Linden, an pairs ice skater who's training for the Olympics. Tyler's going through his own trial, as his sister has retired from skating and he's looking for a new pairs partner.

I loved Amaliya and Tyler's story. Seeing their journey both on and off the ice, and watching their friendship develop into love. I loved the other characters in book too--the couple Amaliya stayed with, Amaliya's parents Katerina and Robert, Tyler's parents and how loving and supportive all the relationships were. Those training for the Olympics need a lot of support and Tyler and Amaliya had that in spades except from their "coach", but she got hers in the end so I'm fine with how that all worked out.

I was so engrossed in this story I could almost see it play out in my mind. All the figure skating terms were familiar from years of watching it on TV and I anxiously read to see what Amalyia and Tyler's scores would be. I could feel Amalyia's frustration as she tried to learn new skills, and was so happy Tyler was patient with her.

Traci Abramson is an autoread for me. I don't think she's written a book I didn't love, and I can't wait to read the upcoming books in this new Dream's Edge series. You don't have to read the prequel Dancing to Freedom before reading this book, but I highly recommend that you do. It tells the story of how Amalyia's parents, Katerina and Robert meet and fall in love.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher Covenant Communications and NetGalley, but I bought a paperback for my personal library. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own.

I loved this story! I forgot that I had read about Amaliya's parents! I love those two! This book was filled with so much interesting dialogue and scenes! I truly enjoyed this story of Hockey and Ballet coming together to share the beauty of Figure Skating! I enjoyed how Ms Abramson brought out all the difficult and beautiful parts of figure skating. The best part was that I was left with wanting more even tho the story was finished! That is hard to find! Enjoy and stay cool.

All I can say is, I'm so very glad for long road trips. Numerous hours to do nothing besides sit and read? (And look at the scenery. Montana is beautiful!) Yes, please! So yeah, I'm glad the timing worked out where I could read this book while we were traveling, because I didn't want to put it down. I know next to nothing about ice skating in any form, other than occasionally watching skaters in the Olympics, and all the moves they do are like a foreign language to me, but the story still captivated me.

It was also kind of fun to read a story set in the early '80's, before we had cell phones, streaming videos and all the technological stuff we have now. Waiting for someone to call you on the phone instead of texting them. Not knowing who was on the other end of the line before you picked it up. Phones with cords. All those little things brought back memories of when I was a kid.

But aside from all that nostalgic stuff, I loved Amaliya and Tyler. They worked together so well, both on and off the ice. The supporting characters came to life for me as well, which always helps make the story that much better. I just hope there's a sequel in the works.

This book makes me wish I could watch the winter Olympic games RIGHT NOW, specifically figure skating. It's one of my favorite things to watch. I'm always so fascinated by how graceful and how fast these skaters are. The few times I tried to ice skate were laughable because I just couldn't get the hang of it. Not Tyler and Amaliya though. They are the epitome of elegance, grace and strength. I just love figure skating!!

Amaliya begins this book as a dancer- a premiere ballet dancer, just like her mother but with a love for the ice like her hockey playing and coaching father. When Amaliya gets the chance to skate her natural skills and hard work propel her forward, right into Tyler's arms. I love that they had a slow burn start to their romance but built a solid base of friendship first. This story is so gentle and so easy to read. There is nothing heart pounding or fast paced about it- just a good, solid story about two people working hard and finding love along the way. I really enjoyed it.

It was also fun to see Amaliya's parents in this book and even get their perspective every now and then to help me remember that connection I had with them in their novella (Dancing to Freedom).

If you are a fan of figure skating, don't miss this one! It's so sweet.

This was a great first book in what promises to be a great series. The book focuses fairly equally on the skating and Tyler and Amaliya’s personal lives, and I enjoyed both aspects. I was rooting for both of them to succeed in their individual struggles, and together as partners. The story takes place in the 80’s, and has a nice, nostalgic feel to it. I loved the details of their skating lives- so many aspects of an athlete’s journey to the olympics that were fascinating to me and added to the story. I wasn’t ready to be done with Tyler and Amaliya, so I’m thrilled that there are more stories coming.

I really enjoyed this book by Traci Hunter Abramson. I liked seeing the relationship develop between Tyler and Amaliya on and off the ice. I liked how we saw how both of them handle the different stresses and life changes that were happing at the time. I also loved how this continued to let us know what happened after A Dance to Freedom. It was great to see characters from that book show up in this book. I loved the ballet and ice skating description because I could visualize it in my head. I look forward to reading more in the series and seeing where the characters go from here.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.

I hope this is the beginning of a series because this book left me wanting to know what happens next. I got caught up in the lives of Amaliya and Tyler and loved watching the relationship grow. Even if the unlikely part of the story is that she can pick up Olympic level ice skating quite so quickly even if she was a dancer and grew up around the ice rink, it does make for an interesting storyline. I enjoyed the plot and clean romance and look forward to the next installment.

An Unlikely Pair by Traci Hunter Abramson

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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Story Notes

Sweet story about good coming from tragedy. The plot was well developed and the characters were very likeable. I loved that this story came out this year, right ahead of the winter Olympics. Ice Skating is my favorite winter sport to watch and this story gave me some interesting insight into all the the skaters go through to prepare for competition. There was some fun banter and some witty dialogue between the MCs and their families and I really enjoyed all of it. Looking forward to whatever comes next from Ms. Hunter!

I received this temporary complimentary E-book from Covenant Communications in order to provide a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

This is a beautiful love story. The characters are well thought out and realistic. The pain that Amaliya feels is very relatable. I loved watching her grow as she dealt with her trials. And the way that Tyler supports her is inspiring. He is the type of man we all hope to find.

This is somehow the first book I have ever read by Traci Abramson & I now want to binge all of her books!! I absolutely loved the story and characters she created in this book.

Abramson had me sucked in to the book from the first page to the last. Her writing style is so captivating and left me never wanting to put the book down. I loved how Amaliya and Tyler came together and pushed through the trials they were each facing. I also really enjoyed all of the information about figure skating, hockey, and ballet that was in the story.

Looking back on this story, the words that keep coming to mind are: captivating, intriguing, and beautiful.

My only complaint was that I never wanted the book to end😂 I’m so glad this is the start of a series. I can’t wait for the next book to come out! And I’m thankful I can dive into some of the author’s other books in the meantime ☺️

An Unlikely Pair released earlier this week and, trust me, you will not want to miss it!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communication for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I could not put the book down. Amaliya and Tyler were great together. Their connection starts as friendship even though there is chemistry from the start. This story is so well written. You get to know and love the characters. The storyline is realistic and well paced. The side characters are well developed and really add depth to the story. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

I loved this story. It was beautifully written and you can tell that the author cares about getting the details of all sports involved correct. I loved that the focus was on the two main characters but you also got to see her mothers perspective as well. I cannot wait until the next one comes out!

A beautiful story of turning tragedy into a blessing. Amaliya’s life was on track to her dream of being a ballerina in a prestigious ballet company. Tyler was hoping for Olympic gold. When life decides to throw a curse ball into your plans, you must find a way to make the best of it. I liked the characters of Amaliya and Tyler. Although they were both young, they had good common sense. The story is fast paced and draws you in to their lives. Holding out hope for their future. A wonderful story, great depth of characters, well researched plot, and a truly enjoyable read. I would recommend it to anyone 12+. It’s a clean modern coming of age romance. I also recommend reading the prequel, Dancing to freedom, which is the story about Amaliya’s parents. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#BookReview : AN UNLIKELY PAIR (Dream's Edge, #1) by Traci Hunter Abramson

This follows Robert and Katerina’s story with their daughter, Amaliya. An unforeseen tragedy causes their lives to change. I like how Amaliya coped with the incident. I appreciate all the support their family received from their friends. Linda and Miles are the friends you want in your life.

Amaliya’s move to Connecticut is a blessing in disguise. She found something special that combines both of her parents' skills. #FigureSkating is one of my favorite sports to watch and I am happy to read more about it through Tyler and Amaliya. All the hard work and technicalities of the sport are a joy to read. Their romance was slow burn and reads like YA but I enjoyed it. Like I said, I love how other people are eager to help them. They are likeable, sweet and talented. I am not a fan of love triangles and I am glad that part didn’t continue.

I love that Katerina has her own POV even if the story focuses on Tyler and Amaliya. Moving on, determination and familial love are a great part of this sweet story. There are twists and turns that make the story interesting. It’s just a delight to read. I can't wait for their next adventure. 4.5 stars

Thank you @covenant_com and #netgalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Tyler is a pairs skater in search of a new partner. Amaliya is a ballet dancer. Amaliya's plans to become a professional dancer are thwarted when her parents have a terrible car accident. She moves in with her parents friends and meets Tyler at the ice rink. Soon they are talking about become a skating pair. But Amaliya has no experience with the technical aspects of skating.
A story of healing, perseverance, strength and love.
I was drawn to this book because I am an ice skating fan. The characters were sweet and believable. A nice clean, easy read.

Thanks to netgalley and Covenant Communications for the arc.

This brilliant story highlights try challenges of personal relationships in professional athletes' lives - among colleagues, partners, and competitors.  Abramson has done an excellent job with keeping a fast pace and not dragging out unimportant details.  The characters' strengths and weaknesses gave depth to this book and their success became my own!

I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are completely my own.

It was the cover that drew my eye with this one. And then the blurb got me intrigued.

And Traci knows how to captivate her audience. Right from the start I was drawn in, when we experience the tragic accident of Amalia's parents. Heart- breaking tragedy and you can actually feel the grief, guilt and sadness from Amalia.

So, I was very glad that she got to meet Tyler, who is supportive, generous and cute. And although Tyler and Amaliya start off as sports partners, we can read how they slowly start to gravitate towards another. A very cute and slow burning romance, with some bittersweet under­lying stories from Amalia's parents and their coach Gordon.

I do hope there will be a sequel, because of course I want to know how they will perform at the Olympics. Five out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.