Love on Ice

by Sara Ney

NATIONAL BESTSELLER What's a girl to do when the star of the hockey team crash lands in her backyard after a prank gone wrong? Help him cover up the evidence...in exchange for him posing as the perfect prom date, of course. Get ready to swoon with this hilarious YA rom-com debut from the USA Today bestselling author Sara Ney!

"A sweet escape...plus, there’s hockey!" —Lauren Blakely, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Harper Conrad figures when opportunity knocks, smart girls listen. Which is why when she catches high school hockey star Easton Westermann in her backyard after stealing their rival school’s mascot, she knows exactly what to do.

The deal is In exchange for Harper’s silence, Easton will be her date to their upcoming prom. It’s the perfect bargain . . . but what happens when what starts as a business transaction begins to feel all too real?

You know how the saying If you like someone, set them free. If they come back to you, they were meant to be your prom date. Or something like that.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Sports Romance, Hockey, Sports, Contemporary, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published February 17, 2026

About the author

Sara Ney is an Amazon and USA Today bestselling author of new adult college and adult romance. Sexy and laugh-out-loud funny, her work includes the How to Date a Douchebag and Campus Legends series. Ney’s books have been translated into several languages for markets such as Germany, Italy, Brazil, French, and Portuguese.

Sara lives with her partner, Jeff, in a blended household overrun by four independent teenagers. At their weekly “Cute Date Night,” they discuss TV shows they’re bingeing and plot novels together, something Jeff is freakishly good at. Sara loves traveling, because it’s the only time she has the bathroom to herself.

Reviews

[jenoodle✮⋆˙ · Rating 2 out of 5]

── .✦ 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 ❄️༉‧₊˚.
🩷˚₊· ࣪⸝⸝ ˖ 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. . ݁₊ ⊹ 🐻‍❄️. ݁˖ . ݁

꒰ ⋆ . 🧊‧₊˚. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐧 𝐈𝐜𝐞 ‧₊˚.🤍. ⋆ ꒱
🌨️ ‧₊˚ ◟𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚: 13+ (𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨, 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤, 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨, 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙩.), 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜: 13+ (𝙛*𝙘𝙠, 𝙖*𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚, 𝙨𝙝*𝙩, 𝙚𝙩𝙘 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨.) ‧₊˚ ⋅ ⛸️˚˖
﹒⭒﹒⭒﹒⭒﹒﹒⭒﹒⭒﹒⭒﹒﹒⭒﹒⭒﹒⭒﹒
.˚ ‧💗₊ ੭ now playing: 𝙎𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙊𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 💧 ‧₊°◞
⋆.˚˖ ⤷ 💕 𝙏𝙖𝙮𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙎𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙛𝙩. 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝘿𝙚𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙮
⌞ 1:05 ——◦———— 4:16 ⌝
↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ 🥶 ˖⁺.꒷꒦
──────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────
꒰꒱ "𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝" ˖🫧⁺◟˚

˚.☃️ⵢ₊˚ When I first got this ARC I was like "Oh! Another cute little romance to start my winter!" LITTLE DID I KNOW THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I WANTED TO SCREAM WHILE READING THIS PIECE OF FICTION. Seriously, it had potential to be an adorable little small town hockey romance. AND I DON'T CARE IF IT ENDED UP BEING CLICHE BECAUSE SOMETIMES IM IN THE MOOD FOR CLICHE. But guess what? If you combine cliche with terrible babes that ain't gonna end well. AND THATS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS BOOK. You know I would have had some mercy if our MMC was at least a baddie and a new book boyfriend to fawn over, BUT LET ME JUST STOP YOU RIGHT THERE. BECAUSE THE MAN IN THIS BOOK?? HE WAS THE PROBLEM. And let's just jump into the review before I rant about him right here and now.



꒰꒱ "𝙒𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣' 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡" ˖🫧⁺◟˚

˚.☃️ⵢ₊˚ I think the only reason I was able to finish this book was because I read it while I was traveling and stuck in an airport. I LITERALLY HAD NO OTHER CHOICE THAN TO ENDURE THIS TORTURE. And that brings me to my first topic ladies and gentlemen, THE CHEMISTRY. Because let us all take a moment to acknowledge this. When we think of chemistry we either think of coke and mentos OR we think of a nice pacing where our two main characters fall in love WITH A BACKSTORY. But when I say the entire chemistry between our FMC and MMC was messier than my thoughts at 3am, BABES I FREAKING AM NOT EXAGGERATING. We couldn't even focus on the slow burn "enemies to lovers" theme WHEN HALF OF THE TIME OUR GUY WAS CHASING AFTER SOME OTHER FREAKING GIRL. Oh and if you think that's bad, SHE WAS THE STREOTYPICAL INSTAGRAM BITCH TOO. I swear on god I wanted to cry every time our man came on page because even while we are ALMOST done with the book he's still chasing after her, AND EVEN WHILE HE IS KISSING OUR FMC HE'S THINKING ABOUT HER??? What in the LUST is this. I just couldn't get over the amount of times we had to read in the his POV and I had to endure his lustful thoughts about his little imaginary love triangle. IT WAS JUST THE MOST ANNOYING THING EVER. And as a girl who says never lower your standards I swear our FMC could have done SO much better. LIKE WHO WANTS A MAN WHO CHASES AFTER BLONDE KIM KARDASHIAN OF THE SCHOOL GTFO PLEAASEEE 😭😫

꒰꒱ "𝙁𝙡𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢, 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙛𝙪𝙡" ˖🫧⁺◟˚

˚.☃️ ⵢ₊˚ THIS BRINGS ME TO MY SECOND ISSUE. The. Writing. Because WHAT IN THE TELEPORTATION WAS THAT??? I swear I found it hilarious how this is the most simple of SIMPLEST books to write and yet the writing was EVERYWHERE. I swear I could not go at least 10 pages without us teleporting somewhere. She's getting ready in her bedroom? HAHA SIKE SHE'S IN THE KITCHEN NOW! Well guess what else she's going to be in? THE FREAKING DUMPST- ahem anyways. When I read a book I would like to at least understand where our characters our going at all times with a little bit of context. BECAUSE I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR US DROPPING INTO A SCENE LIKE A THIRD WHEELER AND HAVING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE ARE 😭😭

꒰꒱ "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚" ˖🫧⁺◟˚

˚.☃️ⵢ₊˚ And what makes me even more depressed is the fact that this started out SO CUTE. Like I saw the potential but it just spiraled into a downfall like all my dreams. AND ON THE TOPIC OF WRITING I NEED TO MAKE A HONORARY MENTION OF HE CHEESY LINES THAT CAME UP. Because holy innuendo what in the world?? I SWEAR FOR A MOMENT I FORGOT THIS WAS YA WHEN OUR MMC WAS AND I QUOTE "feeling something in his jeans at the sight of her" WRAP IT UP GANG 😭🙌 I feel like that was NOT even needed and that just brings me back to my first point of HIM being the problem and the amount of LUST we got from this kid. LIKE SERIOUSLY? DID YOUR MOTHER NOT TEACH YOU HOW TO TREAT WOMEN 😭😭 I feel like he would be the type to unironically say 67 24/7 aswell 💀




⸝⸝ ༚ 💘˚₊· 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 ݁₊. 🩵◞⋆˚

☁️₊ˑ𓂃 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐫: I honestly don't know WHAT to think of her. On one hand she gives "I'm not like the other girls 😏" AND ON ANOTHER HAND SHE GIVES "I literally love being a girl 🤗" SO WHO AM I TO EVEN PICK IF I HATE HER OR NOT?? I think she mostly just irked me at the amount of times she got into stupid problems 😭 LIKE COME ON, HAVING OUR MMC EASTEN GET HIS HAND GLUED TO YOUR BOOB IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE SCHOOL WHEN YOUR TRYING TO SET UP FOR PROM?? What the fuck in the Wattpad is this. I also felt like she was VERY naive and stupid at times too and could have done SOOOOO much better than Mr. TikTok boy California hockey star.

☁️₊ˑ𓂃 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧: Lord where do I even begin when HALF of this review was about him. I SWEAR HE IS THE BIGGEST RED FLAG COVERED UP TO BE A CUTE LITTLE GOLDEN RETRIVER BOY AND IT PISSED ME OFF. I kid you not the amount of stereotypes I could create for him would be more than the money I have in my bank account because hear me out. CALL OF DUTY RAGEBOY, TIKTOK F BOY, WANNABE GANGSTER, PROBABLY LISTENS TO DRAKE, LOWK DUMB, THE LIST GOES ON. I really hated him so much and I swear if anyone owns a Easton hate club out there, SIGN ME UP PLEASE AND THANK YOU. 😍😍

☁️₊ˑ𓂃 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐲: Honestly she was the girl who CARRIED this entire book. I DON'T EVEN CARE IF SHE GIVES CLICHE BEST FRIEND. She was the least toxic one and was always there for Harper. SURE SHE MAY HAVE SOME ISSUES THINKING EASTON IS A GREEN FLAG BUT HEY WE ALL CAN'T BE PERFECT AT THE END OF THE DAY!

☁️₊ˑ𓂃 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬: At this point anyone is better than Easton, INCLUDING his best friend. 😭Honestly he was a vibe and him and Macy were cute together. We didn't get to see much of him though so I'm afraid I can't rant about him much.

☁️₊ˑ𓂃 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞: THE IMFAMOUS INSTAGRAM BITCH WOO WOO! To be honest I didn't really care for her or the random ass "sad backstory as to why I'm a bitch" scene because I was honestly so fed up with her and Easton ruining this entire book that was FILLED with potential. 😒😒

꒰꒱ "𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣' 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙" ˖🫧⁺◟˚

˚.☃️ⵢ₊˚ 𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍:
This book literally was a PAIN to push through and I literally fell into my first slump ever because of it. (Hence why this review is so delayed, but HEY happy 2026 folks.) So if you want to read about red flag men chasing two girls because of their daddy issues and lust (And want to get into a slump.) THEN BABESSS LOOK NO FURTHER CUZ THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU 😍😍😍

꒰꒱ "𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝" ˖🫧⁺◟˚

──────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────
💕❄️ 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: GOT THE ARC FOR THIS BADDIE SO MIGHT ASWELL READ IT WHILE ITS FREEZING OUTSIDE 😋😋☃️

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an absolute delight this book turned out to be! Love on Ice perfectly captures the whirlwind chaos of teenage life, from awkward first crushes to laugh-out-loud pranks gone way too far. Sara Ney has given us a rom-com that sparkles with humor and warmth, while still holding on to that honest, slightly messy charm that makes YA so irresistible.

Harper stole my heart from page one — smart, witty, and just a little mischievous in the best way. The moment she finds Easton, the hockey team’s golden boy, sneaking through her backyard with a stolen mascot in tow, I knew this was going to be fun. Their deal to fake-date for prom is the kind of setup that makes you grin even before the sparks start flying, and watching their “arrangement” tumble into something much more real was pure swoony joy.

What I loved most is how authentically teen this book feels. Harper and Easton bicker, banter, stumble, and surprise each other in ways that felt so true to first love. The story doesn’t rush their chemistry — it lets it build in sweet, awkward, and hilarious moments that had me smiling nonstop. Add in Harper’s ride-or-die friendship with Macy, and you’ve got a story that balances romance with the kind of friendships that shape who you are in high school.

If you’re craving a rom-com that’s both funny and heart-fluttery, this one will absolutely hit the spot. It’s playful, it’s heartfelt, and it reminds you of just how big prom, first dates, and those life-changing teenage decisions can feel.

A very huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books | Delacorte Romance for sharing this lovely romance’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts. I had so much fun with Harper and Easton, and I can’t wait to see what Sara Ney does next!

Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:

medium blog
instagram
facebook
twitter

[⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ Kim ⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

જ⁀➴ 1 star

Thank you to Random House Children's Books | Delacorte Romance, Sara Ney, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Love on Ice will be officially published on February 17th, 2026!
˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋
Yeah...this wasn't it. This book reminded me of all the YA contemporary books that came out when I was in high school, where the biggest issues were best friends fighting over something stupid or the MCs wondering if their crush would like them back. This was a light, fluffy, cute read if you're looking for a palate cleanser, don't get me wrong, but there was so much I didn't like about it that outweighed the good. The inconsistencies, the character development, all of it....ugh, it made me wonder if the characters were truly 18 and about to graduate high school and headed off to college because all of them felt so immature for their age.

Harper Conrad has one dream: to go to senior prom, have the time of her life, and go with a date. Sure, she's seen as one of the artsy nerds at school, but if her best friend can go to prom with her boyfriend, she can find a date, too. Things are looking bleak until she comes across Easton Burbank, star hockey player at her high school, locker neighbor, and D1 prospect going into college trespassing in her backyard stealing their rival school's mascot as their senior class prank, Harper and Easton strike up a deal: Easton will receive Harper's silence on him stealing the mascot in exchange for him being her prom date.

First, can we take a moment to appreciate the pretty cover art? It's so pink and pretty and I love Harper's prom dress. There's a reason as to why they're in a backyard vs. a formal venue for prom, but I'll leave it up to you guys to read the book to find out for yourself why that is. ;)

Now that's been settled, let's talk about everything I DIDN'T like about the book, because...there's a lot. I think it's easier to list everything so here it goes:

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ Writing style: I'm going to give the author the benefit of the doubt here and say that I believe this is her first YA novel? I haven't read anything else by her, but looking through her backlist, it looks like she writes a lot of good ol' adult romance novels. Romance knows no age limits, but I do believe that the writing style didn't feel YA at all. In fact, it felt like it was middle grade at times with the way the characters would talk and interact with each other, it didn't feel like they were seniors in high school at all.

There were some slight sexual jokes and references and some swearing thrown into the book here and there that prevented it from feeling like it was hitting middle grade territory, but other than that, nothing about the characters felt to me like they were mature (almost) adults about to graduate high school. Harper read like she was a 10-year-old girl getting a crush for the first time, Easton just felt like a major playboy who doesn't know how to control his own feelings and how what he says or does affects the people around him, and trust me, there's more to Easton later because I REALLY did not like him. Now, I know there's nuances here because I read this as a 25-year-old who graduated high school almost a decade ago so I'm definitely not the target audience for the book. I fully acknowledge that this is a YA romance novel and so things are going to feel cheesy at times and nothing like I would read in any other adult romcom. However, as someone who does read my fair share of YA still, the writing felt extremely juvenile, even for a YA novel. There's a little more to this that I'll go into in a bit, but I can't picture any specific age range within a YA audience that would want to read this and feel like it's truly age appropriate, considering all the sexual innuendos/jokes and the swearing.

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ Easton: Okay, so I think they changed his last name in the final draft of the book because the formal synopsis said his last name was Burbank, but my version of the eARC said his last name was Westermann which, when put together, was literally the cringest name ever. Easton Westermann. I'll give you a minute to let that sink in.

Anyways, beyond that, I HATED Easton as a character. He changes his mind more times than I do when I'm trying to figure out what I want to order at my favorite restaurant. He leads Harper on time after time throughout the story and Harper did NOT deserve any of that. I didn't like how he would do something like ask for advice from his friends or his friends would give him a pep talk about Harper and his feelings and he'd STILL be like, "bUt I hAvE a CrUsH oN tHiS oThEr gIrL sO i CaN't HaVe A cRuSh On HaRpEr!"

(The other girl in question, Maddie, was also equally as annoying, and I swear she was there as ragebait because her sole purpose of being in the book was to stir the pot and lead EASTON on. I guess looking back it's sort of like giving him a taste of his own medicine but Easton was too dumb to realize that he was doing the exact same thing to Harper that Maddie is doing to him.)

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ The fake swearing: If you guys know me, the one thing I absolutely can't stand in YA books specifically where the characters are 17-18+—I repeat, specifically when the characters are 17-18 and about to graduate high school and head off to college and they're all legally adults—is fake swearing. There's PLENTY of that throughout the book. "Ship" instead of "shit," "freak" instead of "fuck," the list goes on, but I'm sure you get the idea. Now, I understand that this is a YA book and given what I've already mentioned above with the writing style that it kind of toes the line between YA and middle grade, the thing here is the inconsistency. Both Harper and Easton use the swear words/fake ones interchangeably multiple times throughout the book. This is definitely a minor complaint of mine while reading the book, but I'm definitely one of those people where you either use the real words or none at all and keep the language clean the entire way through the book.

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ The sports romance aspect: You can't just say that Easton plays hockey and then that automatically qualifies it as a sports romance, in my opinion. There needs to be showing with that telling, you know? There were little to no scenes of him practicing hockey or playing a hockey game throughout the book; I think there were maybe like, 2 scenes total of him at hockey practice and then a bunch of inner monologues of him after practice reflecting on what went well or what went wrong. In fact, there were more scenes of his dad yelling at Easton to get his life together so he doesn't blow his chances of getting into a D1 college to play hockey.

The other thing that goes off of this sports romance aspect is the fact that the timeline for a high school hockey season doesn't fully align with the actual events going on outside of the hockey season. For those of you who don't know, a typical American high school academic year spans from August (or September) all the way until May or June, depending on when you start. So going off of that:

1. The high school hockey season usually starts sometime in the late fall and goes through the late winter/early spring, depending on if your school makes playoffs and goes to the regional, state, or even national competitions.

2. Prom (along with any senior pranks) is usually held closer to the end of the school year (so late April or May, sometimes early June right before graduation).

There's a scene in the book where Easton is talking about how he's preparing for his first hockey game of the season, but 1) a senior prank already happened, and 2) senior prom is about 1-1.5 months away based on the timeline we get in the story with Harper and Easton decorating the gym for prom? I understand that some schools might do things differently, but as someone who went to high school in the Northeastern part of the US, my school had their hockey season align with when the NHL season usually had stuff going on. If anyone else can speak differently on this I would LOVE to know considering how different schools can be across the US, but this critique was based on my personal experiences in high school.

The one thing I did like about this book was the high school experience. Everyone's thoughts on prom and making memories with their friends on a night they (hopefully) will cherish for years to come definitely brought out a lot of nostalgia for me and made me think about my own senior prom and my class's senior prank. I think that feeling of being in high school again was captured super well by the author.

If you're looking for a sweet, cute, fast palette cleanser, this might be the book for you! It definitely wasn't my cup of tea but I know someone out there is going to want to read this and I hope that they love it a lot more than I did.
˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧🩷˚.🎀༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋
⋅˚₊‧ ୨ 𝒫𝓇𝑒-𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹: ୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ Happy Valentine's week everyone!💐🩷 To celebrate, I think I'm going to try to read books that only have pink and/or red covers or just pink/red SOMEWHERE on the cover. This'll be my first book this week! I know I usually don't read a lot of YA romances anymore, but they're pretty quick palette cleansers, and this seems pretty cute, so why not? I also recently got into the Underlined Influencer program, which is Random House's YA influencer program, so what better way to celebrate than to ARC read one of their books now?

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Harper has a beautiful dress for prom, but she doesn’t have a date. When she catches the high school hockey star stealing their rival school’s mascot, she decides to blackmail him—she’ll keep quiet if he agrees to take her to prom.

I’ve read many of Sara Ney’s books, so I was really excited to check out her YA debut. I think it’s a solid teen romance—the characters are sweet, there’s plenty of humor, the plot fits the target audience well, and there are no sexual scenes.

I liked Harper right away—she’s kind, responsible, and fun—but my feelings about Easton were mixed. Most of the time he literally acted like an idiot—how can you not understand such obvious things? I get that high school boys probably aren’t as experienced in romantic matters as girls (though I feel like modern teens are more aware in that regard), but I wanted to see more initiative from him. And honestly, how can you not realize until the very end who you want to take to prom?

Overall, I had a great time reading this one and would definitely recommend it to the appropriate age group.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books (Delacorte Romance) for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[jo ୨୧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

: huge thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

happy release day !!!


──────────── » [i wish i knew how to quit you (sombr)] «
0:00 ─〇───── 0:00
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ review for { love on ice } by jo, buckle up babes it's time ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

before i get into this review. i'd like to give a disclaimer that i wrote love in rice about three times in the draft of this review and almost left it because love in rice sounds so much more slay than on ice but i took it out. thought you should know !



a cutie cozy ya read for the upcoming cozy winter seaon. i reccomend this book if you need an escape or something to read while sipping a latte or fun drink. its sugary sweet like those rice krispie treats and sugar cookies around the holidays. and its cute like a hallmark you throw on when you need an escape.

while its not the most groundbreaking or jawdropping writing ive read (bc its not) it has a few elements that i really like. in fact if you like fake skating by lynn painter you'll probably like this book because they are very similar.

nerd girl x jock (hockey) boy ✅
fake dating ✅
high school friend group ✅
similiar character setup ✅

yeah it's got all those! but i love fake dating so i'll eat it up every single time. plus a very high school and character feeling always gets me when the characters feel like teenagers.

// plot //

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙ harper is super excited for prom (i mean pop off queen) and she lives for it. shes a planner girlie (twinning fr) and has her dress (me fr) all ready but doesnt have a prom date (again wow twins). babes would so be me in a story like ouch singleness. but apparently she's never heard of living life to its fullest and going alone and just slaying the day ?

so when she catches easton (our hockey star jock dude who swears...just like alec does in fake skating ??? wow cousins!?) in the middle of a senior prank, harper knows exactly what to do. she might have had a crush on this guy for a bit--whattttttt?

and harper gaslight gatekeep girlbosses him into blackmail. she really said imma just pop off here real quick. and convinces him (aka hey broski give me a promposal and i wont spill ur big secret and get u in trouble) to ask her to prom. fake dating wise.

and easton agrees and they start fake liking/dating each other. woww groundbreaking.

EXCEPT THE FACT THAT HE NEVER ACTUALLY ASKS HER OFFICIALLY TO PROM BEFORE THEY HAVE THEIR IDICOTIC THIRD ACT BREAKUP!?!? LIKE HE JUST SAYS OH YEAH GOTTA ASK THE "GF" TO PROM BUT IT NEVER HAPPENS UNTIL THEIR BREAKUP!?!?!? like we could have set this up really cutely and instead we didn't.

all in all, main plot is basic but cute. characters are basic but cute (not super developed nor relatable. i don't have hot jocks popping up in my yard. what a shame tbh.

so read if you need a cute cozy read!

happy reading bestiesss!!!
xxjo

[Cora ༄ {once upon a broken heart} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

-------------------------☽---------------------------

⭐️⭐️⭐️

-------------------------✩---------------------------

︎🍿- I thought this book was so cute and fun! The story was super entertaining and I loved reading about Easton and Harper! I would definitely recommend this!

🎬- The Plot of this book was good! It wasn’t super different from other things I’ve read, but it was definitely good and worth the read. It was quick paced and easy to get into. I did think there were a few loose ends, with Easton’s parents, and about the prank, that I just thought should’ve been wrapped up a little bit better.

🧍‍♀️- The characters were pretty good! I loved Harper, she was super fun. Easton, however, I had mixed feelings about… he was super sweet one moment but then a total jerk to Harper, and he just acted like that a bit too much in my opinion. He was also a total idiot whenever it came to Maddie. And don’t get me started on Maddie, I hated her with my whole heart, and still do :)

🥰- The romance was super cute and perfect for young adults! Harper and Easton were super cute together! There was a bit of a problem, I felt, with the communication though… in what way is someone kissing you a sign that they aren’t interested? And again, Easton was often a little inconsiderate to Harper, but sadly I guess that is common with most teenage boys in real life anyways.. overall super cute though!!!

📖- Overall, the writing was done very well for a young adult book. At times, it did feel a little closer to middle grade, especially with how immature some of the characters acted at time, but for the most part, I felt like it was a great time!
-------------------------︎☽---------------------------

I would definitely recommend this book overall <3

[Gaby Cresswell ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

it was cute pero qué ganas de darle unas 3 cachetadas a easton para que se despabilara 😂

[Cece ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

rtc sometime this week!

[ᴄᴀᴛ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2☆ | This was something for sure..not necessarily in a good way. I had to stop reading so many times just because it was so unbearable and the characters were immature.

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
This is this author's ya debut, anddd I can definitely tell..like at times it's like there's innuendos or something but then it seems like the author remembers "Oh right, this is supposed to be ya."
But also, it read more like a middle grade book than ya, like just take out the language and innuendos and you literally have a middle grade book...

The characters were also 𝘴𝘰 immature at times, especially Easton. Like you're how old, eighteen, and acting like a literal child??
▪ "Mom!" I hiss. "Ma! Mom. 𝘔𝘰𝘮."
She groans.
"Mom. Mom. Mom. Are you awake?"
(Why is he waking her up like a 10 year old on Christmas day wanting to open presents?? Literally all he wanted was to ask if he could borrow her car)
▪ 'By the time I make it to the lunchroom, I'm starving, exhausted, and in a mood so bad I'm surprised people don't part the hallway to avoid me.'
(Boyyy the whole world doesn't revolve around you. Like be so fr🤦‍♀️)
▪ "If you don't, Harper's gonna think you don't care. And then at prom, she's going to dance with someone else, someone 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳."
"No one is cooler than me,"
(Yeah sorry but I can name 𝘴𝘰 many book characters that are "cooler" & just better than him in general..)

I think this will speak for itself as to how Easton is.
▪ 'I mean, let's be real: Can't a guy like two people at once? Is that a crime? Why do I have to stop kissing one girl because I asked another girl on a date? What's the big deal?'
...Uhm. Maybe because it's what a decent person does?? I see what the big deal is. But I suppose it's fine because it's a teenage boy?
Also when we were like 60% done with the book, he was still basically crazy for Maddie when he's kissed Harper multiple times..like??

It was also just plain cringey at times too.
▪ "I think you're pretty amazing, too," I tell him softly, and instantly regret being such a cheese ball.

Also this is labeled as a sports (hockey) romance, but there's like....no hockey?? Just because there's a main character that plays hockey doesn't mean it's a hockey book if we don't actually get to see the sport.


𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆: Also I believe there was a typo at chapter 33. When Easton is in his moms shed. It says "then lean my head back against her pink velvet soda."
Which I'm sure it's meant to say sofa.
Though I went to Barnes & Noble yesterday (the 14th) and saw multiple copies of this book out on the shelves when it isn't published until the 17th. So unless that's already been fixed, there's that.

𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍:
This was something for sure. As I said, I think it could be more middle grade than ya, the writing felt especially childish from the beginning. I think someone in the 11-13 year range could read and enjoy this, unfortunately it wasn't for me personally.
The book had soo much potential, and the cover is gorgeous, but I feel like it fell flat.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to have a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
Ebook - 0🌶 - 2☆

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two YA books finished in a row?! Who is this Claire, I for one, don’t know her. But yeah, I was on a YA high and wanted a night of reading. So, this was alright. I kept thinking throughout the marathon read, “wow, they’re so immature, like grow up.” Then I realize that Harper and Easton are literal high schoolers, and feel stupid. I think this would make a really good disney channel original movie. Obviously in the teen beach movie radio rebel era. I think I would enjoy it a lot more on film. But definitely a book I would recommend to any young reader

[Rivka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for this earc

This was cute but felt very much unfinished.
Why you ask? Well it says that Easton is a hockey player but there are exactly zero hockey seasons because the hockey season is over? I always like an idea of jock who can’t talk to girls but even for High School setting Easton’s “crush” on Maddie felt very immature.
And than situation with Harper. He liked her at some point but then Maddie was prettier? Again very surface level writing.
Story did make a lot more sense from Harper’s POV. She liked Easton, didn’t know what to do about it so she blackmailed him lol. Here’s my issue. The whole story happened because of the prank. But then nothing happened with that and there were no consequences.
Harper’s parents. She keeps mentioning how unhappy they are but again no follow up on that.
Easton keeps talking about how much pressure his father puts on him. Again. No follow up.
You see the pattern.

One aspect of this book I did enjoy was awkward first kisses and messy feelings. Everything else just felt unfinished.

[Jessica Paige (Exercise_Read_Repeat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ A cute YA read!

[read.with.heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75*

This was really cute for a YA Hockey Romance. I did find some parts of the story to be a little immature at times especially when these characters are supposed to be seniors in high school.

[katerina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the arc

I can recognize that this book has potential—the YA vibe is there, but it was giving more middle grade; the writing was very juvenile but also the excessive use of words like "friggin" or "darn" instead of curse words, but then also some actual curse words? Idk, threw me off a lot. (Also the usage of "bruh"...)

Easton has two siblings yet his brother was only brifely mentioned once, I don't even know why he was included.

Supposedly a hockey book, but hockey was barely mentioned

Most importantly—the characters were INSUFFERABLE. I wanted to slap them through the pages. Easton was literally acting so dumb the whole time—kissing Harper but then being like ah no I like Maddie, and saying Harper needs to chill out when she was annoyed about Maddie? And Harper being like yup we're totally just friends, but I like you, but we can't kiss again. GAHHHHHH. Like I honestly didn't understand them, because once they kissed I thought great they'll get together now, but suddenly they're asking each other if they like someone? WHAT DO YOU THINK??

Maddie's random redemption arc at the end was just weird like pop off queen idk

I skimmed the second half of the book because I just couldn't take their idiocy anymore.

[Minna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Ms. Ney for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

Sara Ney is hit or miss with me and this was, well, it was a big fat miss. Sorry not sorry. The tone right from the get-go was SO juvenile and I really struggled with it. Some writers can believably cross back and forth between adult and YA but this was not a successful attempt IMHO. Easton’s inner voice was peak cringe and his infatuation with hot blonde queen bee Maddie was peak annoying. The fact that said crush lingered (and lingered, and lingered) was infuriating. Sir, you do not deserve Harper. I also feel that the decision to use modern middle/high school speak so extensively was a… choice… that will probably date this book very significantly very fast.

Pros, this is fluffy, and light, and very very young. I have no problem with YA but this seemed like my 6th-grade son wedged into a 12th-grade body, if my 6th-grade son was an idiot. Sadly I think my son is more mature than Easton. But if you can get past a dumb bunny MMC with a pernicious crush on the MOST basic of all the mean girls in school, then this might be a fun lite book to give you a break between two more serious options.

⭐⭐

[Heaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be a really fresh and unique young adult romcom! I was pleasantly surprised by everything! I loved the writing style and the pacing of the story. It was beautiful to see the growth and changes that the characters underwent. By the time the book ends, the main characters are different from how we meet them in chapter 1 (in a GREAT AWESOME WAY)! This book is a perfect read for people who love 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU and love a nostalgic and fun romcom! Harper Conrad is so precious and sweet, and she’s just the best! Then we have Easton, and honestly, he is the perfect depiction of teenage boys and teenage decisions LOL! Also, I really love an amazing cast of side characters, and let me tell you, THIS BOOK HAD THEM! The side characters added even more color and fun to this book (everyone needs a best friend like Macy in their life!). Overall, it was a lovely book, and I very much enjoyed the journey Sara Ney took us on! I was smiling from ear to ear while reading the epilogue and adored that everything was tied up in a pretty little bow. Such an adorable and lovely young adult romance that I highly recommend!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Romance for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book!

[Savannah Mattair · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Super cute! Sometimes a quick YA book is all you need to hit the spot and this did it for me!
I liked that most scenes were split into both of their POV’s so we got to see what both of them were thinking in those situations.
Harper was a typical girl with a crush not knowing what to do about it.
Easton was very hot and cold for most of the book so that was a bit annoying. He also said a few things in his inner monologue that gave me the ick.
There were a few plots that felt unfinished. I obviously didn’t want them to get caught and in trouble for the prank but it felt like it was forgotten by the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc for my honest review!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. It was in dual narration which was perfect for this story!

This was a super cute YA Romance that revolved all around Prom. It was fun getting to see Harper and Easton navigate HS life. Although every decision these two made wasn’t the best, I think that’s to be expected and welcomed in a YA book, they’re not perfect, they’re figuring life out! The epilogue with Harper, Easton, and his little sister Phoebe was my absolute favorite, and definitely made me feel like a future novel talking about their transition to college would be so so cute!!!

[Lindsey Domokur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! It is hard for me to read YA sometimes because of all the drama, and of course this has some of the drama that I went through in HS. Because yes, of course, HS boys are clueless! I feel like I went through some of the exact same situations and I loved that it was so authentic. True to a SN book, it had me laughing with all the crazy things that happened. I love Sara's humor; I can always count on her for a comfort read. Easton and Harper were so cute, falling into their first love story. It gave me all the butterflies. 4.5 stars.

[Carolyn Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

This was a cute YA story. Definitley brings you back to High School drama and crushes with the plot. Gave a nostalgic vibe and ended up giving a lot of life lessons that would be good for the high school age range.

With that being said I did not realize this was YA so I would not typically lean towards reading this.

For fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty or Better Than the Movies, this is a cute YA romance revolving around prom!

[SuzieQuzie7973 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Random House Children's Books and Sara Net for sharing this ARC with me, in exchange for my honest review.

Love On Ice is such a fast-paced adorable read. Easton and Harper are super cute and I couldn't get enough of them. The world building is phenomenal, a fabulous High School romance depiction. I was laughing at loud, kicking my feet and swooning. I truly couldn't put this book down. I was hooked from start to finish. The character development and Easton and Harper's back-and-forth banter is chef's kiss. I fell in love with everything about this book.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all y'all.

[Eliza Myers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've officially decided that 2026 is the year of harsh reviews... I got 50 pages in and called it quits. This book was unbearably cringy. "Oh no my crush doesn't like me", "I'm better than you because I'm a senior on the hocky team", "Boohoo I've never had a boyfriend". It goes on and on. Have you ever read a book that is written for a specific age but reads like it was written by someone who has only ever seen highschoolers on TV? There were multiple repetitive sentences that made it feel like it was written by a 12 year old posting their first fanfic or AI. All of the characters were so bland or annoying, I didn't like any of them. It feels like the author noticed that Hockey YA was popular and was just trying to jump on the bandwagon. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[Hannah Petrochko · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAA I ATE THIS BOOK UP, Harper with the color pink is me, I love how sweet and fun this book is, the way they met was so goofy and i love it, him helping her pair with glitter too is such a YES (when a man can be okay with glitter you know he’s the one) plus the ending was so good thankyou maddie for locking in

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute young adult hockey romance. It has all the great things I love about young adult romance. Easton is clumsy and always finding himself in situations that had me laughing out loud. The meet cute was great, he's on the run because of the senior prank and he ends up in her yard of all places. I recommend it to anyone who likes young adult sports romances.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such a good time!! I don’t have a lot of thoughts on it bc it was just a cutesy little palette cleanser book but I really enjoyed it!!
I really loved the plot and how it played out, all the supporting characters were amazing I loved the relationships in it!
The romance was sooo cute and honestly so relatable and I found myself laughing and giggling more than a few times 🤭
This is such an easy read (literally finished in less than 24 hrs) and genuinely I would so recommend it if you want something cute and funny hehehe.

[Aimee Crant-oksa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love on Ice was a cute YA story. It has fun moments, heartwarming moments and will remind you of times in high school.
Harper is smart, on the prom decorating committee, but doesn’t have a date and really wants one. Easton is a hockey player set to go to college on a scholarship. He gets forced to steal their rivals mascot and accidentally lands in Harper’s backyard. Let the blackmail begin. Harper offers to help Easton but he needs to be her prom date.
The two dance around each other, have a few kisses but become friends and neither can admit that they are crushing on each other. Easton thought he wanted the popular, not so nice girl and struggles with what to do.
This is a feel good, easy read about that first crush, with fun banter, witty comebacks and a fun storyline.

[Patricia (Spellbound Stories Trish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love on Ice was a cute, hilarious and heartwarming YA romance!

I love the hilarity between their “run in” and how their friendship progressed. This was such a fun story to read and I loved Harper’s tenacity. Easton had a lot to learn lol but he put in the work and the ending…so cute!

This is young adult so no big steam but for the characters it was perfect. I don’t read YA much anymore but this book was such a good read I’m happy I picked it up!

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for the ARC!

I am a sucker for hockey romance and was excited to experience this YA story as the book cover drew me in to the story. Harper and Easton were cute. It was nothin memorable but it was still a quick and enjoyable read. Easton at times acted his age, a little like an idiot. However, it is a young adult book so it is a given!

[Nadja]

DNF

I love a YA book as a palate cleanser. I actively enjoy them. I am not a YA hater, I am not above YA, I am not too good for YA. When YA is done well, I will scream about it from the rooftops. This was not that. I barely made it two chapters in before I had to DNF because the writing was so aggressively juvenile that I genuinely thought I might be the wrong age demographic. And no, not in a “this is for teenagers” way—this felt like it was written for middle schoolers who just discovered crushes and the word ‘bruh’.

These characters are supposed to be 18-year-old high school seniors. Seniors. On the verge of adulthood. About to graduate. About to enter the real world. And yet the way they talk and think is giving “seventh graders whispering in the hallway while a teacher is nearby.” I kept having to remind myself of their ages because nothing—dialogue, inner thoughts, emotional reactions—reflected that. I love a good YA book, but this was not YA. This was middle grade pretending to be YA and doing it very poorly.

And I cannot emphasize enough how much it pisses me off when authors refuse to let their characters swear like actual humans. Nothing pulls me out of a story faster. The excessive use of “friggin,” “darn,” and other fake swears felt painfully forced and infantilizing. Like… why are we doing this? These are 18-year-olds, not children on a Disney Channel sitcom. And what made it worse is that the book also occasionally uses real curse words?? So what is the logic here? Are we censoring or not? Are we committing to the bit or half-assing it? The inconsistency was so jarring it completely broke immersion every single time. Pick a tone and stand by it.

And then there’s the dialogue. The casual use of “bruh.” I physically cringed. My soul left my body for a moment. If I wanted to read TikTok comments, I would simply open TikTok. The dialogue didn’t feel natural, funny, or authentic—it felt like an adult guessing how teenagers talk based on the internet and vibes alone. Painful. Truly painful.

The writing itself was just… bad. Flat sentence structure, no depth, no texture. The characters’ thoughts are shallow and repetitive, like the author was allergic to introspection. Everything is surface-level—emotions are stated, not felt; thoughts are told, not explored. Harper and Easton are technically 18, but their internal monologues had me cringing so hard I had to put the book down more than once. Two chapters in and I was already exhausted.

Which is honestly tragic because this book had potential. A small-town hockey romance should have been adorable. That’s my kryptonite. I wanted cozy vibes, awkward tension, something sweet and swoony. Instead, I was met with an MMC whose entire personality appears to be “in love with the mean girl of the school because she’s the prettiest.” And I’m sorry, but if that’s your dream girl? Sir. That tells me everything I need to know about you, and none of it is good. Who wants a man whose type is “blonde Kim Kardashian of the school”? Absolutely not. Jail. Immediate jail. God help us all.

And the fact that this is presented without any self-awareness or depth makes it worse. There’s no indication that this is being questioned or deconstructed. It’s just… accepted. At that point, I had zero hope that this MMC would have any growth, complexity, or redeeming personality traits. Two chapters was enough for me to know I did not care what happened next.

Also, I need to publicly acknowledge that I have once again been deceived by a gorgeous Leni cover. This is the second book in a row where the cover art was elite and the content was… not. At this point, that’s on me. The cover promised cute, charming, small-town hockey romance. What I got felt like a book that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be middle grade or YA and failed spectacularly at both.

And here’s the kicker: there are middle grade books out there with more emotional depth, better dialogue, and more realistic character work than this. Yes, I will name names. Rick Riordan has written twelve-year-olds with more maturity, emotional intelligence, and authentic voices than whatever this book was trying to do. That’s not shade—that’s just the truth.

In the end, the writing was juvenile, the characters were shallow, the dialogue was cringe-inducing, and the vibes were deeply off. I wanted adorable small-town hockey romance. I got secondhand embarrassment and a two-chapter DNF. Massive disappointment. Huge waste of potential. If this book were a hockey puck, it didn’t just miss the goal—it flew straight into the parking lot and shattered a windshield.

[Ashley - The Tattered Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

🎧📖𝒜𝐿𝒞 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌📖🎧

𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝐼𝒸𝑒 ʙʏ sᴀʀᴀ ɴᴇʏ

𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 🥀🥀🥀 ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ 𝟻 ᴇɴᴄʜᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ʀᴏsᴇs

✨ 𝐻𝑜𝑜𝓀✨

ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ-ʙᴏʏ ʜᴏᴄᴋᴇʏ ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴀɪɴ ᴛʀᴇsᴘᴀssɪɴɢ ᴅᴜʀɪɴɢ ᴀ sᴇɴɪᴏʀ ᴘʀᴀɴᴋ, ᴏɴᴇ ᴄʟᴇᴠᴇʀ ɢɪʀʟ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋᴍᴀɪʟs ʜɪᴍ ɪɴᴛᴏ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ᴘʀᴏᴍ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ—ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ sᴛᴀʀᴛs ᴀs ᴀ ғᴀᴋᴇ ᴀʀʀᴀɴɢᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ sʟᴏᴡʟʏ ᴍᴇʟᴛs ɪɴᴛᴏ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ʀᴇᴀʟ.

𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌:

ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ᴘʀʜᴀᴜᴅɪᴏ ғᴏʀ ɢɪғᴛɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴀʟᴄ!

𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝒶 𝒽𝑜𝒸𝓀𝑒𝓎 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓈𝒽-𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀𝓎𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓂𝒾𝒹-𝓅𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓀, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜𝓃’𝓉 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓅𝓈—𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓃𝑒𝑔𝑜𝓉𝒾𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂.

ғʀᴏᴍ sᴀʀᴀ ɴᴇʏ, ᴋɴᴏᴡɴ ғᴏʀ ʜᴇʀ ᴄᴏʟʟᴇɢɪᴀᴛᴇ sᴘᴏʀᴛs ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇs ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴜᴅʏɪɴɢ ʜᴏᴜʀs, ᴄᴏᴍᴇs 𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝐼𝒸𝑒 ᴀ sᴡᴏᴏɴʏ ʏᴀ ʀᴏᴍ-ᴄᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴀᴛ’s ᴇǫᴜᴀʟ ᴘᴀʀᴛs sᴡᴇᴇᴛ, ᴀᴡᴋᴡᴀʀᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛғᴇʟᴛ.

ʜᴀʀᴘᴇʀ ᴄᴏɴʀᴀᴅ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇғɪɴɪᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ᴀ ʙᴏssʏ, ᴡɪᴛᴛʏ ɴᴇʀᴅ ғᴍᴄ. sʜᴇ’s sᴍᴀʀᴛ, ᴏʙsᴇʀᴠᴀɴᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴀsɪʟʏ ᴅᴀᴢᴢʟᴇᴅ—ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴡʜᴇɴ ғᴀᴄᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴇᴀsᴛᴏɴ ʙᴜʀʙᴀɴᴋ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴍɪɴɢ ʜᴏᴄᴋᴇʏ sᴛᴀʀ ᴡʜᴏ ʟɪᴛᴇʀᴀʟʟʏ ғᴀʟʟs ɪɴᴛᴏ ʜᴇʀ ʟɪғᴇ (ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴀʀᴅ). ᴡʜᴇɴ sʜᴇ ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜᴇs ʜɪᴍ ᴍɪᴅ-ᴍᴀsᴄᴏᴛ-ᴛʜᴇғᴛ, sʜᴇ sᴇᴇs ᴀɴ ᴏᴘᴘᴏʀᴛᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴀɴᴅ sᴇɪᴢᴇs ɪᴛ: ᴘʀᴏᴍ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ ɪɴ ᴇxᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ғᴏʀ sɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ.

ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋᴍᴀɪʟ-ᴛᴏ-ғᴀᴋᴇ-ᴅᴀᴛɪɴɢ sᴇᴛᴜᴘ ɪs ᴄʟᴀssɪᴄ ʀᴏᴍ-ᴄᴏᴍ ғᴜɴ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ɪᴛ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏɴᴇ. ɪᴛ’s ʟɪɢʜᴛ, sᴇʟғ-ᴀᴡᴀʀᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ғᴜʟʟ ᴏғ ʜɪɢʜ sᴄʜᴏᴏʟ ᴄʜᴀᴏs ᴇɴᴇʀɢʏ. ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ’s sᴇɴɪᴏʀ ᴘʀᴀɴᴋ ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ, ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ɢʀᴏᴜᴘ ᴍᴇᴅᴅʟɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴠᴜʟɴᴇʀᴀʙɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴛᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴅᴇᴘᴛʜ ʙᴇʏᴏɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪᴊɪɴᴋs.

ᴇᴀsᴛᴏɴ ɪs ʏᴏᴜʀ ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ ʙᴏʏ ᴊᴏᴄᴋ—ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ’s ɴᴏᴛ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴀ sᴛᴇʀᴇᴏᴛʏᴘᴇ. ᴜɴᴅᴇʀɴᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏᴄᴋᴇʏ sᴡᴀɢɢᴇʀ ɪs ᴀ ɢᴇɴᴜɪɴᴇʟʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛғᴜʟ ɢᴜʏ ᴡʜᴏ sʟᴏᴡʟʏ ʀᴇᴠᴇᴀʟs ʟᴀʏᴇʀs. ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪғ ʜᴇ's ᴀ ʙᴜᴛᴛʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ᴛᴀᴋᴇs ᴀ ʙɪᴛ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ʜɪs ʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ʜɪs ʙᴜᴛᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʜɪs ғᴇᴇʟɪɴɢs ғᴏʀ ʜᴀʀᴘᴇʀ.

ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴄᴜᴛᴇ & ʜᴇᴀʀᴛᴡᴀʀᴍɪɴɢ ʀᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴀɴɢsᴛʏ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴʀᴇǫᴜɪᴛᴇᴅ-ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀᴛᴏɴᴇs ᴀᴅᴅ sᴡᴇᴇᴛɴᴇss ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴀᴋᴇ ᴅᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴅʏɴᴀᴍɪᴄ sʜɪғᴛ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʀᴀɴsᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴇɴᴅᴇʀ ɪs ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ sʜɪɴᴇs. ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴀᴋᴇs ғᴇᴇʟ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴏᴘʀɪᴀᴛᴇʟʏ ʜɪɢʜ ғᴏʀ ʜɪɢʜ sᴄʜᴏᴏʟ—sᴄʜᴏʟᴀʀsʜɪᴘs, ᴘʀᴏᴍ, ʀᴇᴘᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ—ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴄᴏʀᴇ sᴛᴀʏs ɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅᴇᴅ ɪɴ ғɪʀsᴛ-ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴠᴜʟɴᴇʀᴀʙɪʟɪᴛʏ.

🎙️𝒩𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃:
ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ ғᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇs ᴅᴜᴀʟ ᴘᴏᴠ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴅᴜᴇᴛ-sᴛʏʟᴇ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴡᴏʀᴋs ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪғᴜʟʟʏ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜɪs sᴛᴏʀʏ. ʜᴀʀᴘᴇʀ’s ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴜʀᴇs ʜᴇʀ ǫᴜɪᴄᴋ ᴡɪᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴛʜɪɴᴋɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴍᴀᴋɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ғᴇᴇʟ sʜʀɪʟʟ. ᴇᴀsᴛᴏɴ’s ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ʙʀɪɴɢs ᴡᴀʀᴍᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ sᴜʙᴛʟᴇ sᴏғᴛɴᴇss ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ-ʙᴏʏ ᴇxᴛᴇʀɪᴏʀ. ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋ-ᴀɴᴅ-ғᴏʀᴛʜ ᴅɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ ғᴇᴇʟs ᴅʏɴᴀᴍɪᴄ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ, ᴇsᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴅᴜʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʙᴀɴᴛᴇʀ-ʜᴇᴀᴠʏ sᴄᴇɴᴇs. ᴅᴜᴇᴛ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇʟᴇᴠᴀᴛᴇs ғᴀᴋᴇ ᴅᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs-ᴛᴏ-ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇs ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴇᴛ ʙᴏᴛʜ ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ ᴘᴇʀsᴘᴇᴄᴛɪᴠᴇs ɪɴ ʀᴇᴀʟ ᴛɪᴍᴇ. ɪᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ sʜɪғᴛs ᴍᴏʀᴇ ɪᴍᴘᴀᴄᴛғᴜʟ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴇᴍɪsᴛʀʏ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴀʙʟᴇ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀᴄɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏ ɪs sᴍᴏᴏᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ʟɪᴠᴇʟʏ, ᴋᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴍ-ᴄᴏᴍ ᴛɪᴍɪɴɢ sʜᴀʀᴘ—ᴇsᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴅᴜʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴀɴᴋ ғᴀʟʟᴏᴜᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴏᴍ ʙᴜɪʟᴅᴜᴘ.

𝒯𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈 & 𝒱𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓈:
🏒 sᴘᴏʀᴛs (ʜᴏᴄᴋᴇʏ) ʀᴏᴍ-ᴄᴏᴍ
✨ ғᴀᴋᴇ ᴅᴀᴛɪɴɢ x ᴘʀᴏᴍ ᴀɢʀᴇᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ
🏒 ʙʟᴀᴄᴋᴍᴀɪʟ sᴇᴛᴜᴘ
✨ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs-ᴛᴏ-ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs
🏒 ᴜɴʀᴇǫᴜɪᴛᴇᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇ
✨ ʙᴏssʏ ɴᴇʀᴅ ғᴍᴄ x ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ ʙᴏʏ ᴊᴏᴄᴋ ᴍᴍᴄ
🏒 ᴅᴜᴀʟ ᴘᴏᴠ
✨ ʜɪɢʜ sᴄʜᴏᴏʟ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ɢʀᴏᴜᴘ ᴄʜᴀᴏs
🏒 sᴇɴɪᴏʀ ᴘʀᴀɴᴋ sʜᴇɴᴀɴɪɢᴀɴs

𝐹𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉:
𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝐼𝒸𝑒 ɪs ᴀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴍɪɴɢ ʏᴀ ʀᴏᴍ-ᴄᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀs sᴡᴏᴏɴʏ ғᴀᴋᴇ-ᴅᴀᴛɪɴɢ ғᴜɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴀᴍᴏᴜɴᴛ ᴏғ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ. ɪᴛ’s ʟɪɢʜᴛ, ɴᴏsᴛᴀʟɢɪᴄ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛ ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴠɪɴɢ ғɪʀsᴛ-ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʙᴜᴛᴛᴇʀғʟɪᴇs ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ʜᴇᴀᴠʏ ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ. ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ-ʙᴏʏ ᴊᴏᴄᴋs sᴏғᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ ғᴏʀ ᴡɪᴛᴛʏ ʜᴇʀᴏɪɴᴇs, ᴘʀᴏᴍ-ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴛᴇɴsɪᴏɴ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴄᴋᴇʏ ʙᴏʏs ᴡʜᴏ ғᴀʟʟ ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴀs ʜᴀʀᴅ—ᴛʜɪs ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ ɪs ᴀɴ ᴇᴀsʏ, ғᴇᴇʟ-ɢᴏᴏᴅ ʟɪsᴛᴇɴ.

ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ!
𝒜𝓈𝒽𝓁𝑒𝓎
ʙᴏᴏᴋsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ: @ᴛʜᴇᴛᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅᴘᴀɢᴇ