On Thin Ice

 

On Thin Ice- Kelly Jamieson

Boldwood Books

Release Day: February 13, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: 

Marek

Playing for the New Jersey Storm I know how to handle the heat – on and off the ice. But nothing compares to Nicki Sullivan. We collided in One wild night, no strings and a spark I couldn’t shake. We went our separate ways, but I never stopped thinking about her. When I see she’s involved in an accident that nearly takes her life, I drop everything and drive to New York. She’s broken, shaken… but still the woman who set my world alight. So I bring her home with me — to recover, to breathe… and maybe, to see if that spark between us still burns.

Nicki

After the accident, I can’t face the music — or the world. The last person I expect to show up is Marek — sinfully hot, too good to be real, and suddenly my rescuer. I should push him away. Instead, I let him take me to his apartment, where everything feels dangerously safe. But it’s not just comfort — it’s him. The heat between us is impossible to ignore and being with him feels right. But I can’t hide away forever. Falling for him is a risk because this time the ice beneath us may just crack.

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On Thin Ice is a hockey romance that hits hard and plays for all the feels. Marek and Nikki meet in Vegas and have instant connection—but despite their best intentions their schedules keep them from meeting up afterwards and they drift apart. A year later he's determined to get over her—until he hears about an accident at one of her concerts. She's in shock and the people around her don't seem to want to her to do anything but get back to work. So Marek has Nikki move in with him until she recovers. Nikki feels safe with Marek, but the chemistry from Vegas is still there. Should they act on it? And what happens when Nikki has to return to the real world?

Marek is definitely one of those MMCs you love to read about. Gentle, confident, willing to just be there and support Nikki however he can. Of course he gets some things wrong (nobody is perfect) but he does his best with what he knows how to do. Writing in alternating first-person POVs let us get into both of their heads, let us really feel them being messed up over each other when they think they can't make it work because of long-distances and busy schedules. For me, one of the things that woked best was seeing in Nikki's head after the concert, as she goes through the trauma and mental health issues that have really been there all her life but she's pushed the away until now. Lack of confidence, trying to live up to other's expectations, meshing with survivor's guilt and doses of toxic social media created a perfect storm that she didn't know how to recognize, let alone get out of. But Marek stood by her for all of it, supporting her and helping her, showing her he loved her for herself, not for her stardom.

Kelly Jamieson puts her characters (and readers) through it all here. Expect humor, romance, trauma, serious heart-to-hearts, deep friendships, self-discovery, sizzling chemistry, and love at first sight that neither recognizes. Nikki and Marek have to work for their HEA, making On Thin Ice relatable in all the best of ways.

Great for hocket romance fans,  & romance fans. Kelly Jamieson fans will love this new book and new readers will be hooked!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Shot on Gold

Shot on Gold (Play by Play series)- Jaci Burton
Berkley/Penguin Group
Release Date: February 13, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚

Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis:  Will "Mad Dog" Madigan is making his second trip to the Winter Games, and he couldn't be happier. Hockey is his life and playing for the U.S. team is a privilege. Then he meets U.S. figure skater Amber Sloane. She's beautiful, ambitious and driven--everything Will desires in a woman. He would love to show Amber how hot life off the ice can be. 

Amber has skated her entire life, sacrificing everything in the hopes of one day winning gold. Now she's competing for the third and final time. She intends to win, and nothing's going to get in her way--until she meets Will. He's an irresistible charmer, and before long Amber is wondering if this sexy hockey player is the perfect guy to show her some moves outside the rink.

But after all the medals have been awarded, Will and Amber will have to decide if what they have together is just a fling or a real shot at true love.

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Amber Sloane has focused on figure skating her entire life.  At 24, she knows this year's Olympics will be her last and she's determined to do things differently.  Instead of closing herself off she begins making friends and emerging from the isolated cocoon her mother has forced her to stay in her whole life.  Romance has never been in the plans, but hockey player Will Madigan may just change her mind.

Shot on Gold is a sweet romance out just in time for this year's Winter Olympics.  Burton captures the excitement and camaraderie of the athletes and readers get as caught up in the excitement of the games as they will watching their winter sport of choice.  Amber is a sweet girl who is experiencing many things for the first time- despite this being her third Olympics.  With a domineering stage mother pushing her nonstop, she's spent her whole life working towards a gold medal.  There are plenty of times you just want to slap her mother for her attitude, but Amber somehow manages to be friendly and normal despite her mother's example.  When Amber begins to fall in love with Will, she discovers that friendship and romance complete her and make her a better skater instead of distracting her as her mother fears.  But a relationship in the bubble of the Olympic village is different from in the real world and Amber isn't sure that will work.  Will is a guy with a refreshing attitude towards life: live hard, work hard, play hard, but be open to the idea of love because it's real.  He's seen it in his parents and is sure he'll find it for himself some day.  It frustrated me at the end that it looked like Will might not be willing to fight for a relationship with Amber, despite all his big talk.  When she gets cold feet, he accepts that and walks away instead of pushing back.  I was glad Amber was brave enough to (eventually) give them a chance, because they had a great chemistry between them and really brought out the best in each other.  

While a good story, Burton's writing was often repetitive and I found myself skimming some sections because of that. I also kept waiting for more of a conflict than ever really came up.  However,this was still a fin book.  Despite being part of a series, this is a stand alone book and readers won't need to have read any other books in the series to enjoy this one (I haven't, yet).  Shot on Gold was fast paced and fun, a light romantic read perfect to get readers in the mood for this year's Winter Olympic Games.  

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Slap Shot

Slap Shot (Aces Hockey) - Kelly Jamieson
Loveswept/ Random House
Release Date: October 17, 2017

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚

Synopsis: After my wife died from a rare form of cancer, sex was the last thing on my mind. Same with hockey, the other love of my life. Now, after fifteen months of eating too much, drinking too much, and generally just feeling sorry for myself, I’m facing a steep uphill battle to get my ass in shape and play my way back onto the Chicago Aces.

So I’m not looking for a relationship. Just sex. Yeah, I know how that makes me sound. But the truth is, I’ll never love another woman the way I loved my wife. When I meet a sexy bridesmaid at my teammate’s wedding, I decide to scratch that itch. A fling with Kendra Armstrong in her posh hotel room could be just what the trainer ordered.

Not only is Kendra smokin’ hot, she’s dynamite in bed—one of the perks of being a sex toy designer. Since she lives in New York anyway, we agree to keep things casual, no strings attached. The arrangement is perfect . . . until one of us falls in love. And it’s not me.

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Max Hall took a leave from the Chicago Aces two years ago when his wife was diagnosed with a rare form of terminal cancer.  Now he's trying to move forward with his life, deal with his grief, and return to hockey.  Beginning to interact with teammates again means weddings and weddings can lead to all kinds of interesting things . . . What starts out as a one night stand with Kendra becomes a casual, no-strings fling and friendship.  Max doesn't believe he's ready for more and never wants to go through the pain of losing someone again.  But life sometimes doesn't give us what we think we want- it gives us what we need.  If we don't screw it up.

I've probably said this in other blogs but I'll admit it again here: I very rarely like books written in the first person.  I like seeing things through both characters' eyes, I like seeing what's going on in their heads, how their past experiences shape who they are and how they react to things. And of books written in the first person, it's even rarer that I like a book written in the present tense where the character is narrating events as they happen instead of a past tense remembering (which has a different set of pitfalls in my opinion).  I have no idea why I find it annoying, distracting even, but I usually do.  All that lead up is something of an explanation and an apology for why I didn't like Slap Shot as much as I usually enjoy Kelly Jamieson books- especially her hockey books.  It's the first among the Aces books (maybe all of her books) I've read that is written in first person and I'm sure it was done to focus on Max's internal struggle between holding onto his grief and his guilt at starting to really live again after the death of his wife.

Although we meet Kendra through Max's eyes and see their entire relationship from his point of view (which, spoiler alert, includes falling in love with her) I never really felt like I got to know her as a person.  I knew things about her: she's a psychologist who eventually switched careers and started her own business with a friend to make sex toys for women.  She has an instinct for 'fixing' people that's gotten her into lousy relationships in the past and she has a terrible relationship with her parents.  She's caring, fun, outgoing, and loves dancing and dogs.  But for all of that, I never felt like she was a fully developed, three dimensional person. Of course, I also had that problem with Max.  I didn't like him.  He would possibly have been a more likable (or at least sympathetic) character from the outside, but when the whole book is told from his point of view he really mostly came across as a self-absorbed jerk. His goal was getting in shape for training camp and getting back on the team. It's a great goal and I loved that he was so motivated and willing to work hard to get there.  But the self-defense process of not looking at his emotions to try and avoid being hurt again came across (in his own head) as not even wanting to admit to a caring friendship with Kendra, let alone falling in love with her, but just focused on good sex.

While following Max's progress out of grieving and back to living and admitting to emotions could have been a very reflective and touching story, I was left feeling a little flat about Slap Shot in general.  There are a few great scenes at the end where Max finally gets his head on straight and very well written and emotional apology and reconciliation scenes.  But overall, I was left wanting a little something more. Whether that was a bit of additional plot or more emotional introspection or more depth of character, I feel like Slap Shot was one of Jamieson's more mediocre books, with the potential to have been one of her best.    

Long time readers of Kelly Jamieson's Aces Hockey series (Back Check, Icing) have been aware of Max and his tragic story, but he's always been a very peripheral character.  So readers new to the series don't have to worry about having missed any backstory if they start the series with Slap Shot.  Personally, I recommend reading the rest of the Aces series first so that Max's return to the team at the end will give you a bit more emotional satisfaction than the rest of the book.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Just Another Season

Just Another Season (Blizzard Chronicles #1)- Avery Longley
Pronoun
Release Date: March 15, 2017

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚

Warning: Potential Spoilers 

Synopsis: Emma is just another sports reporter...except she hates sports. Ryan is just another hockey goalie...except an injury has his career in doubt. What happens when these two are forced to live with each other over the course of the year? Will it simply be Just Another Season or will sparks fly?

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Just Another Season, the first book published by Avery Longley, follows New Englander Emma Connelly, newly minted journalist who ends up as the sports reporter for The Kansas City Times in Missouri.  Emma knows nothing about sports, doesn't care much about sports, but is determined to do the best she can at the job.  New best friends Devin and Gabi Malone pitch in to teach her what they can and get her ready to report on the newest minor league ice hockey team, the Blizzard.  Turns out they have a little insider help- Gabi's brother and cousin, Ryan and Luke Perrault, have just been signed to the team!  What starts out as a rocky relationship slowly evolves into friendship with the Perrault boys and when goalie Ryan is injured, Emma agrees to let him stay with her in her ground level apartment.  Romantic feelings develop.  This causes some problems with teammate Trent, who might have feelings for Emma and had no idea how to act on them when he had the chance, but now is jealous.  Further complicating matters is that Ryan is also attracted to Trent, who is also attracted to him.  Sparks fly but will they light fireworks or burn things down?

I'm starting this review off with a warning: when you get towards the end of the book and start worrying about how will everything get resolved by the last page: it won't.  While the ending isn't a cliffhanger, it is definitely a "to be continued".  Though Longely's next book Too Many Men will be released April 2017, so we won't have long between installments.

Just Another Season is a hockey player romance that tackles some tough issues.  Ryan and Trent both struggle with their sexuality, and with how society will view them if they come out.  Athletes are the macho men of society and hockey players are the toughest of athletes- will their friends, families, teammates, and Emma still see them as "real" men if they admit to being bisexual? What does it mean to be a "real" man? There's a great scene late in the book where a player gets nasty with Ryan about his sexuality and the team and coach stand with Ryan to send a message: a person's sexuality is their own business, doesn't affect how they play hockey, and hate and intolerance have no place with the Blizzards.  When the threat comes that Ryan's sexuality might go public, you get the interesting "how do we get ahead of this and focus on the message of tolerance and support" spin.  As Emma points out, currently no hockey players have come out as part of the LGBTQ community.  By the end of Season nothing has reached the public at large, but you get the feeling it's only a matter of time.  It will be interesting to see how Longley envisions the outcome.

Season is a romance where none of the main characters seem to have enough experience with relationships to avoid making plenty of classic relationship mistakes- lying, avoiding tough issues, and running away from problems being top of the list.  Ryan, Emma, and Trent all have their moments of cowardice and the reader has to hope that they will learn from their mistakes as they get to Too Many Men.     

A sports reporter who doesn't know a baseball from a hockey puck and ends up romantically entangled with hockey players is a great premise.  The story drags occasionally, for the most part we don't get much depth on any of the characters, and there are some things that flip from one extreme to another for no discernible reason (Luke is a complete jerk when we first meet him, pegging Emma as a "puck bunny" before they are even introduced, complains without evidence that she's just out to bag as many hockey players as she can, then turns into a reasonably decent guy who's bedroom is a revolving door for women).  But overall a good story with some memorable scenes, like the rather emotionally touching and well written ending to the book.   It will be interesting to watch Longley develop as a writer and grow into her full potential.

Just Another Season and Avery Longley show promise to develop into a series (and writer) that is far from "just another" hockey romance, unafraid to tackle the everyday and the tough issues side by side.

NOTE: New edits were made to this book after the review copy was released

Back Check

Back Check (Aces Hockey series)- Kelly Jamieson
Loveswept/Penguin Random House
Release Date: January 10, 2017

Warning: Potential Spoilers!

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis:  Tanner Bennet hates weddings. They just remind him that he simply isn’t cut out for any kind of healthy, committed relationship—never has been, never will be. After getting rejected by the girl he thought was “the one” all those years ago, he made a huge mistake and married the wrong person. Now that the divorced heartbreaker has reluctantly agreed to be a groomsman for one of his NHL teammates, the last thing he expects is a chance at redemption with the one that got away.

After Marc Dupuis of the Chicago Aces hires wedding planner Katelyn Medford, she discovers that her big break comes with a twist: a reunion with her college sweetheart. The way she dumped Tanner still haunts her. Eight years—and three broken engagements—later, Katelyn knows she’ll never have that kind of innocent, wide-eyed passion again. Still, she and Tanner soon generate enough body heat to burn up the sheets. And even with Tanner’s career with the Aces up in the air, Katelyn’s wondering whether the time is right to let him in for real.

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I'm not usually big into second chance romances, but Back Check may have just converted me.  Tanner Bennet and Katelyn Medford fell in love in college but separated when he signed with the NHL and she stayed to finish college and (unbeknownst to Tanner) care for her ill father.  Years later they are both still hurting over the breakup and it has affected all future romantic relationships.  Now in Chicago they have a surprise reunion as Katelyn is hired to plan an Aces teammate's wedding.  She's starting her own business, he's in contract negotiations that could send him to another team.  Both have unresolved issues.  Can they start over or will they end up making the same mistakes the second time around?

Kelly Jamieson mixes sweet and sexy, fun and serious, romance and friendship in another great book with Body Check.  I liked that, when they looked back with adult hindsight, what Tanner and Katelyn realized was that a lot of their problems the first time around were that they were too young and still finding themselves.  When faced with major decisions like staying home or going with Tanner to New York Katelyn may have made the right call by staying, but realizes that she might not have handled thing as well as she could.  Tanner might resent her choices, but can't argue with them when he understands everything.  Katelyn was determined not to burden him or slow him down as he began his career.  Tanner was too quick to see Katelyn staying behind as rejection.  A family history of divorces, rejections, and being ignored gave Tanner a complex that he doesn't realize he has- until he faces losing Katelyn a second time.  I really liked that Jamieson gave us an emotionally vulnerable hero in Tanner- someone who seems to play through life and worry about nothing, but who has been shaped by his past to worry about everything and expect no one to stay in his life.  Spoiler alert: the apology his teammates help him send to Katelyn at the end is both a tearjerker and hilarious- and should probably be sent to all boyfriends to take notes on for any apologies they may have to make in the future.

Katelyn and Tanner are well written, complicated characters and completely relatable to the reader.  Once again, Jamieson shines with a couple that have chemistry that will set the pages on fire and perfectly balances that with two people learning to balance emotions and life together outside of the bedroom as well.  A great team of supporting characters from the Aces and their ladies that you don't need to have read previous books in the series to enjoy also fill in the wonderful 'real life' sense.  And Jamieson's love of hockey is evident throughout- to the great delight of this hockey fan.

Back Check performs a hat trick of hockey, romance and friendship for a winning book. 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.