Icebreaker | 
pickIcebreaker is a completely unrealistic wish-fulfillment spicy romance novel, and I won‘t have anyone disparage it on those grounds. It does exactly what it does on the tin, and it does it well. It‘s a delightful, satisfying read – one million #Bookstagrammers can‘t be wrong! Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/icebreaker-hannah-grace/
“You don‘t hate me like you pretend you do, do you? If you want me on my knees, Anastasia, we can make that happen.”
I did not like the epilogue of this book. I am glad that the characters ended up happy but it seemed so...off putting? I just felt like the epilogue was extremely rushed and almost too good to be true. I think it would have been better if they focused on Stassie winning gold. It would have been full circle and a happy ending without being too rushed or idealistic.
I thought that Stassie's friendship with Aaron was really interesting/odd. On one hand, I think their relationship could illustrate how sometimes people stay in situations that are not best for them. While this is painful to read, it does happen so portraying Stassie's struggle with Aaron could help those struggling with toxic relationships. On the other hand, Aaron was just terrible. I don't really think that he should have had a redemption arc.
One thing that I did enjoy about this book was the peak that we got into the lives of a student athlete. I have not participated in competitive sports since middle school so I am not too familiar with all that goes into being a college athlete. I had no idea how specific and intense all of the training, diets, planning, etc are. I appreciated the discussion of anxiety that came along with this as well as it showed us the good and the bad.
I chose to read this book as one of my choice reads because I have heard so much about it and its...questionable reputation. I have seen many teachers and librarians on tik Tok discussing how this book has been popular amongst younger readers despite some of its content. I was still, however, surprised to see it on the list of top teen books. As many have discussed, the cover is almost misleading, the book does seem to be YA lit at first glance.
#two4tuesday @TheSpineView
1. Yup. My friends and I would bet on our March Madness brackets. Winner takes the pot. That is the limit of my gambling...minus some friendly betting on the Bachelor/Bachelorette contestants back in the day (we made teams before the first night).
2. Tagged book was the only one I could think of. I'm not really drawn to sports related books.
This weekend is the Founder's Festival in my town! There is live music, food trucks, tons of vendors, and a PARADE! 🥳🎉🎉🎉 The library is always in the parade, which makes me super happy! ☀️ Is anyone surprised to learn that I brought books with me to the parade this morning? 🤭
so-soI would definitely not suggest this novel to a young adult reader, but there are aspects of Nathan and Anastasia's story that could be used as learning moments for older readers. Hannah Grace, in my opinion, did a great job writing about the complexity of relationships--both platonic and romantic--and a number of other delicate topics. Not a YA book, but still enjoyable!
I think this novel did a really good job of broaching the subject of toxic relationships. It was difficult to read about the main character Anastasia's struggles with her manipulative skating partner, Aaron, and how his toxicity affected her health and well-being, but I think the author was very respectful in how she wrote about the situation.
One thing I appreciate about this novel is how it tackled conflict resolution and communication. Though the main characters are young and in college, they are mature in how they work out most of their conflicts by being open and honest about how/what they are feeling. As someone who reads a lot of romance novels, I would say that this novel has one of the best representations of a healthy, communicative relationship I have read recently.
so-soI‘m reviewing this book in a high school setting; I would not recommend or keep this in my classroom library. I would not say this is appropriate at all for young adults who have developing brains and are a little more prone to making unwise decisions—-in a classroom. Now if they wanted to read this in their free time, that is one thing, of course. But as a teacher, I couldn‘t recommend this to a student because of the raunchiness of it.
I kind of sped through this book because I‘m on vacation and that‘s literally all I do. Overall, I think it had a good storyline, but I have found that I am not really into the genre of books. I thought I may be because I do like a good romcom, but this was a little too much for me. Their storyline is cute with them bonding over sharing the ice, with the frenemies to lovers trope, but it just does not have a deeper level of meaning that I enjoy.
I think it‘s safe to say that this novel should not be on a YA book list! I would not recommend this to anyone under the age of 18 as it features a lot of sexually explicit content. I would label this book as a new adult or adult novel. All that aside, I think this is a really enjoyable book so far. It seems to feature a cast of fun, diverse characters and has already touched on subjects like consent, disordered eating, and toxic relationships.
panThis book is odd. I like the rare romance book but this something else. I refer to it as #hockeyporn hockey romance is a genre unto itself now, who knew. Maybe it‘s the age of the people, maybe it‘s the porn influences 🤷🏻♀️ I finished it just to see how it would end. I like the consent aspect and it did have some variety in ethnicities and sexual orientation.
I‘m about 50 pages in, and so far it‘s great. However, I don‘t know that this is a Y/A book. There‘s a lot of maturity that I am sure is appropriate for older high school kids (17&18), but I do not think I would advertise it, just because of how prominent sexual themes. The two main characters are college aged, so I wouldn‘t think 14/15/16 are necessarily in the right mindset to read it but I will be more definite on that when I get further in.
No Friday night is complete without a great book and some ice cream! 📖🍦💕
Ok so I chose this book honestly because there is a craze on the hockey romance. It‘s been on my mind because I always see it at target🤫. But so far, it feels like most any other romcom/YA romance book. Getting to know both the main characters before their introduction has been a refreshing part. I love books with multiple perspectives so this has been fun for me and I‘m ready for Anastasia and Nate to meet 🎊🎊
pan2 ⭐There is nothing about this book that appeals to me. I know this book is a booktok, darling. I know librarians of TikTok who manage middle school libraries saying this book comes up for a lot of middle schoolers as their favorite book. Or as a book, they should be added to the collection. I also know that this book is not intended for middle school at all. It is a new adult steamy romcom. I know that this cover makes this book look like
so-soI have had many people recommend this read. I finished it, but will not be continuing. It was so-so for me.
I also just realized I forgot to post a picture of my Independence Bookstore Day haul! 😱 I tried to rain myself in a little bit, but as usual when it comes to books I was unable to do so! 🤭💕📚
Not a huge pick for me, but I liked it more than I expected to. Yay for sex positivity in New Adult romance. Main criticisms are breaking the fourth wall a little too much and a ridiculously perfect happy ending.
pick4.5/5 ⭐️ I forgot to post this review, but I loved this book! It was funny and sweet and spicy! #littensloveromance
CW: eating disorder, but I think it was handled really well and I say this as someone who struggles with disordered eating
So I was looking for a steamy book and I found it. It goes right into in in chapter 2. Y‘all need to read it if y‘all like steamy romance.
pick#LittensLoveRomance Review: I liked this book more the further I got into it: it started out as kind of enemies to lovers or at least annoyance (on her part) to lovers and I enjoyed the book more when they were in love and together. But that‘s just me. Overall I liked this book and all the side characters and I loved Nate especially. I‘m looking forward to continuing the series.
#LittensLoveRomance Ch. 46-48: well, we finally find out Aaron lied about his injury. Big surprise there. If I were Nate and his team I‘d be livid. I wonder what‘s going to happen with that. And the kiss? Ooh - hard to stop reading right now! We‘ll finish up tomorrow!
pickRead this for the Buddy read and I enjoyed it! I really loved Nate and I'm glad the way it ended. I was really worried on Stasie's decision at first. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
#littensloveromance #bookspinbingo #17 #doublespin
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.43-45: Ughhhh I‘m getting tired of saying how much I hate Aaron. Nate is right and Stasie spending so much time justifying her stance is irritating. Will she and Nate be able to make it through this? At least she and Lola are going to move. Wait until they tell Aaron.
pickI absolutely adored this book… wonderful characters, wonderfully horrid characters, hockey and spice off the charts!! Can‘t wait to spend more time with the maple hills gang!
pickI loved reading this one with the #LittensLoveRomance group. I‘ve already put in a library hold for book 2.
Great characters some greatly horrible characters, spice and a couple new book boyfriends. ⛸️💙
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.40-42: First, we finally get the interruption we all saw coming and Nate‘s dad and sister show up. Well that was awkward- at least it wasn‘t as embarrassing as it could‘ve been. Good for Stasie for standing up to his dad. And it felt like Nate might have even had a moment with his dad after…maybe. But I sense trouble on the horizon. ⬇️
#LittensLoveRomance Ch. 37-39: wow, I loved these chapters! They finally declare their feelings and Nate is still totally living up to his book boyfriend status- I mean he saved her life! Literally! I‘m in love with him too.
pickI really enjoyed this one! I can‘t say too much because I read it for the #LittensLoveRomance group, but YAY! I will definitely read the next book in the series.
#bookspinbingo
#marvellousmarch
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.34-36: I‘m so glad their visit went well with Stasie‘s parents. I worry that Nate‘s dad is going to show up unannounced and ruin their Christmas though. I‘m waiting for them to say the L word and it‘s so sweet-even if it took a bit to get there (more difficult for Stasie). Also, I can‘t believe she‘s thinking of still living with Aaron after. I mean WTF? She‘s a glutton for punishment.
#LittensLoveRomance Ch. 31-33: K, I can honestly say I‘m loving Henry. What a sweetheart! I‘ll be reading his book for sure. I can‘t believe Aaron was badmouthing Stasie to everyone, including her coach. I‘ve been around toxic people and it‘s nuts what some people get off on. I‘m so happy Nate and Stasie are official-ish now lol. Like they weren‘t before 🙄😄
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.28-30: I think Nathan is my new book boyfriend. He‘s such a good guy and is funny even when he‘s drunkenly looking for Stasie in nothing but his boxers. I wonder why Summer is acting standoffish now. Because he‘s no longer chasing her? You snooze you lose, girly.
Totally called it on them not waiting too long to have sexy times - yup. Saw that coming a mile away.
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.25-27: I can‘t believe Aaron is trying so hard to control Stasie, going so far as to limit what she eats. He‘s got sooo many issues and I can‘t believe the coach hasn‘t noticed anything. Aren‘t they there to help protect their skaters? Maybe they only care if they‘re winning. At least she‘s listening to Nate who has her best interests at heart. I do worry something is going to happen with Nate and his dad though.
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.22-24: Ouch. I can‘t imagine what Stasie is going through after being dropped. How scary! That sport is intense. So now Nate has offered to be her skating partner - and keep his hands off her - so to speak. Ha! Good luck with that. These two are - respectfully - horndogs. We‘ll see how long their self imposed sex hiatus goes.
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.19-21: I knew it would be Aaron that would cause problems. I feel as though He did this to himself to bring Stasie back to him. What a weird manipulative dude.
I liked the therapy session. Stasie is smart and understands what‘s happening which is refreshing. Here‘s hoping she talks to Nate.
I was not prepared for the 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ level in this book! I definitely won‘t be reading it in public anymore!!
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.16-18: Wow. I knew this book was spicy but that was S-P-I-C-Y! I‘m sitting in the living room with my headphones on totally embarrassed even though no one can hear what‘s happening. 🪭 and of course now Nate wants exclusivity. How‘s he going to make that happen?
We finally get insight into what makes Stasie tick as she shares a bit of her childhood with Nate. And- surprising no one, Aaron is once more a jerk.
Yay! I finally completed my #WickedWords for January… it has taken me a bit to find a book where Colorado figured into the story. In the tagged book, one of the main characters is from Colorado. ✔️😀
@AsYouWish
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.13-15: okay, maybe listening to this on the bus isn‘t such a solid plan. My cheeks must have been blazing during the Uber scene. I‘m all for some spice but maybe not on my morning commute. 😂🤔
So Nate wants more with Stasie than she‘s willing to give and then she gets bitten by the green eyed monster when she sees him with someone else. Hmmm - better sort yourself out Stasie.
#LittensLoveRomance Ch.10-12: Oh this back and forth between Stasie and Nate - they should get on with what seems inevitable at this point. But maybe not in the back of a filled Uber car. I liked how Nate got to see how tough Stasie‘s sport is and how great she is on the ice. That‘s getting to know her in itself. We‘ll see where things go from here but I‘m sensing feelings in the future.
On the way to the Dells for a work conference. This #littensloveromance selection is soooo good!
