I am OBSESSED with Eli and Sage!! This fun hockey romance had me hooked from page one and was the PERFECT sequel to Collide. I loved seeing Eli come to life around Sage and how Sage was able to learn more about herself from Eli. They're adorable and I loved watching their fake dating turn into real dating!

Spiral is an entertaining story of a hockey player and a ballerina who improbably find love through a fake-dating agreement. There was enough strife and plenty of problems to be overcome to make the story interesting.

Unfortunately, I didn't love the characters as much as I wanted to. Sage is impressive and determined. She takes on the challenges in her life and works hard to overcome them including neglectful, drug addicted parents and manages to keep her dreams of being a ballerina afloat. Elias has reached the NHL and is playing but can't quite get that first professional goal that will keep him with the team. He's as hard a worker as Sage and though his circumstances are different his life has been challenging in its own ways. Elias was just too good to Sage. Some of it was so endearing and some was just too much for what he's getting in return. Sage is making her life harder than it has to be by preferring to live in squalor rather than let her uncle help her out. Then she resists Elias's kind efforts. I just thought all of it was a bit too much, reached too far to fill in the romance. The ending did bring their HEA in a satisfying way.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

i really loved the first half of this, but for some reason the last 15% kind of dragged for me. i still really enjoyed this one and i’m not huge into sports romances!

i enjoyed this one, i loved getting a ballerina FMC, i have read much of that. the auction in the beginning was the perfect way to kickstart their story, and i found the fake dating stakes to be cute. this man was sooo down bad and so sweet, i loved how he was there for her but didnt try to take over or anything. she was so level headed and driven and just a great character. some parts dragged a bit and others felt too rushed. but for the most part i stayed interested in the story. i don’t know that it’ll stand out in my memory after reading, but it was still a good time.

An aspiring professional ballerina agrees to fake date a rookie hockey player, hoping it will boost both of their careers… until real feelings come into play. Elias and Sage were such lovable characters, and their relationship unfolded in a way that felt authentic and heartfelt. The banter, forced proximity, and found family moments had me flying through the pages. Narrated by Nia Serge and Aaron Shedlock, the audiobook added an extra layer of charm, and I thoroughly enjoyed the parts I listened to!

Read if you like:
▪️Hockey player x ballerina
▪️Accidental roommates
▪️Fake dating
▪️Sister as guardian
▪️Found family

Spiral is my first book by this author but the hockey-ballet romance angle had me eager to dive in. I hadn't clued in to the fact that the main characters are early twenties until I started reading. I admit, I tend to lean more toward older couples so it took me a bit to settle into this story but once I did, it proved to be an enjoyable read that took me on a satisfying journey...and brought back a few memories of how it felt to be newly out of college and beginning my adult life.

Sage and Elias are good together. I really like the way they support one another, especially the way Elias supports and encourages Sage's professional dreams as well as her individual worth. Their banter sparkles and their chemistry is on pointe (pun intended). I enjoyed the caring friendship that develops between them during their fake dating that provides a solid foundation leading into their slow-burn romance. There are times when they seem very young but also others when they feel older than their years. Life has thrown some wrenches at them that have given them more depth than usually found at their age yet they also feel like they're still figuring things out. It makes them feel authentic and relatable.

I appreciated the epilogue that takes readers a few years into the future, giving us a look at the growth of the main characters as well as their relationship.

If you enjoy New Adult romance with snappy banter, complex family situations, friend groups, endearing romance, and an added bonus of hockey and ballet, you may want to give this one a try.
ARC received from publisher via NetGalley
Fair and unbiased review

let me tell you... 2025 is the year I continue to read books that have male characters end up in the top 10 of all time.

this is my first time reading bal khabra and let me say... I am forever thankful for their writing. a hockey player x ballerina? was sold immediately. after reading the book? yeah... I could absolutely not put this book down.

elias westbrook is tired of the media portraying him as the playboy. they're a rookie and feel like they can't escape this image and is afraid of what the ownership will do if it continues. it also doesn't help that they haven't been able to make their first goal yet.

sage beaumont is a struggling ballerina who can't seem to get their break yet. it turns out that it doesn't matter that she's a talented ballerina because it's social media followers that matter most.

so what happens when sage and elias start fake dating to help each other out? you get one of the most beautiful relationships.

elias westbrook never stood a chance. he became a man obsessed and the way I wanted to throw my phone at the wall everytime he did something so cute for sage.

this book was genuinely such an easy read. you couldn't help but smile at their relationship and how they both helped each other grow as people.

This one was too sweet! I really loved our male main characters growth and adoration for our female lead. I also liked the familial aspect of the book to add some depth to the characters where she was in charge of her younger brother and her Uncle took care of her. I loved that it didn’t fall into the dad as GM trope but the uncle was and that was sooo presh. Sadly once they officially got together I lost a bit of interest and wasn’t as engaged in the story anymore.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy of Spiral! I enjoyed this book so much.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book because I've not read anything by this author...but I was pleasantly surprised to find such a fun romance in this one! I enjoyed the characters and I felt like they were really easy to identify with. I was hooked from the first few chapters, and I could not put this one down. It was really a refreshing little romance for the winter months!

So, a few things.

I really don’t like when an MMC gives me whiplash, and he was very back and forth which made it feel like he was playing with her feelings - so I didn’t vibe with that. While I typically LOVE fake dating, I think the story just moved a little slower, so I wasn’t bought into the relationship really until they were. These are 1000% all me things and just because I didn’t vibe with them doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t enjoy them.

If you’re a pathological people pleaser, this will probably smack you right in the feels.

Things I did enjoy: Elias is an acts of service king, and we love to see it. When the tension finally snapped, these two were on fire. Sage standing up for herself at the end was everything. The found family was probably my favorite dynamic.

Thank you so much to Berkley for the NetGalley ARC!

Cute, simple, & easy! Swoony & cheesy, but expected in a hockey-ice skater romance right? 😊 I didn’t read collide, first in the series, but I didn’t need to! It can be read as a stand alone, but now I think I’ll go back and read collide! Thank you Berkley romance for my digital ARC!

I loved this so much! It was such quick and fun read! The characters chemistry was so adorable and I loved their relationship. Sage was by far my favorite part of this book. I loooooved her character! 4/5 read for sure.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SPICE: 🌶️🌶️

So this book just warmed my heart in all the best ways! Broody Hockey players that are a little bit damaged are my absolute Kryptonite, and I enjoyed every bit of this book!

It flowed well, the fake dating trope hit just right and I loved both Elias and Sage. Plus, getting to see all the guys from the Hockey House again made me happy.

Bal’s writing is just so easy to get lost in. I really loved how Elias and Sage meet, and the reasons for them starting to fake date. That boy was head over heels long before he realized it, and I fell in love with him the minute he showed up at her dance performance.

This book is just a fun hockey read through and through with enough emotional depth to have you invented in the plot too. The burn is sloooow but the tension between them is delusions.

I also love found family so much and this book really pushed that aspect.

✨ Hockey Romance
✨ Fake Dating
✨ He Falls First
✨ Dancer FMC
✨ Slow Burn

4.5 stars! Such a good sports romance with well-developed characters, emotional depth, and strong subplots. If you like fake dating and slow burn romance, you're going to love Spiral!

Elias and Sage were adorable together. Their chemistry was amazing, and the combination of slow burn and fake dating was top notch. I was dying for them to kiss the whole time and when they finally did, I cheered. The forced proximity and being roommates only added to the tension. Elias...love a man who can cook. And I loved how confident and blunt Sage was. She and Elias complemented each other in the best way, and I loved how they worked together through challenges and trauma. Also it's such a relief to have a hockey book where the MMC isn't the star. Elias struggled professionally, and I liked how he had to overcome that.

The pacing felt a bit off during the last 25% of the book. I didn't love the third act breakup/miscommunication. It almost felt like the ending could've wrapped up faster. But overall, loved this!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for sending me an ARC of Spiral. As always, my reviews are one hundred percent voluntary and all opinions are my own :)

Bal Khabarovsk has created an entertaining hockey world, and I really enjoy her writing, and getting to know her characters. Sage is a strong, independent FMC, which is always my favorite, and I also found her dance career to be really interesting. Elias is interesting, and I was rooting for him to get it together and work through the issues he had going on. I loved their banter, and how their relationship progressed.

Read/listen if you like ⇣
•Hockey Romance
•Ballerina FMC
•Roommates
•Fake Dating
•Found Family
•Slow Burn
•Dual POV
•Spice

Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the ARC!

Bal’s Off the Ice series had me in a chokehold with book one but our FMC, Sage, in book two might be my favorite character ever written. It was so intense reading my personality and character traits in a book. Sage and I are so similar that I connected to her immediately. From striving to be the best in her career, taking care of everyone around her, loving a good cry, and then finding the sweetest love, she is me. I am her. I loved reading her and Elias’ story just for the fact that it’s so similar to mine. But more importantly, Val wrote characters that were relatable and nuanced and funny. I honestly can’t wait to see who book three will be about. I’m so happy to have gotten an ARC for this so THANKS NETGALLEY.

Spiral, a fake dating, professional hockey romance, follows Elias Westbrook, a rookie hockey player for the Toronto Thunder and Sage Beaumont, a struggling ballerina who plays primary guardian to her teenage brother, Sean. Sean and Sage’s parents up and abandoned them after a long-string of childhood disappointment, and Sage works tirelessly to provide for the two of them. Sage’s uncle Marcus, and the GM to the Toronto Thunder supports his niece dearly; invites her to a team event in which she earns herself an auctioned date with none other than Elias Westbrook - struggling rookie and the object of everyone’s desire.

Despite his reluctance, following their date and Sage’s proposal the two strike a mutually beneficial fake-dating arrangement. For Sage to boost her social media presence in order to gain favour and opportunity as an emerging principal ballerina, and for Elias to wave off scrutiny and media interest in his personal and romantic affairs. The couple’s arrangement quickly becomes much more confined when Sage finds herself staying at Elias’ and Aiden’s apartment, after a near disastrous fire took over her own home. The constant forced proximity, and all their public and private time together develops both Sage and Elias’ feeling more — though neither pushing to take their arrangement any further; primarily accountable towards Elias’ four-year celibacy vow.

“Spiral”, part two of Bal Khabra’s Off the Ice series , is a forced proximity, fake-dating hockey player and ballerina romance. Two things I am a major fan of - hockey romance and a fake dating trope! I really loved delving into this read, and sparked a greater interest for me in this series! Two words - Elias Westbrook; this man is battling his way to the top of my book boyfriend roster and I can’t even be mad about it. His maturity, to his softness, and caring personality puts him miles ahead of my perfect book boyfriends, and had me swooning at every page. Elias’ and Sage’s familial pasts both hurt my heart; but then their sense of found family not only with each other but friends and teammates is so beautiful, how am I not supposed to cry?

Thank you Netgalley & Berkeley for the chance to read and review Spiral — and thank you Bal for the perfection that is Elias Westbrook 😭

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

Putting my feelings about this book into words seems almost impossible at this point.

I. Absolutely. Loved. This. Book.

Fake dating is a troupe that I will always stand behind and Sage and Eli had me rooting for them from the beginning. I read in one sitting because I didn’t want to leave them😭! Everything you could ever need and more in a romance.

Thanks @berkleyromance for providing a #free advanced copy💕

I also yapped about this book a bit over on youtube!!! 🔗

https://youtu.be/tg62sSM1oQg?si=ryyovm0lwil3q2UN

Bal Khabra can do no wrong! I'm not typically a huge contemporary romance reader but I was obsessed with "Collide." Khabra does it again by delivering a sweet and spicy romance, perfect for fans of the genre and those who (like me) typically don't read it! I squealed so many times. A delectable read!

Another stellar hockey romance. I loved Sage and Elias's journeys both separately and together as a couple. All of their choices made sense given their histories. And the drama was delicious while not being over done just for the sake of more drama. Definitely continuing this series!

4.5 stars
2 spice