Bingo: Play (for the sports angle since ice dancing, though everyone is very serious about it) (Bingo #6, 2nd row complete)
This novel came on my radar last year on one of those anticipated novels of 2025 because of the description, and I checked out the author’s They Never Learn as a result while waiting for this one – I liked that one quite a bit but didn’t love it. Finally picked this one up – if you love The Cutting Edge, Daisy Jones and the Six, and vaguely remember some of the broad strokes of Wuthering Heights (I’ve always preferred Austen to the Brontë sisters – granted, I have never read Anne), you should definitely check this out.
It’s been a few months since I read it now but it’s absolutely one that has left a positive impression overall, even as the details slowly fade. At the center are Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha, her ambition driving them onward, pulling them apart and pushing them back together, sometimes professionally, sometimes romantically. Alongside their tumultuous relationship, the Lin twins, descended from ice dancing royalty, become permanent parts of their story, sometimes filling in as partners, sometimes as rivals.
I loved the structure which was primarily Kat’s first person point of view, mixed with the sound bites and excerpt from interviews for a documentary. You know something bad is coming (between the interviews and the Wuthering Heights of it all), and yet, I wouldn’t have predicted the way it all came about from the very beginning. I think setting it in the world of ice dancing worked so well since there is that mix of glamour with all the politics of that world, the clash of talent and privilege and class and access.
Since it’s been ages since I read Wuthering Heights, it was also fun trying to remember which parts were definitely spins or modern takes on that story and how she was using it, whether it was one for one parallels or vibes based inspiration in some places. But definitely highly recommend this one!