booktok's #1 hockey romance almost broke me

[@bulbasaurusthe7th841]

The fact books with a lot of sexual content are being sold with cartoony-cutesy covers is why I have trust issues.

[@AutumnRose1397]

Yes. This. Just finished a book called Beach Read that had a bright and cute cover. Had at least 4 sex scenes in it.I don't read much romance and when I do that's not the kind I prefer. Also there's maybe 2 small scenes where the characters even go to the beach. Did not get any summer vibes from it.

[@missliv.404]

See I'd totally defend drawn covers because we also have adult cartoons and stuff right. But for the love of god, we need age ratings and normalize trigger warnings more. Or at least be honest about the plot!! I also ran into a "300 page long mindless 🍇🌽" trap before (no not Adeline, was a different book) which gave me my trust issues, but I don't want to constantly check my phone at the book store to make sure I'm getting what's promised dammit!! Like Ice Breaker sounds to me, with no offense to the fans here, like your basic average high school romance where nothing bad but silly drama happens. But oh was I wrong🙃

[@bulbasaurusthe7th841]

@@missliv.404 Drawn covers are not a problem to me, but the STYLE needs to at least give a hint. This book and similar ones look like those 00s girly flash games I used to play when I was a little kid. Or those Barbie cartoons. All cutesy pastels, the characters all look like teens, like dolls for little girls.

[@lovetahsin]

@@AutumnRose1397I honestly think it’s just a marketing ploy and it’s really smart if you think about it 😂 looking for a summer read? beach read by Emily Henry 😭 like her cover titles are creative and not even close to the plot from what I’ve heard (I haven’t read her books but…)

[@AutumnRose1397]

@iwalytahsin Yeah I guess that marketing does work because it got me lol. It is smart. I hardly read romance but I bet for people who read romance a lot they could probably start to tell what kind of book based on the cover. I would say for the Beach Read book, the summary did match the plot but I honestly am not even sure if it took place near a beach or lake since it was hardly mentioned. Just a bunch of rainstorms.

[@FANGRUNlN]

that poor uber driver what the fuck

[@firewolfandrewb]

It's the first time I've ever hoped that an uber driver was secretly a creep.

[@b19wing_inslowmotion]

Hope he got a good tip smh

[@CesRaisons]

I wished they got arrested that is literally sexual harassment 💀

[@chaos2232]

​@B19Wing not that kind of "tip" I hope (x

[@XXXTHUNDERSTORMXXX]

@@chaos2232 bro?

[@thynottea]

the writing for figure skating is crazy too like wym those two never won any major figure skating competitions but can do quad jumps?? its like someone competing at simone biles levels of gymnastics and never having won a major gold medal.

[@toiletboundhutao2142]

no fr! as a figure skater i was looking forward to that aspect to the book soooooo much but i felt so let down. it felt like the author put no effort into researching singles or pairs, like not even a few quick minutes

[@miidnxghts]

also they're doing quads for some reason?? in PAIRS???

[@jowjaaa4963]

i picked up the book for figure skating reasons so had to dnf after like 3 chapters lol. this was after reading lukov with love too, so my expectations were LOW. and still this book managed to disappoint

[@thynottea]

@@miidnxghts the only pairs skaters i know consistently doing a quad was sui/han and even then, she’s being thrown 😭 its not like singles skating

[@VanessaClark-l7g]

@@miidnxghtsAnd a quad lutz at that! But somehow she’s just a random collegiate skater with no international experience that US figure skating’s never heard of😅.

[@Ashriverrrr]

the book cover’s art style reminds me of the app “Episode”

[@seaemji8591]

Such a big part of my teenage years, and I can't remember a single good story on there (though there were a few short ones that managed to be decent)

[@bunneepawzz]

yet somehow episode is so much better 😭

[@Treehome_95]

if your book is worse than the average episode story (imo), you need to take a HUUUUGE step back..

[@b_solaxx]

It's crazy cos episode is supposed to be a child app bit there's so much mature stuff and sexual things there rn

[@octobling]

Sundosia on Episode is my favourite

[@Summer.12Girl]

"and she's pregnant." PARDON ME???

[@-HoneyB-]

Yes I was like "girl they were only 'dating' for 2 years" 😭

[@Summer.12Girl]

@@-HoneyB- like? Didn’t they hate each other 300 pages ago?

[@jclyntoledo]

Confused, if the ending was that way it'd make sense. I did not read it.

[@hajraali7124]

wasnt she on birth control or SOME SHIT CAUSE WHAT

[@laurine____7543]

​@@jclyntoledo IT IS the ending

[@Starsim99]

If you took out all the sexual content, the “plot” sounds like it could be a Disney channel movie. That, coupled with the cutesy cover, feels wildly inappropriate to me.

[@ranchyfinch1011]

FOR REAL!!!! honestly, new theory, all these crappy books are just failed Disney stories with smut added into it

[@TapestrythatsWoven]

There was a Disney Channel movie about a figure skater that had to join an ice hockey team for some reason. That sounds like better plot than whatever this is.

[@paulinagabrys8874]

​@@TapestrythatsWovenGo Figure

[@rileigh5642]

I only read into after the Uber chapter, but I don’t exactly remember there being a plot lmao. I fully agree with the quatations

[@imdva]

honestly though what's wrong with that? as long as the reader isn't a literal child, its not necessarily wrong to like reading cheesy disney movies with spice. what's wrong is when it gets mislabeled as only a cheesy disney movie and that's it. which librarians/schools/sellers need to do their due diligence and put them in the correct sections.

[@zozobop]

can they find a room??? why are they always doing it in public 😭 at the club in a gru costume....

[@lohaye3260]

Fetish? 😂

[@9eishitasharma501]

I feel so bad for the taxi driver. Tf did my homie do to deserve that💀

[@pup_master66]

It would have been justifiable if it was shrek smh

[@seaemji8591]

​@@pup_master66 Love and life, you know it

[@DeanelleYosores-gi4fb]

​@@seaemji8591Shrek is Love, Shrek is Life.

[@avamalabo]

I once saw this book on a ‘student suggestions’ shelf in a 7th grade classroom. Some 7th grader read this and the teacher didn’t think to check it beforehand

[@serenegenerally]

Oh my God 😭

[@BigOlDummy]

I'm a librarian assistant and my coworker warned me about not checking those books out to the teens Lmao you'd think they'd at least give these books a more adult cover, it straight up looks exactly like the teen fiction books

[@serenegenerally]

@@BigOlDummy the covers are pretty but there HAS to be a different way to advertise these books 😭 was planning to check out a romance book that has a similar cover to wildfire but then realized it was adult fiction

[@BigOlDummy]

@@serenegenerally I'm all for drawn covers but at this point I don't think the adult books with very adult themes should have them :/ Again they literally look like the teen fiction/YA novels and if I didn't know any better I'd be letting kids check these out since I'd have no other way of knowing! 😭

[@serenegenerally]

@@BigOlDummy bro me too bc the they look like YA novels (and I’m in that interest group)

[@hourofberries]

i know a guy who wanted to read this book because he thought it was about figure skating and ice hockey. He finished it but he was so numb from the experience that he didn't want to talk about it lol

[@b19wing_inslowmotion]

HELP😭

[@Shaaydiia07]

My sister started reading it and said the first four chapters is when the smut starts so I can only imagine his reaction 😂

[@puppydogs68]

Poor guy 💀

[@_-drowsy-_]

Aw poor baby 😭

[@mushlii]

Aww noo 😭

[@madshopewatson]

i saw a little girl who had to be nine carrying around this book and i audibly gasped …

[@txstan]

WHAT 😨😨

[@dragonheadgaming111]

Honestly this sounds like something my nine year old self would do 💀

[@The-Jettisoned]

​@@dragonheadgaming111 Same 💀

[@esther5108]

naur that’s crazy… she will be traumatized

[@londonporter]

Girl probably learned to read like 4 years ago…that is not okay

[@annabelledrake2027]

Bro in what world could a hockey player stand in for a figure skating duo even for practice?? They don't even use the same kind of skates, he'd have to literally learn entirely new skating technique, let alone the tricks and lifts. If you're going to write about a sport at least have some personal experience with it or talk to someone that does/have them proofread. Also having multiple rinks at a university or sports/rec center isn't that weird, at least in canada where hockey is common. I've never heard of them being split by sport though, that just sounds like a great way to lose money. University/school teams don't typically have to pay for rink time at their own rink but they aren't on the ice 24/7. The rest of the time the rinks basically sell blocks of time on the ice to other hockey teams, figure skaters, speedskaters, etc. I assume it covers some of the cost of maintenance.

[@claryyy]

yeah in the book the whole point is that nathan completely doesn’t know how to figure skate and anastasia has to teach him how to be her partner and they have cute bonding moments because she’s teaching him how to figure skate 😭

[@beingbookishpod]

You're right, and strangely this is something they actually use as a plot point in the (really bad honestly) movie The Cutting Edge.

[@raineatscheese]

@@claryyyok but like either way it makes no sense at all for a hockey player to be able to learn figure skating in a hockey player’s equipment

[@claryyy]

@@raineatscheese no i think he rented figure skates or something like that

[@lauragrey8611]

😊😅😊😊😊😊😅😊😅😅😅😊😅😊😊😅😅😅😅😊😊😊😅😊😊😊😅😊😊😊😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😊😅😊😊😊😅😅😅😊😊😊😊😅😊😊😅😅😅😅😅😅😊😅😅😅😊😅😊

[@marvelineous]

as someone who used to write a loooot of dumb crappy romance as a 12-14 year old, i can’t help but read these types of stories and just knowing deep inside that the authors envision themselves as the main female character and the whole story is a fanfiction of their own life and the romance they wish they had

[@rtybn456]

🎯🎯

[@SteampunkHorse]

No notes, this is real

[@li.moreau]

not really. most of them just want money and know it sells.

[@SteampunkHorse]

@@li.moreau also true

[@M_vanillag]

Real

[@AnarchyOnPage]

As a [now former] speedskater, having two separate rinks is not normal unless it’s some extreme beau monde thing. Usually, they just get the Zamboni guy on between our sessions. The ice sport rivalry is real though; I never trust a hockey guy (mostly because we’d almost always have our sets after them and they’d utterly destroy the ice for us).

[@soyuzsovietsky]

I grew up figure skating at a rink with two separate ice surfaces, one of which was mostly used for hockey, but it wasn’t completely segregated and that probably wasn’t the norm.

[@zeinababukar1933]

my rink has two surfaces too. one for freestyle or patch as we call it. the other is public skating which has everyone on there. a lot of figure skaters used the public ice bc patch is really expensive. all the freestyle skaters are there too and random people just coming to skate.

[@Jellytost1]

One of the big arenas in my city has two different rinks, but it’s also the home of the best figure skaters in the country.

[@Archimedes-v2o]

As a distance runner we have rivalries against sprinters and sharing the track too lmao

[@evansentcoffee]

The way you described how the author writes characters reminds me of how I used to make OCs when I was like 12-15, a lot of them started out as bullet pointed personality traits with a little trauma thrown in for flavor lmao

[@N30NT3TR4]

I feel targeted

[@twotruckslyrics]

this is me rn i feel targeted

[@rtybn456]

💯💯💯

[@Daughter_of_Bellona123]

a little trauma for flavor😭😭😭

[@soyeonsoulmate]

Little trauma? My poor ocs have seen everything

[@isabelx14]

I am tired of bad books

[@missbrienne]

A simple comment with a deep meaning

[@LeonVargas-kf2pv]

None of these authors have ever read a classic (modern or otherwise) outside of their 7th-grade English class 😭😭😭😭

[@osheridan]

It's completely unreasonable how annoyed I get when the authors of some of the books that shaped my childhood are so niche I might literally be the only fan but goddamn Colleen Hoover is out here living her best life 😭

[@isabelx14]

@@osheridan Me too!! There are so many great books people barely know about. I always recommend Lia Louis for adult readers but barely gets attention because there is no spice and same with Kasie West

[@b19wing_inslowmotion]

@@osheridanI’m so irritated with the fact that all the ya books (PJO, WOF, Warrior Cats, etc) are being replaced with these smutty Colleen Hoover-esque books that ARE NOT KID FREINDLY. My sister wanted to read Icebreakers before I told her about the smutty

[@thatoneacecomedian]

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who despises the pet name “baby”

[@laurenneves7144]

I don't mind "baby" but the way it was starting to be used was soooo inorganic and premature! It made me cringe, and I use "baby" with my husband and vice versa.

[@osheridan]

For some reason I just cannot with most pet names, nothing against them they just seem so odd to me 😂 "Hon" is the only one I don't feel silly writing

[@cellocat-sm8lx]

I HATE the "baby" thing too, glad I'm not alone either 😅

[@ana.wordswordswords]

@@osheridanSAME

[@CesRaisons]

Baby makes me so cringe so bad my partner’s gotta call me homie

[@MillyThe_Rat]

is like ao3 one-shot smut, but with 200k words, and a terrible attempt at a "porn with plot" tag that just shouldnt be there

[@andreaoblitas3870]

and an "enemies to lovers" plot that the author couldn't commit to

[@m1churr0]

with either too many or not enough tags lol

[@W-I463]

a 200k word one-shot is crazy

[@LoveShineLikeLemon]

Ao3 smuts are top notch

[@Patreone1]

LMAO the Uber calculations 😭 This is literally one of the best commentaries I've heard

[@skylarearnhart]

there were too many things wrong with the uber scene 🤣🤣

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@skylarearnhartI really like you Skylar you’re my best friend ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@P4RTY_P01S1N I’m so sorry

[@zurilyjones]

Isn’t it sexual assault to perform an act in front people without their consent?

[@TransportingSheepies]

And public indecency I'd think so

[@sarahwithanh4272]

im not sure, it might depend on where you live (i definitely think it SHOULD be though)

[@jasonnelson5745]

No, but it's still a crime

[@GentaroYumeno]

public indecency, yes

[@cocopuff-muncher]

Ur thinking of sexual harassment. Sexual assault is an entirely different thing

[@RandomPerson-MicZ]

My principal dressed as gru and all the teachers as minions on Halloween 😭😭😭

[@stuartblittley3531]

crying so hard

[@dootdoot5617]

Lmaooo

[@Leilaro1324]

My school did that too awhile ago 😂😅

[@centennialtuna]

minions tonight we steal ze moon

[@Leilaro1324]

@@centennialtuna YEEAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@booksaftercafecito]

I also hate the accidental pregnancy trope… I feel like it’s a lazy attempt to create an additional conflict

[@laurine____7543]

...exept here it cause 0 conflit and was in the damn épilogue... Also most of the times it is the whole plot of the book so not thats not for try to put even more conflit... Read that damn book, buy à mind and start to think

[@nakuraitomi21]

@@laurine____7543 girl why are you so agressive over a mediocre book. Chill and learn to accept other people’s opinions

[@Noann100]

The foot of height difference being entirely in the torso absolutely killed me 😂😂😂

[@KaneShugar]

No because why are her legs longer than his 😭

[@hellgazer8370]

HAHAHA THOSE ARE SKINWALKER-TYPE PROPORTIONS 😭😭

[@GentaroYumeno]

his legs are so fucking small and his torso is HUGE

[@holly8535]

i read this book months ago and it still makes me sooooo mad!!! what's the point in making you character say multiple times that she doesn't want to birth a child when you're just going to make her pregnant in the epilogue!! and how on earth did she go from pairs skating at a college to an olympic gold in singles in such a short space of time? the single most stupid book i've ever read.

[@mauviewauvie]

pregnant woman is a colleen hoover move

[@Wagonman-h1k]

@@mauviewauvie Ugh of course it is, can't people like her understand you don't need to be a baby factory to be happy?

[@IsabellaS81401]

Wait, what? Ughhh

[@bandetee9258]

38:23 HELPPP “we puck fussy” is actually so clever

[@GentaroYumeno]

reminds me of some artist called com truise

[@kristik5305]

I love some smut with no plot but NOTHING was happening in this book! This was a horrible book! It was so god damn boring. It was just pages upon pages of absolutely not a damn thing happening. I DNF’d this so hard.

[@laurenneves7144]

It definitely irked me that Hannah Grace barely mentioned anything about Nathan having to break in new figure skates and all of a sudden, you learn it mid-way. Like what? I thought he was just helping her with some lifts in his hockey skates! And he's actually doing the whole routine with her? Also, no way in hell would Anastasia's coach let her practice lifts with someone so inexperienced. It's so risky! We do have two rinks at my university (in Canada, but it was built for the Olympics way back when). One rink is meant for hockey and figure skating, which I mostly trained on. The other rink is meant for speed skating, but I also taught and practiced on that ice too. Then we have a speed skating track that goes all the way around both arenas. Sharing the rink between two sports is very common. I mean, how much ice time do athletes actually use? Typically, at the top level, it's max 3 hours a day, so figure skating and hockey alternate. At my old club, when they maintenance of the ice and piping, we would train in the neighbouring hockey rink of the club, even though both rinks were dedicated for each sport. Scheduling only had to change slightly. But what pissed me off the most that Hannah Grace couldn't give a single minute to look up whether women (in pairs no less) ever attempted a quad lutz. She basically looked up the hardest jump in figure skating and ran with it. So embarrassing. Also, as some folks already mentioned in the comments, the rivalry or disdain between figure skaters and hockey players is pretty real. I mean, typically we find them disgusting because the change rooms always smell horrid because of them. It's pretty much the only impression I got of them.

[@s4ltenj0y3r]

"Whose p word is this, Anastasia?" ICK. "I know, baby, I know it's good" DOUBLE ICK. "Such a pretty p word" ICKED OUT. "look at you taking (I dont want to write the rest of that)" ICKNOTIZED.

[@Luckystar1111S]

STOPPPP THATS SO CRINGEEE

[@lssmble]

EWWWWWWWWWWW

[@leaf1885]

I’ve commented this before somewhere but I’ll do this again. Icebreaker was my first steamy/college-romance book. I thought it was just a romance novel with maybe one spicy scene somewhere towards the end that would serve to distract me. Distract me from what, you may ask? When I read this, I was in the middle of writing my master’s thesis but I also was a full time elementary school substitute teacher at the same time and ROYALY burned out from the 6 years of academia that lay behind me. I was also only 24 years old. So, I picked this book and put it on my kindle, the weekend before I was supposed to go on a week long beach trip with our fourth graders. So, there I was: battling the WORST cold of my life, watching 20 10yos on the beach every day, writing my thesis after lunch when they were in their rooms and then reading Icebreaker at night. Truly unhinged…just…yeah. It was a trip, alright.

[@Kam_i_]

this sounds like an indelible experience

[@leaf1885]

@@Kam_i_ truly. Will never forget.

[@SteampunkHorse]

Romans 5:3-4 “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.” That must have been a Hell of a week. I hope you at least got a funny story to tell out of it 😅

[@reasull]

I’m going into this as a ex-hockey player and from what I know about sports in writing…..it’s insane. Gotta say though, ice hockey and figure skating rivalry is a real thing

[@skylarearnhart]

seems to be the only accurate thing about this book 🤣

[@SVYZ2061]

this being a wattpad story explained explained away immediately 😭 also love yours foals poster

[@SteampunkHorse]

IT IS?!

[@Laura-xp8om]

was this also a one direction fic?💀 after and other wattpad coded ya novels had the male protagist initials matching with the 1d boys’ (so does icebreaker) and it keeps me up at night wondering if this a coincidence or not

[@SAVYWRITESBOOKS]

this is the first time i've ever heard the phrase "gru kink" ... and i gotta say, i'm intrigued LOL

[@leighkamryn]

I unfortunately got suckered by the cover and read this book because I thought it would be a feel good romance. It's on the dnf list.

[@BestRiley]

Same

[@VanessaClark-l7g]

Same! I bought it thinking it was a cute teen romance about figure skating and was not prepared for how “50 shades” things were gonna get.😅 Also as a figure skater myself, the skating inaccuracies and unbelievability (side by side 4Ltz in pairs🤨) really annoyed me.

[@aleksandra3259]

What dnf means?

[@VanessaClark-l7g]

@@aleksandra3259did not finish

[@osheridan]

You poor thing, you got violated literaturely 😭

[@toneystank]

Lmao when you fall into super cold water your bodies instinct is to gasp, which is often when your head is submerged. Thus your lungs fill with water, and your muscles are already weaker from the cold. Just because she could swim before doesn’t mean she should be able to in the cold lake.

[@nes4933]

Memento Mori

[@derpydevilolidk]

@@nes4933???

[@Tayisanangel]

Yeah that’s what I thought too

[@rororowan]

​@@derpydevilolidk its because of the original commentor's pfp

[@derpydevilolidk]

@@rororowan oh okay I was confused as to why the other person said that lol

[@christinaaliciamaria]

the weird height differences in these books make me SO uncomfortable omggg

[@osheridan]

That seems like the only part of these that isn't problematic

[@P34RL_D1V3R]

What was the height difference...?

[@theromancereader]

@@P34RL_D1V3R nate is 6’4 and stassie 5’4

[@christinaaliciamaria]

@@P34RL_D1V3R hes a foot taller than her

[@planetmars444]

​@@P34RL_D1V3R1 foot/12 in difference. all these books tend to have huge height difference and always have to bring it up multiple times

[@briar7792]

so here for ice breaker slander ALL DAY

[@idontevenusethisaccounthaha]

Real

[@neo-cb9lc]

as if the uber scene wasn't diabolical enough, as soon as you mentioned the pregnancy ending i rolled my eyes honestly... idk what it is with pregnancy subplots in m/f contemporary romance books

[@TacticusPrime]

Teenage birthrates have fallen from 61.8 per 1,000 in 1991 to just 13.2 per 1,000 in 2023. Teen pregnancy has become more and more romanticized in some lit as its terrible reality has moved farther and farther from people's lives. (to be clear, teens are the actual target audience of this)

[@bearieee]

tysm for sacrificing both your time and mental state to review this book SKHDJDJD this vid had me cracking up at so many different parts. idk how you managed to read some of that dialogue without laughing or puking, so kudos 🙈 some of those scenes are really giving "author has a very specific kink and is inflicting it on all of us" energy. like, getting caught after the uber??? and then later BY HIS DAD AND SISTER??? naurrr 😭

[@skylarearnhart]

HAHAH omg you're welcome 🫡 im considering doing a pt 2 with the sequel wildfire bc my friend said it was so bad it made icebreaker seem good but idk if im brave enough 😪

[@bearieee]

@@skylarearnhart omg skhdkdkd if you do, i'll definitely watch 👀 but also that sounds like it would be torture for you so i wouldn't blame you for not subjecting yourself to more of this. like, im afraid of what other secret kinks this author would throw at the readers. what if they fuck on the ice or something? 😰 im SCARED

[@gennabella]

some context and i'll edit as i go: - i'm australian so i can't comment on if it's normal to have two rinks bc here we have like one per city lol, but for the most part times are blocked so the figure skaters and hockey ppl are separated unless it's like a public session. - the rivalry between figure and hockey is very real lol. i think hockey players are mostly show offey jerks and they think the same thing about me lmao

[@lilacfields]

it’s def not normal in the US. i might not be the best source bcs my nearest skating rink is 4 hours from me, but usually there are times that the rink is open to the public vs private teams that rent it out. figure skaters and hockey players would use the same rink just at different times

[@savvryslove4119]

I’m from Australia and the only rink I can think of with two rinks would be obrien ice house down in Melbourne

[@rocks_eater]

@@lilacfields It's somewhat normal at my rink, we have two sheets of ice and the figure skaters use the one with the jump harness thing (this is in Minnesota tho, so probably not normal most other places)

[@olivia7444]

there is def not two rinks lol, most colleges, if they even have one they have one large rink, but not two seperate ones. ice hockey/figure skating would js be at diff times

[@SteampunkHorse]

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!

[@venasai9637]

some people aren't mean enough when they review books, i loved this, please make more

[@CaptainDeliciousPants-g2x]

I read this book in the psych ward and I passed it around with the other patients. We all needed extra therapy after it….

[@puppydogs68]

Bless you bro I’d have to stay at the psych ward permanently if I read the entirety of this book 😭

[@eleanorruth2843]

16:55 i legit nearly spat out my mouthful of crisps. I put on cruel summer at a low volume to try and immerse myself in the scene and it really added to the hilarity

[@slutfortttt]

I can’t believe they put Taylor Swift in this book 😔 Also “It smells like sex in here I got to roll the windows down” ???

[@JillianLovesBooks]

No, but the cherry on top was everyone being like, “wait - Wildfire is so much better!! Give it a try even if you didn’t like Icebreaker!!” Like….. girly, OF COURSE it’s better because the bar was so damn low. 😂 I will never read another book by this author. I just truly do not get it. You can’t convince me this book wasn’t written/edited with AI. And also, a moment for the fact that it was pitched as two enemies working together and the hockey player having to step in with the ice skater when that is SUCH a side plot that takes place in a tiny portion of the book. It’s pitched as A PLOT POINT, but was written like an after-thought.

[@jamandgreentea]

The enemies part annoyed me so hard, it read as a fanfic writer describing the plot of their fic and then getting bored of that and jumping to the smut

[@jbad3355]

Wildfire was so much WORSE

[@osheridan]

I've made AI write books for funsies (not published obv) and they're always absolutely terrible, but they're better than this 😭

[@anniedagachapeep9947]

16:34 LMAO IT'S THE YAOI ANATOMY

[@SteampunkHorse]

STOP 😭🏌️

[@SteelJustAri]

the horrible part is that I was in a library with my mom, in the youth section because I don't care for like older peep stuff like I genuinely just like fantasy books without the grit, and my mom pointed at this book like "hey you're an artist, this art is cute" but it wasn't a fantasy so i kind of just nodded and never thought about it till now... but genuinely, WHY WAS HANNAH GRACE BOOKS IN THE PRETEEN AGE RANGE ISLE!?!?!??!

[@griftersbones]

Something I gotta say about 8:45 Even if you're not a writer you can usually tell when writing is good. You don't necessarily need a degree in architecture to be able to tell when a building is impressive. Now this isn't always true, especially when it comes to writing. Many people mistake personal taste for flawed writing, or even worse, mistake character flaws for bad writing. But usually when you step back and actually look at writing with a fair and critical lense, you *can* tell when somethings written well I'd argue that the opposite is even easier for us as people to spot. You don't need to be a carpenter to know when a chair is broken (especially if its in pieces)

[@christinabanh685]

no bc literally the whole time i was reading it i was like damn they do not have any etiquette like where is the decorum ??

[@Cinamarolli]

Noya pfp?? Also real 😭😭

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

I find it hilarious that the dean called all of the student athletes in for this meeting. Imagine being a basketball player who was barely even aware that the school *had* ice rinks, and suddenly you have to go to a meeting about them.

[@bye.7613]

i am crying laughing this is the most fun i’ve had in so long especially you trying to figure out the logistics of the uber scene, i was on the floor you’re so funny thank you for making this

[@ritzee13]

My aunt was buying this for her 11 year old because she thought it would get her into sport. Luckily I was able to tell her it was not appropriate, but publishers should also take responsibility and reconsider these cartoonish book covers. They should atleast consider an 18+ label like manga.

[@sugoiboi6969]

The Uber scene had me briefly convinced that he may be Mr. Fantastic.

[@slutfortttt]

Only explanation

[@Azal3az_.]

I really hope that uber driver gave them zero stars.

[@dishti_3211]

i wouldn’t wish reading this book on my worst enemy also props to you for reading those horrific quotes, it must’ve been painful

[@jamandgreentea]

This book is my villain origin story. I bought it because i saw it at a bookstores pages as a newly translated book, a while later i bought it and right after i payed my friend said "oh thats that really popular tiktok book". I almost fell to my knees right there, I don't have tiktok which means i never know which book is popular. Anyway, i remained hopeful the figure skating part was good.... It was not lol. That was the only reason i had bought the book. ig i also didn't mind the idea of the main characters being rivals but that only happened for like 2 chapters which annoyed me to no end, like stop the fucking and start hating please!

[@skylarearnhart]

i fear it is my villian orgin story also LOLOL

[@yourghoulfriend13]

this book made me wish i didn't know how to read. i regret the four days it took me to drag myself through it for a book club I had just joined.....and I am eternally haunted by the Gru scene .

[@karlispovisils5297]

You criticize Anastasia for fricking Nate in a Gru costume. Maybe she didn't like it at first and then it just "Gru" on her. I am funny and you may not say otherwise

[@XXisotopeXX]

otherwise

[@karlispovisils5297]

@@XXisotopeXX Dammit!

[@s4ltenj0y3r]

What happened to Nates peanits when he saw Anastasia at the halloween party? It gru

[@SteampunkHorse]

👏. 👏. 👏. Slow claps for that horribly good pun

[@SteampunkHorse]

@@s4ltenj0y3rat the part tea. Straight up “growing it”. And by “it”. Haha. Let’s jusr say. My peanits

[@GiulioFedeleGiaffreda]

1:48 is this a "there was only one ice rink" trope?

[@BookObsessed-115]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@3belowFan]

😂✌️ Maybeee?

[@Pkjhv]

it is nasty how the 13/14 yo eigth graders AND SOME SEVENTH GRADERS have read this book AND LOVED IT like wtf?

[@IsabellaS81401]

That’s weird as fuxk

[@EmeralddStarr]

this felt like being on facetime and listening to one of my friends explain it, i love this video

[@seohee3]

girl I thought I was a great soldier but I didn't even read this book and just hearing the description makes me gag. I've watched many horror movies that go beyond humanity but this is straight up the scariest story I've ever heard. This is not a romance book, it's a horror one😭

[@Polygonite]

Your effort to make your surroundings more icy for this review did not go unnoticed!

[@marsgal6027]

I have so much respect for you reading these quotes with a straight face 😅 the uber scene was diabolical, the halloween costumes were tragic, and ultimately i think i was a better person before i read this book. With that being said, i hope you read the sequel because i am not brave enough to. Im a new subscriber but i honestly already apprecoate your sense of humor and straight forward attitude.

[@chaos2232]

EXCUSE ME?? A SEQUEL!?

[@marsgal6027]

@chaos2232 yeah it's called Wildfire I think 🤣

[@marsgal6027]

Not really a sequel, more like a standalone in the same universe

[@chaos2232]

@@marsgal6027 WILD FIRE OMFG

[@crystalclearfilms]

Wait. The girl is sitting on the dude's lap on the car and her head only goes up to his chin? LOL. Did I get this part right? Because if yes, this is w i l d. 😂

[@L3_cHat]

Blud is literally 3 feet tall 💀

[@lilyhawthorne1196]

Wattpad y/n type height difference 💀

[@grimmsfairytales2224]

Puck bunny is legit hockey slang for groupies 😂

[@honeyyandwine]

so many of my friends hyped this book and it made me so excited to try it…i can finish a good book in a couple hours if i’m invested enough but it took me weeks to drag through this. WEEKS. i’ve read fanfics that would’ve been a better use of paper than this atrocity

[@caeandstars]

the fact that the book is full of smut (badly written one at that), but looks like something i would've read when i was like 12-13 is insane. like if i saw this in a bookstore based on just the cover i'd think it's for younger audiences when it is clearly not 💀

[@ant_therapist]

girl that random glitch with your camera that turned your eyes and mouth green scared the dickens out of me when i looked up 😭🙏

[@skylarearnhart]

HAHA i’m so sorry i didn’t even notice it did that until it was posted 😩💔

[@SteampunkHorse]

YOU’RE THE FIRST PERSON I’VE SEEN MENTION THIS OMG I THIUGHT I WAS GOING CRQZY

[@Dr.Svnshine]

TIMESTAMP??z?????z?

[@SteampunkHorse]

@@Dr.Svnshine it’s near the beginning, like three minutes in maybe?

[@Dr.Svnshine]

@@SteampunkHorse Alr

[@jaciejf154]

Honestly as a girl hockey player the only beef I had with figure skaters was their coach glaring at us for no reason and getting my skates caught in holes left in the ice by their spins- but the same could probably be said of them if they went on the ice after power skating lol

[@enrapturingfantasy]

not the “who do you think gave you the heart” teas… AND THE RESTAURANT PROPOSAL?????

[@enrapturingfantasy]

crying at u picturing the illustrations during the spicy scenes

[@aggressivelawnclippings3895]

“They do it in the gru costume” is such a mean girls moment “NO! THEYRE BOTH IN THE COSTUME.”

[@v0n12z]

idk anything about american unis but i think your school would have to be RICH rich to have its own dedicated rink, let alone two. with that in mind, there is often an unspoken feud between fig skaters and hockey skaters due to SHARING A RINK so if she never shared rinks with hockey skaters recently idk why she hates them

[@acciobambi]

When i heard the name Anastasia my mind immediately went to fifty shades of grey and i was like “Oh god… not again” 😭

[@katyk2884]

we puck fussy got me cryingg 😭😭

[@savannahlee5322]

“Then they talk, and they don’t really say anything” could literally sum up the entire book

[@venom_1072]

Bruh this book was in my schools library and there was like a little girl reading it💀 likeeeeee but we're banning Maus?!

[@Spicylittletrees]

Maus is such a good book I mean it does show nudity bc it’s a comic book but GOD DAMN THAT BOOK YESSIR

[@JamboreeBlackberry]

I read Maus in eighth grade and it was INCREDIBLE

[@Mia-nk1kg]

Banning Captain underpants but keeping this is crazy as well.

[@jinkisyellowsuit]

plsss make more videos like these i beg, i have the morbid curiosity to know all the specifics about so many popular booktok books 🙏

[@planetmars444]

kinda confused as to how nate was supposedly a great skating partner for anastasia bc hockey skating and figure skating are wildly different 😭😭??

[@poppykeezlee7281]

I thought the male POV couldn't sound more like a dude, but the main thing about this book that got on my nerves was how Anastasia acted stupid and ditzy every time she was around Nate; I HATE that trope.

[@rikasoft]

I’m in 8th grade and I saw this girl in my math class reading it and I almost burst out laughing because she usually soo reserved and anxious, didn’t expect her to be into books like this 😂

[@lauradeassis462]

'im not a writer, i just got a lot of opinions' just sums up everything ive been feeling about this book. thank you for this

[@Nich3lla]

I hate this book sm it’s called Icebreaker but they barely ever actually talk abt ice sports, they CONSTNALTY bopping around, they go to a party once a damn week, the only relationship Nathan and the main character have is seax, that’s not romance, it’s CORN

[@MxSilverJackal]

One note about no strait white man ever turning up cruel summer by TS- I work in construction for data and such. And one of my coworkers (20- nonbinary) loves TS and got my other coworker (63- white strait man) to love her music too over the course of working together for a few days strait. One day we were installing speaker systems into a new urgent care and we of course need to test the sound. So the older coworker starts playing TS from his phone. Other construction workers on the site complained and asked if he would turn it down. He said no and proceeded to turn it all the way up and play TS all day long singing along. (For reference testing sound lasts 30mins at most). So there is one strait white man who has turned up cruel summer by Taylor Swift

[@b19wing_inslowmotion]

Ima straight white dude who likes Taylor Swift But like WHYYYY DO SWIFTIES PUT HER MUSIC IN THEIR AWFUL FANFIC BOOKS LEAVE TAYLOR OUT OF THIS

[@BagelBagelBagelBa]

as an anti, that sorta surprised me tbh

[@slutfortttt]

@@b19wing_inslowmotionthe author probably isn’t even a swiftie but they put a popular song like that in there in hopes more people would buy it

[@Mia-nk1kg]

⁠@@b19wing_inslowmotionI read a Wattpad book where characters played "Crazy in Love" and "Party in the USA." Using modern songs often feels cringe to me.

[@b19wing_inslowmotion]

@@Mia-nk1kg exactlyyyyy tho There are switifes that write "romance novels" which are literally just her songs but with a sort of plot and they listen to her music in the book and that's just so cringe to me I hate it when characters in a book listen to modern music too like just say they were listening to music

[@username5741]

this one girl in class last year (10th grade) was PASSING THE BOOK AROUND THE CLASS and SHOWING EVERYONE THE SMUT SCENES. I did NOT ask for that

[@IsabelleReads]

I read Icebreaker (my first time reading a smut book) because that was the only time I was like "eh why not follow the crowd" and absolutely hated it. Then a few months later, somebody who sits next to me at school proceeds to tell a large group of people that I was a p addict so not only do I know deeply despise this book even more, but feel disgusted with myself for reading smut (luckily, nobody spread it around and none of those people are staying at our current school for sixth form)

[@bblovesbooks]

29:22 "Nate-daddy fishes her out of the lake" BAHAHA WHAT I LOVE YOU YOURE SO FUNNY

[@erilw]

HELP I loved your commentary on the book 😭😭 needless to say I’m never reading it :D

[@lanacampos7804]

“If you need some well written male brain, you,te not gonna find it here” GIRLLLLLL

[@dandelionenthusiast]

when i was in 7th grade a girl brought this book to school and actually read it in class...😭😭the teachers found out and did a whole announcement about appropriate reading material

[@gneesocks]

this book was out when you were in 7th grade???

[@Mia-nk1kg]

There was a guy in my class when I was in the 7th grade who read Fifty Shades of Grey. We were supposed to read a page from a book we had read in front of the class and teacher. My teacher started yelling at him and asked if he even read the book. He lied and read the synopsis as proof.

[@anya5893]

It's such a force enemies to lovers romance. Hated it.

[@maomi1852]

The Halloween costume is legit, seen groups of guys dressing like that, most large groups of guy friends enjoy dressing stuff for shit and giggles. Had some guy friends that dressed like fairies one year, the next one they dressed like pokemon and one of them was Ash. Could go on with examples but I think this about sums it up

[@Ary-t7j]

the dumbass cover is so misleading. If I was a 12 year old wanting to read a cute teen romance, I would pick this out.

[@Pigeon1968]

Exactly, like wdym the age rating is in small print on the back (I think) like no one will see that 🙏

[@Lolawitch28]

I just feel bad for the Uber driver 😔

[@Blackpreppygirl]

The heart-stopper in the background made me subscribe so quick

[@vintagedoll12]

Ice breaker is a "book" for corn addicts that like to pretend to be a "book girlie" y'all embarass people that actually like books with good writing

[@hannahmontana4401]

one thing about this book unrelated to the smut is nate stepping in as her partner. that is so unrealistic and obviously can't happen. this author clearly knows nothing about figure skating and about pairs skating. you cannot have some random ass hockey player suddenly do pairs skating and lifts. that is the worst idea I have ever heard in my life. sorry this just pmo-ed as a figure skater. ANOTHER things. if you do cpr on somebody, you call 911 IMMEDIATLY. you don't just do cpr, give them a shower, and THEN go to the hospital.

[@Eggs_Benedict22]

apologies sent as a girl named hannah grace

[@spiritmadeofstars]

here for the "baby" pet name slander ♥ I enjoyed the book as like a light trashy read tho :D and I was obsessed with the figure skater/hockey player dynamic at the time of reading so I guess that affected me kinda liking this book, gave it 3 stars

[@tickik.2037]

oh my god i was on a trip with my friend and she was reading this book and said she really liked it ,, so i asked her what it was about and she told me and then was like right now they are at a Halloween party,, i did NOT expect that party to go like THIS

[@milenamatvejeva9846]

As a figure skater, i would say that there is some natural rivalry between figure skaters and hockey players in the sense that (at least in eastern europe) being a girl and doing girly things is cringe, and being a jock makes you seem like a bit of a jerk, and just general competitiveness on whos a better skater. Also i lived in the capital city of my country and we did have maybe 2 or 3 rinks (one of them was attached to the sports academy school i went to), but i dont think any of them were exclusively for either sport. We all shared, just at different time slots. Why would they put figure skaters and hockey players on at the same time? There is no space for both? They both take up a lot of ice real estate between programme practice and jumps and spins on figure skating, and match practice and drills on the hockey side. I skated at 2 different rinks and there was almost never overlap between us. So i feel like the genuine animosity from the MC is so unrealistic. All hockey players ive interacted with engaged in playful banter with me, or it was like childish "girls got cooties" stuff. Its like cousin sports to me. I feel like i couldnt be that mad at them for no reason.

[@LittleIzzy44]

I had the unfortunate experience of listening to the audio book and I vowed never to take another booktok rec ever again LMAO also one of the things that kills me to this day was when Nate bought Anastasia an iPad for Christmas and all she did was put on his jersey 💀💀💀 this book was so unserious

[@siren.mentality]

love the pet name “baby” but not in a old man way in a lesbian good luck babe chappell roan “i just wanna love someone who calls me baby!” way