I don't even know how to begin explaining how this book felt for me, as reading it was one of the greatest highlights of my whole month! This book felt like a warm hug, like coming home after being away for a while, like meeting an old friend after time spent apart. It's so comforting and inspiring in a way — it's very sweet and cozy. I feel like it's best read when you're sitting at home with a huge cup of tea, enjoying a cozy evening indoors. This book was absolutely amazing, and I feel forever grateful for bringing me comfort when I desperately needed it.

From the very first page, I couldn't put this book down because of how relatable and real it felt. I won't lie, I was kind of curious about how Eli's story would turn out after seeing him in Collide, so I started reading this book with high expectations. And it didn't ruin my experience — it only made me love it more. Seeing glimpses of Aiden and Summer healed something in me, and I realized how much they had changed since the beginning of their own book. However, seeing Sage and Eli's story unfold — seeing how they were into each other from the very first moment and how they needed to grow individually to finally be together — was so perfect for me!

I loved how the story focused on both Eli and Sage's internal struggles, how both were fighting their own fights but also being there for one another. Those sweet scenes when one person encouraged the other, when they showed up for each other's important events, when they became each other's anchors — I will forever cherish those moments.

This book makes people-pleasers feel so seen — at least it made me feel so seen because I was able to relate to Sage so much. Her entire arc in this book hit so close to home, and I really loved every bit of the development that Sage experienced here. It was so inspiring to see her open up and welcome people into her life, to see her finally find her own place among Eli's friends, among her group of people. It was even more inspiring to see how she re-discovered herself in terms of her career goals and plans.

I can't even begin to tell you how inspiring it was when Sage finally realized her worth and when she started to open up to other people—not only to Elias, but to Summer as well. I swear, their friendship is one of the best things that happened in this book! I can't wait to see more of them in the next books, too. Sage's bond with her uncle and her brother also warmed my heart because, after everything that both Sage and Sean went through with their parents, seeing how Marcus basically changed his whole life for them made me sob. He's amazing, and I wish we had more scenes with just the three of them as a family. Maybe in the next books, who knows?

Bal Khabra has a talent for writing the most comforting men ever! I swear, both Aiden and Eli turned out to be the greenest flags I've ever seen! They are incredibly well-written, and I feel like they make real men feel bad in comparison. 🤭

I absolutely enjoyed getting to know Eli and reading about his story. The thing that happened four years ago shocked me so much! I didn't expect that twist, but it made sense as to why he was acting the way he was. I love how complex his character was, and how he was not shy to communicate things with Sage when she asked him questions. Seeing him open up to Sage, seeing how he embraced their bond, and finally found a person who could love the good, the bad, and the ugly—it was so incredibly inspiring.

From the very first moment, the chemistry between Sage and Elias was mesmerizing. One of my favorite underrated things in books is when the characters have that feeling that the other person is going to become someone important in their lives, and this book once again made me realize how much I love that trope. From the first interaction, both Sage and Eli felt that pull toward each other, and the way that pull wasn't forced, but came naturally along with their undeniable chemistry? One of the best things ever!

Eli was so patient with Sage, and in return, she was so patient with him. It was so refreshing to see the progression of their bond, how naturally it turned into something more, and how that progression didn't feel like it came out of nowhere. That bond was always there, from the very first moment, and I feel like that was one of the things I liked most. Along with that pull, I can't avoid mentioning the support that both Sage and Eli provided for each other, and how they let their love for each other blossom. Eli became Sage's number one fan, and along with that, he also showed up not only for her but also for her brother. He became a part of their family so easily, and in return, Sage became a part of his. That moment when they were visiting Eli's parents? Aw, that was incredibly sweet and very cozy!

I could talk about them for hours and hours, as the love between Eli and Sage is now one of the most comforting loves I've ever read about!

If you didn't guess it by now, I absolutely enjoyed this book! It's not promoted as a Christmas read, but I definitely recommend reading it this winter if you're looking for something cute and cozy to read after the holiday hype, or if you just want to have that cozy stay-in night. I loved these characters so, so much, and I can't wait to see which character is going to be the lead in the next book!

[please let it be Kian, please let it be Kian, please let it be Kian.]

Well crafted story with lovable characters. Really enjoyed the depth Eli got in this book and the two MCs relationship was just adorable. It wasn't just a hockey romance, it gave me wonderful fictional people to gush over.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

elias is havig a hard time as a rookie on the nhl, the press is going crazy and crateing rumours about him and what's worse, he hasn't scored a goal yet. sage is not having her best year neither, her biggest dream is to star in the production of th swan lake yet she is being rejected left and right, it appears her social media presence is not strong enough. they cross paths and decide to fake date: sage gets the attention she needs and eli stops being seen as a playboy.
i loooved sage. she is witty, funny, down to earth... and well, she is an elder sister so you know she is gonna be protective and mature. eli is more reserved but he is not a bad boy which i loved, he was sweet and gentle and idk he was not a red flag. they matched eachother so well, they understood eachother like they were fated to be together yet it didnt feel forced or something that you only see in books or media idk how to explain it. i am not the biggest fan of fake dating to be honest, yet i loved it in here.
i liked this much better than the first book and i cant wait to see what the author comes with next, i know their books will get better and better. ( can't wait to see if we get a sean book)

Sage my sweet baby, she deserves the world!! And Elias is going to give it her, there's nothing sweeter than just reading about two characters who are so obviously meant to be together. I loved both of the main characters, their banter was off the scale and hockey playerXballet is iconic, as well as having an insight into Sage's relationship with her brother (this helped to flesh her out a bit and maker her feel like a real person).

It did feel slightly rushed in parts, especially towards the ending but I honestly didn't mind that because I just wanted everyone to just get their HEA!!

SAGE AND ELIAS DESERVE THE WORLD!!!!

Ok, sorry I had to get that out the way first and foremost, but I adored this book! The second book after Collide, Spiral suprised me and hooked me in from the start. It's tone, it's vibe is very different from the first book, but its heart is still beating throughout the pages. Throw into the mix my all time favourite trope of fake dating and this was immediately a winning formula for me. Heartfelt, funny, full of slow burn feelings and internal pondering, this book was a dream from start to finish I couldn't recommend it more.

This is such a refreshing take on fake dating and hockey romance. The main character is very relatable and her and the love interest are vey fleshed out.

It's a very tender slow burn romance and a compelling story. I loved reading about Sage's progress In ballet and Elias' growth. Loved how the relationship between Sage and her little brother was written, it felt very realistic.

Thank you Netgalley, Bloomsbury publishing and Bal Khabra for the arc!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for an eARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Fake dating hockey romance? Sign me up. I adored Sage and Elias together. Their chemistry was palpable, their banter was great and I just really loved both main characters.

The one thing that was slightly frustrating was that it felt like some storylines were either unfinished, rushed or just not fully fleshed out (Eli's bio-dad's random heart attack?, relationship dynamic with Owen and a few more).

Overall, this was a solid 3.5 stars from me- I enjoyed the book for the main couple but would have loved more from certain elements!

3.5 ⭐️

This was an enjoyable contemporary read. The characters were likable, and the story was fast-paced and easy to follow. I really enjoyed the banter between Elias and Sage—she brought the flirt, while Elias balanced things out with his caring nature, like cooking for her and offering her a place to stay.

What to expect
Fake dating
Hockey Player x Ballet Dancer
MC suffers from nightmares
Found family
Forced proximity
Acts of service - He cooks for her
Cameos - book 1 characters

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley Publishing and the Author for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes: ▪ Slow Burn ▪ Fake Dating ▪ Roommates ▪ Hockey/Ballerina ▪ Found Family ▪

I really enjoyed this book; i don't always love a slow burn because they have a habit of being boring, this was anything but boring! I definitely preferred this book to the first, I'm not sure why, I think thr story just flowed better for me.

Elias has got a bad name for himself as the newest rookie, that apparently has a womanising problem, although that couldn't be further from the truth! Sage has dedicated her whole life to her brother and to ballet, she's just struggling to get the right person to notice her. That's when Sage and Elias realise they could be good for each other.

I genuinely loved that this was a slow burn and how their realtionship developed. I enjoyed seeing the friends from Collide in this book! Definitely give this book a go!

After absolutely loving Collide last year, I was so excited for Spiral, another hockey romance, this time with a ballerina love interest!
Spiral follows Eli and Sage as they fake date whilst navigating their growing feelings for each other. I enjoyed getting to know both love interests and also loved still seeing Aiden and Summer, as well as other characters from Collide.
Although I did enjoy the book, I did struggle with Spiral a bit for a few reasons. I found it very slow at times in terms of their build up - I like a slow burn but it felt too stilted for me. I found Eli's celibacy to be an interesting storyline - I've not really come across that with a male lead in a romance so I liked that. However, I didn't like how much he ended up playing with Sage's emotions, especially with sex and his celibacy vow; I felt like he was really leading her on at times and that made me a bit uncomfortable. I also found the end to be quite slow and there were sudden threads with her ballet that seemed a bit unnecessary - it could have ended a bit earlier, for me.
I did enjoy Spiral but not as much as I was hoping to. I absolutely loved Collide though so would still read more by Bal Khabra!

I loved collide so as soon as I saw spiral available to request I was super excited and knew I needed to request it! I initially found this story a little slower to get into than I did collide, but once I was into it I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed how the main characters developed and the chemistry they had. Overall another fantastic book which I loved and would highly recommend!

I really enjoyed the author's previous book so I knew that I had to read this one. I loved it. It was easy to follow, had a good cast of characters and good pacing. I also loved the chemistry between the main characters. I highly recommend it.

“There’s no room for clouds over my head when I have a ray of sunshine in my hands.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elias Westbrook, a newly drafted hockey player for the Toronto Thunder, is facing the challenges of fame and media scrutiny. With a growing fan base and too many expectations on his shoulders, he’s struggling to make his first career goal. The tabloids are reporting on his every move, including which woman he was last seen with, but all he wants to do is escape the spotlight. Enter from stage left Sage Beaumont, an aspiring ballerina with dreams of joining the Aurora Ballet Theatre, but her lack of popularity online leaves her at a major disadvantage for securing the lead role. When Sage finds herself with the perfect opportunity to make her dreams come true by fake dating Elias, she takes her shot. Soon enough, the flimsy fake-dating rules they set in place fall away in the face of their sizzling connection. But before things spiral out of control, Sage and Elias will have to decide if they’re willing to take the leap together or if they'll call it quits.

Sage wants the best for her family whilst being desperate to achieve her biggest dream. She has the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she does her very best not to let it show. I think Sage is such a brilliant character because there is so much depth to her. I found I could relate to her on so many levels and my heart ached constantly when she felt she wasn’t good enough. Her thought process is so similar to my own that I immediately connected with her and loved her from the very beginning. I love the arc she undertakes throughout the book and the confidence she builds. A brilliant character from top to bottom.
Elias is just a big teddy bear. He is doing his best to keep his public image clean but everything ends up going wrong for him instead. His dedication to his team was incredibly admirable - but more so was his dedication to Sage. The softness he has for her and the vulnerability he displays in her presence was the absolute sweetest. I loved his interactions with his friends and teammates. An all around wonderful guy. I’d like an Elias please and thank you!

After thoroughly enjoying Collide, I knew that I was desperate to read anything else this author released. So when the opportunity came to read an early copy of the sequel (second standalone in the series) I rushed at the chanced and squealed when I was approved! This plot is just absolutely stunning. I’m a massive sucker for the fake dating trope anyway but this was done so brilliantly and with such a fantastic and easy flow that I could scarcely put the book down! It incorporates two sporting worlds impeccably whilst also showcasing real issues too! The characters were wonderful and I adored that we got so many familiar faces from the first book as well! Khabra could have very easily kept the previous characters interactions to a minimum but I am so, so thrilled this wasn’t the case. They really helped solidify the unfolding story. No fake dating trope is complete without a whole load of angst and accidentally falling in love with one another. The romance was absolutely stellar from start to finish. My heart was going pitter patter, I had a goofy smile on my face and I practically have cavities from the sweetness. The spicy moments too were so, so good as well. They helped elevate the story perfectly and never felt forced or out of place. That ending felt like utter perfection to me. I was literally beaming as the story finished. This is definitely an amazing book.

Overall, Spiral is another stunning sports romance that I couldn’t put down!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advanced copy of this book. Review will be live on my blog on 20th January and is available now on Goodreads.

There was so much I loved about this book and I won't like, Eli was probably 90% of it!
Sage saves Eli from a potentially disastrous situation the first time they meet and after pressure from other factors, end up fake dating. The two couldn't be more opposite but they work so well together and complement each other in every way. Sage has a super lively personality, she was flirty, cheeky and so much fun, but underneath it all she's just trying to prove to herself and everyone around her that she isn't a failure. Eli is the shy, quiet type he keeps his head down and works hard but he has a wicked sense of humour and a really really sweet side.

This ticked all the boxes for a fake dating/forced proximity situations. There was tension, angst and amazing chemistry for the slowest, hottest burn! But there was also so much fun and banter, especially from the hockey family in the first book. I was laughing one minute and swooning the next.

What I love the most about Bal's characters is that they are so grounded and feel real. It doesn't feel like their personalities are only there to serve a purpose, their different moods and emotions all make up who they are as a character that drive the plot, not the other way around.

Thank you to netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC, this is my honest review.

An okay story but not one I will remember. The chemistry felt forced for some reason. I liked the characters individually but them together made no sense to me. I did like them learning to be emotionally vulnerable and how they supported each other and their dreams, as it should be!! Especially Sage's feelings of responsibility and carrying the weight of the world felt verly real and tangible.

It was nice to see a Black ballerina and how Misty Copeland was such a huge inspiration to Sage as the first Black ballerina to land a principle role! And I loved how body image issues were brought up and how messed up the industry can be, but it was nice to see Sage had learned to love or at least accept her body regardless.

Eli being adopted was a nice touch too, I don't see that very often in books and it made trauma bonding easier between Eli and Sage.

But Aiden and Summer felt different from how they were in Collide, and I read Collide and Spiral back to back so the difference was really noticable. I can't put my finger on what was different, but they did not feel the same at all.
So there were nice things, but it just did not click for me personally and I'm really bummed about that :(

I should have loved this book because of the themes, and I hope you will love it if you like these things:
🩰 Black ballerina
🏒 Adopted Ice Hockey Player (NHL rookie)
🩰 Little brother with Diabetes
🏒 Forced Proximity
🩰 Open door Spice (eventually)
🏒 Trauma because of child abuse/neglect
🩰 He buys her flowers
🏒 He cooks for her
🩰 Found Family

I really enjoyed Spiral, it’s my favourite in the series so far. Elias ticked all the boxes! I enjoyed Sage’s character a lot. And I can’t forget about the found family, honestly they just make the book even better! Will be adding a more detailed review to my goodread/instagram soon

This is the first romance I have read in a while (fantasy lover here) but it was such a good book!

Elias was yummy and I really enjoyed the slow burn!!

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed parts of this story, in particular I really liked Sage and Eli as characters. Both were super likeable and really sweet. Plus I love hockey player/ballerina romance. I feel like there was a bit of development missing on specific scenes - Eli’s situation with his dad and what was happening with Sage’s ballet company at the end felt very rushed and not thought out fully.

I absolutely loved this book. I adored both main characters, Elias and Sage, and thoroughly enjoyed their fake dating slow burn romance.
It was dual pov, which I always love, and there was a lot of emotions and tension from both sides.

🩰hockey player x ballerina
🩰 fake dating scheme
🩰 and they were roommates
🩰 tensions and emotions
🩰 slowish burn
🩰cameos from summer and aiden

Highly recommend!

I’M SCREAMING.
I DID NOT EXPECT THIS. LIKE, I’M ACTUALLY SPEECHLESS RN.
Why didn’t I read this book sooner? Major regrets, because I’m only 44% in, and I’m fully obsessed. This is definitely gonna be my favorite — especially since Collide didn’t exactly blow me away.

But Eli? OH. MY. GOD. AHHHHHHHH 😍
HE’S LITERALLY OUT HERE RAISING MY STANDARDS.
I’M KICKING MY FEET, BLUSHING, AND MAKING WEIRD FACES THAT I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I COULD MAKE (all good things btw).

Like, Eli isn’t just a book boyfriend — HE’S A GIFT TO WOMANKIND. My top-tier book bfs better start fighting for their spots because Eli is taking over.

AND NOW IT’S OVER 😭
I DID NOT WANT THIS BOOK TO END.

Tbh, I had low expectations because Collide wasn’t really my thing. But this book? It BLEW. ME. AWAY. Hands down, my favorite read of the year. Like, it gave me everything — the laughs, the butterflies, the shivers, the feels. THIS is what I want in a book.

Huge shoutout to Bal Khabra for creating this masterpiece and giving me Elias Westbrook. My man, my man, my man.
Also, thank you for letting me read an ARC — I’m so, so grateful. This was perfection.
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐