This was a mostly excellent book. The issues I had were with character flaws but then again these are teenagers so they’re going to act in irrational ways and I won’t punish them for that. However, I did struggle with some phrases that were said. I think some things came off harsher than intended and that’s why I gave it four stars instead of five. Overall a great read!

I loved everything about this. The characters were relatable and genuine. The skating plot was fun and exciting. And the romance was sweet and hopeful. Truly the YA sapphic sports romance I wish I’d had when I was a teen. I shared this one with my teenaged daughter and she loved it too.

I could hardly put this book down. Such a cute story, and it reminded me of the movie The Cutting Edge. I am impatiently awaiting another book from this author!

anyone who knows me knows i love a hockey romance and i have been begging for a sapphic one since before i could remember and this one definitely delivered! it was so so great and i am so happy to have read this!

This was such a cute sapphic ya sports romance.

You can tell instantly that it’s YA because of all the high school drama, friend groups, misperceptions and the dialogue but I, (as an oldie), really enjoyed it.

Charlie is awesome. I love her sarcasm. She has, what I would describe as, a tomboy attitude (reminded me of myself). She’s strong and fiery but through her new friendship with Alexia, and amazing support from others, she goes on a journey of growth and true self acceptance.

I also liked Alexa I just wished we had chapters told from Alexa’s POV to give her a bit more of a personality and a voice.

I loved the “dates” Charlie & Alexa went on. Very sweet.

I don’t know anything about figure skating so I can’t talk about how accurate the descriptions relating to that is but it, for me, sounded good and had the right level of drama when it comes to competitive sports.

Thank you so much, Harper360YA, for the arc via NetGalley.
Apologies for taking so long to write my review.

This was such a fun read even if it was a bit slow to start. It was fun and packed with characters you really love. I would highly recommend this if you want a fun and easy read.

"It's a Love/Skate Relationship" by Carli Corson was a fun read. It makes me smile thinking about Charlie and Alexa and their circle of friends. Great read for those who love skating but also universal appeal. Strong character development.

Ahh I really loved this book!

The plot was great and I loved Charlie the main character who at first is an actions first apologies later kind of girl as she gets suspended from her private scholarship school after a fight with the enemy hockey team but her character growth and development through the book was a great read.

I loved how she adapted to going to the local public school, home to said hockey enemies and bullies and no one she knows, but she rises to the occasion and makes friends and even agrees to become a pairs skater with the popular girl Alexa after said fight injures her partner.

Was the plot a little far fetched in the way Charlie could somehow become a great figure skater in 4 months and even place at Sectionals with Alexa? Yes, but I ate up every second of it! Even though their partnership started off rocky with endless sniping at each other, I loved their gradual connection and flirty interactions which only got stronger throughout the book. I even loved Geri, Alexa's mum, as I thought that she was going to be an evil / cold mum manager coach but she was actually really cool!

I am really not a fan of 3rd act break ups because they always seem so unnecessary and it is such an overused plot point in romance stories and I know it is just to add drama but ughhh. I get it but it just annoys me! I was really frustrated with the break up in this book when Charlie thinks its for the best to protect Alexa but I just wish they talked properly! Instead it takes weeks for them to reconcile in the most dramatic fashion ever I may add with a swoon worthy finish to the story.

Overall, this is a perfect sapphic love story with great characters and plot.

An absolutely delightful sapphic romance between a hockey player and a figure skater. It was pretty much exactly what I expected and wanted it to be.

When Charlie is kicked out of school (and therefore her hockey team) for (rightfully) fighting after a game, she ends up at the local public school. The only thing to make this worse is that she ends up working with a seemingly snobby ice skating princess named Alexa. Tempers fly and, of course, so do the sparks.

Genuinely, this book was a great time. There was fun banter, a realistic development of feelings between Charlie and Alexa, and teens being teens! It felt like a teen movie in all the best ways. More of these types of books in the future please!

This was so fun! I felt like the beginning was slightly slow but as I got more into the story the pace really picked up. I really enjoyed the storyline and although it is a plot we see often recently, it was still enjoyable to read and I didn’t feel bored.
Obsessed with the character development and relationship though! It was super cute and so fun to watch their relationship grow and grow.

I really enjoyed this book! The beginning of the book really reminded of step up when Channing Tatums character had to do community service at a school for causing damage and Jenna Dewan’s character needed a temporary dance partner. I knew I was going to love it once I got that vibe. I love Charlie so much and just want to give her a hug. Alexa is a cutie.

This was such an easy read! Not once was I bored . Looking forward to reading more from the author.

Thank you to Harper Collins for the advanced copy of "It's a Love/Skate Relationship."

Charlie and Alexa are endearing and realistic teenagers. Charlie has the tendency to get into trouble, get's less than perfect grades and has a streak of doing spontaneous things that could disrupt the course of her life. Alexa is a perfectionist who avoids friendships with other girls because of how cutthroat the figure skating world has proven to be. She finds that she feels safer in that lonely bubble. Through the book both girls grow through their issues at times, individually, but also with the guidance of the other. I had a really lovely time reading about these two, and while the sports aspect is always fun, their relationship didn't hinge on the details of the sports, it was truly a relationship between the girls that did not rely on hockey or figure skating to keep them together.

Thank you to Harper360YA for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hockey star Charlie Porter has one shot to make her dreams come true -- literally. One goal is all that stands between her and the coveted Winthrop Cup, along with a life-changing hockey scholarship that could catapult her into the big leagues. But when Charlie misses her shot -- and inadvertently starts a good ol’ fashioned brawl between rival schools -- she waves goodbye to more than just the championship title. She gets kicked off her team, suspended from school, and banished to the Worst Place on Winthrop High. Things for Charlie cannot get any worse. Until she meets Alexa Goldstein. A prickly, perfectionist ice princess with her sights set on the Olympics, Alexa is the last person Charlie would ever want to share a rink with -- no matter how good she looks in her figure skating leotard. But when Alexa’s skating partner breaks his ankle and torpedoes her chances for a gold medal career, the two unlikely allies -- along with Alexa’s terrifying, ex-Olympian mother -- strike a Charlie will practice with Alexa until her partner heals, and Alexa’s mother will use her connections to get Charlie back in her hockey uniform. But as the ice between Charlie and Alexa begins to melt, their partnership only gets more complicated. Charlie’s falling hard -- and not just when she’s trying to land a double axel. What happens when making Alexa’s skating dreams come true means giving up her own?

Charlie definitely has a stubborn streak, and an angry one too. I’m glad that over the course of the book, the anger subsided a little because she was incredibly prone to violence and it didn’t feel like it wholly fit with her character. Just because you play a violent sport, doesn’t mean you have to be. I liked that she kept pushing herself to achieve what others thought unthinkable. It is certainly a testament to her to jump into a brand new sport and do all she managed in such a short time. Charlie is also unapologetically queer which is brilliant. Too many YA stories have teenagers questioning if they’re really having those feelings despite saying they’re queer which feels too much of a performance for me. Here Charlie is open with it, and it’s accepted which is perfect.
I really didn’t like Alexa initially. Stuck up cow came to mind a lot. Blessedly, she mellowed out and as we got to know her more, Alexa became likeable. I did find it incredibly odd that there was no discernible transition between her feelings. One minute she’s dating a male hockey player and literally the next, she’s got feelings for a young woman yet I’m sure there was an incredible amount of emphasis on her being straight. I felt there could have been something more to describe the change in feelings or even elude to them. But otherwise, I think she was a pretty decent character - especially towards the end.

This book has a great premise. I was drawn in by the thought of enemies to lovers. As we all know, I am a MASSIVE sucker for that trope. And it is even better when it is a queer story too! The plot wasn’t too bad. The idea was great and I really liked the idea of someone changing their sport for the selfish sake of themselves and then it turns into doing it for someone else. However, it just felt a little too simply written? There was plenty of drama involved yet it didn’t pack as big a punch as I wished. I did however like the inclusion of such gross sexual innuendo and threats of violence from young men who are clearly insecure. The world nowadays sees more and more young men exposed to things online that are extremely harmful and their behaviour begins to reflect that. We see some of that behaviour here but I think it was incredibly well handled. The characters were pretty good but when one of the main characters has two best friends she adores and you don’t know much about them beyond surface facts, it leaves me feeling like they aren’t as realistic as they could be. I love knowing people’s backgrounds because it adds considerable depth to a story without even trying. I wish there was more! The romance was incredibly sweet, I cannot deny that. I was grinning and my heart was a flutter! I never get bored of queer romances. The ending felt very apt for the story. I think it was a great ending for the characters though a few things were left a little too open for my tastes.

Overall, It’s a Love/Skate Relationship is a lovely story that I felt could have beeb executed a bit better.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to Harper360YA for an advanced copy of this book. Review is available now on Goodreads and will be live on my blog on 30th June due to scheduling.

Charlie finds herself kicked off the hockey team and school after missing a winning shot and starting a riot. After transferring to her rival school, Charlie is back on the ice but as Alexa’s figure skating partner (both of which aren’t happy about). Okay hockey player turned figure skater but make it sapphic (with some enemies to lovers??) -- yess!! I loved the mix of sports, friendship, tension, family, and romance. The characters were well flushed out with fun, playful dynamics and their own fears and emotions. There was such a rush with the skating element and I loved how everything came together overall!

Thanks Netgalley and Harper360YA for the arc!

It’s a Love/Skate Relationship is basically a sapphic She’s the Man on ice and I mean that in the best way possible. The tension? Immaculate. The banter? Olympic-level. Charlie is pure chaos with a hockey stick and Alexa is an ice queen with a blade-sharp side eye—and watching them go from enemies to reluctant partners to falling so hard had me kicking my feet like I was the one in love. The queer joy in this book is off the charts, the sports drama had me sweating, and I need everyone to read it immediately so I can scream about it properly. Absolute gold medal rom-com vibes.

Thank you so much to HarperCollins for sending me a copy of this book as an ARC.

Rate : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Author ; Carli J. Corson

This book is such a cute, fun read full of lovable characters and a great sense of found family, friendship and finding love. I had a great time reading it and I loved the journey it took you on.

It’s a Love/Skate Relationship follows Charlie Porter who ends up causing a scene after a hockey match which results in Alexa Goldstein losing her pairs partner. After being kicked off the team, Charlie steps up to help Alexa qualify for nationals… but will their relationship develop into more?

Alexa and Charlie are adorable - their growth from rivals and dislike to girlfriends and being smitten was so much fun to read.

I really liked how many openly queer characters there were - and how easily it was mentioned. Sometimes, it feels forced in other books but this one really flowed well and just flew off the page!

One thing I struggled with was the technical jargon of ice skating. I know some lingo due to watching some online and reading other books - but nearer the end it got very jargon heavy.

However, I did enjoy this book! It was an adorable read and I cannot wait to see what else the author comes up with!

A sapphic hockey romance? Where the LI is a figure skater? I couldn’t not like this if I tried.
I loved the idea of a hockey player turning figure skater as kind of a punishment for bad behaviour. I also really loved that they hated each other hehe.
The side characters were lovely, I love their friend group and all the characters felt real in a very teenage flawed way (sometimes stupid, but also growing from their mistakes).
I really liked that the figure skater and her famous weren’t posted as little miss perfects, but also had problems of their own and a lot of character to them.
What I also really liked that not everything turned magically okay in the end, not everything can be fixed and sometimes even adults don’t (want to) change their ways.
I think the ending wasn’t super realistic, but ofc there needed to be a happy ending!

thank you to the publisher for an e-arc! this was a very fun and sweet read. i loved the relationship that developed between charlie and alexa, which was wonderfully banter-filled but also adorably awkward as befitting two teenagers. it had a lovely 'found family' element that really came to fruition at the end, and i enjoyed seeing all of the side characters and learning a little about them. the pacing was a little awkward at times, and you have to suspend your disbelief perhaps for some of the 'bigger' sporting moments of the book, but those don't take away from the fact that this is a very charming sapphic YA sports romance - we need more books with girls in hockey!!

I am now on an ALA committee and cannot leave a real review. Thank you for your patience. Sorry for the inconvenience This is NOT a rating. This just a place holder because I had to.

this is everything I would've wanted in a sapphic YA romance as a teen. it has sports, it has supportive friends, it has chill parents, it has an adorable romance, and most importantly, it has a main character that feels so freaking real. I, as a 30-year-old woman, still identified so much with Charlie and her silly and sometimes irresponsible attitude at odds with her incredible determination and ability to lock in and challenge herself. I was absolutely rooting for her the whole time, and despite knowing that there would be some kind of third act conflict regarding their performance, was totally convinced that Charlie would make it through. Some people may complain that this ending is too happy, too convenience, too unrealistic—to which I say, sapphic stories deserve cliché HEAs too!! It makes me want to be a librarian—to have the ability to put this in the hands of queer kids and watch them enjoy reading while also feeling seen and represented. I seriously love and recommend picking this up!!