Title: Icebreaker: A MM Hockey Romance (Portland Lumberjacks Book 1)
Author: Blair Brady
Pages: 226
Formats: ebook
Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for providing an ARC
As I’ve previously mentioned in a recent review, I love me some hockey romance. Thus my standards are quite high as I’ve read some good stories (the benchmark being The Harrisburg Railers series and spin offs) and some I so wish to desperately forget.
Icebreaker is one that I am going to hold dear to me heart and Blair Brady has now become an instant buy author.
While the storyline is familiar in this genre, what ISN’T familiar is the way the angst is introduced to the plot- for me it wasn’t over the top, but it felt oh so real- while I haven’t been in the position, the thoughts that Axel provide us is all too human and possibly in a “bad” way- but that won’t let Quinn stop his damnest from falling for Axel, nor will it stop him from showing Axel what a true relationship of equals is like- never mind the age gape, true love is being there for the highs and the lows and all that’s in between.
Most hockey romances are all about the insta love and while this applies to Icebreakers, Icebreakers shines with the fact that the drama and angst is slowly revealed over time and as mentioned above, feels all to real- too often in any romance novel the drama/third act breakup/conflict often feels trite and can be seen a mile away- not so here.
This book is actually worth spending your money on- it’s like a hug in book form.