You Will Have To Pry Ice Hockey Romance From My Cold, Dead Hands — a review of Daydream by Hannah Grace
This review may contain slight spoilers; please proceed with caution!
Ice hockey romance — a subgenre of romance, a sub-sub-genre of sports romance and a major point of contention in the book community. From the early stages of Bookstagram and BookTok as we know it, romance readers have been at the forefront of recommending, reviewing and rating love stories. And while this sector of the bookish social media world is undeniably one of the strongest, it does not exist in an echo chamber and, therefore, is not immune to outside criticisms.
People are quick to tear apart the literary merit of trending romance books, despite the fact that many of the people recommending them give a preface along the lines of, ‘I’m not claiming this is a life-changing book; I’m just saying I loved it.’ There are many possible reasons behind this: is it because the romance genre isn’t taken seriously? Is it because the main demographic of these books is women? Or is it because people love to hate what is most popular? It’s truly hard to tell. Conversations surrounding how Bookish social media is saturating the market with ‘bad books’ are rampant and often aimed at the romance genre — with ice hockey romance seeming to be a trope taking one of the biggest hits. For a while, the face of this hate was Icebreaker by Hannah Grace which is a romance between the captain of a college ice hockey team and the star figure skater. The internet tore it to shreds, with prominent faces in the community, such as influencer Jack Edwards, making entire videos dedicated to being slanderous. But, has anyone stopped to consider that maybe, just maybe, these books were written to give people a good time? Is it so hard to believe that a book could be written without the intention of winning the Booker Prize?
I, Jessica Land, am a lover of ice hockey romance.
Hannah Grace has been on my radar since the release of Icebreaker in late 2022 and not because I saw the backlash she was getting, but because I saw the book in the Kindle store, downloaded it, read it and left it a five-star review. I am a romance reader; if I had to put a number on it, I’d say 80% of the books I read fall into the genre. And Icebreaker wasn’t my first ice hockey rodeo. Real sports romance fans know about the Off-Campus series by Elle Kennedy — the 2015 originally indie-published college hockey world and my introduction into sports adjacent fictional love. Following Icebreaker, Hannah Grace released Wildfire in 2023 which was the second installment in the ‘Maple Hills’ series that Icebreaker started. These books are interconnected standalones meaning that they exist in the same world and there are cameos from characters in book 1 in book 2, and vice versa, but not reading both won’t impact your understanding of the story.
The latest Maple Hills instalment is Daydream, released last month and to quote my Goodreads review, ‘Hannah Grace could write Hamlet, but Shakespeare could never write Daydream.’
Daydream follows Halle and Henry. Halle is the eldest daughter, an aspiring writer and a book lover. Henry is the new captain of the ice hockey team and a beloved member of the Maple Hills world — fans were highly anticipating getting to read his book. The two attend the same college and first meet at a bookstore and then again at a party. They get talking, become friends and then a deal of sorts is struck. Henry is struggling in one of his classes that in order to be captain, he needs to pass. Halle, being used to putting everyone else first, takes it upon herself to go through the reading for Henry’s class and make it easier to understand. As a thank you, Henry tells Halle that he wants to take her out on a series of dates to give her inspiration for the book she is trying to write. This concept forms the basis of the story which is padded out with complex emotional dynamics, swoony-worthy quotes and an incredible cast of supporting characters.
To start with what everyone expects when they hear that Hannah Grace has a new release — the romance. Speaking in terms of tropes, Daydream is a friends-to-lovers, opposites attract, fake dating mélange. The characters have a meet-cute at a bookstore — where Halle runs a book club, and Henry is browsing for books on leadership to help improve his captain qualities — and then again at a party a couple of chapters down the line. From here, they become friends and start spending more time together; one thing leads to another, and surely enough, the platonic boundary is positively crossed. Daydream is an open-door romance, meaning that it does include sexual content, and this is the first thing that outsiders of the genre are quick to point out; ‘all porn and no plot’ is a phrase often used. While it is understandable that some people don’t have an open-door preference, it seems to me like romance books are unfairly judged for including these scenes; would it be as much of an issue if it was a movie? In Daydream, these moments act as a symbol of connection between the main characters, as well as a marker of individual character growth and a boost in confidence. I would argue that they are a piece of the plot instead of a distraction from it.
But it is reductive to only discuss the romance in Daydream. The characters in the book are relatable representations of the reality that many of the readers will be facing. Henry is neurodivergent. Hannah Grace states in an author’s note that although it is clear Henry is ‘neurodivergent coded’, he will not be receiving a diagnosis within the story. She says, ‘It doesn’t make anyone, their wants, or their needs less valid to not have a medical diagnosis.’ Henry is easily overwhelmed, struggling with the learning style expected of him in college and a very direct speaker — all of this comes to a boiling point with the added pressure of being the ice hockey captain. Halle, having a little sister with ADHD, teaches Henry techniques to cope in class, buys him headphones that drown out background noise and respects that he needs time alone to think, even when she wants nothing more than to be with him. To see not only a neurodivergent main character, but one who has a partner who takes the time to learn his needs and the best ways to effectively communicate with him, is a love letter to neurodivergent readers everywhere. Everyone deserves a love that feels safe and Daydream is a promotion for this.
The same goes for Halle; she is a representation of the eldest daughters, the book lovers, the writers, and the people who chronically put others first. Before meeting Henry, Halle had never had anything that was truly hers. Even her last relationship was to appease her and her ex’s parents. Just as she did for him, Henry takes care of Halle in the same way. He gives her a break from managing her entire family’s lives by calling in his friends to help her with things she is worrying about, standing up to her ex-boyfriend when he speaks badly of her and even recording an audiobook of the book she is writing. He also sits with her, listening to her sad Taylor Swift playlist on repeat. The main characters look after each other; it is a partnership that flips the patriarchy-oriented projections of the stereotypical romance book on its head.
So, you have to ask yourself, if you remove ice hockey from the situation, would people still have an issue with the Maple Hills series? Is the trope-ification of romance books stripping them of their credibility? Arguably, the least interesting thing about Henry as a character is that fact he is the captain of the ice hockey team and that is the result of good writing and fully formed protagonists.
Daydream is a great book. The dual POV present tense narrative along with the fast-paced writing style make it enjoyable to read and impossible to stop thinking about. It made me laugh, it made me cry, but most of all, it made me kick my feet and giggle. Did it change my life? No. Did it improve what would have otherwise been an average week? Yes! At the risk of sounding blunt, I am getting sick of the ice hockey hate. Sometimes, when life is getting to you, all you need is a college sports romance minus the societal judgment. Hannah Grace, I salute you.