Bal KhabraRezensionen

This was really cute overall, though the plot starts to meander and lose focus in the second half.

Collide follows Summer Preston, determined to fulfill her dream of becoming a sports psychologist, as she clashes with Aiden Crawford, captain of the hockey team when he is forced to become the subject of her research paper. He thinks she’s uptight; she thinks he needs to care more. And one more thing: she can’t stand hockey players.

The premise is actually really promising, and the way the main characters are brought together is believable. I really enjoyed their banter, and even while “insta-attraction” isn’t my favorite thing, I didn’t really mind it because it was clear there was so much more to Summer and Aiden.

As the story continued, some of the expected plot beats ended up not really playing out. On one hand, this was because the main characters actually communicated, which was very refreshing, but on the other hand, it made some of the things we were building up to anticlimactic. There was one conversation and then all the tension just...fizzled out.

There was also kind of a general disorganization because once the main leads were together, it felt like we were haphazardly bouncing between simple romantic scenes or addressing subplots. By the end, some things not really clear, like what Summer’s research was about or how Aiden was even involved.

With that being said, I think the main characters are set up decently. We understand why Summer is the way she is, and the same goes for Aiden, and we even got little domestic scenes that showed us they were bigger than their problems. I think if the plot arcs were more organized, the character development would’ve been even stronger, but overall, it was fine.

The side characters are the complete opposite — I don’t think books HAVE to have subplots for their side characters, but with how many this one had, I found most of them forgettable and unnecessary.

Ultimately, I think being more organized with Summer’s project and family issues would’ve elevated this book, but honestly, if you’re just expecting a light-hearted college romance, it’s not a deal-breaker by any means and this is still an enjoyable book. The writing is easy to enjoy, and while the book isn’t necessarily memorable, it’s a fun time.