Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
Rating: 4.5/5★
Read: 8/25/24 – 8/30/24
I initially got this book in December 2022. I remember this book being EVERYWHERE and I love a good hockey romance, so I wanted it on my shelf. I became really intimidated to read this because of the hype this book was getting and I have to say I agree.
We follow Anastasia Allen, a determined figure skater, and Nathan Hawkins, captain of University of California Maple Hills. Anastasia is super uptight and has her life scheduled down to the second. This explodes in her face when the hockey team and figure skaters need to share the school’s ice rink. Anastasia can’t stand Nate. Everything about him just irritates her as she just wants to focus on her skating. Much to her luck, friend groups collide and Anastasia finds herself in the same circle as Nate. Irritation slowly turns into attraction and these two were definitely a fun pair! They turned from frenemies to friends with benefits to lovers and it was such a fun read.
I really grew to love Anastasia and Nate. I think their relationship development is the thing I enjoyed the most. They both never really had a serious relationship before, so initially, everything was just physical. Anastasia realized Nate wasn’t that bad, they were both attracted to each other, and just wanted to let off some steam. As they continued to spend time together, they started to slowly catch feelings. It made me so happy to see how much Nate cared about Anastasia’s well being. He was so protective over her and seeing that progress throughout the book made me so giddy. This is such a long book, but I felt as if the pacing was perfect. We see them go through relationship, family, and personal issues. They were really there for one another through every aspect of life. I think that I was not bored at any part reading this and I truly think it’s because the author transported us into this universe and made me feel as if I was a part of their world and their friend group.
Another aspect of the book I really enjoyed was the friendships. I felt like this book really reminded me of the Off Campus series by Elle Kennedy. It was SO comforting! The hockey boys live in a house together and you really get to know them. I love the friendship Nate has with his teammates, but I also love the friendships his teammates made with Anastasia. Anastasia and her best friend Lola, who is also dating Nate’s friend, spend a lot of time with them and they truly care about the girls’ well being. One friendship I grew to love was Henry and Anastasia. Henry seems like such a sweet and caring guy. I became such a big fan (side note: super excited to read his book Daydream).
Overall, I felt like this was such a fun book. The friend group was amazing. Nate and Anastasia’s relationship was so sweet. This made me so excited to continue the series!
Read this if you like:
– frenemies to lovers
– hockey romance
– friends with benefits
– amazing friend group
