I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I liked Collide but this book beats it by a mile! The story, the characters, the found family…10/10!

I loved that this book really went into detail with hockey games and ballet performances. It helped you connect to the characters more.

The back story to each character is explored and it's interesting to see and understand them better. I liked Eli in the first book but this book just made you fully fall in love with him. Sage is such a badass character! She had a hard life and it’s shown by how she puts everyone else first, it’s lovely to see Eli take care of her.

I have not fallen in love with a MMC like this in a while! Elias is very thoughtful and it’s clear his love language is acts of service and gift giving. He remembers the small details which makes his and Sage’s love story epic! The characters had me giddy and kicking my feet. The sweet moments from Elias actually made me cry!

It is a slow burn book but because it’s dual POV there is longing for each other for a while. I love the fake dating trope and I’m so pleased I read this book as it has become one of my favourites. I would give this book a 3/5 for the spice rating.

I loved that Aiden and Summer are important characters in this book and that Kian and Dylan made an appearance. I also liked that the dares from Dalton played a part in this book!

I would definitely read this book again and I will be recommending to all my followers on my booktok. I'm so excited for this series to continue, you read each book about the 2 main characters but you fall in love with the side characters too, I hope their journeys continue, I NEED a Kian and Dylan book!

I haven't read book one in the series, or anything else by Bal Khabra so I wasn't sure what to expect but I loved this. I loved Elias and Sage and their dynamic with each other. Sage was so sweet and funny and I loved how patient and sincere Elias was with her.

The writing was good, the banter and tension were really well done. The pacing can felt a little off at times, but it all came together at the end.

It was a solid ice hockey x ballerina romance without a lot of the bad dialogue these books usually fall prey to, loveable characters and a tension-filled romance.

I love a sports romance and this was a great mix of ice hockey and ballet!

I enjoyed the relationship between Sage and Elias and I thought there were some interesting plot lines. I haven't read Collide so there was a little bit of backstory that I was missing but it didn't impact the read too much.

There were some bits of plot that weren't fleshed out enough for me like the uncle and the dance teacher and the alternate trying to ruin her performance but on the whole it was an easy straightforward read.

I read it on holiday over the course of a week and it was perfect for that!

Thank you, Bloomsbury for sending me this arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

After the preview at the end of Collide, I was very excited to read this book. I'm a huge fan of fake dating because it's such a fun rom-com trope and in this case, it totally made sense for the characters and the storyline.
I loved the dynamic and tension between Sage and Eli. Sage was a strong and funny character while Eli was serious and grumpy, but became very sweet once he started to open up. Every time I thought "This man can't get any better", Eli proved me wrong. I mean he bought her different flowers every week because he wanted her to have a favourite flower - come on!😍😭
Sage was a wonderful fmc. She went through so much in her past, but made the best out of her situation and never stopped fighting for her dreams. She had an amazing development and I loved that she learned to accept help from others and let them take care of her. As I wrote in my review of book 1, I'm glad the fmc was POC because we do need that representation!
What I enjoyed most about this book was the way Sage and Eli supported each other's dreams and helped each other during hard times. There was no unnecessary drama and 3rd act breakup. I enjoyed the epilogue a lot and liked that it wasn't the typical rom-com epilogue where the mcs get married or the fmc ends up pregnant. This epilogue was very cute and focused on found family – alright, no further spoilers.
I'm excited to read more of Bal Khabra's books in the future and really hope Kian gets his book in the future😉

3.5 / 5

Romance that’s full of whit that had me smiling. Just enough smut to keep the tension up.
All characters were relatable and endearing. The development in sage’s character was smooth as she transitioned into knowing who she is at her core and how to get there, whilst still achieving her goals.

The book touched on the first book of the series but in no way relied on the reader knowing the ins and outs of Collide.

The only note I’d mention is the need for the swan lake sabotage.

— 3 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️

"I've waited my whole life for someone to tell me I'm worth it. Worth choosing, worth staying, worth loving. To tell me my dreams are attainable, and I wouldn't be another fallen star with no way back."

📖 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 368 pages
👤 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Bal Khabra
🏢 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: Bloomsbury Publishing
📅 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 28 January 2025

What you can expect:
— Contemporary Sports Romance
— First Person X Dual POV
— Fake Dating
— Hockey Player X Ballerina
— Forced Proximity
— Found Family
— Tension & Longing
— Slow Burn Romance
— Friends-To-Lovers
— Unfiltered FMC
— 'He Breaks His Rules For Her'

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲:
Spiral is the second instalment in the Off the Ice series by author Bal Khabra which can be read as a standalone. This story was a breeze to read with its easy to digest pacing and tension filled character interactions. I can tell that Spiral was written was a lot of heart and intent which is consistent with the first instalment to the series, Collide, as we are reunited with Eli on his emotionally tumultuous journey towards love with the newly introduced Sage. I adore when a Romance book is easy to become enraptured with for a couple of hours without requiring too much critical thinking. There is no better feeling than cosying into your favourite reading spot with a hot drink and a blanket, and this book is the perfect story to get lost into. My only complaint about the pacing itself is how the outside factors that were a threat to the relationship being explored within this story were built up and alluded to be a genuine conflict... just for it to feel rushed and breezed over by the end. I would've loved to see these conflicts expanded upon and better explored as I feel this could have provided a great opportunity for character development and relationship exploration, but that's just a personal preference to my own taste and expectations.

𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭:
Spiral begins as our two main characters are faced with the harsh and difficult reality of their current life predicament. Sage is barely holding on as a struggling ballet dancer who desperately wants to be taken seriously for her skills and aspirations whilst struggling to make ends meets. Eli has achieved his lifelong dream and yet, Eli finds himself drowning as a highly publicised hockey rookie who has found himself faced with an inaccurate media presumption and the pressure that comes with being a public figure. I really enjoyed the use of a date auction being used to bring our two main characters together in an unconventional way and the role that Aiden played in bringing our couple together. Whilst the date itself was the typical awkward first encounter, I really felt like both character personalities shined through in this moment and provided me with a better understanding on what makes them tick. Fake Dating is a trope that can do no wrong in my opinion because I'm always excitedly waiting on the "does this seem fake to you" moment which leaves me squealing and feeling giddy. The plot of this story ensured our characters remained in close proximity for the majority of the book and I enjoyed the opportunity it provided to intimately know our characters and watch them better learn about each other.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Sage was a beautifully raw and vulnerable character who wore her emotions on her sleeves like an open book. Her determination and resilience were admirable as she committed herself towards her ambition, refusing to accept anything less. Her quick wit provided a lot of humour throughout the dialogue which left me smiling and rooting for Sage to get the last word in. It broke my heart that despite this, Sage greatly struggles with confidence issues and feeling like she isn’t enough for the people in her life. As a caretaker at heart with absentee parents resulting in her shouldering more responsibility than she should have at her young age, Sage strives to put the needs of others well above her own at her own cost. All I wanted was to give that wonderful girl a pep talk to inspire confidence and and a long hug to show that it'll all be okay. Whilst being strong-headed and independent, there were moments of doubts seeded within Sage's mind during her interactions with Elias which left me feeling frustrated on her behalf. In my opinion, Sage deserved far more reassurance earlier in the story with less back and forth. The last thing she needed was the added stress and lack of confidence that came with being all in with a man who couldn't make up her mind, but overall I was really proud of Sage for being bold enough to stand by what she wanted and staying true to herself. Her loyalty is a great asset to her character, and overall I loved being able to follow this wonderful young woman from beginning to end.

Elias was a main character and love interest which in all honestly... really frustrated me. A lot of my strife with my story lays with him and it's truly such a shame. As a character himself I did like Eli and getting to know him as the story progressed, albeit his development felt very slow and late to reveal answers. I really wish his interaction with the female "super fan" had been taken more seriously by his peers at the beginning of the story. That woman's behaviour was outright harassment with its predatory and dangerous nature considering she was stalking him and tricking her way into his hotel bedroom. Whilst nothing outright 'happened' per say... I personally don't agree with it being swept under the rug as a result. I really felt for Eli as a result of this interaction and his trust issues in general are completely understandable. However this deeply affected his treatment towards Sage, and I just wish we'd been given an opportunity to see Elias attend therapy and work through everything he has endured in a healthy and productive way. What I will say is I adored and respected his consistency in being a supportive friend and partner for Sage when it was required. His constant support of her career and refusal to let her give up on her dreams was everything, and I adored watching him climb his way towards 'number one supporter' status. I wish Eli's history was something that wasn't introduced so late and therefore could've been further explored as I believe this would've helped me, as a reader, better understand and connect with his character. I don't fault Elias for the flaws that I took issue with throughout the story... and instead I wish we saw his support system provide him with the necessary tools to prioritise his own mental health before encouraging him into a relationship I don't believe he was in the right mindset for. Elias deserved less judgement and ridicule from his superior figures, and more support overall. Marcus should have been a mentor and constant support of his player, and yet he refused to believe in and recognise Eli’s potential from the beginning. This was such a sore spot for me because I couldn’t actually fathom was his issue was because Elias was his responsibility. If you have a player under your wing who is clearly struggling… you do the best that you can to get to the root of that issue? Provide a safe space and open line of communication, not ridicule and belittle him based on an assumption you know very little about? Eli deserved a far better support system than the very limited one that he seemed to have, and honestly it just made me feel so bad for him.

𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:
This is the key aspect that I believe cemented Spiral as "an enjoyable enough book that I liked but unfortunately didn't love" type of book. To summarise my thoughts early... I personally don't believe Elias and Sage were in the right place to pursue a serious romantic relationship. Both characters had a lot going on and I really wish this story had been a slow and steady friends to lovers tale which displayed our main characters seeking the necessary help for themselves during friendship, so that they could approach the prospect of their romantic development with maturity and assuredness. I enjoyed how openly Sage vocalised her desires despite how terrifying the prospect of rejection is, and how undeterred she was in the face of that rejection. I have nothing but respect for Eli's celibacy and his reasoning once that tragic tale was unveiled. However my main issue lies with how Eli himself approached this. I can understand wavering when you meet your perfect match and feeling emotional guilt over the idea of breaking your vow... however in my opinion Eli was wholly unfair with his actions towards Sage. He was very hot and cold in a way that I personally would've found inexcusable. Many of their interactions were pursued by Eli himself... just for him to push her away due to his celibacy. Poor Sage's confidence was practically on the floor every single time and I truly felt so bad for her. His mixed signals would be confusing for anybody and rather than just letting her go, Elias continued to initiate a hot and heavy kissing session and talk about just how much he wanted her. As a reader I myself felt like I was feeling emotional whiplash as a result, and as I've stated prior I honestly wish Eli had gotten therapy to address the root of his issues as opposed to essentially leading Sage on. Sage's confidence was close to non-existent and I actually found myself hoping and waiting for her to bravely walk away from their not-so-healthy dynamic. Whilst the ending was really sweet and I was relieved to see them happy in the end, the lack of build-up and healthy exploration left me unable to connect with their chemistry and root for them as a couple overall.

𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
Overall whilst I liked Spiral I unfortunately didn't love it. I adored Summer and Aiden in Collide and considered it one of my favourite romance reads in 2023, so I'm definitely gutted that I couldn't connect with Sage and Elias. I still adore Bal Khabra as an author and this serves as a reminder to me that you can love an author whilst unfortunately not connecting with all of their stories. I do believe many people will enjoy this book more than I have, and I am looking forward to reading future works by Khabra and hopefully connecting with those stories more.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Author: Bal Khabra
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Series: Off the Ice
Release Date: 28th January 2025

Perfect if you love:
- Fake Dating
- Hockey Romance
- Roommates
- Hockey Player x Ballerina
- Found Family
- Banter/Teasing

I adored this book so much that I read it in one sitting, and this really should tell you all you need to know about how amazing this book is because to grip me that much on a week day evening that I stay up until the wee hours of the morning when I have work the next day means that it is nothing short of incredible. I fell head first into my hockey romance obsession recently, and this book ticked all of my boxes, I was gripped from the first page until the last.

The characters in this book are nothing short of phenomenal, as soon as we meet both Sage and Elias, you can tell that there is more to them than meets the eye. Finding themselves both in particularly tricky situations while trying to achieve their dreams, they find a solution in each other by embarking on a fake relationship that could be a means to an end for them both, or it could be the start of something magical. This then, of course, causes an absolute onslaught of drama, banter, and so many deeply emotionally filled moments that it made my heart ache. Sage is a beautifully crafted character, putting everyone she loves before herself while still pushing to achieve her dreams despite the situation she’s been put in, all while still keeping her firecracker energy she quickly became my firm favourite. Elias on the outside may seem like the pro hockey player that has it all, but as the book goes on, you can see that he is someone that would do anything for the people he cares for. These two push each other in the best kind of way, and reading them journey together had me smiling, laughing, and crying. Also, it is not only the main characters that stole the show for me but having a whole group of amazing side characters that provide the most heart warming found family vibes. This really embellished the story further in my eyes and made the stakes for our two main characters even higher.

In terms of plot, this book had it all. There was an end goal in sight for both of the characters, that is, the thread that flows throughout the whole book. This story begins as a chance meeting of Sage and Elias, and from this, they come to the conclusion that a fake relationship could be mutually beneficial for both of them up to achieve their dreams. The questions then become, will they stick to the rules they set out for their fake relationship? Will this fake relationship become something more? We read as Sage and Elias become friends, peeling back the layers of each others truth bit by bit, and it is one heck of a journey. I highly recommend this book. It is such a beautiful and emotionally vulnerable story that left me reeling in places and smiling from ear to ear in others.

This book is everything I love about romance books. Sage & Eli’s story was full of love and warmth full of the tropes I love; fake dating, friends to lovers, found family. It bought me so much joy seeing Summer & Aiden again and then being in more love than ever.
If I could give a book 5 million stars , I would.

4.5 stars

Spiral is everything I've been looking for in a sports romance, and I finished reading it in less than a day. Both Eli and Sage felt so real, and their chemistry and affection for each other felt natural and developed in a realistic way. There was the perfect balance of both ballet and hockey, and I love that Sage was so focused on her own career, as the love interest's ambitions can often feel sidelined in hockey romances, but that wasn't the case here. It was so lovely to read about Eli & Sage opening up to each other about their pasts, despite their very different approaches to their trauma, and I felt seen by aspects of both characters. I also loved that the conflict they faced was primarily external to their relationship, as well as how they showed up for each other even when they weren't on the best terms. Eli's friends were also a great part of the book, and I loved how they immediately warmed to Sage and adopted her into their group. The epilogue was very sweet, though I wish it had been a little longer than three years to make some of their life developments more realistic - perhaps Sean's college graduation could have been a more appropriate moment.

Thank you so much to Bloomsbury Publishing & NetGalley for the arc, which has been one of my favourite reads of this year! My review will be posted on Goodreads and Instagram closer to the publication date.

This was my first book from Bal, and I had so much fun reading it! ❤️

If you love these tropes, then this book is definitely for you:
🏒 Hockey romances
🎀 Cinnamon roll boy
🏒Slow burn
🎀 No third-act breakups
🏒 Fake dating

Sage is a people pleaser who never asks for help, even when she desperately needs it. She’s genuinely the funniest character ever, with a dirty mouth and I absolutely loved her!

Elias, my boy, just wants to play hockey, but the pressure he’s under is crushing him mentally. I adored the relationship between Sage and Elias. It’s the kind of relationship you need in real life... friends and lovers with the perfect balance. Plus, the fake datin

Thank you to Bloomsbury & NetGalley for the ARC! ❤️

3.5 stars 🌟

I haven't read Collide (thought I might now!) but that didn't stop me from enjoying this slow burn, fake dating hockey romance from Bal Khabra.

I liked the build up of feelings between Eli & Sage and the epilogue got me surprisingly emotional considering the rest of the story didn't really affect me that much.

It felt a little bit samey to other hockey romances with their family issues and Eli being your typical hot hockey player who puts all other men to shame but it was still a fun read. I enjoyed the spicy bits and was a little disappointed there weren't more to be honest!

If you like hockey romance, chances are you'll like this too.

With thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for the ARC

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Spiral is the stand alone sequel to Collide, another hockey romance. In spiral, we follow Elias, who we met in Collide and is now an NHL rookie player on a bad streak. He meets Sage, a self-sufficient ballerina who can’t book any gigs, and the two end up fake dating to solve both of their problems. Of course, this doesn’t go as expected.

I read Collide about 10 months ago and I remember quite distinctly that I enjoyed Summer, the FMC, since she was quite strong minded but also had a generally well developed personality compared to some other romance books I have read. Sadly, Spiral was a miss for me and that became clear pretty early on when it started to become obvious that both of our main characters seemed to quite one-dimensional. Their dynamic develops super quickly even though they initially have no chemistry and truly don’t know each other. They move in together after having met once or twice. No matter how good of a guy you are, you don’t offer a stranger to live with you and as the person being offered a place, you don’t accept. They don’t know each other. It was a little strange that the characters very clearly didn’t know each other and never really got to know each other (at least on the page) and yet moved so quickly. At the same time, it takes them so long to act on any tension and while celibacy after a traumatic sexual event is a completely valid and important plot line, they do some pretty intense sexual stuff but then keep on skirting around an actual relationship or sex as if oral sex isn’t also breaking a celibacy vow. The combination of an underdeveloped yet fast moving connection between the characters that then moved super slowly and kept on circling around the sexual aspect of their relationship was just not a hit for me. If the emotional connection between the two had been worked through more thoroughly, the will they won’t they wouldn’t have been so annoying but the combination just made the novel drag out. I did review Collide by saying it was too long and I think a lot of this books problems could also be solved simply by cutting 100 pages. Not enough happens plot wise or character arc wise to warrant 400 pages in my opinion.

I do appreciate the general ideas of the characters that were chosen. The people pleasing older sister is always a trope I personally enjoy reading. The tragic circumstances under which she and her brother grew up are hard to read through and how Sage came out at the end is truly wonderful considering the circumstances. I also love the interactions between her and her brother and how the brother and boyfriend get on together. The glimpses of Summer and Aidan from Collide that we get are also cute and add some joy to the plot.

The cliffnotes of my review are: it’s too long and the characters lack some depth. I think it’s still a fun read and this might work much better for a different kind of reader, but as someone who has read a lot of these books, I need something a little bit more to launch an emotional connection with the cast and truly enjoy the story.

spiral was so so good and a genuine surprise after collide. everything about this book was a massive improvement and i absolutely adored the characters and the way eli and safe developed their relationship !

eli and sage’s relationship felt so natural and easy to read about .. they were funny, raw and made this book so easy and enjoyable to read.

the plot was well paced and i felt like their relationship was really well paced too. the plot was engaging and had other elements aside from the relationship which is always a plus for me!

overall, it was such an easy read that brought me so much joy .. i am so excited to see what else Bal Khabra comes out with because i know it will only improve!

I’m such a sucker for fake dating tropes. This was a perfect romance, full of swoon worthy moments that were perfectly balanced with the more emotional scenes. I loved Eli and Sage, they were so well written in their own right which only made their relationship that much more believable and easy to root for. They each had their own battles to overcome and I found myself enjoying every single moment of this book, something that rarely happens for me in a romance. The side characters were also a great addition, I’m definitely going to read the other books in this series. A perfect romance, no notes!

It the first book hadn't convinced me, Spiral was a really great read. I started out reluctant, and ended up moved, so I'd say it was a successful gamble!

I was absolutely hooked on Sage from the very first chapters. She's a people pleaser. She puts the happiness of those closest to her, who are a very small circle, before her own happiness. Despite rejections and setbacks, she doesn't back down from her dream of being a ballerina; on the contrary, she's determined, and I found that very realistic. She was used to not showing her emotions as a child so now she's unfiltered, if she has to cry she doesn't hide, if she flirts she goes all out. In short, she's great.

It took me longer to get attached to Elias. I found it hard to grasp his tears and reactions at first, but as he let Sage in, I let him in and then adored him. If I had to give his language of love, l'd say words of appreciation and act of services. He did a wonderful job of soothing Sage, where she allowed him to let go.

It was a real good slow burn and their fake dating was written to pertection!

It comes out in early 2025, and I recommend it, whether you want to read the first book or not!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Give me a hockey player romance any day! Absolutely loved this read, it was a slow burn, no PDA, fake dating, forced proximity and wow it was so good. Both Elias and sage opened up to eachother so much and it was so lovely to read!

This might actually be one of my favourite reads this year! Thankyou NetGalley

Thanks so much to Bal Khabra, Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions expressed are my own.

Another fab read from Khabra, I loved the dynamic between Elias and Sage and especially enjoyed the exploration of their character backgrounds and what shaped them into the people that they are.

The fake dating element was fantastic, set against a backdrop against ballet and hockey, a fantastic combination.

I especially enjoyed the way the storyline unravelled, and the secondary characters were fantastic.

Really enjoyed this one!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! The ballerina x hockey player trope gets me everytime.

The banter between the main characters was everything and the story had a perfect balance of serious issues and the fluff.

Gotta say I’ve been in love with Kian since collide and can’t wait for his book.

Thank you NetGalley for approving me for this request.

Thank you Bloomsbury for granting me a digital arc of Spiral by Bal Khabra from Netgalley. I know its an uncorrected proof but the copy I have is unreadable with no spaces between words and whole sentences. Worst formatting of a uncorrected digital arc I've seen and no response to request for support. Sorry this was such a disappointment.

i love a good sports romance and this one did not dissapoint. i love khabra's writing, the first book in the series was just perfect. would recommend this to any romance lovers!