e-ALC, 10:51:11
Narrated by: Brooke Bloomingdale & Ryan Hudson
Release Date: November 4, 2025
Published by: Hachette Audio
Read from: November 13-16, 2025
New York Legends, #1
Source: Netgalley (I received this ALC free from the publisher and Netgalley. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: Bullying, Body Shaming, Sexual Content, Eating Disorder, Physical Abuse, Abandonment, Death of a Parent, Alcoholism, Child Abuse
For Readers Interested In: Adult, Audio, Contemporary Romance, Dual POV, Sparkly Covers, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Second Chance Romance, Sports (Hockey)A star hockey player and his biggest critic must reexamine their assumptions about each other when forced to work together at an after-school job in this feel-good young adult rom-com debut about breaking the ice—featuring stenciled sprayed edges!
Luke Dawson and Harper Braedon could have been friends. They trade shifts at the same diner, share classes at school, and are driven by their greatest passions: hockey for Dawson and jewelry-making for Harper. But some things aren’t meant to be. Dawson thinks Harper is stuck-up, too good for anything resembling school spirit. Harper thinks Dawson is a self-centered jock, a perfect fit for a hockey team that seems to absorb all the budget away from the arts departments.
When his beloved hockey coach gets fired for misallocation of funds, Dawson is terrified that all his plans for impressing scouts are vanishing before his eyes. A rumor goes around that Harper was the one who got him fired, and suddenly she’s public enemy number one.
But even with their mutual dislike at an all-time high, Harper and Dawson can’t escape splitting shifts forever. Can forced proximity help them find some common ground, or will long-held grudges finally succeed in bringing them both down?
*MY THOUGHTS*
I know I keep saying this, but its actually true with these last few books I’ve been reading? This was a lot of fun. Not only is there hockey, but there’s also some figure skating and some speed skating and romance. So many things I love!
OK so the main thing that stood out to me in this one was the characters. They both were stubborn af lol But I ain’t gon lie, Chase was a little annoying. Because why in the world were you acting like that when you could have just been like F yo mom! He knew what was going on there and he chose to just let it stop him instead of still trying to get through to her. As for Zoe, I just don’t know how she can let her mom control every piece of her. Did she not realize? Did she not just care? It was annoying lol
The romance was cute tho. I was shipping them from the very beginning. I LOVED their history. I could tell where they were headed as soon as they met. And that’s the kind of thing I like to see. They had history and what felt like a real love. I was glad we got to see it play out. Bowen also did a great job in showing that they were coming back together after things didn’t quite work out for them in the beginning. I loved this because she not only used the words to show this, but she also used emotions as well. And that signaled to me that they were going to be one of my favorite couples.
Sport wise this was also great. I loved that the kids were mentioned, that there were multiple times they were on the ice, and the way they were in the skating together for the fundraiser. I loved it! And you know I’m going say it, so I’m just going to say it. I also loved that they showed Zoe as not only a figure skater but also a coach and a speed skater. This woman knows her stuff and Bowen wrote her out to be a bad ass.
This was so much fun! I’m not sure if I loved this one because of my current hyperfixation on hockey books or if it was really that good. Here’s an idea tho…. Let’s read them all together just to make sure we know which one it is. (Saying this because the cover for book 2 is available and I’m just putting out there now that I can be an ARC reader! lol)
Overall, I give this
