Icebreaker

You know these romance novels that make you feel calm and happy and give you the reassurance that everything is going to be okay because the MCs are doing all the right things? No? Me neither.

I didn’t until I read this book.

I don’t want to be a snob and pretend I’m above regular romance novels, because we all know that would be one big pile of BS. I’m just amazed at how healthy a fictional relationship can be. Reading romance taught me that drama, miscommunication and third-act breakups are necessary to make a book exciting. And then comes Hannah Grace and says ‘hold my beer’.

Nate and Stassie are absolutely wonderful and I love them both! This is one of the rare romance novels that I would actually recommend to young show more readers because of what it teaches about consent, safe sex and relationships.

This book is a total game changer and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I can’t recommend it enough, five stars!!!

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update
It seems that there are two versions of this book; one where Anastasia's best friend and roommate is called Sabrina and is an Algerian Muslim, and one with the same character called Lola with no national or religious background specified. Just to be clear, it was Lola in my book and I found out about Sabrina from other reviews. There wasn't any Muslim representation in the version I read. show less

So, the romance between Anastasia and Nathan is perfectly executed textbook romance. They are thrown together by circumstances, he's kind, he's sweet, he thinks she's gorgeous, he respects her mind and her personality, they have a lot of sex, she is a little bit bratty and it's all a lot of fun.

Adorable as it is though, it's not that excitingly different, and doesn't really explain the viral popularity of this book. I think the things I found really interesting about this book were

- Anastasia's relationships with her parents, and her history of therapy. There are lots of 'I am a messed up overachiever because of the pressure my parents put on me' stories out there, I don't think I have ever seen one that is so clearly 'actually, my show more parents love me, and it's my own anxiety that is putting this pressure on me, how can I deal with this as a grown up and work it through'

- Anastasia and Aaron. For me, this is the story of the book. Nathan is adorable and sweet, but is basically a plot mcguffin for helping Anastasia work out what is going on with Aaron. Aaron is an amazingly well drawn modern bad guy, he is skin crawlingly awful with his gentle negging, his moods and sulks, never communicating what he wants, controlling Stassie's food and judging her weight, lying to hurt people who are getting too close to Stassie... I do feel sorry for Hannah Grace that she can write someone like this so well, I hope she's not working out her own history! Aaron has been part of Stassie's life for so long, and watching her detangle herself from him, while trying to be a good person, give him the benefit of the doubt and not sabotage her own skating dreams is really well drawn and interesting.

It comes so near being a perfect modern non-slut-shaming romance, where the relationship is healthy and full of consent and communication. It wobbled a bit for me when Nathan punches Aaron, much as he deserves it, and I didn't think the epilogue of blooming pregnant Stassie with her floppy golden dog and her happy ever after proposal was where I wanted her to end up It also veers into 'you only want to be non-exclusive if you don't know Real Love'. But if you want a world where the basic assumption is sex is fun, and love is fun, and you can have both or either but it should be up to you with no judging, this book will work for you. show less

Bitchy figure skater and hunky all around good boy Hockey captain go from not knowing each other to somewhat enemies to lovers. Drama, mishaps, and several trigger warnings later.. the only character I liked in the end was Henry, a side character.

Note: I want to put this right at the top. There are serious topics in this book that do NOT get a trigger warning. I don't generally have trigger warnings, but I think they are important. Especially since there are some topics I feel like I need to be prepared for. One of those happens to appear in this book. I will put my TW list behind a spoiler for those that think that is a spoiler. Disordered Eating, Emotional Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Vomiting, Violence (outside of hockey), show more nonconsent kissing

Overall reco: I cannot recommend this book. I only finished it because I wanted to write this review and make sure I covered my bases. It says something when my favorite character is a side character and I absolutely will not read the book that is about them. I was very tempted to rate this a 1 star, but I felt like it had enough positives that (like it was fucking readable) that I couldn't do that.

He wanted to ensure she had everything she might need, especially because women never have their own socks.-Nate (talking about Henry)

Plot: 1/5
Spice: 2/5
Characters: 1/5

Too many eggs, not enough baskets..(plot)
There was far to much going on in this book. The amount of extra characters and subplots felt confusing. There is a character that gets introduced in a paragraph in the first 20-ish% of the book and then disappears until like 70%? Thankfully the author reminds us who that is but it felt, weird. There were all these people and all these side plots and as I was reading I kept thinking 'oh I bet the author has planned a book about them' and I shouldn't be thinking that. I should be in the story.
That said, this honestly felt like a high school novel and not a college one. I've seen this been called a YA novel, I don't see that as an official classification, but that might explain my feeling like I was reading a high school novel.
They made stupid, STUPID decisions. The thing with the rink at the beginning. I get wanting to protect people, but it was stupid to not take that to your coach. I played intercollegiate sport in college and you bet your fucking ASS I'd go to my coach, even the one I didn't fucking like. They hid it for the dumbest reason. It just didn't fucking make sense for a god damn JUNIOR in COLLEGE to not understand that he could have gone to a coach and gotten ahead of the truth. It was eventually going to come out. they have fucking CAMERAS.

French vanilla is still vanilla...(spice)
Right so the stuff at the start, the shit in the uber (which.. college kids... wait.. no RICH college kids..) and the teasing and other stuff was pretty hot. But honestly it felt like it hit a ceiling and then just became... less. I felt like this was one of those books were less scene's would have been more. It also felt like the descriptions and actions became less as well.

I don't think I've hated a cast of characters more...(characters)
First: The 'adults' every adult had the same fucking response to someone mentioning people were dating and it was SUPER FUCKING CREEPY. "don't get pregnant" over and fucking over again. I don't think a single one of my professors in college mentioned that to me ever. Like holy shit. And like, the weird way that the book seemed to fixate and look down of people that were pregnant in college. Like that was a super fucking weird thing to call out in an all team meeting as an example of bad behavior. Like what the fuck? Also the fucking weird redd herring about he being pregnant? Yeah I fell for it but honestly, I hated this whole part of the book. it was weird and stuck out and now that I know it's a red herring its feels SO FUCKING FORCED.
The FMC: Anastasia. Jesus Christ she was annoying at the beginning of the book, and even after we got to know her.. she just annoyed the shit out of me. 5% of the time when she and Nate were being cute is when I liked her. the rest? it felt like I was trying to care about a 'mean girl' in high school. She needed to fire her therapist. seriously.
The MMC: Nate. Nate was more likable. I was right fucking there with him the whole time about Aaron and boy has more love in his soul than I do because I would have not handled that at all as well as he did. Holy shit.
Best boy: Henry. I feel like something is wrong when my favorite character is a weird side character.
Aaron: He is, without a doubt, a villain. It felt like, at times, the author was trying to justify his actions and maybe making us try to understand him. But then something else would happen to make him sink lower. I don't understand this. The other thing I absolutely hated was that he never felt like he got his comeuppance. Bad guys win a lot in real life, I don't like that the guy I hated the whole book didn't really get what was coming to him. Like he didn't want to be there, it was stated he wanted to go to UCLA. His friends were all UCLA people. Yeah, he lost a partner but absolutely nothing else seemed to happen to him. Maybe Karma hits him in the other books? but I'm not willing read several other books just for a fucking piece of shit to get what he deserves.

note for me.... stop reading things labeled 'TikTok Sensation'.. only 1 series has worked out for you. stop trusting them... show less

Spoilers have been removed so review will jump around. Entire review is on the site.

It has taken me FOREVER to write this review and it still feels like I just finished this book yesterday. The layers upon layers between Nate and Anastasia burrow so deep into your psyche that you find yourself thinking about scenes long after you close the book. If you are a fan of Elle Kennedy and have finished the Off-Campus Series - consider this a second helping (yes, I am aware of the Briar U Spin-off).

For as long as she could remember, all Anastasia ever wanted to be was a figure skater. Now, with her partner Aaron, she finally has a chance of qualifying, moving her even closer to her dream of competing in the Olympics. Said dream quickly turns show more into a nightmare when the antics of the school's hockey team causes one of the only two rinks on campus to shut down, forcing the skaters and hockey players to split rink time. With competitions coming up, consolidated practice time and distractions are not an option, even if the drop dead gorgeous Hockey Captain is apologetic and determined to "make nice". As the hostility builds, the coaches come up with a bright idea to have an icebreaker exercise. Despite skepticism everywhere, it works and bonds are formed. All is well until one run-in leads to an unexpected connection. Reminding herself that she doesn’t do relationships and can live without the drama, Anastasia suddenly realizes there is something (or someone) else she can’t seem to live without.

The best way to describe this book is as a very "casual", laid back read. It has its moments of intensity and insanely spicy scenes, but nothing was over the top, which is a nice change of pace. You didn't feel like you were going 160mph in terms of intensity and hostility between these two characters. It felt more like watching a relationship develop and evolve - namely the ups and downs caused by different backgrounds combined with their own hopes, aspirations, and dreams. What did make me laugh was the unrealistic maturity level of people in their very early 20s. While I am not saying it is impossible, it reminded me a lot of Dawson’s Creek and the unbelievable vocabulary and articulation of high school students!

Back to the casualness of the story, when reading most contemporary romantic comedies, as I have said on numerous occasions, the tone is set by an overly used formula. This one didn’t even consider it and just let events fold as they happened. This book was a literary rollercoaster (again no deep dives or high drops, just in the up and down aspect).

The supporting characters in this book were some of my favorite people. I am 100% IN LOVE with Nate’s teammates. Robbie cracked me up and I am head over heels for Henry! JJ was just too much for his own good! I also enjoyed the inclusivity of the book, from Robbie being wheelchair bound to JJ being pansexual, the sexual liberty of Anastasia and Henry having same sex parents.

I think for individuals disappointed in this book, what they may not have liked was the mellowness of it and the lack of resolve for certain characters. There are a few characters plot holes that leave open the possibility of adding books to the series but if this is a one and done, we are left wondering what happened!

***Quick note - as again it has taken me a lifetime to write this review, I have learned there is a book two! While I was hoping it was going to be about Henry, it focuses on Russ. Can't wait!***

Anyone who has read this book will tell you it is hot. Sure, I could call this book spicy. I could call in steamy. Truth be told, I feel like it needs a whole new category. This book was not just five alarm chili hot, it was stuck in Death Valley kind of heat! Hannah over delivered and just kept it coming. The scenes between Nate and Anastasia were some of the best I have read (no one has been able to top AK Landow yet though but Tessa Bailey and Amy Daws may have some competition!)

While the heat was front and center (and what many gushed about when it came to this book), I enjoyed the ongoing theme of communication and therapy. The book also showed how some may try to weaponize mental health as well.

Icebreaker is definitely one I will read again in the future. Again, it wasn't the type of book that will have you weeping (fanning yourself - definitely) but it will get those gears moving and give you a lot to think about when it comes to love, life, relationships, friendship, hopes, and dreams. show less

4.5 ⭐️

Que leitura gostosa foi essa daqui, e sim, na minha humilde opinião ele vale todo o hype que recebeu nas redes. O livro "Quebrando o gelo" da autora Hannah Grace conta a história de Anastasia e Nate, ela patinadora artística e ele capitão do time de hockey, dois atletas que são obrigados a compartilhar o mesmo rink de patinação, até que Nate se torna a única esperança da Anastasia continuar competindo após um acidente com a sua dupla artística.

Essa foi a minha primeira experiência com a autora e eu amei, achei a escrita dela bem gostosa e fluida, com um clichê gostoso e leve. No entanto, a autora não deixou de abordar assuntos bem importantes e introduzi-los de maneira bem natural no decorrer do livro.

Óbvio que show more nem tudo foram flores, temos momentos tensos durante o livro e personagens que não valem nem a pena ser mencionados aqui. Por outro lado, eu amei demais o Nate e seus colegas de equipe, principalmente por não ter aqueles elementos que são extremamente característicos e até mesmo estereótipos em livros com atletas, os personagens secundários são bem legais e te faz desejar um livro pra cada um só, para descobrir mais sobre eles. Por fim, quero dizer que entendo completamente a Anastasia em relação ao Henry e mal posso esperar para ler o livro dele. show less

I wish this book had started roughly around the time Aaron was hurt and Nate had to step in and help her with her routines in the meantime. The beginning was fun at first but got kind of circular. Everyone is good looking and banging each other, got it. The cab scene was hot though.

The gaslighting and abuse from Aaron (her skating partner NOT the love interest) was so sneakily done that it might be one of the best examples I've seen in awhile. She wanted to believe in the best from him because he wasn't always bad. He just had bad days and took them out on her. EXCEPT that he was literally starving her with an inadequate nutrition plan, belittling her at every turn, screaming at her, slut shaming her, and being generally the worst at show more every turn. Every time she gave him another chance I just wanted her to run.

The relationship between Anastasia and Nate seemed pretty effortless and I really enjoyed that part. They were decent at communication and he bought her an ipad so she could do online therapy sessions easier which I loved. A hero who is obsessed with her is great when he does such a good job and she's into it.

I wanted this book to have less Aaron. She was lying to her therapist about the things he did and that felt gross. Her therapist would have told her to run too and I'm still mad at her for ignoring the neon warning signs and fighting with everyone about how Aaron was just misunderstood. Girl. show less

**spoiler alert** This was genuinely one of my favorites reads this year!
I will be honest, i lowkey expected it to be booktok cringe, but it was actually such a fun and light read. It was cringe, however it was that butterflies in tummy cringe that you want to keep reading!
The smut was A+ and I never once was caught wondering what was actually happening! The author described everything perfectly lol
I do have slight mixed feelings about the pregnancy trope at the end and wish we could've read about Anastasia's Olympic experience. I feel like the mushy epilogue fit the vibe of the book though and after rolling my eyes for a second, allowed myself to get into it because what is romance without some cliche vibes!
I also wish we could have show more seen a little bit of how they managed long distance after being so dependent on one another. i really liked it though and look forward to reading the sequels! I loved the twist about Aaron's deceit and the kiss(!!) I gasped so loud my husband paused his game to ask what was up!
I knew he was lying about the way it happened and for it to pop up at the end felt so liberating lol i was afraid it wasn't going to come out.
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Long review short, loved it! show less