The Book Bump

First Published: 2022
Author: Hannah Grace
Language: English
Genre: Romance
My rating: 1/5

Anastasia Allen, a competitive figure skater looking to secure a spot on Team US, and Nate Hawkins, the hockey team captain, must put aside their difference when they are forced to share a rink.

This book wasn’t easy to summarise. There isn’t much going on. Just college students being college students.

I read this book not because I wanted to but because I thought it would be good research for my own novel. I’ve been told by more than one beta reader that my intimate scenes are lacklustre and dull. I feel it’s unfair to rate this book, as I would never have picked it up otherwise. But even during my university years, when I devoured romance books, I’m not convinced this one would have cut it for me.

Truth be told… the spice in this book wasn’t all it has been hyped up to be. Maybe I’m too old; who knows. But I just found the whole thing rather dull. And the romance is way too cliché. If you are going to make a book that’s plot revolves around sex and pretty much nothing else, then make the sex good.

The plot is non-existent. There’s no conflict. None of the romantic relationships in this book go through any real hardship, so there’s no tension. The romance was boring. There isn’t a single instance in this book when you don’t know how the story will pan out. The book stretches over 400 pages, but it could easily have been halved.

The pacing was completely off. The “drama” happens over 50% into the book, but by that time, the blurb question has already been answered: Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried . . . because she could never like a hockey player, right?

I couldn’t relate to any of the characters. I didn’t care about their lives or their petty woes. There were some attempts at making the characters authentic, but they just fell flat. Most of the character arcs felt like second thoughts and weren’t developed enough. There were so many missed opportunities to create more rounded characters.

Overall, the whole novel just felt cringe. I probably won’t be reading anything by Hannah Grace again.