e-ALC, 07:36:37
Narrated by: Khaya Fraites & Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Release Date: November 18, 2025
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon Teen)
Read from: November 11-12, 2025
Varsity, #1
Source: Libro FM (I received this ALC free from the publisher and Libro FM. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning:
For Readers Interested In: Audio, Dual POV, Favorites, Sparkly Covers, Most Anticipated, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Sports (Hockey), YAA 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*
This was so much fun! So I actually really started watching hockey lately just to get something else to watch besides football when the Eagles are playing like they are right now. (But that’s besides the point) Anyway, I was not expecting to get sucked into this sport like I have, so here I am reading all the books about it lol
OK so the main thing I want to talk about is the sport itself. One thing I hate about sports romances is they never feature enough of the sport to me. So if you ARE just learning what lands you in the penalty box, you’ll be able to figure it our via context clues. Not all sports romances are like that, but this is one of the good ones. There is so much ice time and he spends so much time thinking about hockey. It felt like a real and authentic teen voice.
The characters were so cringeworthy lol But they’re teens, so I expected it. Because what do you mean you listened to the first person you saw and you don’t even like them? That annoyed me so bad lol But for the most part, Harper took no shit and I was proud of all the change she went through through out the story. I especially loved how she saw how she was also wrong and changed her mind as well as some of the others around her as well. As for Luke, he had some work to do, but I loved his change as well. He finally realized that they’re not the end all be all either and that they’ve been getting away with a lot more than he thought.
The romance was cute. And I’m saying that as a non enemies to lovers person. They argued yeah, but it wasn’t anything major. She was more mad at the way people reacted to him than anything, so when they got together it was more cute than anything. When they were together, it was also pretty cute. The bracelets? Genius. And I’m a little sad because I want one lol
This was actually a lot of fun! I really enjoyed this. Definitely a book I’d read again. I’m glad there seems to be more in the series! And with other sports! I can already tell, this is going to be a favorite!
Overall, I give this
