seriously romantic: all laced up by erin fletcher

"toe pick!"

so when i read the synopsis for all laced up of course i flashed back to the greatest figure skating/hockey movie of all time, the cutting edge. granted the only thing the two things have in common is that the main characters are a figure skater and a hockey player. all laced up is a unique story, it is just as swoonworthy and romantic as the cutting edge.

lia bailey has skating in her blood. her dad was a famous hockey player and she's been on skates since she was a toddler. but since her father died, she's lost focus on the dream of being an olympic champion. somehow not having her dad around to cheer her on made it feel wrong to be out on the ice. especially knowing that he couldn't be on the ice either. when the skating rink she'd trained at forever asks her help in teaching a workshop to young kids in order to help keep the skating rink operational she agrees without second thought.

it's when she finds out her co-teacher will be star hockey player pierce miller that she balks. pierce has been the center of attention due to his skills on the ice, and lia is determined not to feed his huge ego. or at least what she thinks is his huge ego, because the truth is there is more to pierce than what lia assumes at first glance. sure he can be arrogant, but he is amazingly talented. but he'd also a genuinely good person, who actually is way more considerate of others than lia gives him credit for.

their first workshop is a disaster, and later that evening when lia realizes that pierce had a game that was a disaster for him she can't stop herself from commenting on the video of his last shot--the one that lost the game--with some constructive criticism. what she doesn't expect is for pierce to respond, and she is especially surprised when he responds with good humor and self-deprecation and a thoughtfulness she hadn't expected. from their they start corresponding online.

and getting to know pierce online opens lia's eyes to who the real pierce might be. and as they get to know each other in person, things start to get complicated. but in the best kind of way. how is it possible to find yourself in a romantic triangle with yourself? that's something lia will have to figure out. and pierce, what he does and doesn't know, i won't spoil, except to say that when it comes time for him to put together a grand romantic gesture, it's pretty amazing. and this is a solid young adult romance.

plus it gives me the chance to post this all time classic scene! toe pick!!

**all laced up will publish on october 10, 2016. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled teen (crush) in exchange for my honest review.