by Bal Khabra
Part of Off the Ice
First published 2023
Summer Preston has her future mapped out. Graduate school acceptance depends on her research project, and she plans to focus on sports psychology. Then her professor delivers an ultimatum that changes everything. She must study hockey captain Aiden Crawford as her subject. Summer despises hockey and everything it represents. Aiden faces his own crisis when his team's reckless behavior threatens their season. His coach volunteers him for Summer's research as punishment. The arrangement suits neither of them. Summer sees Aiden as careless and unfocused. Aiden views Summer as rigid and controlling. Their first meetings crackle with hostility. Summer approaches the project with detailed schedules and clinical detachment. Aiden treats it as another obligation to endure. Yet neither accepts failure easily. As they clash over methods and expectations, something unexpected develops between them. Their opposing worlds begin to merge in ways neither anticipated.
Genres: contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance, sports-romance, college-romance
Vibes: character-driven, engaging, romantic, tension-filled, witty
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, opposites-attract, slow-burn
416 pages · Paperback · Berkley