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Sophie Fournier #6
Grounded
Sophie’s coach was fired over the summer but not before he took several parting shots at Sophie’s character and dedication to her sport and her team. Her coach’s firing, her own injury, and her team’s whimpering exit from the playoffs weren’t the ideal way to end a season, but Sophie’s looking forward to a fresh start.
If Sophie is on the ice, everything makes sense. She can navigate a new coach, she can handle a strained relationship with Elsa, and she can breathe hope back into her franchise.
An unprecedented hot start to the season sees Sophie breaking NAHL records. She has her sights set on Bobby Brindle’s point streak record, the one she fell short of breaking in her rookie season. With personal success comes team success, and Concord has a resurgence on the back of Sophie’s accomplishments.
And then she’s injured. She has to spend the rest of the season on the sidelines, and it forces her to confront a question she has never considered before. Who is Sophie Fournier when she isn’t playing hockey?
If Sophie is on the ice, everything makes sense. She can navigate a new coach, she can handle a strained relationship with Elsa, and she can breathe hope back into her franchise.
An unprecedented hot start to the season sees Sophie breaking NAHL records. She has her sights set on Bobby Brindle’s point streak record, the one she fell short of breaking in her rookie season. With personal success comes team success, and Concord has a resurgence on the back of Sophie’s accomplishments.
And then she’s injured. She has to spend the rest of the season on the sidelines, and it forces her to confront a question she has never considered before. Who is Sophie Fournier when she isn’t playing hockey?
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First published December 21, 2021
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About the author
K.R. Collins
13 books53 followersK.R. Collins went to college in Pennsylvania where she learned to write and fell in love with hockey. When she isn’t working or writing, she watches hockey games and claims it’s for research.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 19, 2021
You know how I don’t read blurbs for books by authors I already know I love? That’s what I did again for this one, and I’m glad I did. Not knowing anything about what would happen to Sophie makes the emotions fly even higher.
It’s the summer after Sophie captained Team Canada to win the first-ever International Hockey Tournament. Sophie never got to heal completely from the injury she sustained during a game against Team USA, an injury bestowed with the blessing of the US coach, who in the regular season was Sophie’s coach in Concord. He’s also partly responsible for Sophie’s relationship with Elsa going to pieces. To prepare for the new season, Sophie joins Lexie in Wisconsin. The author describes the American as the “perfect foil to Sophie’s bland Canadian personality”, who has “made it her mission to not be Sophie”, and the two of them together is an interesting mix.
Grounded starts with Sophie and Lexie but the major part of the story is Sophie and Elsa trying to find their footing again after the Butler debacle, while the team is trying to do the same too, with a new coach. I don’t want to spoil so I’ll just say Sophie is once again faced with challenges, both on and off the ice. It may sound repetitive but it’s not. The main reason for that is that Sophie isn’t a teenager prodigy anymore. Throughout the series, we get to see her grow and become an adult. Hockey is the love of her life even as she’s slowly realizing it cannot be her whole life. Everything important to her is connected to hockey, but some of it goes beyond hockey.
I’m once again impressed at how Collins makes it all so captivating. As I wrote in my reviews for each book, I’m not a hockey fan and I nevertheless find her description of games entrancing and thrilling. The details of the players’ lives, the day to day of Sophie’s shouldn’t be so fascinating. And yet they are. I want to know what happens next, I don’t want to have to wait months for the next instalment, and I already dread the day I will turn the last page of the last book. If I remember well, the author was planning eight books and this is already book 6. I am so not ready to say goodbye…
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
It’s the summer after Sophie captained Team Canada to win the first-ever International Hockey Tournament. Sophie never got to heal completely from the injury she sustained during a game against Team USA, an injury bestowed with the blessing of the US coach, who in the regular season was Sophie’s coach in Concord. He’s also partly responsible for Sophie’s relationship with Elsa going to pieces. To prepare for the new season, Sophie joins Lexie in Wisconsin. The author describes the American as the “perfect foil to Sophie’s bland Canadian personality”, who has “made it her mission to not be Sophie”, and the two of them together is an interesting mix.
Grounded starts with Sophie and Lexie but the major part of the story is Sophie and Elsa trying to find their footing again after the Butler debacle, while the team is trying to do the same too, with a new coach. I don’t want to spoil so I’ll just say Sophie is once again faced with challenges, both on and off the ice. It may sound repetitive but it’s not. The main reason for that is that Sophie isn’t a teenager prodigy anymore. Throughout the series, we get to see her grow and become an adult. Hockey is the love of her life even as she’s slowly realizing it cannot be her whole life. Everything important to her is connected to hockey, but some of it goes beyond hockey.
I’m once again impressed at how Collins makes it all so captivating. As I wrote in my reviews for each book, I’m not a hockey fan and I nevertheless find her description of games entrancing and thrilling. The details of the players’ lives, the day to day of Sophie’s shouldn’t be so fascinating. And yet they are. I want to know what happens next, I don’t want to have to wait months for the next instalment, and I already dread the day I will turn the last page of the last book. If I remember well, the author was planning eight books and this is already book 6. I am so not ready to say goodbye…
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
April 10, 2023
Here we are on Book 6 and I hope curious readers first and foremost understand that Sophie Fornier books are deep-hearted stories about characters. To paraphrase a running theme, hockey is what they do but not who they are as human beings.
Sophie is a 24 year old hockey phenom. She crushes records and wins championships but struggles with relationships. Her teenage life was a single minded track to succeed as a woman in the all male NAHL. There were no awkward dates at school or hangouts with friends. No blueprints for making basic connections beyond hockey team camaraderie . It’s been an invitation for predators to take advantage of her but she is slowly, achingly learning how to be with other people without getting hurt or hurting others.
Mid season, Sophie is out with a season ending injury and is devastated. Now, she has to find a life beyond hockey. In many ways, she finally is at an impasse where she has to accept help. The author continues to get it right. Sports’ triumphs and tragedies, the life drama, and most of all, the author’s drive to make sure that readers truly understand and empathize with Sophie’s journey.
4.5 stars.
Sophie is a 24 year old hockey phenom. She crushes records and wins championships but struggles with relationships. Her teenage life was a single minded track to succeed as a woman in the all male NAHL. There were no awkward dates at school or hangouts with friends. No blueprints for making basic connections beyond hockey team camaraderie . It’s been an invitation for predators to take advantage of her but she is slowly, achingly learning how to be with other people without getting hurt or hurting others.
Mid season, Sophie is out with a season ending injury and is devastated. Now, she has to find a life beyond hockey. In many ways, she finally is at an impasse where she has to accept help. The author continues to get it right. Sports’ triumphs and tragedies, the life drama, and most of all, the author’s drive to make sure that readers truly understand and empathize with Sophie’s journey.
4.5 stars.
January 18, 2022
Sophie has the hockey world by the tail this season. She is on the cusp of marking three career milestones with a new coach who wants the team to win. Everything is going her way until a serious knee injury sidelines her for the rest of the season.
Collins just never disappoints in this series. Her writing is solid and meets the challenge of making Sophie sympathetic because of her injury but not whiny because of her vast love of the game. She really made this work for me.
Ellison is a positive addition to the story and I am so glad Butler is gone. With any team sport there are two reasons to play. One is for a good coach and the other is in spite of a coach.
The Elsa/Shophie saga continues with a huge sigh from me. This is the s-l-o-w-e-s-t slow burn romance in history! However this is not in a box of something I can control (😉) I will just have to sit back and enjoy it.
Collins just never disappoints in this series. Her writing is solid and meets the challenge of making Sophie sympathetic because of her injury but not whiny because of her vast love of the game. She really made this work for me.
Ellison is a positive addition to the story and I am so glad Butler is gone. With any team sport there are two reasons to play. One is for a good coach and the other is in spite of a coach.
The Elsa/Shophie saga continues with a huge sigh from me. This is the s-l-o-w-e-s-t slow burn romance in history! However this is not in a box of something I can control (😉) I will just have to sit back and enjoy it.
January 10, 2022
Took me a while to go from start to finish with this one. Finished on day 15, half a month.
Hard to tell what all to say about this book that wouldn't be spoilery. Mostly because I don't want to dive deep into why it took me a while to complete the book. Okay, I will.
Book started rough, a mix of "in-depth" scenes, with "and then I did this and then I did that" type of list of stuff that happened. I do not recall if that has been an issue before, regardless if it had been, this specific case of telling not showing hit at the exact wrong moment: at the start of the book when I was attempting to get back into this world of hockey. That was the initial issue of my slow reading. Rest of the reason? A mix of "I don't know" and "spoilery". A lot of trauma and trying to deal with trauma and partially not ().
My own review just bored me enough that I just now fell asleep. So, I guess that's my hint to wander off after not having written much of anything.
Rating: I'm not really certain if this is something closer to 3.8 or something closer to 4.2.
ETA: I'm going to go ahead and mark this as 4.25 for one specific reason: there was some very well written hockey action in the book.
January 10 2022
Hard to tell what all to say about this book that wouldn't be spoilery. Mostly because I don't want to dive deep into why it took me a while to complete the book. Okay, I will.
Book started rough, a mix of "in-depth" scenes, with "and then I did this and then I did that" type of list of stuff that happened. I do not recall if that has been an issue before, regardless if it had been, this specific case of telling not showing hit at the exact wrong moment: at the start of the book when I was attempting to get back into this world of hockey. That was the initial issue of my slow reading. Rest of the reason? A mix of "I don't know" and "spoilery". A lot of trauma and trying to deal with trauma and partially not ().
My own review just bored me enough that I just now fell asleep. So, I guess that's my hint to wander off after not having written much of anything.
Rating: I'm not really certain if this is something closer to 3.8 or something closer to 4.2.
ETA: I'm going to go ahead and mark this as 4.25 for one specific reason: there was some very well written hockey action in the book.
January 10 2022
January 3, 2022
The way this series is written, with a steady focus on the details of hockey and the minutiae of Sophie’s day-to-day experiences, it can be easy to miss the gradual shifts in the fabric of Sophie’s character and the way she moves through the world, at least until their effects accumulate enough to create changes that are somehow both small and seismic at the same time. This is by no means a complaint or a critique– I love the immersiveness of the narrative style and as a person who has zero interest– less than zero, not invested AT ALL in real life– in sports of any kind, I can only be amazed at how much the author can make me care about the nuances of hockey on the page. Sophie loves it, lives it, breathes it, and when you read her story, so do you. In this book, however, you finally see signs of an evolution that has, in retrospect, been happening for a while: Sophie loves and lives hockey, yes, but it’s beginning to dawn on her that it isn’t– can’t be– all that she is. So hockey is at the heart of the narrative, but it’s the relationships that really carry the day here: how Sophie and Lexie’s differences spark but deep down they’re more similar than either would like to admit, how Sophie and Elsa have to take the fragments of their relationship, well and truly shredded by previous experiences, and try to find a new way forward, how the dynamics of the team shift with the addition of a new coach– all of these elements add up to a truly immersive story. I love this series, I think this book is a strong addition to it, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
*I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily composed an honest review.
*I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily composed an honest review.
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December 2, 2022Another painful installment for me, because I can't help but worry about Sophie as she spends so much time completely unable to hear what the people around her are saying. Even people who she should know are in her corner, she hears the worst possible interpretation of their attempts to be supportive - no doubt because of the lasting effects of her father's and Coach Butler's treatment, all the other past abuse, and the highly competitive/achievement-oriented personality that goes into being an elite athlete. We do see some hope towards the end that she's letting people in, but I really worry that she's still got this underlying core of deeply dysfunctional interpretation of what people are trying to tell her and that's going to persist without some *serious* "no really, Sophie, sit down and actually listen to what we're saying" type of moment(s).
It also breaks my heart that she simply does not have the language & concepts to understand her relationship with Elsa. I am really, really hoping some queer character comes along who can give her a framework for processing some of this, or she can come to an understanding on her own of what being ace-spectrum means for her. I remember in earlier volumes reviewers would complain that they didn't see any demisexual rep, and I've also seen complaints about how "slow burn" the relationship with Elsa is, but I think this series is an exceptional representation of how the limited understanding we have as a culture of the variety of human sexuality and asexuality really hurts queer people.
It also breaks my heart that she simply does not have the language & concepts to understand her relationship with Elsa. I am really, really hoping some queer character comes along who can give her a framework for processing some of this, or she can come to an understanding on her own of what being ace-spectrum means for her. I remember in earlier volumes reviewers would complain that they didn't see any demisexual rep, and I've also seen complaints about how "slow burn" the relationship with Elsa is, but I think this series is an exceptional representation of how the limited understanding we have as a culture of the variety of human sexuality and asexuality really hurts queer people.
December 26, 2021
This book was provided by the author via IndiGo Marketing & Design in exchange for an honest review.
Grounded is another amazing addition to the Sophie Fournier series and it is my favorite book so far. It is beautifully written, emotional, fast paced, filled with action, I love all of the hockey content, the continuing relationships that Sophie has with the other ladies in the NAHL is always interesting, her strong bond with her teammates is wonderful, Sophie's determination and integrity is very inspiring and most of all I love how much she adapts to whatever life throws her way. The new coach is an interesting addition to the team and I really liked his interactions with all of the players. I love that Sophie and Elsa are both making an effort to repair their very strained relationship even though it is a slow and difficult process. When Sophie is injured she has a lot to deal with but as always the support of her teammates and friends helps keep her motivated and looking to the future. The secondary characters add so much to this story, I really want to know what Sophie will be faced with next and I cannot wait to read the next book in this captivating and exciting series.
Grounded is another amazing addition to the Sophie Fournier series and it is my favorite book so far. It is beautifully written, emotional, fast paced, filled with action, I love all of the hockey content, the continuing relationships that Sophie has with the other ladies in the NAHL is always interesting, her strong bond with her teammates is wonderful, Sophie's determination and integrity is very inspiring and most of all I love how much she adapts to whatever life throws her way. The new coach is an interesting addition to the team and I really liked his interactions with all of the players. I love that Sophie and Elsa are both making an effort to repair their very strained relationship even though it is a slow and difficult process. When Sophie is injured she has a lot to deal with but as always the support of her teammates and friends helps keep her motivated and looking to the future. The secondary characters add so much to this story, I really want to know what Sophie will be faced with next and I cannot wait to read the next book in this captivating and exciting series.
December 28, 2021
Wow - what a ride. I read back-to-back all 6 books and I cannot wait for book 7 and 8.
I love sports but I have never watched a single game of ice hockey before and I don’t know anything about it (I actually watched a short video on its rules during the first book). But this got me really hooked on it. The game descriptions are full of suspense and I am totally rooting for Sophie and her team. It is evident that Collins is very familiar with this sport and knows how to put it in scene.
But what makes this series so much sweeter are the friendships Sophie has with her team members and other hockey players, especially Elsa. Somehow Collins pulls it off that all the little interactions between Sophie and Elsa carry so much more meaning and I am curious and hopeful on what note their relationship ends in this series.
Sophie faces many hardships and obstacles every season on and off the ice and it will be interesting if she can let go of the notion that she has to carry everything on her shoulders alone.
Definitely a recommended read and one of my favorite sport (romance) out there.
I love sports but I have never watched a single game of ice hockey before and I don’t know anything about it (I actually watched a short video on its rules during the first book). But this got me really hooked on it. The game descriptions are full of suspense and I am totally rooting for Sophie and her team. It is evident that Collins is very familiar with this sport and knows how to put it in scene.
But what makes this series so much sweeter are the friendships Sophie has with her team members and other hockey players, especially Elsa. Somehow Collins pulls it off that all the little interactions between Sophie and Elsa carry so much more meaning and I am curious and hopeful on what note their relationship ends in this series.
Sophie faces many hardships and obstacles every season on and off the ice and it will be interesting if she can let go of the notion that she has to carry everything on her shoulders alone.
Definitely a recommended read and one of my favorite sport (romance) out there.
January 31, 2023
New Challenges for Sophie
It's another season in the NAHL and Sophie has records to set and milestones to reach. The Condors have a new coach , a few new players and Sophie has a chance to put the horrors of last season behind her. She continues to be her own worst critic and her relationship with Elsa is strained.
If you love sports and have a basic knowledge.of hockey this series is a must read.
It's another season in the NAHL and Sophie has records to set and milestones to reach. The Condors have a new coach , a few new players and Sophie has a chance to put the horrors of last season behind her. She continues to be her own worst critic and her relationship with Elsa is strained.
If you love sports and have a basic knowledge.of hockey this series is a must read.
April 8, 2022
Dear Kristen: Thank you. That second half was exactly what I needed (especially after you tore me up and left me for dead with that last one). Wonderful, kind character development, and all the acceptance and support that Sophie deserved from day one. It means a lot, getting to read a story like this. I cannot wait for book seven. #QueerPlatonicHockeyLove #TeamAsFamily #ComfortRead
June 21, 2023
3.75 stars
May 19, 2024
Gorgeous. So, so good. Devastation and elation, but the lows were matched by highs, rather than the unrelenting isolation and pain of book 5.
February 24, 2025
I LOVE SOPHIE FOURNIERRRRRRRRRRR
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews