Synopsis from the Author
Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. A competitive figure skater since she was five years old, a full college scholarship thanks to her place on the Maple Hills skating team, and a schedule that would make even the most driven person weep, Stassie comes to win. No exceptions.
Nathan Hawkins has never had a problem he couldn’t solve. As captain of the Maple Hills Titans, he knows the responsibility of keeping the hockey team on the ice rests on his shoulders.
When a misunderstanding results in the two teams sharing a rink, and Anastasia’s partner gets hurt in the aftermath, Nate finds himself swapping his stick for tights, and one scary coach for an even scarier one.
The pair find themselves stuck together in more ways than one, but it’s fine, because Anastasia doesn’t even like hockey players…right?
Things I Loved & Things I Struggled With
I love how sweet Nate is. He is such a sweetheart—tender and caring, not only to Anastasia but also to his teammates. He would take the blame himself so that his teammates could continue to play.
I really struggled with the first half of the book as Anastasia's behaviour was putting me off. I was a bit confused whether she could stand for herself or a spoiled brat. But as the story goes on, I could feel her charscter development as she starts to opens up her heart to Nate.
This book is not really my cup of tea but with the hint and touch of the topic about therapy, depression, eating disorder and body image, I felt like these issues were well-accounted by the author.
One of the tropes I hate most is the 'miscommunication' trope, but the author writes and foretells it well.
I still felt like there were too much repetitive parts, which made me ask 'this again'? I was also hoping that the 'problem/main conflict' of the book was bigger or could have been stronger.
As someone who isn't into college parties or drinking, I didn't get to build a strong rapport with characters. This book just wasn't for me. Overall, it was an okay book.