This is a spoiler-free review!
I finally caved... after waiting weeks for this to become available on Libby, Icebreaker landed on my shelf and I began the journey to see what has everyone up in arms about on TikTok. Why on Earth does this book take place in California?? It feels as thought it should take place in a colder state, like Colorado. Nevertheless, I continued to read on and ignore that fact. The storyline of this book felt a little stagnant - you would think that the plot would move forward, but then more spicy scenes would get thrown in the middle since the characters wanted to have some stress release. I wish there would have been more development of the story - sure, Anastasia was going through some stuff and she did have some more memorable moments, but my overall feeling after finishing the book felt as though it did not leave a memorable impression.
Nates perspective chapters were honestly the highlight of this book for me - he was funny and made Anastasia realize a lot of things about herself. He was able to help her do some self-reflecting and also come out of her shell. His plot line was basically "I want to sleep with her, now I want to be with her, now I want her to do some self-reflecting." I will say, it did not feel as though he had an actual arc throughout this book, but was more of a supporting character to help Anastasia do the most of the character development.
The smut in this book went from PG-13 to whacky in about three chapters, and all I have to say is that if I was the Uber driver during that scene, I would have charged them through the roof. I genuinely could not believe my eyes, and I have read nearly everything under the sun. It just felt unrealistic, and to be quite honest, not comfortable at all. This book definitely depended a lot on the chemistry between the characters, which felt somewhat conflicting since Anastasia does not want a relationship and is perfectly content with just having a friends with benefits situation with Nathan.
Aaron is such an annoying character, I was so agitated every single time that he showed up. He was horrible to Anastasia, and constantly was digging deeper holes and making situations so much worse with every word that came out of his mouth. His is conceded, self-absorbed, and does not understand that there are consequences to his actions. Aaron's presence throughout this book is solely to make readers want to pull their hair out, while simultaneously making Anastasia realize that he is not the skating partner she thought he was.
The hockey team was present as a surface-level group of side characters, and it would have been great if they were more involved. There were a select few that had a few shining moments, but I would have loved to see them truly form bonds with Anastasia rather than just interact with Nate and do some of his bidding. If you are looking for a quick read that is more for vibes than for plot, then Icebreaker could be for you. I may choose to continue on with this standalone series, but to be quite honest, the writing and development does not show promises of improvement.
You can add Icebreaker on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.
No comments:
Post a Comment