Icebreaker by Hannah Grace (★★★☆☆)
Print • From a Friend • YA Romance • 2022
Short synopsis: Anastasia Allen is laser-focused on making Team USA, but a rink mishap forces her to share ice—and tension—with hockey captain Nate Hawkins. When her skating partner’s future is jeopardized, she must consider the unthinkable: teaming up with the one guy she swore she’d never like.
Oh, goodness gracious. This book was both compulsively readable and so damn silly (and not in a good way). It’s not well-written, and it’s entirely too long (it was originally self-published before a publisher picked it up after it gained popularity), and it needed a strong editor. There’s so much passive voice. So many things that just don’t make sense. I don’t believe for a second that Anastasia is an elite figure skater. She barely practices, spends far too much time partying, and isn’t doing any sort of other conditioning work to be at the elite level. And somehow I’m supposed to believe she’s training for the Olympics? While going to college full-time and having a full social life? Nah, man. Still, I decided to just go along for the ride and not think too deeply about this very obvious plot hole. The romance in this story was adorable and I truly couldn’t get enough of Anastasia and Nate. They had such chemistry! I love the ups and downs of their relationship—it very much read like a college relationship—but how they were mature and talked through things every time. The author brought up a ton of important topics in this book: disordered eating, gaslighting and abuse that is not from a romantic partner, adoption, expectations, female friendship, and toxic masculinity. Essentially, this is a book where you need to suspend your disbelief and just go along for the ride. It’s a lot more fun that way! Will I read more from this author? Probably not. I think I have aged out of these types of romances.
The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny (★★★★★)
Audiobook • Libby • Mystery • 2024
Short synopsis: When a series of cryptic clues and a sudden murder shatter the calm of Three Pines, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team uncover a looming threat far more sinister than a single crime—one with consequences that could ripple across nations.
I had seen a lot of disappointing reviews of this book, the 19th in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series (and yes, you absolutely have to read this series in order!). So maybe it was because I had lowered expectations but I ended up loving it! I wish more of the book had taken place in Three Pines, but I still loved following all the different plots and seeing how they wove together in the end. More than ever, this book made me think about the relationship between Gamache and his second-in-command, Beauvoir, and how much I adore their relationship. It is a hard-fought relationship that had some very low lows at times, but there is something inherently good and abiding about it now. Maybe the real love story isn’t between Gamache and his wife, but between Gamache and Beauvoir (and I don’t mean that in a romantic sense, but in a platonic life partners sense). Anyway, I enjoyed this book a lot, and the final few chapters had my pulse pounding! I’m very curious as to what comes next in this series. (4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.)
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney (★★★☆☆)
Print • Owned (Book of the Month) • Thriller • 2025
Short synopsis: After his wife vanishes without a trace, author Grady Green is consumed by grief—until a year later, on a remote Scottish island, he sees a woman who looks exactly like her.
Sigh, this book just wasn’t very good. I’ll give the author credit: the story hooked me—I was curious about what was happening from beginning to end. But once everything was revealed, it was a big letdown for me. I just didn’t find any of it to be all that realistic. It was hard to be in Grady’s head—he was so miserable and sad, and made very questionable choices—and I don’t think the author breadcrumbed the eventual plot twists enough. This thriller has a pretty low rating on Goodreads despite only being out for a few months (3.65), and I can totally see why. (2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.)
What are you reading?
Totally agree on Icebreaker! I remember she was hitting quadruple lutzes in practices, and I was thinking aren’t those very rare even at the Olympic level? LOL. It bothered me so much! Agree on writing and YES there was no need for it to be that long!!
I give Beautiful Ugly some kudos because I can honestly say I’ve never read anything with that plot before. It was just weird and there was no payoff! Agree on Grady, he was hard to stick with for such long periods of time. I had to make myself pick up the book because he was just so sad I didn’t want to hang out with him LOL, but on the other hand, I was so curious on where the heck this was going.
None of those books appeal to me!
I’m currently reading Caroline, which is actually a reread for me, but my friend Laura was doing it for her book club so I thought, why not, I need a bit of Little House fanfic in my life right now. I’m pretty tired after a busy couple of weeks so I need a simple read!