The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m
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Icebreaker - Hannah Grace

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
Genre: Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA.
A competitive figure skater since she was five years old, a full college scholarship thanks to her place on the Maple Hills skating team, and a schedule that would make even the most driven person weep, Stassie comes to win.
No exceptions.
Nathan Hawkins has never had a problem he couldn’t solve. As captain of the Maple Hills Titans, he knows the responsibility of keeping the hockey team on the ice rests on his shoulders.
When a misunderstanding results in the two teams sharing a rink, and Anastasia’s partner gets hurt in the aftermath, Nate finds himself swapping his stick for tights, and one scary coach for an even scarier one.
The pair find themselves stuck together in more ways than one, but it’s fine, because Anastasia doesn’t even like hockey players…right?

MY OPINION: ***

I've been meaning to read this one for a while since I heard how much everyone loved it on social media. I was super excited because I love hockey romances. However, I honestly didn't like this as much as I thought I was going to, and I didn't really enjoy the romance, which I had heard was the best part. 

Anastasia is a figure skater going to UC Maple Hills (I laughed at this one). Nathan is a star hockey player and captain of the Maple Hills team. Long story short, some plot armor is thrown in so that they have to share an ice rink and Nathan ends up subbing in for Anastasia's injured figure skating partner. Except, to be honest, that wasn't even the main part of this book even though it was highlighted so much in the blurb. I would have appreciated seeing more of these interactions because there was so much potential but it definitely was not a core plot device. 

It was such a long, long, long book and I felt like a good amount of it could have been cut out and it would have been just as good. It felt like extreme amounts of filler were being thrown in so that the book could progress along without moving from the main event to the next. 

If we're being really honest, I read this book a while ago and don't remember a lot of it. However, I do remember a lot of the dialogue felt really poorly-written and unrealistic and I was laughing a lot at the things they'd say, not because it was funny but because of how cringey it was. It was really giving Wattpad.

I didn't really see the chemistry between Anastasia and Nathan. They felt very meh. I wasn't a big fan of the relationship between them. I guess they were cute but eh. I was expecting sparks flying. 

A lot of the scenes felt so random like they just threw in these things for the drama and the swoonworthy moments. I didn't really like the pacing and I never felt the butterflies in my stomach that I was hoping I'd feel. 

Anastasia's skating partner whose name I don't remember and who doesn't deserve me remembering his name was an actual villain. He needed to be kicked out. 

I didn't really like this one as much as I'd hoped or expected but for what it was, it was cute and enough to pass the time. It did take me a while to finish it but that was definitely influenced by external factors more than anything. I'd recommend to anyone looking for a hockey romance because it definitely served all the elements of the basic hockey romance. 

Main Character: Anastasia, Nathan
Sidekick(s): Friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Anastasia's skating partner, injuries, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.

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