A really cute slowburn sports romance with my favourite tropes of fake dating and found family! 💜

To misquote “Sk8er Boi” by Avril Lavigne: He was an ice hockey player, she did ballet. What more can I say?
First of all, I am in love with the book’s dedication. Let’s start there: “You are a light in this world, don't waste it on those who can't see it. Find the people who can.”

Spiral is an excellent title choice for this one because there is the phrase “spiral out of control”, which is accurate for their relationship – they try to restrain themselves but they lose control and are mad for each other. There is also the idea of “going into a spiral” which the two of them do often because of past traumas: Sage ; Eli . This is used in Chapter 31 wherein Sage feels she has been “tossed into a downward spiral almost as complicated as our fake relationship”.

Indeed there are beautiful parallels between Sage and Eli : they both perform well when they are together/supporting each other, they want to prove people wrong (Sage wants to show the artistic director Aubrey Zimmerman that she has come a long way since he laughed at her and her audition; Eli wants to show general manager of the team Marcus that he will do better and he will achieve his first goal and wants to show the media he is more than a playboy), they both get injured doing the sport they love, they have trouble sleeping.

The story draws attention to important aspects like: long distance can work and isn’t a be-all-end-all, healthy vs toxic family dynamics, the problems faced by a sibling forced to grow up too soon and step into their parents’ shoes and take care of the family, and last but not least the realistic issue of ballet dancers who are self-conscious of their bodies, especially because of remarks ballet directors have said.

There were unfortunately some things that were not so great about this book: like some of it felt too fast or moments felt unrealistic or not what the character would do, some opportunities to explore aspects like Nina and Sage's bond were wasted but all-in-all a delightful read I didn't want to put down

I fear this was so much better than the first book, I think that the writing ad editing in his book was so much better than collide. sage and Elias the main characters were so cute and I really liked the struggling ballerina and hockey player who needs to spin his image with the media.

I liked both characters and the struggles they both went through. I liked that though this is a slow burn there is immediate chemistry between the main characters even though they make guiding rules for fake dating. i

I’ve never read Bal Khabra’s books before and went into this not having read Collide first, but this book was absolutely amazing!!! I loved both Elias and Sage’s characters so much, and the chemistry and slow burn romance was soooo good!

This is a hockey player x ballerina romance with fake dating, and it was executed perfectly! Definitely one of my favourite romance reads ever!

I’d give it 4.5 stars purely because I would’ve liked the other side stories to be resolved/talked about more throughout the book, rather than all mainly focused at the end, but that’s a fairly minor thing because I really enjoyed this book and I definitely want to reread this in the future!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for letting me read this ARC!

Honestly this book is absolutely stunning and so perfect. There was so much banter, dirty flirty jokes and the right amount of spice to make it all fun and interesting. Collide was amazing but Spiral was a knock out in my opinion. I devoured and left no crumbs and did not want to put this down.

Elias oh my god was just perfection he treated Sage with some much love and respect and honestly the perfect man. He was so caring, loyal, had so much patience, he had his own growth in this book with his carer and personal life. And he comes with tons of surprises ;)

Sage represents for a lot of people the older sister syndrome. Always caring for others before herself, sacrificing parts of her life for others, deflecting, loneliness, hard working.

Elias and Sage together just perfection and they helped each other grow and become better people

This books includes (in my opinion)
-ice hockey player x ballerina
-forced proximity
-fake dating
-found family
-bad childhood
-spice
-dirty flirty jokes
-celibacy

Spiral is a Ballerina/Hockey player sports romance following our rookie of the season Eli & talented ballet dancer Sage.

I’m a huge fan of a sports romance but I feel the pacing of this one was so off. It felt like we didn’t have enough time sitting in certain scenes with the characters which made the relationship feel pretty disconnected all the way through.

There was a couple of deeper meaningful topics of discussion brought up for both characters which were then glossed over, so it just felt pretty pointless for them to be introduced in the first place.

Also the constant sexual innuendos just grated on me, I don’t think I’ve ever read someone wiggling their eyebrows after a joke as much as I did in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bloomsbury Publishing for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review of this book!

“because i know no matter where i am, i'll always be home as long as i have her.”

oh bal u never disappoint and when i say never i mean it since the very first time i have read collided i already knew that i needed more because bal’s writing’s truly addicting like her characters… she’s just one of my favourite authors in the end… if she announces something i’m in but we aren’t surprised aren’t we?

firstly do i love this one more than collided? don’t ask me because my emotional attachment can’t choose right now!

there are a lot of reasons about why u should go and read this book or let’s say the entire series… i could simply start by saying no third act break up or talking about the act of services or idk the family found part that always ate… and i could just go on by mention the tension between sage and elias or the healthy communication… and well if u know u know!

i would like to suggest you to just go and start without reading much of anything and just read the book because trust me it’s way better!

sage’s such a strong and lovely character her development it was so good and well deserved and i’m so happy to see her happy with elias because yes he was always there for her and helping her but he also needed sage in a very intimate and deeply way that even he didn’t knew he needed before actually knowing her and so it was very touching sometimes to read about their healthy and lovely relationship!

least but last the side characters and the crumbs about the next couple because uhm yes i need more and have u seen the cover of the third book??? a masterpiece but we aren’t surprised in the end!

A lot of thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for the e arc of this book in exchange of my honest opinion!

the BEST. this book did not disappoint. bal is an amazing author and i was very fortunate to read this before release! eli and sage are such cuties! i can’t wait to see this in stores

I love a fake dating romance and this one did not disappoint. Super fun, great characters, engaging and so enjoyable to read!

This was such a fun read! Of course any romance book with fake dating has my heart.
Elias and Sage were both complex characters who leant on each other to overcome their own baggage/demons.
I loved the pacing of the book, not too fast. The coming together of both characters was so organic and cutereeeeeeeee.
I’m actually now obsessed with sports romance books!!!!!

My only negatives were, this character was black but was full on neck blushing? I think that threw me out of the story, as I questioned is this even possible unless they’re light skinned????

This book is the 2nd in the Off the Ice series and is a fake dating sports romance following ballerina Sage and NHL rookie hockey player Elias. I went into this book cautiously, as I was not a huge fan of Collide (the first book in the series), but it’s safe to say this one greatly surpassed my expectations!

This book was so sweet! It actually made me cry from how sweet it was (and it’s very unlike me to get emotional at a romance book!) I thought the characters were great. They both had fully fleshed out backstories and personalities. Both main characters had good character development, on an individual level as well as together as a couple. I also loved the friendships and family in this book too. I felt like there was good attention to detail in the writing.

I did think that certain plot points disappeared too quickly and could have been explored slightly more. Additionally the pacing felt ever so slightly off towards the end. The book went on slightly longer than I expected.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! I loved the characters and the chemistry between them. I can’t wait to continue this series with the release of Revolve in October 2025!

Thank you to NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

It was a fun read but I’m afraid we’ve seen it all. I don’t expect any unique aspects in romance nowadays, so for what it’s worth it was a fun read and will definitely recommend to everyone who likes the genre

Sage and Elias are too wholesome for this world. I think I loved this even more than Collide (but I still love Summer and Aiden so much) This time I loved that they’re two athletes, and especially the ballet side of it!

He’s the ‘I want to take care of you in every way’ and she’s the ‘I’ve taken care of myself and all the people I love since forever’, I live for that so much especially when it’s a fake dating trope and they finally give in to each other!

The banter between them and Elias’s friend group is simply the best, I’m so happy Sage finally found people she could be herself with! Both characters are so strong and come from difficult childhoods so I really liked that we got to discover that and learn more about them!

Overall a really cute book with sometimes some difficult moments to read due to trauma but loved every single thing from it!

Thank you Bloomsbury Publishing for the early copy!

I was hooked from the start with Sage and Eli. I really liked the banter between the two of them and how that evolved throughout their relationship. I thought the set up for the fake dating was really well done and I loved the bonus little bit of forced proximity as well. I loved the way that these two grew together and how they allowed for growth - there were some really swoon worthy moments from both parties. I did feel like the end was a bit rushed with all the Swan Lake stuff and I would have liked to have been introduced a little bit earlier to make the impact a bit greater.

Overall though, this was a great second book and I was so happy to be back in the Off the Ice world with these two.

This was a cute hockey romance between a professional NHL player and an aspiring ballerina. He is so down bad for her throughout the book. He will do absolutely anything and everything to stay in her life. Elias is the quiet and caring guy that would do whatever Sage asks. Sage is super independent and strong willed but she secretly l9ves someone taking care of her. They are a match made in heaven. Definitely read this if you like good banter, fake dating, and professional sports.

I absolutely loved this book! The characters are really strong and I just loved the connection they had 🥹 at first I was a little unsure if it was going to be for me but come the end I had completely changed my mind!

people pleaser/ i can do anything on my own girlfriend 🤝 let me take care of you boyfriend

i loved sage and elias’s story, unfiltered 🥺 their journey was so soft and cute, i adored seeing them let each other in and take care of each other, both their relationship and their individual journeys were so heartfelt, funny, made your heart clench at times, but absolutely perfect

and the found family in this series is, again, absolutely everything!

also a petition for sage’s brother to be a main character in a spin off series PLEASE!!

Thank you NetGalley for kindly gifting me this book, I'm so grateful and after reading the book, I'm even more grateful. Did I immediately preorder this book after reading it? ABSOLUTELY YES. Elias and Sage literally captured my heart and I just adored them. The chemistry was good, the banter was good and I just loved them

I would highly recommend this book, especially if you loved Collide. This one was definitely on par with it and I don't say that easily. Sometimes the second book isn't as good as the first but I might even say I enjoyed this one more

After dnfing book 1 I was unsure how I’d feel about this one, but I really enjoyed it! And it makes me feel like I just read ‘collide’ at the wrong time—I might give it another go at a later date!

Elias reminded me of Ryan Shay from ‘the right move’ which I absolutely loved. If you loved that book as much as me then definitely give this one a go🤭 Sage was such a strong FMC that was not afraid to speak her mind and tell people exactly what she wants, I loved her. The banter and chemistry between them had me kicking my feet! While this is fake dating, it didn’t feel like they were faking any of their interactions. They were clearly smitten early on <3

Spiral was so good!!! I loved it more than Collide. If you are looking for a sports faking dating romance, this is it. I'm forever a sucker for a hockey romance and this one was so cute. I really liked both characters and I just love to see ballet portrayed in books (from someone that did ballet for 22 years, it really feels super special).
While sometimes the book felt too fast, even thought it's a slow burn romance, I love the way the characters communicated and how their relationship evolved. The chemistry between the characters was absolutely everything.
If you are looking for a steamy sports romance, this is it.

Thank you Bloomsbury Publishing and Bal Khabra for the arc for this book.

I was a bit skeptical going into book 2 as I found books one a bit harder to read even though I did enjoy it. But this book from start to finish gripped me and made me excited to continue reading it while also dreading it ending.