This was a cute book and i found the characters really likable and easy to follow. The pacing was kind of strange in some places but overall i really liked it. One weird part for me was how quickly they jumped into living with each other after her house burnt down by accident? I feel like if this were to actually happen she wouldn't just jump into living with someone she barely knows? also why didn't any actions come from her burning her house down? i feel like it happened and then we just forgot about it as the book went on? like of course there was small mentions but nothing that was super important or a solution ya know?

I do love a good hockey romance though and this one was honestly pretty cute. The banter was wonderful and the golden retriever down bad hockey player will always be a favorite of mine! Sage was a cutie pie and i adored her and the independence she had. I love the sibling bond between sage and her brother it was really heartwarming to see. The found family was another favorite part of this book! Eli and Sage were adorable and im so happy i read this book.

I really enjoyed this take on hockey romance. I appreciated that this time the hockey player is already out of college, so it added a little bit of a different layer to the story than some of the other ones that have recently come out. I’m Impressed by Bal Khabra’s writing chops; she is excellent at craft, prose, swoon, and characterization. I think she’s going to be a big hit, and not just for this book. Was nice to see the rep as well.

when a golden boy hockey player can't score goals (or stay out of the media) and a talented ballet dancer can't get the part she wants because she doesn't have a big enough following on social, and an auction happens where a date with elias is up for grabs, and his best friend gives sage the cash to make sure she wins it to give him a boost, it's only natural that the two will realize how they can mutually benefit each other if they pretend to date!!! listen, i'm a sucker for it every time, i won't even lie. add on the fact that elias has been celibate since some drama blew up in his world a few years back, and you'll get a slow burn with sizzling chemistry to DIE FOR. sweet family dynamics were woven throughout this one, and i loved seeing aiden and summer appearances after getting to know them in Collide!

“Elias and Sage unfiltered?”

“It’s not giving anything up when you know what you’re gaining is much more valuable.”

“It’s a terrifying revelation to think you don’t love yourself the way you love others.”

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley!
Pub date Jan 28, 2025!

I want to start by saying I did not read Collide before I read this book. This is my first book by this author and now I will definitely be going back to read Collide because I absolutely LOVED Spiral. These characters complete the story, they are written so so well. Sage reminds me a lot of myself someone who is a fellow people pleaser and would rather make others happy than themselves. I felt deeply connected to her, basically she emulates that trauma makes you funnier lol. I really loved how bold and brave she was even if 95% of the time she’s faking it. She’s a girl who is definitely afraid to ask for what she wants but does it anyway, which I found to be really inspiring.

ELIAS WESTBROOK!! Oh MY gosh. I loved him so so much he is the type of guy you swoon over and he does everything so effortlessly just because he wants you to be happy and safe. Acts of service is huge for me and I found Elias simply doing things without being asked and I just ate that UP. He is such a giving, caring and down to earth guy. Someone who is so soft, but will also defend those her loves. The way he treats Sage during their relationship is seriously like a princess and how I’d want my daughter (if I ever have one) to be treated 1000%. Alsoooooo he has a dirty dirty mouth and very commanding, i loved every second.

Read if you enjoy:
Slow burns
Found family
She falls first
Giving male character (in more ways than one)
Witty FMC

this was SO fun to read ahhh!

hockey player meets professional ballerina who pair up in a mutually benefitting fake dating ruse with a strict rulebook to follow…but obvi rules are made to be broken :)))

the banter?! absolutely yes! i love when a character flirts and the other MATCHES 👏🏻 ENERGY! like, yes girl flirt right BACK! i also loved how complex these characters’ backstory was because it definitely added to the impact of their relationship! layering complexity in an intentional way can be rly hit or miss depending on the writing but this one was done so believably well ✨

sage is for all the eldest daughter girlies ❤️‍🩹 i related so much to her not just bc because we share a ballerina background, but in the necessity to step up and be that parent figure for a younger sibling. i was so proud of the decisions she made to uphold her values while learning to take things for herself.

elias was such a surprise! i was not expecting to love him as much as i did but my track record for loving acts of service mmcs remains as strong as ever :p was also not prepared for THAT character detail o-KAY 👀🤭

notable mentions:
— sports romance (hockey x ballet)
— Moroccan fmc
— complex family dynamics (addiction mentioned)
— banter (v flirty characters!)
— slow burn (🌶️🌶️🌶️)
— found family
— part of interconnected world but can be read as standalone

*i also personally really liked the inclusion of celibacy. especially from a male perspective. intimacy doesn’t always come easily to everyone for a multitude of reasons & seeing eli’s experience represented so thoughtfully on page was really special

thanks so much to berkley and bal khabra for a gifted e-arc in exchange for my honest thoughts!

this was so unexpectedly amazing. I enjoyed collide but it didn't change my life, this however, pulled me right out of my reading slump. I liked both characters, the way he did everything for her had me absolutely swooning and how it wasn't unmatched. I liked that they both had ambitions and existed outside of each other. They were both totally whipped from the beginning. I think it might've been a smidge too long and a couple conflicts irked me but other than that it was perfect. Absolutely loved. Also a book where the epilogue added to the story is rare but this is one. Everything was beautifully wrapped up.

I SWEAR THERE IS CRACK IN THIS BOOK!!!! I loved this one so much. Sage and Elias are so sweet and their love is so intimate and heartfelt and tender. I loved Collide but you can tell with Spiral that Bal Khabra really honed her craft with this one. It was sweet and swoony and HOT and heart wrenching and I would die for Sage and was absolutely kicking my feet and GIGGLING over Elias

I loved this tender, heartfelt story! everything about Elias and Sage’s love story is lovely, tender, joyful, and special.

their connection, both circumstantial and emotional, allows them to grow so deeply in their love for each other through friendship, trust, and kindness. I especially loved the friendships in this story, how Elias’s teammates and friends, and Sage’s family, grow into one big supportive community that continues to show up and support each other always.

I feel like every plot point of this story is developed and concluded so thoughtfully and thoroughly, I was kept embraced in this story fully from start to finish. I absolutely adored everything about this book, thank you so much Berkley for the arc!!!!

THIS is how you do fake dating!! I was a. huge fan of Collide, so I am DELIGHTED that this book met and even exceeded my expectations.

Elias and Sage have a funny meet-cute - he's a star hockey player with a really bad rep in the media that is unfounded, and the higher ups are not impressed with the coverage. Sage is a ballerina / dance teacher trying to make it in the dance world and her uncle works for the hockey team. He is not a fan of Elias. But I thought the way this was handled was the perfect level of involvement and not overshadowing too much of the plot.

Yes, it has some spice. But omg Elias is just the most ideal man. He reminded me a bit of Ryan Shay. That quiet and caring love. The acts of service. The way their feelings developed for each other was just so natural and the story FLOWED.

Sage is one of my favorite FMCs (I think I will love any FMC that Bal writes),

Hockey player x ballerina with fake dating!!! Honestly, say less. Very cute and fun! Some very weird moments (like the house fire?) and it was a little choppy, but overall very fun!

This was so stinking cute! A romance that will give you butterflies and make you want a boyfriend like Elias.

I absolutely loved this. It was so cute & sweet with the right amount of steam. You will fall in love with Elias. He is the golden retriever to ever retriever. Elias and Sage were a perfect pairing. I loved the shy guy & confident girl, especially in sports romance. The characters here are so lovable that you won't want to put the book down.

Super delightful read!

I’d like to start by saying this is a good book and if you love grumpy sunshine, black cat golden retriever, hockey romance you’ll love this book! It has amazing tropes such as fake dating and forced proximity. The romance is nice, full of communication which is always appreciated because in this house we hate miscommunication! I definitely recommend it to my hockey girlies out there!!!
However, i’m not a hockey girlie even though I don’t mind it and I wasn’t really invested in the relationship past the 80% mark which kind of killed my hype. I must say as well that cinnamon roll mmc being very filthy and out of character in bed is a pet peeve of mine. However like I said, I still think it’s a good book just not for me!

I received this book as an ARC but all thoughts are my own!

I absolutely loved Collide so I was super excited to start reading Spiral! This book has a fake dating trope, mental health rep, found family, and some serious black cat 🐈‍⬛ x golden retriever 🐶 vibes which I'm a HUGE fan of!!

I ate up the ballerina 🩰 x hockey player 🏒 premise and the way Elias was so supportive of Sage literally made me cry 🥺

Sage has had a rough, stressful upbringing to say the least, so she's now responsible for her little brother who's away at boarding school, meanwhile, she's trying to make it in the Ballet world. This is definitely a fake relationship of convenience, since Elias needs to clean up his image as a rookie in the NHL, and Sage needs more social media followers so that she will get taken seriously at her auditions.

This spicy romance is a must-read if you love cute, fluffy, steamy romance books where the FMC literally gets the princess treatment even though she acts like she doesn't need help from anyone.

I seriously can't wait for the next book!!

3.75⭐️ Thank you so much Berkeley Romance & NetGalley for the e-ARC!
Overall I enjoyed this one! I did end up liking Collide a bit better, but glad I got to read this!
The MMC is so sweet and I really loved his character and arc. The things he did for Sage and the way he treated her were so sweet. For whatever reason I didn’t love her character at first, but she grew on me! Her arc was great as well, and I liked seeing her grow through her emotional struggles. As a former dancer, I also loved that Sage was one, and it made for such a cute sports romance with Elias playing hockey!
This did take me a while to get into, and at times I wasn’t fully interested or into it. I’m not sure what is was about it, but it didn’t end up working for me as much as Collide.
I still really enjoyed this overall though, and would definitely recommend!

Spiral was such a quick and fun read. I liked the book was fast paced to keep me hooked and honestly Elias had me blushing and giggling so much!

This book had everything slow burn , tension , banter and so many cute moments. Sage is definitely a lucky girl to have someone like an Eli in her corner and all the things he would do for her were so cute. Eli is definitely book boyfriend material.

Sage is so black cat coded and i honestly loved her so much and felt for everything she’s been through. and i was so happy when she found a guy like Eli who did everything he could to make her smile.

The book was great! I like how it was about 2 people who were in 2 completely different sports but still found ways the be together. I like how the author used real world examples such as loosing parents or not having a lot of money to get by.

I haven’t read book 1 in the series, but I really enjoyed Spiral regardless. The characters were not perfect (a compliment) the dialogue felt natural, and the pace was quick enough for me to stay hooked without feeling rushed. In addition, it’s always refreshing to see POC in hockey romance books (especially since the hockey romance world is reflective of the real world in that it is quite white).

Oh my god what magic did I just read?! Seriously this book was so good to the point where I’m mad I finished it so fast. Bal Khabra certainly has a hook on writing the most caring and sweet men ever. Sage and Summer are two lucky women, and count me shocked at how I didn’t think I could love anyone more than Aiden but then here comes Elias in this book. Wow just wow!

The slow burn, the tension, the sweet acts of service that both Sage and Elias did for each other. Everything was so heartfelt and perfect, and I couldn’t get enough. I loved the fake dating to actual feelings trope, and this book pulled it off flawlessly. If you want a great read filled with amazing build up between two beautiful characters you have to pick this one up. Make sure you read book one first, but this book two may just be 6 out of 5 stars in my opinion. I’m sad the story is over, but I’m so glad it happened!

"Collide" was one of my favorite sports romances that I had the pleasure of reading last year, so getting approved for this arc was a dream come true. unfortunately, I was left feeling unsatisfied. I felt that the characters were very underdeveloped and just fell flat for me. The pacing was so odd, it could have been 50 pages shorter and done a better job of showing their relationship progress. This was marketed as a fake dating romance, but there was no reason for them to keep it fake to add tension, which is the entire point of the trope. I completely forgot that's what it was supposed to be a couple times until the characters would bring it up as a reason they couldn't be together even though... it wasn't a reason they couldn't be together?
However, I really enjoyed Sages character. I'm always down for an eldest daughter finally getting taken care of the way she takes care of everyone else. A golden retriever boy who's always in control and loves to cook is always sweet as well.

*Thank you to Netgalley & the author for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was probably one of the softest, most heartfelt books I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a while. There was so much goodness packed into these characters and all I wanted was for Sage and Elias to have their dreams come true and be able to find and keep their happiness.

Being able to see them come together and rely on the other for not only help but actual solid support was worthwhile. Getting glimpses into their future, their past and seeing how all of that played a heavy hand on the character development was extraordinary. The banter between Elias and Sage was incredible. I loved how their vulnerability shined through with so much heart. They’re just so steady and solid, I loved them so much.

The slow burn and tension between Elias and Sage was TORTURE but so delicious! My expectations were raised and exceeded 💖