Icebreaker by Hannah Grace: A Book Review

The last time I read a Hannah Grace book, I made a teeny mistake. You see, I was meant to read this one first before 'Wildfire'. As one of my friends pointed out in a DM on Instagram, this book is a series. Icebreaker is the first book, followed by Wildfire. Whoops! 

Anyway, I started 'Icebreaker' and I hoped I would love it as much as I did 'Wildfire'.

Let's set the scene:

We start with Maple Hill students Anastasia Allen and Nathan 'Nate' Hawkins. Anastasia is an aspiring figure skater hoping to get through finals and reach her dream of performing at the Olympics with Team USA. Nate is the captain of the ice hockey team and is a captain that all of his mates and teammates look up to.

Due to unforeseen circumstances of the hockey team's ice rink being vandalised and damaged, the hockey team and Anastasia and her skating partner Aaron have to schedule practices around each other. Anastasia takes an instant dislike to Nate as they try and be amicable and friendly while sharing the same rink.

However, as Anastasia's skating partner suffers injuries, she has to resort to relying on Nate to take her shot and be ready for finals in figure skating. Anastasia always says she will never like a hockey player, but does she mean it?

What I liked about Icebreaker

The book's real star is Henry, Nate's roommate and Anastasia's (AKA Stassie) newfound friend. He is just a cutie and I can't wait to see his story develop in Hannah's next book, 'Daydream'. Nate is a lovely lad also, very sweet and sensitive and cares about Stassie a lot. I also loved how Anastasia's therapy sessions are discussed and how she copes with life through her organisational skills. 

What I disliked about Icebreaker

Anastasia's skating partner Aaron is an absolutely horrid person. The way he treats Anastasia is awful. If it was me, I wouldn't have put up with that treatment for the amount of time Stassie did. I was hoping for more of a slow-burning romance as the blurb described that it would be exactly that. But it didn't end up being that way, which was a slight disappointment. It just lacked that bit of build-up. 

Favourite line/moment from the book

Nate - "You're my favourite"

Anastasia - "Even if I had crab hands?"

Nate - "Even if you had crab hands, Anastasia"

Also when Aaron got found out and got his comeuppance is a highlight from this book. 

Would I recommend Icebreaker by Hannah Grace?

It's a good read, but I preferred 'Wildfire' slightly more to this one. It's a typical college-esque book, some bits were good but parts felt a little meh. I felt that Wildfire had a good slow-burn romance and build-up, this one felt slightly rushed to them jumping into bed and kind of took away the fact that Stassie doesn't generally like hockey players. It still made a good read for the best part though.

Apart from Aaron, the main characters and the sub-characters were great and very likeable. 

One aspect I love about Hannah Grace's books is that there's a playlist of songs at the start of the book. All songs are related to sections of the book. Thanks to Hannah, I've discovered new songs and rediscovered old favourites! 

*Trigger Warnings - this book contains themes of food shaming, disordered eating, recounting the death of a parent and slut shaming. This book is for over-18s only.

Also, what do you guys think about my new subheadings and layout of this book review? I liked choosing my favourite line/moment from the book and delving into the likes and dislikes separately. Let me know if you prefer my book reviews to be set out in this format!

Let me know your thoughts on my review!