Thank you to the publisher for the eARC!

This was a funny, sweet, romantic YA enemies to lovers romcom about a hot-headed hockey star and a stuck-up ice princess forced to work together as a pairs figure skating team. I loved the MC, Charlie, and the chemistry between her and her figure skating partner Alexa. A great debut!

I started reading this book with high hopes, expecting it to be a fun and easy read. While it is indeed a cute story, I found myself annoyed by the references to homeschooling (or elective home education in the UK) and being labeled a hermit. Perhaps I’m being overly sensitive, but it felt like a dig at those who educate differently.

The story is filled with humor, particularly in its portrayal of historical context. The characters' involvement in what was essentially the first same-sex pairing for official skating events is presented in a hilarious manner. However, this aspect is only mentioned toward the end, which leaves the reader entertained but also wanting more.

One significant issue I encountered was with the pacing. The main storyline takes place over six months, excluding the epilogue, which has a full six-month skip. The narrative often jumps forward in time, making it difficult to follow and stay immersed in the plot. We would be experiencing one event, only to suddenly leap two months ahead, glossing over previous moments and moving past them too quickly.

Many elements that should have had the appropriate time to develop felt rushed, especially regarding character relationships. The transition from Alexa dating one character to another felt incredibly abrupt. While I appreciated the emphasis on the two romantic leads having their own relationships and goals, there’s a pivotal moment in the story that ends up getting overshadowed by the romantic comedy elements, which didn't sit well with me.

This shift disrupted my ability to simply accept and enjoy the story. Additionally, it made me more aware of an ongoing issue with the book: certain significant events that should have been depicted directly are instead summarized after the fact. Ultimately, I felt that the characters ended up making major decisions that I just didn’t fully understand or appreciate.

#BookReview #Homeschooling #LGBTQ #PacingIssues #CharacterDevelopment #RomanticComedy #Storytelling #CharacterChoices #Netgalleybacklog

This was such a fun and easy read! The characters of Charlie and Alexa were relatable and the banter between them is both believable and relatable. The hockey player and figure skating duo is absolutely everything you didn't know you needed!

For me, the strength of YA lies in complex, imperfect characters who go through a lot of growth, and this book does that phenomenally. Combine that with an absolutely adorable sapphic romance, well-fleshed out characters, and not one but two ice sports, and you have a really entertaining read with a lot of depth. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like our main character, but that turned out to be a strength in the end, because it was very much intentional and the MC goes on such a journey of growth and development. I love how this was shown rather than told, and it never changed her personality.

this was the most fun i'd had reading a book in ages! i adored both the main characters, charlie and alexa, so much. their back and forth was supremely interesting to follow and i was hooked throughout. some suspension of disbelief is required re: the ice skating/hockey aspect, but i didn't care because of what a hoot this was.

Do you love figure skating or hockey? Do you want a sapphic enemies-to-lovers YA book? If you answered yes to both of these questions, then I've got great news for you! "It's a Love/Skate Relationship" by Carli Corson checks both of those boxes and more. When Charlie Porter finds herself on the outs from both her prestigious private school and her hockey team, she's forced to face public school and all of the people who hate her for causing a brawl that ended in disaster.

Forced to work at the ice rink to pay off the debt for the damage she caused, Charlie finds herself face to face with Alexa Goldstein, a championship winning figure skater who's partner was injured during the brawl. An unlikely duo, Alexa and Charlie must work together to help train for the upcoming competition -- and for Charlie it beats working the concession stand or cleaning the bleachers. But as they begin to get to know each other, the line between enemies and friends starts to blur, until eventually they both realize that maybe they're not so different after all.

I enjoyed every minute of reading this book, and with so many M/M hockey romances out there, it was refreshing to see a WLW one! I look forward to reading more of Corson's writing in the future.

Charlie, who’s suspened from her school and removed from her hockey team for the season and Alexa, whose skating partner is out due to an injury both come together in this opposites attract romance. You’ll follow them as they navigate their relationship on and off the ice. I loved the sweet high school yearning and the found family in this. I could not put down this cute sapphic ya romance.

I really couldn't get into this one but I liked the idea of the story . It just wasn't for me.
I don't really have much to say really.

I do think the author is a good writer just maybe I wasn't in the mood for this type of story at the time.

I was utterly charmed by this book. Hockey x figure skater, rivals to lovers, and sapphic romance is everything I could ask for. Charlie is a really fun pov character, and her developing relationship with Alexa was a delight to read.
I did feel like there was a lot of telling us about Charlie’s struggles without a lot of follow up, and the story could have benefitted from going a bit more in depth. And, unfortunately, many of the sports aspects were just not believable, but the ending was so sweet it definitely made up for it! The epilogue had me heart-warmed and giggling.

I will definitely be recommending this book for Reader’s Advisory! Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this YA sapphic romance! I adored how it was between a figure skater and a hockey player. The relationship between Charlie and Alexa was very cute; I liked how it was a hate-to-love romance; reading their training sessions was fun, and the YA-esque drama was just enough. I liked how the "third act break up" didn't last long at all and wasn't too overblown.

I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to buy that Charlie would be able to become a national, and then Olympic-level pairs skater in that short amount of time, which knocks it down to 4-stars. It was extremely hard to believe, and I think it would have been more enjoyable if things were a bit more rooted in reality in that aspect.

Such a cute story. I loved the development of self. And the family drama that the main character had to work through to improve themselves. Loved both main characters

I love seeing hockey romance stories making their way down to young adult stories! Sports stories in general are great to see for teen readers, and I'm biased in thinking hockey is the best.

It's a Love/Skate Relationship was a cute read, that definitely handled some tough topics that will make it a relevant read for anyone, whether or not they're huge sports fans.

i enjoyed this little sports/romance book and i really enjoyed it. i love a sports romance book and especially when its hockey and this hit the spot. i also really really enjoy a enemies to lovers which this book really did this well. I also really enjoyed Charlie's relationship with her dad and brother and how it developed as the story went on. the humour and tension was really good. def recommend.

4.5 / 5
This was such a lovely, heartwarming, enjoyable story. It had me laughing, it had me swooning and it even had me shedding a few tears.

The relationship between Charlie and Alexa progressed so naturally from rival to friends to lovers. It was lovely following their journey together.

I loved the authors writing so I will be looking at reading more of their work.

“‘People love to categorize people in boxes with neat little labels. But humans are way more complex than that.’”

Charlie Porter is a queer hockey player at Cranford High School. In her match against Winthrop High School, Charlie misses the winning goal, costing Cranford their winning streak and the territorial cup. An aggressive comment from a rival player triggers Charlie enough to start a brawl, ending in a figure skater's broken ankle and a broken statue of a local legend. As punishment for starting the fight, Charlie is suspended from Cranford, forced to attend the rival school, and required to replace the statue at the skating rink. There, she meets a figure skater named Alexis who, thanks to the now-infamous fight, is down a competition partner. When she stumbles into tryouts to replace Alexis’ partner, Charlie’s athletic skills and strength impress the skater’s mom, landing her a position as a temporary partner in exchange for having her debts paid. With college in mind and a rivalry on and off the ice, Charlie has to learn to deal with a new school, a new sport, and growing feelings for her new partner.

While the idea of It’s a Love/Skate Relationship was charming and full of potential, I found the novel to be full of clichés. The first chapter was particularly difficult to get through, as the pages were overrun by copious amounts of adjectives that only served to distract the reader from the events in the story. Charlie is also a bit of what can be described as a toxic “pick-me” with a strong victim complex. While I enjoyed the LGBTQIA+ aspect of the story, I believe it could have benefitted from more of a relatable main character. On the other hand, I did appreciate the research that Corson put into the hockey and figure skating aspects. Since figure skating is a very intimate and difficult sport, I found that the training scenes deeply nurtured the relationship between Alexis and Charlie, strengthening their overall chemistry. That being said, some parts of the novel were seemingly unrealistic, specifically towards the end. The underlying Wicked themes within the story also threw me off a bit, and while it was obvious this was meant to be the “what if” version where Elphaba and Glinda fell in love, I think the author could have integrated it into the story more to remain consistent. This would have added a layer of individuality that the story seemed to lack. It’s a Love/Skate Relationship was not an impossible novel to get through, but it is not something that I would think to recommend.

when she misses a winning shot for the winthrop cup and starts a brawl directly after that, charlie is kicked off the team and suspended from school. now, she has to attend the rival school, where nearly everyone sees her as an enemy. things can’t possibly get worse…until she meets alexa goldstein, a prickly figure skater. she gets roped into being alexa’s skating partner, and eventually starts falling for her.

i was so excited to read this book! the cover is adorable and the description sounded really interesting. i am not super familiar with either hockey or figure skating, but i always find them interesting to read about. it was especially interesting to see how charlie compared the two sports. even though she wasn’t very keen on figure skating in the beginning, she quickly warmed up to it!

i also enjoyed the character growth throughout this novel. charlie’s dealing with many of her own difficulties at the start of this book, including a rough relationship with her mom. these definitely affected her relationships with her friends and with alexa. it was great to see her grow through these difficulties throughout the book!

overall, this was a sweet YA romance. i’m looking forward to more from the author!

This was a solid YA contemporary! I am always a sucker for a sport romance, especially when it is sapphic. I really enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers storyline (for once the reasons for being enemies didn't feel contrived) and I loved all of the scenes of hockey and figure skating. I loved Charlie's relationship with her dad and brother. She is a bit of a hothead at the start of the book, and I loved the journey she went on to grow and evolve.

I had some slight issues with this book, but nothing major. Mostly, things not making sense around the private vs. public school rivalry, such as: are these schools the same size to play in the same athletic conference? How does Charlie have a scholarship if she's not a great student? Why doesn't the daughter of an olympic skater who is currently training for the olympics herself attend private school? I think if the private vs. public schools were reversed, the story would have made a little more sense imo. However, I'm trying to not think too hard about that since that wasn't actually the focus of the book LOL.

Overall, a solid YA read that I definitely recommend to any young queer girls or anyone who is a fan of hockey lesbians.

A sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance between a hotheaded hockey player & the ice princess from the rink next door.

If I could convince you to read this book with just one thing it would be this…..
ICE SKATING ROUTINE TO DEFYING GRAVITY!

Once I heard that was in this book I rushed to my ARC. I have been begging the world for a sapphic Hockey player/figure skater book. If you’re like me & love hockey romances but wish there were more quality sapphic ones, then you simply MUST check this out. The banter in this is HIGH QUALITY & this whole book is reminiscent of a Disney Channel movie, a high I’ve been chasing since I was a teenager.

Carli, you deserve the world. Thank you for writing this story. Growing up as a bisexual figure skater, you wrote the story of my childhood dreams.

Major thank you to the author, the publisher, & to NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a "loose canon hockey player that's been kicked off the team" meets a "desperate for a partner figure skater" but MAKE IT GAY!!!!! I ran to this book so fast.

I loved that Charlie and Alexa didn't know each other prior to being paired up and didn't care for each other wither - the really resisted working together and their was no pining or hidden feelings - which is how a true enemies/rivals-to-lovers should be imo. They both needed each other and still fought it for a significant amount of the book with made the slow burn so good.

-Sapphic romance
-hockey player x figure skater
-opposites attract
-reluctantly work together
-gay and bi rep
-pining and YEARNING!!!!!!

This book was just unbelievably sweet and heartfelt. Both characters were relatable and likeable even when they were being jerk to each other. And I mean LOOK AT THAT COVER!!!! I wanna read everything by this author!
4.5 stars rounded up

loved this take on a LGBTQ rivals to lovers story! the contrasting characters were perfect and I loved them both in different ways from the start. read it all in one sitting and just ate up the way they were forced to work together! and this cover is unreal! so cute!