Ice Fairy by S.L. Danielson

Amazon

Blurb

Samuru (Sam) Ogawa is on track to be in his life’s dream…the Olympics as a figure-skater. All is gliding along smoothly until he literally bumps into one of the biggest bullies he’s ever met; a hockey player named Brett Zephyr. He’s well known for being a brash, hot-headed, caveman who thinks about nothing but hockey and his bimbo girlfriend. Things are tense and the walls between them build until unforeseen events begin to break the ice between them. But as the coolness melts away; other players come in to build them back as quickly as they fell. Family forces, friends, and secrets threaten to destroy all they’ve created. Can Sam and Brett make things work or are they just too opposite? Can a figure skater find true love with a hockey player?



REVIEW


This is a fun story of a hockey player and figure skating finding love.

Brett is a tough hockey player who practices at the same rink as Sam, a figure skater.  These two are complete opposites.  Brett is a bully and literally knocks Sam over just to be mean.  The two obviously do not get along.  But, as time goes on, they start to be friends.  And then more.  Along the way, their love is faced with many obstacles -  from their families, friends and secrets.

I was hooked from the very beginning of the book.  It is a wonderful story of complete opposites who, when given a chance, are able to find love.  I found the hesitancy, the obstacles and the uncertainly to be all well written.

The Hotshot (Vegas Heat 1) by Myra Scott

Amazon


This is my first book from Myra Scott.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Casey is a firefighter who has scars on  his face from a time when he saved a girl from a fire.  His boss makes him take some time off since he lives for his job, always working double shifts and never taking time off.  When he goes to Vegas, he meets Luke and they spend the night together.

It doesn't end there though, as Luke finds him online and they start talking a lot.  Luke has to work hard to convince Casey that he is worth pursuing.  Casey is definitely a mystery to Luke, but one that Luke wants to solve.  Luke has only ever had one night stands before, so pursuing Casey like this goes against his inherent nature.

Luke is one of the people who runs the casino.   He is busy trying to drum up more publicity for the casino and contacts a famous band to play a charity event. And he wants Casey as his date for the event. Luke does convince Casey to attend.  And lucky for many in attendance, Casey acts as a hero that night.  But, the concert sparks off one big mystery for Luke, and if Luke can't solve it in time, he will be out of a job.

I definitely enjoyed this story a lot.  Casey is such a loveable guy.  He has no idea what his self worth is.  All he wants to do is work hard and be someone who is worth being proud of.   He has no desire to work on his own happiness.   All he sees when he looks at himself is that scar, which he thinks makes him completely unlovable.  Luke is wonderful.  He is relentless in trying to show Casey his worth.

This series is based on characters from the Sin City Sentries series.  I haven't read them, and it isn't necessary to have read them to enjoy this book.  But, I do want to go and read them now.   And I will definitely be checking out the other books that come later in this series.











***The Hotshot kicks off the new Vegas Heat series. If you like wounded heroes, you’ll love Casey and Luke’s story. It can be read as a standalone and features a HEA.***

On the Ice by Amy Aislin

Amazon

I always enjoy a good hockey romance and this one did not disappoint.

Alex had to take time off from his NHL career due to his broken arm.   While recovering, he returns to his college alma mater for a seminar.  During that seminar he meets Mitch, who is interested in his career only because he wanted advice.  Alex definitely finds that refreshing.

Mitch is a math genius, working for a Kinesiology degree, while playing hockey and working two jobs.  His mom does not support his hockey career and thus won't support him emotionally or financially. He is struggling in his writing class and if he fails it, he will lose his scholarship. 

Alex is staying in town to spend time with his ailing grandfather and starts to tutor Mitch.

Mitch is struggling with his own identity.  He's been hiding his true self for the past year and now he is lost. He doesn't know who he really is anymore.   Alex recognizes that he isn't being real and challenges him.  If Mitch can be real and have substance, Alex would like to get to know him.  He thinks Mitch is the type of person he'd like to be friends with, IF Mitch can let his guard down and show his real self.  

Mitch learns that Alex is demi-sexual so he wants to get to know him well, hoping Alex will return his attraction to him.

This is a beautiful story that includes many important issues - being cut-off from your family, working yourself to exhaustion, a family member with Alzheimer's.   Each of these issues are handled with love and care.  As for Alex and Mitch, their whole story is a emotional journey of a man who is demi-sexual, slowly, over time, falling in love.  It was wonderfully done and very sweet.

I also enjoyed Alex's former college friends and Mitch's roommate and best friend.  They provided some great humor and fun antics to the story.

A Chance at Love by Sylvia Violet

Amazon

An adorably sweet romance!
Chance and Darren meet on a flight.  Their time together is interesting.  Chance arrives on the plane in pajama pants and with a giant container of cheese balls.  Darren was instantly attracted, despite the odd first impression.  Darren wanted to ignore him, and keep to himself, but he couldn't help but to be drawn in to conversation by Chance.  They flirted and had a good flight together but it ended there.  Chance gave Darren his number but he never heard from him.

Months later, they meet up at a charity ball.  This time, Chance goes after the intriguing older man. It doesn't hurt that Darren has been thinking about the other guy every single day since they met.

One of the things that Darren really likes about this younger man is that Chance is a take charge guy.  Darren finds that enjoyable.  Darren is always in charge, at work and in bed.  But he likes the idea of being able to stop thinking and just do what he is told.  But this only appeals to him if Chance is the one making the demands.

In the real world, Darren, the philanthropist, and Chance, the brilliant, exuberant college student don't have anything in common.  Their 17 year age difference certainly doesn't help.  What they find though is that they do go together well.  The sex is hot, of course.  But they also both bring important things to the relationship.   Chance, despite being just a college kid, can really help Darren.   He is actually capable to taking care of Darren and supporting him emotionally.

They both want to keep their relationship a secret, knowing that they would look foolish together in public. Chance is certainly embarrassed by his apartment and how little he has.  And Darren is insecure, thinking Chance will realize he can do better than a man so much older than him.  But the pull to each other is strong.  They want to be together, just day by day, enjoying life, not just sex.

Since life is never easy, especially for people who live in such different worlds, they will face challenges and prejudice.  They will need to decide if they can overlook all the obstacles in their way.

This was an absolutely sweet and romantic story.  It is a story of two guys learning to find a way to be together.  I loved it from the beginning and hated to see it end.  I really liked both men and loved watching them navigate their way around their age difference.  I sympathized with both of them as they struggled with their issues.  The two of them made a wonderful couple and I thoroughly enjoyed their story.

Falling for Mr Corporate by Gianni Holmes

Amazon

Falling for Mr Corporate is a sweet, romantic novella. It is a prequel to the upcoming novel, My Dear Mr. Corporate.

Brian is dragged along on a camping trip by his closeted boyfriend, who is also his boss.  During the trip, Brian leaves after his boyfriend continues to taunt him for not being manly enough. When he is lost on the mountain, trying to leave, Brian finds Tate.

Tate is a recluse who lives alone in the woods, living a life of regret and guilt.  Physically, Tate is like Brian's ex.  He is tough and rough and big.  But he certainly doesn't act like his ex.  He doesn't make fun of Brian for being smaller and not outdoorsy.

The attraction between the men is instant and hot.  As they spend a few days together, can they really be falling for each other?  Brian certainly knows it is insane to want to try to make a life with Tate, but he also couldn't imagine going back to his old life and forgetting that he had met Tate.
Can they both end up helping the other? 

The author did a good job with these characters.  You can't help but to route for both of them to find happiness and contentment.    There is also the right amount of angst with the ex-boyfriend who comes looking for Brian.

Ghost by Robin Covington

Amazon


Ghost was a fun little short story.

A wonderful one-night stand between Oliver and Gareth.  
After Oliver snuck out, he didn't expect to see Gareth again.
A couple years later they meet up again.  Problem is - Oliver is trying to sign him to his company as an artist.  Now Oliver wants to not only sign him, but convince him to be with him again.

It is surprising how much Robin Convington was able to pack into this short story.  Most authors can't put so much into a few pages.

The story has enough background to have you interested.  And the story proceeds with enough emotion, some angst and some hot sex scenes to keep one intrigued. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a nice short story.

My only complaint would be that I wish we could have had even more of this adorable couple.

Liberated by Emily Alter

Amazon



This is the first book I have read by Emily Alter.


Josh is an actor with a lead role on Netflix.   He is living the dream.   He has been dating Rob for a couple of months, but things are about to get complicated.  Rob's about to be an uncle and he needs to help out his sister, thus leaving Josh and the state to do so.

Josh has a tough time coping with Rob's absence.  He needs to get away so he spends the summer in LA with some friends.  It isn't the best of times, but it helps him to heal.  Until it's time to go on tour again. 

As they head to Rob's new city for the tour, Josh is not sure how to feel.  He was just getting over Rob's absence.  Then they run into each other again.  And Josh is immediately falling for Rob's niece.  Rob needs to decide if he can accept Josh's help and they need to decide what they can mean to each other.

The story itself was a great idea.   I liked both characters a lot.  Their circumstances were both very sad and realistic.   The heartache the characters suffered was a great plot idea, but at times the feelings were rushed and under explained.  

My only real complain about this book is that it jumped around a lot.  The characters were not developed much and the action fast forwarded often, with not a lot of continuity. But, overall, the characters kept me interested in the story.   Their circumstances and thought-processes were explained well.

Overall, I did enjoy the book.