REVIEW: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace: For Anastasia Allen it’s all about working hard and putting in those hours on the ice in order to make it to the national figure skating team. With gruelling training schedules that could make a professional hockey player cry and enough determination to power the entire town Anastasia is determined to do what she has to to achieve her dream even if that means she has to share a rink with Maple Hills hockey team. What was an already annoying situation only gets worse when Stassia’s partner gets injured when he winds up getting caught between a bunch of hockey players and one of their stupid pranks! Now not only is she partner-less but her replacement is non other than the hockey captain Nate Hawkins! All Anastasia needs to do is keep her head down, continue her practices and definitely not fall for the stupid hockey captain!

When I first read the description of Icebreaker, my mind instantly went to all the ice skating movies that I used to binge watch as a kid and this book definitely had that vibe but on a way steamer side! There was something kind of reminiscent to the Cutting Edge movies in this book but this could really just be me.

“Falling in love with Nathan Hawkins was not something I could have planned.”

I did actually really like both main characters; Anastasia was very relatable and I enjoyed getting to see her really standing up for herself where it mattered. I will say she did have moments that made her seem a bit bossy but I think it was more her determination to achieve her dream that made her so passionate/aggressive at times. I did really like the bond that she created with the rest of the hockey team and that they became like her second family. Whereas our hero was a total swoon fest! I loved Nate to bits, he was sweet, kind, caring, funny, silly but also a really good leader. I really enjoyed getting to read his POV and that we got to know him outside of his relationship with Anastasia.i loved the fact that Nate gave her the space to get comfortable with the idea of dating and a boyfriend after she had been so anti-commitment all this time. I really loved the fact that Nate was always there to support Anastasia when she needed it, be it in a quite small way or shouting out encouragement, he was there for her always.

“I only want you, Anastasia. Nothing you can buy me is better than the past four weeks with you. Give me more of that, and I’ll be happy.”

As much as I love Anastasia and Nate as a couple, I just found that this book dragged on for a bit too long. They made a great couple with some saucy banter and flirting but there really not much going on past the half way mark. They got together pretty fast and that really was the end of the drama. Another thing that I wasn’t too sure about was the number of secondary characters, now normally I love the extra zing that they add to a book but this time round I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed at moments, again this was not a major issue. I will say I did like the way that big topics such as mental health, adoption and therapy are handled in this book and not just brushed to the side.

Icebreaker was a pretty good read, yes it was long, yes it was very steamy but it was a good read that I would recommend.

Book Info:

Publication: August 23, 2022 | Atria Publishing | UCMH #1

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA.

A competitive figure skater since she was five years old, a full college scholarship thanks to her place on the Maple Hills skating team, and a schedule that would make even the most driven person weep, Stassie comes to win.

No exceptions.

Nathan Hawkins has never had a problem he couldn’t solve. As captain of the Maple Hills Titans, he knows the responsibility of keeping the hockey team on the ice rests on his shoulders.

When a misunderstanding results in the two teams sharing a rink, and Anastasia’s partner gets hurt in the aftermath, Nate finds himself swapping his stick for tights, and one scary coach for an even scarier one.

The pair find themselves stuck together in more ways than one, but it’s fine, because Anastasia doesn’t even like hockey players…right?