Icebreaker

By: Hannah Grace

Narrated by: Elizabeth Louise, Tim Paige

Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

A top ten bestseller and TikTok’s latest viral sensation, Icebreaker is a swoonworthy college romance about an ice skater and the hockey captain she hates as they’re forced to share a rink.

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. She has a drive that few can match and, as she enters her third year on the Maple Hills ice skating team, everything is going according to plan.

Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the ice hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the ice skating team–including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him. But when her skating partner gets injured, Nate looks like her best option to advance in competition.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried. After all, she doesn’t have time for a relationship … right?

©2022 Hannah Grace (P)2022 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

‘Sweltering chemistry, sizzling banter and swoonworthy romance. Icebreaker melted me head to toe.’ (Elena Armas, New York Times bestselling author of The Spanish Love Deception)

Omg

This made me feel things. LIKE- IMAGING HOOKING UP W SOMEONE CASUALLY AND THEN EVENTUALLY MARRYING THEM. WITH A BABY ON THE WWY TOO OMGGG

One of my best audiobooks in recent times

I do a LOT of audiobooks ..... heaps ….. and I don’t feel the need to write reviews. But this one is soooo different.

It takes the reader on a different journey to the normal enemies to lovers trope.

No spoilers below but there is some explanation to assist the reader.

The story was really good and avoided bogging down. It dealt with difficult issues in a positive and constructive and healthy way.

There is a good deal of spice / sex / steam and the opening chapters that may make some readers a little uncomfortable but perseverance pays off …. it is an essential part of the journey and character development later in the book.

It opens with a FMC who doesn’t believe in two people being together their whole lives and takes you on their journey and transformation. I liked the way it was a gradual story rather than a series of constructed situations. It made the characters feel more genuine.

I liked that the FMC was a strong lead character, rather than a paper-tiger that looked good until a strong breeze. She was strong and true to herself the way we would all want our daughters to be. Her internal dialogue helped the reader keep a balanced perspective.

The MMC was a lot more rounded than most of the stories and the fact that he kept a mature perspective but in some cases but was more reactionary (but not every situation needed to be a drama) was well balanced and more in keeping with the characters.

The overall character development lacked unnecessary grief and antagonism. Many books seem to need to create one of the key characters as a protagonist to get through the narrative or build a story. This took a very different approach to the problems and created a more positive vibe and perspective eve.

It addressed some ugly issues in a really strong and positive way and showed two main characters (who were mature and NOT the problem) dealing with the issues as a real couple would normally build a life i.e. as a couple that worked as a team and heaving each other’s back.

Overall I finished the book feeling good rather than wrung out from the drama and grief. A pleasant change.

Cannot understand why more people haven't read this .... it was AMAZING

Looking forward to the next one.

Should come with a trigger warning

This book should contain a trigger warning for the massively controlling, emotionally and verbally abusive relationship between the lead and her roommate. His character changes the book's tone from funny and light-hearted to a very difficult and stressful read.