Icebreaker: A Novel (Maple Hills Book 1)

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 94,206 ratings

Price: 10.99

Last update: 11-13-2024


About this item

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Over 1 million copies sold!

A TikTok sensation! Sparks fly when a competitive figure skater and hockey team captain are forced to share a rink.

Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.

Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.

Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.

But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.

Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right?

From the Publisher

Icebreaker

Icebreaker

Icebreaker

Icebreaker


Top reviews from the United States

happymomof3
5.0 out of 5 stars Very cute story
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2024
This book was fun. It made me laugh, cry, and angry all at the same time. The main characters are ADORABLE and I was rooting for them the whole time. It was very well written with not alot of the breakup to get back together stuff. They worked on their relationship in a healthy way by COMMUNICATING. I get so irritated with books sometimes when the main characters get mad at each other but they also don’t talk about it. Communication is key. This book was very cute. The really spicy scenes are alot of fun too.
Riniya
4.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 ⭐️ — Don’t read the epilogue
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2023
Tropes/Key Points:
✨Sports/College Romance
✨Enemies to Lovers
✨Warped Love Triangleish
✨Dual POV

3.5⭐️
????️????️????️????️

Blurb:

Anastasia is a junior in college on track to be an Olympic Figure Skater. It’s all that she has worked towards since she was five years old. She managed to get a full scholarship, but her pairs partner wasn’t interested in furthering his career. So, as a freshman she was paired up with Aaron who was in the same boat.

Stasis comes to win and nothing will get in her way. She has a meticulous schedule, regime and diet that will not be put off track for anybody or anything. Until she gets summoned along with the entire sporting department for a mandatory meeting that disrupts her day. This disruption continues when they are informed that Rink Two, the Hockey Teams Ice, is out for the count and they all have to share one ice rink.

Nathan is the captain of the schools hockey team. He has never met a problem he couldn’t solve, that is until his ice rink is flooded and they have to share with the figure skating team. He sees Anastasia arguing with her coach after the meeting, and his attempt to smooth things over backfires in his face.

Anastasia’s partner gets injured so Nathan steps in to fill the role. Swapping out a puck for a toe pick, the pair find themselves stuck together and closer than ever.

Review:

I don’t even know where to fully start here.

The premise is amazing and reminded me of the movie “The Cutting Edge”. It’s a semi-accurate comparison but only in certain spots. I give this author credit though as she made it her own and it didn’t feel like a rip off of a timeless classic. I’m not even mad at the execution of the story, as it kept me hooked.

One complaint though is the spice level. It comes out of the gate swinging and while it does calm down after chapter two until a bit later in the book, this was just too much for my personal preference. Not to mention that the first sexual encounter between Anastasia and Nate left much to be desired. She just used the bathroom dude and you knelt…. Well. You get it. ????

My second complaint is the epilogue. It just wasn’t needed. I got to the last chapter of the book and thought I was done only for there to be a very predictable epilogue. I think the epilogue actually ruins the story and rushes achievements for the Main Couple. It felt out of place from what we learned through the book, like the author wanted it so it happened. The lady chapter would have been the perfect ending.

One thing I absolutely loved about this story was the cast of characters. It wasn’t just about the main duo, it included such lovable hockey players on Nathan’s team and an amazing best friend for Anastasia. The author managed to flush out these characters and give them their own personalities and problems. It really felt like I could be in a room with a group of friends.

Banter is also my weakness. Coming in strong with not only enjoyable back and forth between Ana and Nate, the way the hockey team comes together and ribs on each other was so perfect. There were multiple spots outside of the main couple that had me laughing. The team even accepted Ana and Lola into their group and they joined in on the fun of driving Nate crazy.

I have to say that the way the author really delved outside of the romance to introduce complex backstories and emotions for these characters was really well done. Anastasia is in therapy and we see how her anxiety and obsessive planning became established. We see how it affects her daily life and even those around her. It wasn’t just a throwaway plot point, the author actually disperses it throughout the story in a great way.

We also get to see some healing in regards to how Ana looks at food. This is such a delicate subject and I think it was handled so well. Of course, I’m coming at this from someone who has (luckily — but no shame to anyone who hasn’t been so lucky — I support you) never experienced trauma with food. I hope that the author truly did portray it in a healthy way and if not, can someone please educate me?

The climax of the story was pristine but there were some moments that had me rolling my eyes. Development that we worked through only for it to be torn down to further the plot. But, that’s the way the stories are written so what can you do?

Overall there were some really great moments through the book but it wasn’t enough to overpower the ending. The ending really ruined it for me and unfortunately that’s a big ding taking away from the rating.
Shelby B
5.0 out of 5 stars Feel Good Sports Romance
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2024
Icebreaker is a feel good contemporary romance between Ice Skater, Anastacia, and Nate, the captain of the hockey team. Nate and Anastacia (Stassie) start off on “thin ice” when they are forced to share the same ice rink when the hockey rink is damaged. Stassie is reluctant of relationships while pursuing her dream of making it to the Olympics with her figure skating partner. Nate pursues a friendship to foster positive interactions at the rink and subsequently supports Stassie as she navigates a manipulative skating partner, unhealthy diet choices, and finding work/life balance.

Hannah Grace touches on anxiety, perfectionism, body image, and other mental health challenges high level athletes face with an approach that includes positive coping strategies, counseling, and disengaging from manipulative or toxic relationships. It was very well done, IMO.

This book is full if suspense, a push/pull dynamic between the mmc and fmc, secret revelations, and heart stopping moments. It was such a feel good romance and ticked all the check marks for a cute read.

Tropes:
Forced proximity
Frenemy to lover
Golden Retriever MMC
Sports romance
Open door spice ????️????️????️????️
Cher
3.0 out of 5 stars loved it at first but then it got boring :(
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2024
Rating— ★★★½

☁️ Thoughts—
Icebreaker has been hyped on booksta/booktok for a while now, so I finally decided to give it a shot. The first half of the book was incredible enough to presume this was going to be a 5★ read. Unfortunately, the appeal plummeted in the second half. I hate to say it, but the book became very boring. A lot happened, but it was giving nothing. I wanted to dnf at 60%, but decided to push through since I thought surely something good was going to come about. Sadly, the plot was practically non-existent. Don’t get me wrong, the potential was definitely there (great tropes, captivating start, lovable characters, & smut), but I wish these could have been paired with a strong storyline.

❕Light Spoilers Ahead❕
For me, the best part of this book was the characters. I adore Anastasia & Nathan! I thought their dynamic was perfect & so fun to read about. The idea of a figure skater + hockey player getting together is so CUTE!
I especially loved Ryan’s character! ???? He’s not soulmate level with Stassie, but I thought he was pretty amazing. When him & Olivia broke things off, I was hoping book no. 2 of the UCMH series would give us Ryan’s pov. ???? He deserves a happy ending, too! ++ A basketball romance would be so good. ????
Customer image
Cher
3.0 out of 5 stars loved it at first but then it got boring :(
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2024
Rating— ★★★½

☁️ Thoughts—
Icebreaker has been hyped on booksta/booktok for a while now, so I finally decided to give it a shot. The first half of the book was incredible enough to presume this was going to be a 5★ read. Unfortunately, the appeal plummeted in the second half. I hate to say it, but the book became very boring. A lot happened, but it was giving nothing. I wanted to dnf at 60%, but decided to push through since I thought surely something good was going to come about. Sadly, the plot was practically non-existent. Don’t get me wrong, the potential was definitely there (great tropes, captivating start, lovable characters, & smut), but I wish these could have been paired with a strong storyline.

❕Light Spoilers Ahead❕
For me, the best part of this book was the characters. I adore Anastasia & Nathan! I thought their dynamic was perfect & so fun to read about. The idea of a figure skater + hockey player getting together is so CUTE!
I especially loved Ryan’s character! ???? He’s not soulmate level with Stassie, but I thought he was pretty amazing. When him & Olivia broke things off, I was hoping book no. 2 of the UCMH series would give us Ryan’s pov. ???? He deserves a happy ending, too! ++ A basketball romance would be so good. ????
Images in this review
Customer image
Dana Hornung
5.0 out of 5 stars steamy and great story
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2024
Love love love Nate!!! The spice level was perfect. Love the characters. Excited to see what the others get into with the series.

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