10 books to read after ‘Icebreaker’ by Hannah Grace (sports college romance)
I recently reviewed ‘Icebreaker' by Hannah Grace (you can check it out here) and while I didn't give it a standing ovation and 5 shining stars, what I did give it was respect for being “that book” to point to when talking about the movers and shakers in the genre.
The thing is with college sports romance, and similarly coded contemporary romances, they are a dime a dozen, and sometimes it can feel like a real struggle to wade through the mire to find something that captures your attention.
So if you enjoyed ‘Icebreaker', and you're looking for something similar in vibe, in aesthetic, in tone, in “something”, then this is the list for you!
I haven't read all of these, but I can't see why any of these wouldn't be a good rec for someone looking for their next ‘Icebreaker' -esque book.
Plus, the covers are cute. And who isn't a sucker for a cute cover?
‘Behind the Net’ by Stephanie Archer - “He's the hot, grumpy goalie I had a crush on in high school... and now I'm his live-in assistant.” Sold.
‘Boarded Hearts’ by Rith Stilling - Playboy NHL player meets his match. It's one of my fave tropes. Releases in May 2024 but early reviews are looking promising.
‘Daydream' by Hannah Grace - Duh. No brainer. Book 3, following on from ‘Icebreaker' and ‘Wildfire'. It releases in June and I cannot wait. I feel like this might be even better than its predecessors.
‘Offside' by Avery Keelan - “Heartbreaker. Troublemaker. And my ex's biggest rival.” Sign me up. You KNOW this one is going to get messy. Book 2 is out now, and book 3 is expected to publish later this year. Let's goooooo"!
‘Collide' by Bal Khabra - I have a review for this going up soon, and I whereas I have mixed feelings about it, if you want similar ‘Icebreaker’ vibes and you're not too fussy about the semantics, then give it a go. It's very easy to read!
‘The Graham Effect' by Elle Kennedy - If you have been reading in this genre for a while and you haven't heard of Elle Kennedy, then you need to change that. Kennedy is the author who put this genre on the map. The starting point is the ‘Off Campus’ series. Stunning. But ‘The Graham Effect' is on my TBR so it gets a mention here.
‘Against All Odds' by C.W. Farnsworth - This is book 2 in the series, I just liked the cover better… Hehe. Usual offerings, new college, her dad is the head coach of the hockey team. You know the drill.
‘The Enforcer' by Avery Keelan - This author makes it onto the list twice! I haven't heard of this series before, so I was intrigued. Colour me curious.
‘The Cheat Sheet' by Sarah Adams - I tried and tried to find something other than ice hockey, and since American football is my second fave when it comes to sports romance, I was doing it a disservice. Sadly, the American football ones still have those older covers, with the topless men on them. You know the ones. But I found this one!
‘First Down' by Grace Reilly - Eyyyy I did it again! Another American football related one.
Are any of these on your TBR? Or if you have already read them, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Sports college romance looks like it's very much here to stay!
Written by Sarah
