Book Review: Spiral by Bal Khabra

Official Synopsis: He’s on edge while she’s en pointe in this fake-dating sports romance from the author of the smash hit Collide.

Elias Westbrook, a newly drafted hockey player for the Toronto Thunder, is facing the challenges of fame and media scrutiny. With a growing fan base and too many expectations on his shoulders, he’s struggling to make his first career goal. The tabloids are reporting on his every move, including which woman he was last seen with, but all he wants to do is escape the spotlight.

Enter from stage left Sage Beaumont, an aspiring ballerina with dreams of joining the Aurora Ballet Theatre, but her lack of popularity online leaves her at a major disadvantage for securing the lead role. When Sage finds herself with the perfect opportunity to make her dreams come true by fake dating Elias, she takes her shot.

Soon enough, the flimsy fake-dating rules they set in place fall away in the face of their sizzling connection. But before things spiral out of control, Sage and Elias will have to decide if they’re willing to take the leap together or if they'll call it quits.

Sage Beaumont and Elias Westbrook has complicated pasts, enough where their ability to trust each other is tested. They've both been hurt by people they were supposed to count on, specifically their parents, and have been working hard to get themselves on track. Sage has to take care of her younger brother, who is Diabetic and in a boarding school, paid for by her uncle who is the general manager for the Toronto Thunder hockey club. Though she lets her uncle support her brother, she rarely asks for money for herself, as she struggles to get a principal role in ballet. When she joins her uncle at an auction for the team, where they are auctioning off dates with players, she meets Aiden, who in order to protect his friend from a stalker has Sage 'bid' for a date. Elias doesn't want to be on stage, or go on a date with someone random, but is thankful its not the girl who keeps randomly appearing in his hotel room.

Elias Westbrook is supposed to be a star rookie, but he has yet to score a goal and the media have decided to key on his love life, or lack there of. Much to his dismay, the media thinks he has a 'girl of the week' when in reality he's never dated anyone and hasn't been with anyone in four years. After their one date, Elias and Sage can't stop thinking about each other, and decide to give fake dating a try. It would give Elias the clean slate he needs, and Sage the social media likes she needs to get a role.

But the lines start to blur quickly, as they do, and suddenly Sage is staying with Elias and Aiden after a fire at her place, he is cooking her breakfast, and shows up with flowers, and now they share a bed each night. Sage is starting to get used to having Elias around, and Elias isn't sure how to handle his new feelings.

This book had a lot of backstory for the characters, as well as bringing back characters from the first book, Collide. Though, I will note you don't need to read Collide to pick up this one, Aiden and Summer come up in the story, and are actively in it a few times, but it's more of an interconnected series.

Overall, the book is still a hockey romance, with bits of spice, the slow burn/fake dating aspect and a lot of trauma following the characters around. I did enjoy how Sage and Eli come together as they work through their own things, and figure out how to trust each other when they have both grown self reliant.

I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Spiral comes out January 28, 2025!

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