A review by ashley_mrose530
Collide by Bal Khabra

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a sweet low-stakes romance.
I really enjoyed this cute hockey romance story. Summer and Aiden were so dynamic right off the bat and I was invested in their love story.
I was also really impressed by the actual hockey that was put in this book. The author either did her research well or actually knew the sport. As someone who used to play, it was nice to see someone who actually seemed to know what they were talking about when writing about it. 
This book did have some pacing issues for me though. I remember thinking it felt like it was almost the end when I had only read the first like third of the book and they hadn't even actually gotten together yet. And I kept feeling like the pacing was off throughout the book.
Also, I really didn't like the ending. It felt like it tied up too nicely and I really didn't like that it was kind of white-knight-ish.
Aiden literally saves Summer from a stupid decision she made. And I feel like it would have been better if she had actually felt consequences for that decision. It would have contributed more to her character growth and even added depth to the novel itself.
I know that this was supposed to just be a little lighthearted romance, but it really could have used more character depth and growth like other lighthearted romances have. As it is, it just felt like everything was solved too easily at the end.
I still enjoyed it and I look forward to reading the other books in the series too.