#a.l. graziadei

[the-dust-jacket]

Congratulations to the 2023 Printz Award winner and honorees! 

[grooviestguru]

okay so i just read icebreaker by a.l. graziadei and LOVED IT for so many reasons, but i couldn’t help but think to myself that mickey james iii is basically hockey’s neil josten without the murder and violence and trauma. (i’m aware that those elements are part of what makes neil neil, but trust me, the correlation is there). 

it goes like this: i’m part of a team sport that i love and i’m determined to be the best and i’ve never tried to know my teammates before but now the upperclassmen are making me bond and i actually... love them? and my mental health really isn’t the best and i’m aware of this but will also tell everyone i’m fine????? and that really compelling guy on my team who is amazing at the sport but is also my nemesis but we start sharing extended eye contact and what can this mean because he hates me????? what is this personal growth i’m experiencing in my first year of college??? what are these FEELINGS?????

i love these sarcastic, caustic, irritable, and grumpy children so much. these fandoms should be best friends.

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: M/M Hockey Romance

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei (YA) Gravity and The Rest of the Story by Tal Bauer On the Board by Anna Zabo and L.A. Witt Penalty Box by Ari Baran Scoring Chances by Avon Gale

[iodos84]

Last weekend, I finished Icebreaker by A. L. Graziadei. It’s a great queer hockey romance.

[fortunatefires]

Icebreaker is giving me the fanfic squee, out here kicking my feet at the cuteness

[comfortqueers]

Cauler and Terzo🤍

"He smiles, so soft and beautiful it makes my heart stop for a second or two. I don’t think anyone’s ever looked at me like that before."

- Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

I just want to say that Mickey and Jaysen are my adorable babies and they deserve all the happiness in the world.

[desdasiwrites]

– A.L. Graziadei, Icebreaker

[perfectbananaglitter]

The Talk part 3/3

Part 1: https://www.tumblr.com/perfectbananaglitter/701297777559355392/the-talk-part1?source=share

Part 2: https://www.tumblr.com/perfectbananaglitter/703470832957210624/the-talk-part2?source=share

“-I’m sorry, they did what? Do you want me to beat someone up?”

I was expecting this reaction when I decided to tell my sisters about the bet. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was Jade threatening my teammates with her 50 kg on a good day.

I gaze at my sisters, who seem to be in a silent conversation.

Jade turns to Bailey, “Sidney and Karim will help me, right? They wouldn’t miss the chance to mess with the hockey guys. How dare they? That’s so insensitive of them. Who do they think they are? They’re supposed to have your back!” Delilah drops her hand on her thigh, trying to calm her down even a little.

“I just felt so betrayed, not even mad. It didn’t cross my mind they could do something like that. I wasn’t expecting to be welcomed with open arms like we’re heroes. I was worried they would be homophobic assholes. But I didn’t think they would have held a bet on a potential relationship months ago. They didn't even bet to know if we were together or not; No! That was a given. They bet on whether we were going to expose our relationship. Nobody doubts that at one point we’ll sleep together. The question was when, where, and how we’ll say something.

“I mean, it was insensitive of them. They shouldn’t have, and you and Jensen have every right to be mad at them and feel betrayed. But at least, now you can be all mushy with your boyfriend. You need to look at the bright side. You’ll be able to cuddle up on the bus. No more having to twist your shoulder at a weird angle to hold his hand while he’s sitting behind you. And the team won’t think you’re going to tear each other's heads off every five minutes.” Bailey tries to reassure me. She has always been the rational one.

“No, they’ll have to worry about them jumping each other every chance they get…” Jade says with a smirk.

Both my sisters make disgusted faces at the idea of their baby brother having a sex life. And I get it; I don’t want to know what any of my sisters are doing with their partners. I shake my head, trying to get rid of those terrifying images that are unfortunately forming in my mind.

I’m so lost in my fight against those ideas that I don’t realize Cauler is joining us until he’s sitting next to me, his hand on my knee, his voice whispering a hello in my ear.

I freeze for a moment, not expecting him to be here. I turn to face him, my sisters' words still ringing in my head. Cauler looks at me with concern, noticing my hesitation. "Is everything okay?" he asks, his hand still on my knee. “Nobody can see us.” I take a deep breath and nod, trying to push away the anxiety of being in public. "Yeah, everything's fine," I say, hoping to sound convincing. I smile at him and intertwine our fingers.

Cauler looks at me for a moment longer, trying to analyze my face. I can see his brain going miles an hour, trying to know if I’m lying to him. But he nods and squeezes my hand before turning to my sisters and Jade and saying hello to them.

As I watch him asking Jade questions about her latest art project, I can't help but feel grateful for Jaysen’s presence. He always knows when something's wrong and tries his best to make me feel better. I take a deep breath, trying to forget about the bet and our teammates for a while. Maybe a good meal and some company will help me clear my head. For once, I feel hungry and like I could eat the whole menu, so when the waitress arrives to take our orders, I don’t stop myself from ordering everything my heart desires.

But when Bailey asks him how he’s feeling after the bet, the previously light and nice atmosphere switches to something heavy and uncomfortable.

“Hum… I’m… Okay, I guess. It wasn’t nice of them. Terzo was really upset. I get why he was, though. They really betrayed his trust, and he doesn’t give it easily.”

My sisters share a look.

“His trust? Do you mean ‘our’ trust?”

“Hum… I guess?”

“Jaysen, darling, you do realize you were betrayed too? You don’t have to be used, but you’re allowed to. You gave the team your trust, and they broke it too. My brother is a little shit with too many feelings he doesn’t know how to deal with. So he’s a bit overdramatic. But you’re also a victim here. And I need you to tell me you realize that.”

He’s frowning, his eyebrows drawn together. His eyes are fixed on his plate, but I can’t tell he’s not really seeing it.

“Oh.”

Oh. He didn’t. He was so upset on my behalf that he couldn’t be on his own.

His face turns sad as reality hits him. I can only watch emotions crossing his features. I squeeze his hand, trying to bring him an ounce of comfort. But it’s all I can do. Knowing my boyfriend, he needs to process this new information on his own. So for the rest of the meal, he just picks at his food, smiling only when someone talks directly to him. And even then, he often asks them to repeat. He’s so lost in his own head, I can’t help but ache for him, knowing very well what he’s going through.

As we leave my sisters to walk to my room, I can sense the weight of the situation on Cauler's shoulders. Still in his own head, I guide Jaysen to the dorm where we will be able to talk if it’s what he needs. I know he's trying to process everything that's happened, and I want to be there for him. But at the same time, I'm not sure how to help him.

The walk is short. I close the bedroom door as he sits on my bed. "Hey," I say, breaking the silence between us. "I know this is all really overwhelming for you right now, but I want you to know that I'm here for you. We'll get through this together." I sit next to him, draping my arm around his waist.

Cauler looks at me, and I can see the pain and confusion in his eyes. "I just can't believe they would do something like that," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. He drops his head on my shoulder, resting his forehead, hugging me."I thought we were all friends, you know? And now I feel like I can't trust anyone. And I can’t believe I didn’t realise that. How oblivious am I ?"

"I know," I raise my hand to the back of his neck, embracing him.

Cauler, sigh and we continue sitting in silence. I can feel his sadness and frustration, and I wish there was something I could do to make it all go away. But I know that healing takes time, and all I can do is be there for him, no matter what. My therapist would be proud of me.

"I'm sorry," Cauler says, breaking the silence. "I know I'm a mess”

"Don't apologize," I say, putting my arm around his shoulder. "You have every right to feel the way you do. And I'm here for you, no matter what. And if anyone of us is a mess, we both know it’s me"

This answer does make him laugh at least a little, easing a bit of tension from this situation.

After a few minutes, Cauler lifts his head and looks at me. "Do you think we'll be able to trust them again?" he asks, his voice laced with uncertainty.

"With time, I do think so," I say, being honest with him. "They’re our friends, they’ve done something stupid and insensitive. But they didn’t mean to hurt us. And they regret it, so much. Have you talked to Zero?"

"No, I haven’t seen any of the guys, not yet.”

"You should, when you’re ready and not a second before.” I drop a kiss on his head. “I talk with Dori, it was hard, but I think it was the best thing to do.”

He nods but doesn’t move. I pull him so we can lie down together. We stay there bathing each other. We’re alone, and that’s exactly what we need. Some alone time to process what happened. And if I get to cuddle my hot as fuck boyfriend, that’s not so bad.

[stardustandrockets]

"Depression doesn’t care who you are or what you’ve been through... It’s an illness that can happen to anyone” —Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

I absolutely LOVED this book!! I did the audio on the drive to my parents' house; I'll definitely be doing a re-listen so I can annotate my physical copy because holy hells was it good!

I absolutely love that the story is from Mickey's POV. He's a legacy in the hockey world, slated for top NHL draft pick, and has a lot to live up to. He's going into his rookie year at the same college his dad and grandfather attended (as well as his five sisters). There's a lot riding on him. On top of these pressures, he's dealing with depression. Oh, and did I mention his rival on the ice, Jaysen, is also attending the same school to play hockey? The drama!

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei is about falling in love, finding your team (both on and off the ice), and choosing your own path. The mental health rep is phenomenal, the found family vibes are immaculate, and I can't recommend this book enough!!

[abigail-abridged-summaries]

This is nothing. This means nothing. He doesn't even like me, let alone like me. This is only happening because I was the closest available, moderately attractive guy who gave off some pretty transparent gay vibes.

Okay someone's taking inspiration from Andrew Minyard 🙄

[audreylovestoread]

Icebreaker

A.L. Graziadei

I am an absolute sucker for queer hockey romances, so immediately I loved this from the start. I’ve read pretty much every book in this genre, so the fact that this book was something new and nothing like I’ve read before was incredible.

I especially related to the main character’s struggle with depression and anxiety. It was depicted it such an accurate way that made you understand exactly what he was going through, but didn’t put you in that state yourself. No matter how bad it got for him, there was always a sense of hope and love surrounding him through his friends, teammates, and family.

Mickey’s family dynamic was another plot point that really made this story interesting. Between his reliance on his sisters, and his aching to have any kind of relationship with his parents, it made the book a lot than just Mickey and Jaysen’s relationship.

SPEAKING of their relationship, I love love love them! The enemies to lovers trope is one of my favorites (especially when they’re rivals) and this one did not disappoint. They were exactly what each other needed, and their relationship developed in a perfect way that didn’t seem too out of the blue or rushed. I also am a big fan of the use of social media in stories, and this one had a lot of that which was incredible!

Overall, I absolutely fell in love with every character in this book and everything about the plot and how it was written. I’m dying over the fact that their won’t be a sequel, but Mickey and Jaysen will be living on in my mind for a long time!

Review:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[story-addict]

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NON-SPOILER REVIEW ! ! ! !

[fruitybookworm]

went on a little book shopping spree and ordered these today

[binvibin]

read the good icebreaker yall, by a.l graziadei

[an-ivy-covered-summer]

you guys can’t understand the anger that takes over my body whenever i see that silly chicken breast heterosexual steamy book about a figure skater and a hockey player bc a book called “icebreaker” about queer hockey players dealing with racism, anxiety, depression and the insane pressure put on young athletes already existed before that one came out but now all i ever see when i try to search anything about it is the basic straight porn with the blonde girl and the tall white dude and it sucks!!!!!!!!!!!

[hmmm-shesucks]

I’m rereading icebreaker for the third time and I’m telling you Dorian Hidalgo is the love of my life. I can’t even explain how much I love him.