Fresh Fridays: Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli

Fresh Fridays: On Friday, I review a brand new series (ie. only has one book released so far) to see if the series is worth keeping up with. Here is this week’s offering:

Finding Her Edge Series

Other books planned to be in the series:

Synopsis for Finding Her Edge (from Goodreads):

Adriana Russo is figure skating royalty, born to gold-medalist parents and an equally talented sister. Adriana’s dream? To conquer the Junior World Championships and uphold the family legacy. But when the family’s legendary skating rink faces financial ruin, everything she’s worked for is at risk.

Training with her new partner, Brayden, sparks an let the world believe their on-ice chemistry isn’t only for show. The fake-dating gains traction, and Adriana realizes maybe she actually is falling for Brayden. But then her past crashes into her present and changes everything, when Freddie, her former partner-and first crush-reenters the scene.

As the biggest competition of her life draws closer and her family’s legacy hangs in the balance, Adriana is torn between the future she’s worked so hard for with Brayden, and the one she gave up long ago with Freddie. Will she find her edge and claim her place at the top, or will her heart lead her in a different direction?

Series: Finding Her Edge
Author: Jennifer Iacopelli
# of Books: 2 (Full Reading Order Here)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: No
Genre: Young Adult, Sports, Romance
Heat Rating: cool
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Date: February 2022 – ongoing
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I picked this up because I wanted to watch the TV show on Netflix. While I hadn’t heard about this book until the show was made, I read Jennifer’s previously published tennis series, Match Point (or Outer Banks Tennis Academy when I read it years ago) so I was hoping for an enjoyable sports romance!

What I Liked:

–I Didn’t Know How the Love Triangle Would Resolve–

One of the advantages of the “telling” vs “showing” method employed in this book (which I’ll touch on more below) is that I didn’t know how the love triangle would resolve. So I found that kept me interested in seeing how everything would wrap up and who would be her final choice as she navigates her skating career.

–The Skating World–

While I found Adriana’s story to be a little underwhelming, I found myself intrigued by the skating world she finds herself in. I ADORE the Olympic Games, especially the Winter ones, and Figure Skating is one of my favourite events to watch. So watching these athletes as they train together, live together, love together in this small pressure cooker of community– it creates an interesting setting that I wanted to delve into a little more.

What I Didn’t Like:

–Never Reaches its Full Potential–

There are so many interesting aspects that just never go to the next level. Everything seems to be resolved within a sentence or two. I can get behind low drama but it just made things seem underwhelming. Especially when we get introduced to so many side characters and plot lines. Perhaps that’s because this book didn’t have a sequel when it was originally published so things had to be wrapped up quickly as a standalone?

–Telling not Showing–

The romance was also more of a telling than seeing. Feelings seemed to be there before the book events start so I didn’t feel the connections as much because I was simply being told they were there and not seeing it myself. I craved more interactions with the two boys in question. Also, I feel like I didn’t get to know them well enough to really pick a “team” to root for either. It’s disappointing because I really loved the romance element in the Match Point Series so I expected the same here.

My Expectations for the Rest of the Series:

I’m not sure when the sequel was announced, I feel like it is a by-product of the TV show’s success. So I’m curious to see where it will go and if it can improve upon this book now that the story has been established with the reader.

My Rating: 3/5

Finding Her Edge 3/5 | On Thin Ice TBP

Now that a sequel is on the way, perhaps I’ll get that little more that I was left craving for. But this was a sweet, clean, quick read that is a great intro to the YA sports romance genre.

Read if You Like: quick romance reads, clean YA
Avoid if You: want more romance