read this during my (heheh) creative writing class.

not much to say. the synopsis is a lie; the "plot" is more like a thing that happens two hundred pages in for a few chapters. there's literally no romantic or sexual tension at all. the characters felt kind of boring, because I would've loved to read about two fierce competitors learning to appreciate each other's sports. I hated the epilogue. "stassie" felt like every 2000s era female TV show character - loves taking care of grown men like they're babies, cooks, cries fairly freely - these things aren't inherently bad of course! it just feels extremely bland and caricature-like when there's no nuance applied. Nate as well was surprisingly underdeveloped, and I'm sorry but no man is that grown by 21. none. no PERSON is, but DEFINITELY not a guy. i hate unrealistically mature guys, especially when they're the reasonable and responsible ones next to a girl who is more emotional, more extra.

now, I didn't HATE this. it's not a one star rating just for the above comments, nor is it because the writing is objectively not...great. the author isn't claiming to be writing nuanced contemporary thoughtful romance. her bio at the end of the book literally says that she likes to write fluff fiction as a hobby and damn if I don't love the hustle in making money off that. you know what you're gonna get when you read that bio, and I admire that. the reason I gave it 1 star is that this book did the same dance for almost FOUR HUNDRED PAGES. that's way too much! I was so bored! the drama was pointless, it just came in every sixty pages so you didn't get too bored with the pointless banter and sex. this book was just a circle of constant interaction with no intention. I requested the arc not just because I've seen this book everywhere but also because I thought the plot had potential, and it's legit a lie lol. it's not what the book is about. the book isn't really ABOUT anything, it's just word vomit.

anyway, I broke my five star streak of 2023.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Icebreaker. I'm not a fan of angst, and quite dislike romance novels where the third act trouble is caused by bad communication. This was absolutely not the case here - both characters were vocal in their wishes and feelings, which made this a breezy enjoyable read.
I loved the spice, it was easy to read and a lot of fun.
All in all, 4.5 stars from me!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

I don’t know how to start this, especially knowing this book is trending like CRAZY. But i’m gonna keep this short and sweet (unlike this book).
Here’s what i did like:
1) Henry
2) That’s it.

Here’s what i didn’t like:
1) This book spent more time introducing characters than actually introduce a plot for itself. nothing was inherently BAD about them, but i wasn’t fond of any of them (except Henry).
2) I must’ve thought: where is this going? at least 30 times reading this. WHERE IS THE STORYLINE?
3) I’m a fan of grumpy/sunshine (especially reversed). However, Stassie was just plain rude in the beginning. But hey, nate thinks she’s pretty.
4) Speaking of Nate and Stassie, they had ZERO chemistry. Nate had some good one-liners, don't get me wrong, but they ultimately felt like romantic cliches being shoved down my throat trying to convince me it was chemistry.
5) Why. was. it. so. long. it could have easily been 200 pages shorter. everything that needed to be said was said at the 40% mark.
6) The epilogue. Why. Those last pages were harder to read than the rest of the book, and that says a lot.

I reallllyyyyy need to stop reading romances that are popular on TikTok. They’re always too gritty and sexual for me, and the characters are too weak. My apologies, but I won’t be reviewing this one since it’s just not my type of read.

Thank you SO MUCH NetGalley and Atria Books for this fantastic arc!

I'm not normally one for sporty books, but my read this previously and recommended it to me, and I'm so happy I got an arc of this as it was SO GOOD!!! Their chemistry was fantastic, the found family was heartwarming, and the way it handled the heavier topics of the book were handled really well. The spice was also very nice ;)

I hope she writes more soon, she's definitely going to be an author I'll be excited for whenever I see her name pop up!

The characters in this story were sweet and had a lot of potential, but there was just truly no plot here. It was a lot of cuteness and sweet nothings. I would have liked to read this with a bit more plot development in mind. Maybe next book?

WAYYYYY to spicy for my taste. Why isn’t anyone talking about how spicy this book is? It is straight erotica not romance … disappointed and had to quickly abandon it.

I loved everything by Elle Kennedy and was so excited to read about this story. The minute I got it, I binged it. Such a great book, Nate and Anastasia were great together and I loved their relationship and banter. The plot was well developed and I found myself rooting for all of the characters. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the advanced copy. I will definitely be purchasing this book soon. I give this book 5/5 stars.

I’ll start off by saying that I love the Off Campus series by Elle Kennedy, so I feel like I went into reading this with high expectations. But I have to say I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this book. Hannah Grace did an amazing job capturing the stresses of anxiety and mental health and the toll it takes on your relationships with not only yourself, but others. Her ability to weave it into the little character details made it seem not forced or sudden when both main characters were going through their own issues. This to me made the characters a little bit more relatable in an over romanticized setting (but it’s a romance so I’m here for all the drama and romance).

Nathan does give big golden retriever energy, but I think that's what Stassy needed to balance out her life.Their story line wasn't rushed and had a good layout of time between chapters/events happening to really make it feel like their story wasn’t an instant meet-cute at the skating rink. It is a classic sports romance, but one thing I love is that both characters have their own highly competitive sports that they're passionate about, as opposed to just Nate playing hockey.

The book had some great humour, and some great spice so if you're looking for a romance you can laugh with, I highly recommend Icebreaker. It looks like this will be a series following different characters, so all I can say is, I hope that we have more Henry in the rest of the books <3

Spicy! I’m not a sports lover, but this book kept me interested. I enjoyed how the story could have gotten very dark, but it just rode the line. Also, I enjoyed the use of consent in the book.

OKAY WOW...

Nathan is perfection love him. Also Aaron is a piece of garbage!
Anastasia!!! Love her!

This was a fun, steamy sports romance that had me swooning!! Fun enjoyable read!

This is a good one for Elle Kennedy fans. It was a quick and easy read that I very much enjoyed. I would definitely recommend this book .

I saw this one all over Booksta so I decided to give it a try. I’ll be honest, this one let me down. The cover and synopsis sounded perfect for me but the characters and plot fell flat. I liked how it was written and the pacing felt okay. I was expecting to feel engrossed in this story and it just never happened. I had to force myself to finish it and even now I wish I had DNF it because I didn’t get the payoff I wanted. Overall, I thought it was just okay. I think others will enjoy it so I would recommend it.

Thank you so much @ for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This romance was not for me. Too long, too many characters, not enough plot, and that epilogue. Oof.

I had trouble getting into this book, but ended up finishing it. It's a cute story, but I wasn't a fan of all the calorie counting, but I know it's a problem in figure skating.

Heartbreaker is a great enemies-to-lovers hockey romance - the right amount of drama, humor, and spice - with a great cast of characters. acters. Nate has such a good heart and really go out of his way to help and protect the people that he cares about. Anastasia is definitely sassy and not afraid to push Nate's buttons - but the friendships and bond she forms with the other members of the hockey team are really sweet. Lola and Robbie are great additions to the book - you definitely want to see more of how their romance starts. Aaron is irritating and helps to create plenty of conflict. A lot of other issues are explored in this than in your typical romance - including disordered eating, mental health, and therapy. It is great to see Nate and Stassie's relationship evolve throughout the book - they have great chemistry - definitely a fun rivalry, a sweet friendship, and a hot romance form between the two. I'm excited to read more from Hannah Grace - hoping her next romance in this series focuses on Henry or Russ. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Unfortunately this is a DNF for me at 40%. The thing that really pushed me over the edge was so much discussion about calorie counting and weight (which honestly I should have anticipated in a book with a figure skater but for some reason thought we might have gone beyond that) which is not great content for me, but this book was already feeling too long and I just did not believe the relationship or the romance, both of which are pretty crucial. Obviously a lot of people love this one, and I don't begrudge them that, but the best part for me was the cover and I should have left it there.

Enemies to lovers is one my favorite tropes and this book had the right amount of spice and conflict and love and hockey and figure skating it was worth the read and I read it nonstop it was that good

This book was incredible! I adored the sweetness and the spice between these two main characters. A hockey player with a heart of gold and an icy figure skater was not on my 2023 bingo list of books I'm going to love but it is now.

Full of romance and spice, this book is the perfect love story! There was the perfect mix of drama, friendship, and romance all tied into one novel. I love Nate and Stassie! The alternating points of view chapter by chapter were great, especially when telling the same scene from the different characters’ experiences. An amazing winter romance!