Spiral by Bal Khabra
Rating: 
Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.
We're now on the second book from the Off the Ice series. In this one we follow Elias Westbrook (Aiden's best friend) just after Collide, when they've been drafted into the Toronto Thunders, but somehow he has become quite popular for his good looks and the perception that he is a ladies man, and yet he has not made his first career goal at all, just a lot of assists. And he honestly just desperately wants to escape the attention and focus on the game. On the other hand we have Sage Beaumont, a ballerina who has dreamt since she was a kid to be like Misty Copeland and therefore wants to perform in the Swan Lake. But it turns out that your social media popularity matters when it comes to being able to secure the lead role for it. So when the chance present itself, and they get photographed together with speculations that she's his new conquest and potentially a more serious one, they both react very differently. For Sage this is the chance to get that media attention she needs while helping deflect the speculation on Elias' love life. Whereas Elias remembers how bad it was for everyone who has been caught int he press and his won experience with it, so he doesn't want to pursue a fake relationship since he doesn't think the pressure is good on Sage. But he can't seem to get her out his mind, with her blunt tongue, her incessant teasing and her approach to life, he may be less into faking it and just trying his best to not fall head over heels for her. Whereas Sage is practical, she just aims for independence and that ballerina position and Elias is throwing some changes into her life that she doesn't know who to react and what to do about them. I liked this one a bit better because it's very obvious from the beginning that the fake dating is everything but fake, but it was also super interesting to see how the fact they call it fake takes some pressure off on some aspects of the relationship and then on others it causes a lot of worries of how they are "performing" that relationship. For me that part and how it is written made me ponder a lot of what we tend to perceive as a good relationship whereas what may actually be one that is just not as flashy or good for social media. This one felt way more homey and cuter than Collide. Where Collide is indeed a collision of personalities, Spiral is all about that spiral into love and both of them are spiralling fast and without any brakes on. It is not my favourite but damn it was so close to being top of the list from the series. And honestly, I finished it and the fourth book arrived so I cannot wait to continue with the series (perfect timing). I can't remember the last time I was into a romance series as much as I am loving Off the Ice. Elias is actually such a softie and he is so sweet, whereas Sage is a lot of spikes and attitude in part because she has had to be the responsible one and ot protect her life and her brother. IT was really lovely to see the softening the nicenes from Elias, and also to understand slowly why Elias is so soft and wants to protect others. So I guess the short one is that Spiral is soft fake dating that'll make you feel like a hug.