I absolutely loved this book! The characters are really strong and I just loved the connection they had 🥹 at first I was a little unsure if it was going to be for me but come the end I had completely changed my mind!

people pleaser/ i can do anything on my own girlfriend 🤝 let me take care of you boyfriend

i loved sage and elias’s story, unfiltered 🥺 their journey was so soft and cute, i adored seeing them let each other in and take care of each other, both their relationship and their individual journeys were so heartfelt, funny, made your heart clench at times, but absolutely perfect

and the found family in this series is, again, absolutely everything!

also a petition for sage’s brother to be a main character in a spin off series PLEASE!!

Thank you NetGalley for kindly gifting me this book, I'm so grateful and after reading the book, I'm even more grateful. Did I immediately preorder this book after reading it? ABSOLUTELY YES. Elias and Sage literally captured my heart and I just adored them. The chemistry was good, the banter was good and I just loved them

I would highly recommend this book, especially if you loved Collide. This one was definitely on par with it and I don't say that easily. Sometimes the second book isn't as good as the first but I might even say I enjoyed this one more

After dnfing book 1 I was unsure how I’d feel about this one, but I really enjoyed it! And it makes me feel like I just read ‘collide’ at the wrong time—I might give it another go at a later date!

Elias reminded me of Ryan Shay from ‘the right move’ which I absolutely loved. If you loved that book as much as me then definitely give this one a go🤭 Sage was such a strong FMC that was not afraid to speak her mind and tell people exactly what she wants, I loved her. The banter and chemistry between them had me kicking my feet! While this is fake dating, it didn’t feel like they were faking any of their interactions. They were clearly smitten early on <3

Spiral was so good!!! I loved it more than Collide. If you are looking for a sports faking dating romance, this is it. I'm forever a sucker for a hockey romance and this one was so cute. I really liked both characters and I just love to see ballet portrayed in books (from someone that did ballet for 22 years, it really feels super special).
While sometimes the book felt too fast, even thought it's a slow burn romance, I love the way the characters communicated and how their relationship evolved. The chemistry between the characters was absolutely everything.
If you are looking for a steamy sports romance, this is it.

Thank you Bloomsbury Publishing and Bal Khabra for the arc for this book.

I was a bit skeptical going into book 2 as I found books one a bit harder to read even though I did enjoy it. But this book from start to finish gripped me and made me excited to continue reading it while also dreading it ending.

I receive this as an ARC from NetGalley and was so excited to read it, as I had just finished the first book, Collide.

I loved Sage’s character, a bright light who is unapologetically herself, but this book read like the first in the series rather than the second. Collide developed so many side characters - Kian, Amara, Cassie, Sampson, but Elias had very little introduction other than that he cooks for everyone and that Amara had a crush on him. Then to introduce a brand new character for the FMC seemed strange.

There were also so many parallels between this series and Liz Tomforde’s books, particularly the lesser known Selfish series. I understand there are only so many stories to be told within these tropes, but it felt very similar.

I liked the way Elias cared for Sage and genuinely wanted to see her thrive. I didn’t love the dynamics within the relationship though, I understand that they both had traumatic back stories, but I felt like Elias’ was a bit flat, which meant his behaviour didn’t seem believable at times.

That said, I would still read the next instalment, as I really loved Collide and think there is great potential, but Spiral perhaps just didn’t suit my taste.

So sweet, so wholesome, so swoony!! One for the Sports Romance fans who also love fake dating, this is a wonderful joyous read!

I am at a loss for words, and the only one that comes to my mind is "perfection". I believe that you know when a book was written for you. You feel it. And Spiral was written for me. It was perfect from beginning to end, and I can't thank you enough, Bal Khabra, for writing this masterpiece and the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an arc. This book from now on holds an extremely special place in my heart, and I feel so lucky that I got to read it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Spiral follows Elias, an NHL rookie battling media pressure, and Sage, a ballerina struggling to build her career. After Sage saves Elias from a date with a stalker, they decide to fake-date. What starts as a façade gradually transforms into a genuine connection as they navigate their personal insecurities and public lives.

With its strong character growth and authentic chemistry, Spiral is a perfect read for fans of sports romance and fake-dating tropes. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions

Argh I really enjoyed this! I enjoyed collide so I loved this one more. Elias and Sage were both great characters, and I felt the secondary characters were stronger in this. I loved catching up with Aiden and Summer, and Summer and Sage’s friendship was feel good happy 🥰

It had a great amount of sizzling scenes in, but the story was really good too, just highly recommend!

I have heard good things about this author and do think the writing is decent however it was so slow paced that I got bored very easily.

Spiral got me hooked from the very first page. Elias and Sage captivated me in every single page, and it was amazing to see how much their relationship evolves, going from strangers to friends to lovers.

Also, both characters own storylines are amazing. Seeing how much Sage cares for others, and puts everyone's need in front of her truly resonated with me (older sister here) and how much Elias's past weighs on him was heartbreaking.

This book is able to encapsulate everything so perfectly that it was impossible for me to put it down, even when I was screaming at my Kindle because the tension was through the roof.

Spiral is about Elias Westbrook who is a newly drafted hockey player for the Toronto Thunder who has been struggling with the challenges of all the media scrutiny of things completely out of his control, it's no surprise that all he wants to do is escape the spotlight. Enter aspiring ballerina, Sage Beaumont. When hoping to secure the role of her dreams, her lack of popularity on social media puts her at a major disadvantage. When their paths cross and they find a solution that could solve both of their problems, their rules soon begin to spiral out of control and the pair have to decide whether to take the jump together or call it quits.

Sage and Eli are the perfect match for each other; the way Elias courages Sage to step out of her comfort zone and is always there for her, and the way that Sage is the light to his darkness. They didn't need each other to achieve their goals, they always supported the others, showing up when they needed them the most. They were so cute together. Also can we talk about Eli buying Sage different flowers every week until he finds her favourite one? Swooning.

Individually, they're both amazing characters as well. I loved reading about both of their character developments, seeing them both open to each other about their past experiences and how it shaped them towards the end of the book. Sage welcomed more people in her life, finding a place within Eli''s friendship group and her own group of people while Eli learned to let go of he past and embraced the bond that he had with Sage because of it.

I can't wait to read the next book, give me Dylan's book already!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I had enjoyed Collide, but this one just hit the right spot and I loved this. Elias and Sage were great characters and I loved that Sage was a ballet dancer and she was really struggling to gain employment and things just went from worse to worse for her, until she meets the up and coming hockey star Elias. You can tell from the start of their fake dating that they destined to be together, their morals and lifestyles are really compatible and they both just deserve the best.

Elias Westbrook, a newly drafted hockey player for the Toronto Thunder, is facing the challenges of fame and media scrutiny. 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 whose lack of popularity online has put her at a major disadvantage for securing the roles she dreams of. When Sage finds herself with the chance to change her luck by fake-dating Elias, she takes her shot.

Soon enough, the flimsy rules they set in place fall away. But before things can spiral out of control, Sage and Elias will have to decide if they're willing to take the leap together or if they'll have to call it quits.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an e-arc for review.

Spiral is a fake dating trope book between an Ice Hockey Player and a Ballerina. Both characters are older that the typical college kid ice hockey books that there are so this is a bit more mature when it comes to the real life elements.

I really enjoyed the plot behind the characters, I felt that they were a really great match and that the chemistry between them was on fire. I loved the banter, the heart to heart moments and how the characters didn’t have to fight each other to be together in the third act.

I felt that Elias was more likeable but that’s most likely down to knowing more about him from reading Collide. However Sage was likeable, it just felt a little odd to me how against other people’s help she was, especially her Uncle who pretty much wanted to take his niece/nephew under his wing. Overall both characters were likeable and it was great seeing them evolve together.

I think one of my favourite parts of this book and the previous is that it has a messaging that even if you have to do long distance or that relationships are hard, it shouldn’t matter for that small period of time so long as you’re both together which I loved how important this was to them getting together.

I’d say my only gripe is that this book was a bit longer than it needed to be and lost momentum at parts. I felt like some of the sex scenes didn’t need to be in there when this book I felt was more about the meaningful connection opposed to the physical.

Overall a great romance to read!

I loved Bal Khabras debut book and so that's why i requested this one... but i loved this more.

The romance was steamy, but deep and i feel like there was the perfect mix of found family and romance- which i adore in a romance.

Please keep them coming!

✨5 stars✨

I loved this book so much! I related to both of the main characters which definitely increased my enjoyment of this book.

There were multiple times where I found myself wanting to laugh out loud of the humour between Sage and Elias but also feeling for them both deeply when we delved into their struggles and their pasts which made them into the character they are!

Loved this one more than Collide so would definitely recommend to all fans of romance and ice hockey/ballerina romance in particular.

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you!

(i gave it 3.5 stars)

this was such a cute read and it was refreshing to get to know a little more about eli! loved the addition of sage to the group dynamic, especially her friendship with summer. however, i would’ve loved to get more friend group moments of all the boys, it was lacking compared to the first one (which was one of my favorite parts of book 1).

their relationship was so cute and loved their development! ballerina x hockey player never fails me!