This book is a super fun 4/5 stars! Nick "Hawkeye" Hawke is the perfect mix of a hot, tough athlete dealing with an injury and a total sweetheart, while Sam is a driven, relatable heroine figuring out her life. Their chemistry is off the charts, and the slow-burn romance between them is just the right amount of teasing and tension.

The setup of the second-hand romance bookshop adds such a cozy vibe, and it’s the perfect backdrop for all the flirty moments and will-they-won’t-they drama. You can feel the sparks flying whenever they try to stay “just friends.”

The only thing that kept it from being a full 5-star read is that a few parts are a bit predictable, and the story could’ve moved faster here and there. But overall, if you’re into steamy, lighthearted romances like the ones from Elle Kennedy or Hannah Grace, this one’s worth picking up!

*Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Andrews, and Boldwood Books for providing the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for a review, but all thoughts are my own*

Ignore the other reviews! This was probably one of my favourite books this year, I absolutely loved it- couldn’t put it down, what a page turner.
Nick and Samantha the main characters were so mismatched that they were perfect for each other. You can’t help who you fall in love with- it’s the chemistry.
I’d give it 6 starts if I could.

NHL hot shot, Nick Hawkeye Hawke has 4 months to recuperate from a potentially career ending injury. All he has to do is take it easy and keep things low key. So, looking after his grandmother's beloved second hand romance bookshop and working very closely with the ruthlessly efficient Samantha Evans is just what he needs right? Wrong!

Career driven Sam has impulsively decided to swap her highly stressful corporate job for a slower pace in her favourite bookshop at the exact time her biological clock has started to tick. And she wants absolutely none of that. But when your boss is a hot hockey superstar and you can’t stop daydreaming of him being your baby daddy, forced proximity takes on a whole new meaning.

With temptation around every book shelf, Nick and Sam find themselves skating on thin ice until they put themselves firmly in the friend zone. But the more they try to resist their slow burn, the more they want each other. How long can they stay in the zone until one of them breaks the ice?

I was a little slow to warm up to this book, but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. I loved the banter between Nick and Sam, it was hilarious. I think I had a perma smile while reading. Their slow burn kept the embers burning, and once they came together it was fireworks With some wonderful secondary characters, it was a highly enjoyable book.

I was initially drawn to this as I thought it would be a sports romance but there’s not a lot of sports in it. I actually really liked the plot, but nick for me felt younger than 38 in the book? I also felt like the pacing was off in some parts, we’d have a big moment happen like the elevator scene and suddenly jump to 3 weeks later!! The most off putting thing was the egg talk, I felt like it was mentioned too much and tbh if I had bought this I probably wouldn’t have finished it due to this. I really enjoyed the body positivity talk as it’s nice to have a fmc that’s not stick thin and “small and petite” for once. Not my fave book but it was okay.

From the offset this had the same nostalgic feel as a mid 2000s romcom.

I initially loved the idea that the hot hockey player was going to be running the romance bookshop. This played a stark contrast to the sexist boss Sam had to deal with. Where a male colleague was offered more opportunities, despite being bad at his job, because his uncle was the boss and so he felt untouchable.

I loved the setting - the bookshop seems like the perfect place. The typical old second hand bookstore that has a cosy vibe.

They have instant chemistry, which I really loved. I also enjoyed the fact that FMC was curvy - not the usual stick and that he’s obsessed with her.

She seemed more fulfilled and happy at the bookshop than her stressful accountancy job. Cosy vs high powered career.

My main issue was the reoccurring theme of fertility and the pressure you feel to be a mom once you hit 30. The idea that her eggs were screaming at her and that’s what she used to make all her decisions. The whole idea that she was perfectly happy with her career and didn’t consider motherhood, but then it suddenly became her main goal and sole deciding factor in life. This could be representative of how women feel once they hit 30, but it felt sightly over-exaggerated and tended to make her character slightly annoying.

Another factor was the fact it’s presented as a sports romance, he’s literally in hockey gear on the cover, but there’s little to no hockey in the book. I understand he’s injured so the hockey is on the sidelines, but the book would’ve worked just as well (possibly better) if the whole hockey player element was removed and he was simply a guy who takes over his grandma’s bookshop after her passing. The hockey injury gives him a reason to be there, and is referenced but just wasn’t fleshed out enough for me.

Presents the typical romcom trope of her having a high powered job then losing it. She then finds herself and falls in love - this time in a cosy bookshop setting. Then gets offered her high powered job again, but now it’s lost its shine. Will she choose her career or love?

Overall I enjoyed this book! The characters were likeable and well presented, and I adored the cosy bookshop setting. Whilst there were areas that could’ve been more fleshed out - like his career and his avoidance of relationships/not wanting children - it was an overall fun read. I would definitely recommend to anyone wanting a cosy romance with a green flag MMC and a cosy bookshop setting.

ARC copy provided by Boldwood Books & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

🦇 Breaking the Ice Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

❓ #QOTD What's your favorite sports romance? ❓

🦇 NHL hot shot, Nick Hawkeye Hawke has 4 months to recuperate from a potentially career-ending injury. All he has to do is take it easy and keep things low-key. So, looking after his grandmother's beloved second-hand romance bookshop and working very closely with the ruthlessly efficient Samantha Evans is just what he needs right? Wrong! Career-driven Sam has impulsively decided to swap her highly stressful corporate job for a slower pace in her favorite bookshop at the exact time her biological clock has started to tick. And she wants absolutely none of that. But when your boss is a hot hockey superstar and you can’t stop daydreaming of him being your baby daddy, forced proximity takes on a whole new meaning. With temptation around every bookshelf, Nick and Sam find themselves skating on thin ice until they put themselves firmly in the friend zone. But the more they try to resist their slow burn, the more they want each other. How long can they stay in the zone until one of them breaks the ice?

💜 If you're looking for a sweet, excruciatingly slow-burn romance, this is for you. Let's break it down:

✨ Characters: Though I love a curvy FMC who knows what she wants in life and is ready to get it, Sam fell flat for me. She's sweet and flawed, but we're not given much outside of her baby craze, accounting acumen, and love for romance novels. The problem repeats with Nick; he plays hockey, has numerous older brothers, and loves cowboy romances. Nick's celebrity is used more as a plot piece than anything else. Beyond that, there's not much depth to these characters. They never even grieve over Birdie, the reason they're brought together in the first place. Every other man in this story is a cliche, irksome and misogynistic without real reason. The strongest character, Sam's sister, only appears in phone calls and one short visit, but even she's limited to an advice-giving older sister (with the kids Sam so desperately wants) who pushes Sam forward. However, I did love the parallel between Sam's first scene while getting ready in the morning to a scene later, when she's not over-analyzing or criticizing her appearance. Great show of character development (but what was Nick's, besides his sudden, unexpected desire to have a baby with Sam?).

✨ Plot and Pacing: Sam's focus is split: find a potential baby daddy and bide time until her old boss begs her to take her job back. Nick's focus should have been to recuperate, but that's abandoned quickly in exchange for helping Sam (be with another man) in any way he can. The fact that their priorities both shift so quickly should have told both characters their paths have changed. Instead, they both get a eureka moment after their split apart; a rom-com cliche. The pacing drags during the story's first half, then rushes forward in a dizzying blur, neglecting to allow readers to linger in the relationship.

✨ Romance: The story starts with the potential for enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, but the "enemies" part of that equation is quickly abandoned. I'm not sure what the point of starting with animosity was at all. Nick immediately falls for Sam, but his focus seems to be more on her curves than anything else. The slow burn drags, adding tension, but once the romance finally picks up, it's rushed, failing to provide any real heat. While their relationship is SWEET (trading beloved authors, Nick taking care of Sam), it starts focusing more on the physical than mental or emotional. For all their witty banter, they never really talk.

✨ Tone/Prose: There are moments when the dialogue is awkward, pulling readers out of the story while adding a layer of immaturity to the characters. The dialogue between Sam and the men at her office is especially cringe-worthy. Also, why were the phone calls between Sam and her sister in italics? Why? Those scenes gave us insight into Sam's mental state while giving the story small time jumps, but the formatting was weird and unnecessary.

💙 I never want to hear the phrase "cheeping eggs" ever again. Though I understand Sam's focus on a her ticking biological clock as a plot device to force her out of her comfort zone and into a journey of self-discovery, it's overdone and exhausting. Though it adds to the rom-com's comedy element, it makes Sam nearly one-dimensional. While I'm sure that's bound to be a turn-off for a great number of readers, I'm more irked by the story's queer element. Sam is given the chance to explore her sexuality, but Nick quickly laughs off the possibility that she's bisexual and makes a joke of it. If the story was really about self-discovery, that scene wouldn't have been so quickly discounted for laughs or used to push the characters into a romantic moment.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Hannah Grace and Elle Kennedy, though the "sports" portion of this sports romance really takes the backburner.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🐣 Forced Proximity
🏒 He Falls First
🐣 Body Positivity
🏒 Friends to Lovers
🐣 Self-Acceptance
🏒 Contemporary Sports Romance
🐣 Slow Burn

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #BreakingtheIce

DNF, no rating

ARC in exchange for review

I started this book with high hopes and a love for hockey romances but I was severely disappointed. It takes a lot for me to DNF a book, but with the constant mention of “cheeping eggs” and the “not like other girls” trope, I just couldn’t get through it. I was thrown off from the very beginning with whole pages in italics that did not need to be. It either could have been separate as a prologue, or simply a separate chapter instead of pages and pages of italics that’s hard on the eyes.

Definitely spicy and I can see why so many people flocked to the book shop once Nick was in charge! I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the different threads of the story line and the suspense between Nick and Sam as their friendship developed was very enticing. I sometimes wanted to shake Sam with frustration at how obsessed she was with her eggs and being down about herself/not being willing to take a chance with Nick but it all came good in the end!

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was super cute and the writing was a bliss. But I found that for a hockey romance it lacked a lot of.. well.. hockey.

Also, I get that the whole start point was to have a baby, but Sam was really getting on my nerves with all the conversation about the eggs and “their feelings and thoughts”.

The end was a little sudden for me as well. Was kind os hoping for some grand gesture. But it was cute nevertheless.

I was so excited for this book. It sounded right up my street. Small town, bookstore, ice-hockey star. Literally had everything I love. However, when it came to the actual writing and story, I just couldn’t get into it and actually DNF’d.

I just felt the dialogue was somewhat irksome. The FMC’s constantly referring to her eggs just felt a bit silly and honestly was something I couldn’t get past.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldbooks for the ARC. Very appreciative of it and hopefully this book finds it way to right people.

I wanted to like this book, but it missed the mark (or should I say the goal) for me.

Pros-
Great writing
Solid plot

Cons -
MC talking about her biological clock got old
Characters pivoting in major life decisions without there being a deep reasoning for it other than it made sense for the story

I still enjoy it and would say give it a try if you enjoy hockey romance.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am a voracious reader when it comes to hockey romances, and willing to read almost any hockey story - I really wanted to love this book so badly, I truly did... but it did not jive with me.

My biggest beef with the story was the FMC and her biological clock ticking. She was so baby crazy it seemed like any guy that would give her the time of day she would be pushing for having a baby. The characters truly didn't really have any depth and I didn't think there was a lot of growth between them.

If you were wanting to read a cute story about an injured hockey player having fun in the bookstore, look somewhere else.

Thank you though Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book! It wasn't for me, but it will be someone else's cup of tea!

Nick "Hawkeye" Hawke is recuperating from a potentially fatal sportsinjury, and Samantha Evans, a driven professional who wishes to live a slower life, are brought together in this lighthearted romance. Their paths cross in a used romance bookstore, but their chemistry is anything but slow..

Nick’s laid-back charm and Sam’s no-nonsense attitude make for an entertaining opposites-attract dynamic. As they attempt to avoid becoming friends despite their growing attraction, their chemistry develops slowly and is full of tension and humor.

While both characters struggle with important life decisions—Nick's career and Sam's running biological clock—the forced proximity and clever banter add to the fun.

It is a fun, feel-good romance with lots of humor, temptation, and a hint of sports drama.

this was supremely disappointing. i wanted to love every aspect of this and it failed miserably. the whole eggs and biological clock thing was supposed to be humorous but was overdone and repetitive (and also weird). i just did not get any aspect of this and maybe i'm just not the target audience but oh well. also the hockey and bookstore aspects make up about 5% of this, so if you're reading it for that, maybe don't.

Cute story. It was a wake up call when Samantha saw her ex engaged and expecting. With turning 30 around the corner this catapults her on a mission. In the meantime she reconnects with her friend’, Birdie’s grandson. He has come to run the used book store after her passing while he is recovering from an injury. They both are attracted to one another but are not wanting the same things. This leads Nick to help set up dates for potential fathers . These are all Mr. Wrongs. Giving up she returns to her high pressure job and the promotion she had always wanted. After living a laid back lifestyle for awhile she decides this isn’t the life she wants. When they spend time away from one another Nick realizes Sam is who he wants. Fun story but also shows the pressure of being a woman with wanting the career and babiesmd living in the world of self doubt when not a size 2. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwiod books for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

This was quite cute and light. The friendship between Sam and Nick that developed was very sweet and well-done; I really liked that it developed more naturally and realistically. There was a lot about this book in that regard that I liked – another example is that [their first sexual encounter doesn’t go smoothly. (hide spoiler)] They had a very fun, easy relationship, and I really liked that the book took the time to show that. They had great chemistry and there were some really lovely bits in this book.

However, there was a ‘not like other girls’ element to it that I didn’t like, and some of the way her weight was discussed didn’t fully work for me. Some of their conversations occasionally felt a little immature, too. Overall, though, it was very cute and fun, I stayed up late to read it, and I had a good time doing so. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Content Notes: Mild intimidation, misogyny in the workplace, sexism in the workplace, fatphobia, references to injury, references to past surgery.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

Amy Andrew’s books are always a blast - I live the humour, tone and body postiveness of them. We don’t have fearless queens who don’t care about what the world thinks of them we have relatable people who need a hand to find their way.

Sam is a financial genius who suddenly has a series of dramatic events and changes her life plan - mostly because her boss is an arse. Incomes our swoony hockey player love interest and all around nice guy

Shenanigans follows and it’s all fun and games before the rather predictable end - but that’s also the charm in a book that hits all the genre tropes in a beautiful symphony


I loved this and thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

I read and enjoy a lot os sport romance books, but this one didn't really do it for me. There wasn't a lot of sport and I wasn't really that taken with the characters

This book was, in the end, not for me. I really wanted to love it, especially as it's being marketed as a sports hockey romance, but he's only on the ice once! There are also some issues with repetition and a lack of depth, as well as sensitivity problems.