Sophie Reads YA: August 2025

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August Summary

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August

Stacking the Shelves: August 30th 2025

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2 Stars

ARC Review: Clear The Ice (The Breakaway Love Series #1) by L.C. Reagan

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Clear The Ice
Series: The Breakaway Love Series #1
Author: L.C. Reagan
Published August 1st 2025

Goodreads Synopsis
Maddie Hart just landed her dream job—digital content manager for the Titans, a pro hockey team known for drama, fan devotion, and one very grumpy captain.

Liam Callahan is everything she didn’t expect.
A man of few words. All scowl and no interest in the spotlight.
And definitely not interested in being filmed by the new girl.

But when a behind-the-scenes media project throws them into close proximity, Maddie starts to see the cracks in Liam’s armor—and the soft center beneath the scowl. The more they’re forced to work together, the more the tension starts to heat up… until a single kiss changes everything.

Now, Maddie’s caught between professionalism, pressure, and a man who keeps pulling her closer.
And Liam? He’s never been good at playing it safe.

She’s behind the camera. He hates the spotlight.
Too bad chemistry doesn’t follow the script.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via BookSirens. This in no way impacted on my view.

Maddie Hart has just started her new job with the Thunder Bay Titans, and is ready to do whatever is needed. Social media posts, photographs, videos, you name it. The team welcome her with open arms, except from captain Liam Callahan. Liam is broody and aloof, and seems to want nothing to do with both Maddie and her camera, but there’s something brewing beneath the surface that neither of them can deny. However, a candid shot of Maddie talking and laughing with the alternate captain, Jordan, soon takes Maddie from behind the lens, and into the story herself.

Well, this was an extremely quick book, which I read in about an hour. Maddie and Liam were decent characters, and there was definitely a tension and chemistry between them that showed that the relationship would work. I wasn’t that keen on the way the storylines kept jumping about, or that fact that Maddie was being blamed for things out of her control. The pacing of the book felt off, and there were times when it almost repeated itself, and others where it seemed like scenes were missing. The final chapter felt more like an epilogue than regular chapter, and though it did say “months later” at the beginning, the audience missed so much which could’ve been great content for the storyline.

Dates Read:
August 4, 2025

Rating
2 Stars