Thrust Review — Is It Worth Reading?

Verdict: A clever, chemistry-rich Olympic fencing romance that makes an unusual sport thrilling. Spangler’s fans rank it among her best sports books; a few found the premise silly or the late conflict forced.

Best for: Readers who love coach-and-athlete tension, a long-held crush and women with swords.

Heat level: Hot

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.0/5 — a 4.27 Goodreads average across 1,153 ratings, 4.16 on StoryGraph from 229 reviews, and 4.6 stars across 584 Amazon ratings)

Tropes: Coach and athlete, childhood crush, age gap, slow burn, Olympic dream, second chance.

Thrust is Rachel Spangler’s 2021 contemporary lesbian romance. Jess Kidman made varsity fencing at 13, came out and fell for team captain Lauren Standish; gently rebuffed, she vowed to return as an Olympian. Eleven years later, she does.

It holds a 4.27 average across 1,153 Goodreads ratings, with 84% of them four or five stars, 4.16 on StoryGraph from 229 reviews, and 4.6 stars across 584 Amazon ratings.

What Is Thrust About?

Lauren isn’t the bubbly captain she was at 18. Circumstances forced her to shelve her dreams, and she now runs a rust-belt fencing club and coaches kids, protecting a carefully rebuilt life after a traumatic loss.

She agrees to coach Jess on one condition: they focus on the swordplay, not the attraction. As the Olympics near, the pressure — and the passion — build.

What Works in This Romance

Fencing: Readers who knew nothing about the sport say it made them want to watch — or try — fencing.
Chemistry: Reviewers call it chemistry-fuelled and smoking hot.
Loveable leads: Readers adore confident Jess and guarded Lauren.
Humour: Best friend Kristie’s first fencing lesson is singled out as laugh-out-loud funny.

Book Synopsis

An Olympic fencer returns home to train with the woman she has loved since she was 13.

Is she trying to win the gold, or the girl?

My Review

Readers praise Spangler’s writing and her knack for making unusual sports compelling, and several compare it favourably with her curling romance Fire & Ice and Olympic romance Edge of Glory.

The critics are few but pointed. One DNF reader found the teenage-crush premise absurd; another felt the story revolved around non-issues and a forced third-act breakup. Others found it just okay until the last quarter, disliked the audiobook narrator, or wanted more development for Lauren late in the book.

My honest note: Especially good as an Olympics-season read.

Element	In Thrust
Central relationship	Jess Kidman, an Olympic fencer, & Lauren Standish, her former captain and new coach
Core tropes	Coach and athlete, childhood crush, age gap, slow burn
Setting	A fencing club in Buffalo, New York, before the Olympics
Heat level	Hot
Length	334 pages (Kindle listing)
Series	Standalone
Content notes	Grief, death of a parent, suicidal thoughts, abandonment

How Spicy Is Thrust?

Hot once it gets there; readers describe a slow burn with smoking-hot chemistry.

StoryGraph users have flagged grief, death, a parent’s death, suicidal thoughts and abandonment, tied to Lauren’s past.

Who Should Read This Book?

You’ll likely love it if: you want a smart Olympic romance in an unusual sport. It is on our sapphic sports romance list.

You may want to skip it if: a crush that began at 13 is a dealbreaker for you.

In short: En garde — and swoon.

What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)

On Goodreads the split is 48% five stars, 36% four, 12% three, 3% two and 1% one. On StoryGraph, 81% tagged it emotional and 96% found the characters loveable.

Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The fencing first. Second, the chemistry. Third, the characters. Fourth, the humour.

What readers argue about and complain about: The premise, above everything. Second, a forced late conflict. Third, the audiobook narration for one.

The comparison worth making first: Spangler’s Edge of Glory and Fire & Ice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Thrust about?

At 13, fencing prodigy Jess Kidman fell for her 18-year-old team captain, Lauren, and vowed to return as an Olympian. Eleven years later she does — and asks Lauren, now a club coach in Buffalo, to coach her before the Games.

Is there an age gap?

Yes, about five years. It matters in the prologue, when Jess is 13 and Lauren is 18; the romance happens when both are adults.

Is there a third-act breakup?

At least one reader says yes, and felt the conflicts behind it were forced.

How spicy is Thrust?

Readers describe smoking-hot chemistry alongside a slow burn.

Is Thrust on Kindle Unlimited?

Not at the time of writing — the Kindle edition was listed at $9.99. An audiobook edition is available.

If You Loved Thrust, Read These Next

Try Edge of Glory or Fire & Ice, or browse our sapphic sports romance list.

The Bottom Line

Thrust sets out to make fencing romantic, and it succeeds. What holds it back, for a few, is a forced late conflict. Recommended. Check Thrust on Amazon →