He was my rival. My enemy. I had to focus. I had to go back to ignoring him. It didn’t matter if Theodore wasn’t the villain I’d always relished imagining him to be.
Figure skater Henry Sakaguchi has worked his whole life toward one goal – to win Olympic gold. With the games just months away, his goal is closer than ever. He’s certainly not going to let the fact that his biggest rival has recently transferred to his training center distract him. Henry has ignored Theo Sullivan for years so he should have no problem doing so now. But soon Henry catches glimpses behind Theo’s carefree exterior and realizes there’s a lot more to Theo than he thought. On the ice they’re rivals but off the ice, they begin to form the sweetest friendship that soon blossoms into more. Only one of them can take home that gold medal, though. As the most important competition of their careers draws near, can their burgeoning feelings survive the pressure?
I like you so much.
Honestly, what even was my life? How had I fallen for Henry Sakaguchi of all people?
I was looking for something to pull me from the brink of a reading slump and dug this out of the middle of my TBR. I love rivals-to-lovers and grumpy/sunshine stories and I grew up on figure skating so this felt right up my alley. I’m so glad I took a chance because I loved it!
Henry was so focused, and determined to be perfect. He pushed himself hard every day and hated the fact that Theo was a natural talent and didn’t have to work as hard. Henry was so cold to Theo when he first joined Henry’s training center. Still, Theo was a golden retriever puppy and was persistently cheery and chatty. Not even stone-cold Henry could resist his charms for long. It was the sweetest seeing the little acts of kindness that Henry kept extending to Theo. Henry was much softer than he let people believe and Theo just ate up any attention he got from Henry. It was adorable.
He was so needy and desperate under his cool shell, and it made my heart twist in a way I couldn’t understand. He was my fiercest competitor, and I shouldn’t have wanted to give him anything but second place.
Theo had layers too. He wasn’t all carefree and laid back. He grew up with an overbearing (and frankly, emotionally abusive) mother and was still dealing with lingering effects from that. I LOVED how compassionate and supportive Henry was as the things Theo had to deal with came to light. There was one particular scene where Henry came to Theo’s aid when he needed a shoulder to lean on and it was lovely, it brought tears to my eyes. Likewise, Henry had some things in his past he was dealing with and Theo was so supportive. I loved their relationship.
This was a slow burn but the payoff was worth it and I thought the spice was well done. They had great chemistry in all areas. I also loved the competitive/rivals aspect. There was a fair amount of actual figure skating in this one and as a fan (and former skater myself), I enjoyed it. This story was funny, swoony, adorable, emotional, and spicy – it was just what I needed to break out of the funk I was falling into!
The Olympic rings decorated center ice below the surface, and I skated over them, trying to enjoy the moment.
And if I thought of Henry and how the arches of his feet were ticklish and when he really smiled his eyes lit up, that was okay too.
The Book Boyfriend Addict 