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

Thank you, @berkleyromance and @berkleypub , for an advanced digital copy of this book!

Spiral had me smiling, laughing, and tearing up all the way through. The love story between Elias and Sage exceeded all expectations—genuine, sweet, and so incredibly special.

Elias is an absolute sweetheart and definitely a new favorite book boyfriend. I loved how he consistently showed up for Sage, making her feel valued. Their chemistry was electric, and their moments together had me grinning like a fool. Watching their romance unfold, despite all the obstacles, was both heartwarming and emotional. The slow-burn tension was perfectly paced, and I loved how their connection deepened with every page. Their relationship was healthy and built on strong communication and reassurance, which was so refreshing.

I adore the fake-dating-turned-real trope, and watching their friendship blossom into something more was heartwarming. The secondary characters were also fantastic, and I’d love to see more from this series. Overall, Spiral is a charming, steamy sports romance that’s both easy to read and impossible to put down.

4.5⭐️ there is just something about a fake dating, hockey romance that i always eat upppppp. Eli deserves the whole freaking world. My god that man is perfection and so so so sweet. And his relationship with Sean and the things he did to help him without Sage knowing?😭 I loved Sage’s sense of humor and take no shit attitude, and refusal to give up on her dreams no matter what. Reading about these two falling in love and overcoming the things they went through in their pasts was everything. These are two characters who i honestly think would last after the last chapter.

That bathtub scene will live rent free in my head forever.

Sage Beaumont is a hardworking ballerina who aspires to be a principal in the Aurora Ballet Theater. Elias Westbrook is a rookie, recently drafted hockey player for the Toronto Thunder who has yet to score a goal. They both could use a career boost, and pretending to be dating to enhance their social media presence is the way to go. In the process they find so much more. Sage has learned to rely on herself, denying her own needs to provide for her brother; and Elias has closed himself off from romantic relationships because of a past mistake. But being together provides a profound emotional bond that has been missing from their lives. When they achieve their career goals, how will they be able to end their fake relationship that has become very real?

Spiral is a fake dating relationship book with authentic characters and real emotions. Elias is a wonderful guy. His degree of caring and consideration for Sage makes readers sigh with contentment. Although he guards and exercises so much control over himself, his actions speak larger than words, such as cooking and baking for Sage and giving her massages, showing what a real sweetheart he is. Sage is plain-speaking, nurturing, and fun, with a unique ability to bring Elias out of his shell. Watching them fall in love provides that serotonin boost that romance lovers crave. The way they watch out for and support each other is relationship goals. Khabra establishes an emotional connection that makes their sexual encounters so satisfying, which is great as this book gets very steamy. Their friends and family are intrinsic to their story, because it’s very apparent how much they love them, and both Sage and Elias work so hard to make their families proud of them. Readers are sure to fall in love with this couple and their relationship. The inclusion of diverse characters is great, but more exploration of Sage’s ethnic heritage would be appreciated as she seemed very racially ambiguous for most of the book. This book incorporates tidbits of the lives of hockey players and ballerinas in a way that is naturalistic, adding to the three-dimensional feel of the characters. Spiral is a thoroughly enjoyable steamy contemporary romance with real heart.

4.5 stars.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴, 𝘐’𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

elias and sage unfilitered is my new mantra 😭😭😭💗 you can write that on my tombstone please and thank you

get you a hockey player who buys you a different bouquet of flowers every week while you’re fake dating just to help you decide which ones are your favorite (because you’ve never received any in your life)

get you a hockey player who can cook and experiments with sugar-free ingredients to help feed your diabetic little brother

get you elias westbrook.

i genuinely loved the hockey player x ballerina story. both tough careers, both hitting rock bottom, and yet they lifted each other up and kept hope alive for one another 🫶🏻❤️

fake dating used to be my all-time favorite trope when i got back into reading and there’s a reason why it’s still top 3 to this day. THE TENSION BETWEEN ELIAS AND SAGE WERE 😮‍💨🤤

lastly, the found family between the hockey team and sage? for the girl who got abandoned by her own parents and had no friends because all she ever did was work to provide for her little brother? 😭😭 absolutely heartwarming !!

if a sports romance doesn’t have found family in it, don’t even give it to me.

i loved this book so much and was the cutest palate cleanser! add it to your tbr if you need a simple, sweet romance read 💗

I read about a third of this and was mildly entertained but just feeling kind of bored. The lesson for me I think is that I just don't find new adult engaging as a genre and I shouldn't read them. I liked the relationship between the characters, but just didn't really feel compelled or excited about their romance. I love a fake dating story, but this one just wasn't capturing me. Thanks to Berkley for this arc.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book! I loved all of the communication between the two and that they were sharing feelings/reassurances. I felt like the relationship developed/progressed pretty naturally. The slow burn and found family tropes were perfectly done which is not an easy feat.

If you like slow burn, sports romance or found family i highly highly recommend.

I took my time reading Spiral by Bal Khabra, and it was SUCH a good decision! Sage and Eli are my new favorite book couple and their story was just what I needed this week! Both are high-level athletes (ballet and hockey) with something to prove. What’s the solution? Fake dating, of course!

There’s so much more and I read it *mostly* without any pre-reading and was so glad with my choice. Both had so much character development throughout, and I loved the care and devotion they show each other and their family - including found. A joy to read and sports romance lovers will want to snag this series asap! I Received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

Spiral shoots and scores with its fake-dating, found family love story. A perceived bad boy on the team, aligns himself with the niece of the teams front office staff, to solve problems each are facing on and off the ice. As lines get blurred, these two realize their smitten with each other.

The caring nature of Elias was the sweetest. The love story featured mature communications and realistic thoughtfulness. The hockey family delivered needed friendships and a found family for this couple to move forward. Spiral, much like book one in the Off the Ice series, gives the reader humor, angst and some steamy scenes.

A must read for sports romance fans!

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley