Scan barcode
A review by booksalacarte
Collide by Bal Khabra
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
2.75⭐️3🌶️
Sports Romcom
Hockey romance
College romance
Dual narration
Grumpy sunshine
Found Family
This book ultimately fell flat for me due to a combination of narrative style and pacing issues. The writing is more telling than showing, making the story feel surface-level and detached. The flow is choppy, which leads to a disjointed reading experience, especially with the frequent timeline skips. By the 60% mark, I found myself losing interest, feeling like the story could have been much shorter.
One major flaw is the college event involving a Ferris wheel, which is depicted as being planned in an impossibly short timeframe. Realistically, an event like that would take at least six months of preparation, which made the scenario feel unrealistic.
The central conflict around the FMC’s (female main character’s) bias against hockey players, stemming from her “daddy issues,” felt weak. It seemed inconsistent, especially considering her close friendship with a childhood best friend who is also a hockey player. This conflict never really convinced me and came across as petty rather than meaningful.
Additionally, the FMC’s story arc centers around writing a paper, but the paper itself doesn’t play a significant role in the plot, which was odd. As a sports management major myself, I found the discussions about sport psychology vague and underdeveloped, leaving me confused about what her paper was actually about. This lack of depth felt like a missed opportunity and suggested a lack of research on the author’s part.
In the end, this book just wasn’t a good fit for me.
Sports Romcom
Hockey romance
College romance
Dual narration
Grumpy sunshine
Found Family
This book ultimately fell flat for me due to a combination of narrative style and pacing issues. The writing is more telling than showing, making the story feel surface-level and detached. The flow is choppy, which leads to a disjointed reading experience, especially with the frequent timeline skips. By the 60% mark, I found myself losing interest, feeling like the story could have been much shorter.
One major flaw is the college event involving a Ferris wheel, which is depicted as being planned in an impossibly short timeframe. Realistically, an event like that would take at least six months of preparation, which made the scenario feel unrealistic.
The central conflict around the FMC’s (female main character’s) bias against hockey players, stemming from her “daddy issues,” felt weak. It seemed inconsistent, especially considering her close friendship with a childhood best friend who is also a hockey player. This conflict never really convinced me and came across as petty rather than meaningful.
Additionally, the FMC’s story arc centers around writing a paper, but the paper itself doesn’t play a significant role in the plot, which was odd. As a sports management major myself, I found the discussions about sport psychology vague and underdeveloped, leaving me confused about what her paper was actually about. This lack of depth felt like a missed opportunity and suggested a lack of research on the author’s part.
In the end, this book just wasn’t a good fit for me.