Book Review: All Laced Up by Erin Fletcher

Title: All Laced Up
Author: Erin Fletcher
Publication Date: October 10, 2016
Publisher: Entangled: Crush
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
Format: eARC
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary

      

Everyone loves hockey superstar Pierce Miller. Everyone except Lia Bailey. When the two are forced to teach a skating class to save the rink, Lia's not sure she'll survive the pressure of Nationals and Pierce's ego. Not only can't he remember her name, he signed her bottle of water like she was one of his groupies. Ugh. But if there's one thing Lia knows better than figure skating, it's hockey. Hoping to take his ego down a notch -- or seven -- she logs into his team website under an anonymous girl online. No matter how much fin they're starting to have in real life, she's afraid he's going to choose fake-Lia over the real one. 

The Cutting Edge, a figure skating/hockey movie from the 1990's is one of my top favorite movies of all time. It's actually kind of nutty how I can recite it word-for-word. That's because it has everything I enjoy in an escapist type of movie -- romance, family issues, the heat of competition, and the enemies-to-lovers trope. And when that trope is done well, it can make the story even that more compelling and lovable.

So when I saw the synopsis for this book, I absolutely had to have it. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It was done so well as we have Lia and Pierce. Lia is the daughter of a Detroit Red Wing who passed away when she was very young. But she is also a figure-skating Olympic hopeful, setting out to win the highest title that her father hoped for her. So along with that comes some internal conflict as to whether she is brave and good enough to continue pursuing the dream.

Then we have Pierce. On the outside, he's cocky, a little too self-assured, and a terrible student. But the reader gets to experience the real him because this book is written from both points of view. And you also get to see his softer and more caring side when he interacts with his brother, who seems to be suffering from Central Sensitivity Syndrome (where he is sensitive to all kinds of things such as texture, lighting, loud noises, etc.), and begins to chat with Superfan01 on a hockey forum. Unbeknownst to him, Superfan01 is actually Lia. And I'm not giving anything away because the synopsis clues us in on this fact.

But it's the sweet and personal banter that ensues between the both of them that made this story so cute and so much fun! And as both of them continue to get to know each other in real life (while chatting away online), they are bound to clash and that's when things get really interesting. I definitely experienced some butterflies along the way and it took me back to the experiences of first crushes/love from high school.

I recommend this one if you need a couple of hours to avoid real life and are ready to engross yourself in a charming, sweet, and fulfilling young adult romance.