While I have very limited experience on an ice rink, I have always loved watching figure skating. It is such a beautiful and impressive endeavor – from the balletic grace to the sheer athleticism of hurling oneself, spinning, into the air. Completely beyond the realm of my ability, but the stuff of dreams nonetheless. With the Olympics dominating my watching, I thought it’d be fun to take a quick look at ice-based stories I have found in books.

You may notice my list is smaller than some that I’ve shared, and the main reason for that is figure skating books are a lot harder to find than hockey books. I don’t like hockey. In many ways, it reminds me of soccer on ice, with more fights, and I am not a fan of soccer either. {For those interested, there is a whole subgenre of hockey romance}. That said, I have read a few hockey books, and there are a few more on my TBR – but they’re mostly “hockey plus something”. Like a hockey player having to team up with a figure skater. Etc.

The Favorites | Layne Fargo | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
 I absolutely devoured this one. The skating. The drama. The way the narrative was interspersed with the transcript from the documentary. Feels like a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel, and it’s apparently a nod to Wuthering Heights, which explains the intensity of the drama.

Finding Her Edge | Jennifer Iacopelli | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
A thoroughly enjoyable YA read that is a retelling of Persuasion set against the glamour and drama of competitive ice skating. I loved the “insider look” and seeing the Junior Level skaters working their way to the top, with talk of hoping for the Milan Olympics {our current Games}. Looking forward to watching the Netflix series, post-Olympics.

Fake Skating | Lynn Painter | ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
This one is definitely hockey. But high school hockey – which, in the Minnesota setting, is the equivalent of high school football in my experience. Seeing the whole community involved made it more fun. Fake dating is always a favorite trope, and works will with a high school setting, although I spent most of the book wanting Alec and Dani to have a real conversation.

Collide | Bal Kahbra | ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
College athletics have a special place in my heart, and this one features a college hockey team. It was not a perfect read for me {pacing issues; much more open-door than expected}, but what really worked was the team dynamic. The relationship between the hockey boys was so good, it really carried the story. This is a series I plan to continue.

On the TBR
There are several more books on my TBR {of course}, including a few more with hockey elements. {Maybe if I read enough good stories, it’ll start to be less annoying? After all, I used to not like football. But I digress}. If you’ve read any of these, let me know!

• Spiral | Bal Kahbra
• Revolve | Bal Kahbra
• Fated Skates | Victoria Schade
• Icebreaker | Hannah Grace
• Blade | Wendy Walker

And of course there are a number of wonderful ice-skating movies as well, Ice Princess is a favorite. I’ve also seen the original and the “sequel” to The Cutting Edge. Netflix has several offerings, from Finding Her Edge to Glitter and Gold which follows current ice dancing pairs on their journey to gold. I’m saving these for post-Olympic viewing.

Have you read any of these?
Or maybe you’ve read some I haven’t mentioned, in which case: please share!
This list is all fiction, but I know there are more nonfiction/biography and memoirs available now as well. If anyone has read any of those, I’m definitely curious what you think.