Icing

BOOK REVIEW: Icing
BOOK SERIES: Aces Hockey #2
AUTHOR: Kelly Jamieson
GENRE: Contemporary Sports Romance, Adult 18+
PUBLICATION DATE: April 19, 2016
CLIFF HANGER: No

4 Slap Shot Stars!!!!!

SYNOPSIS:
Hailed by Jami Davenport as her “go-to author for hockey romance,” the bestselling author of the Heller Brothers Hockey series sets the ice ablaze with another sexy novel featuring the gorgeous men of the Chicago Aces.

Duncan Armstrong may be an NHL star, but he’s a country boy at heart. His ultimate fantasy is going home with the Stanley Cup, not a gold-digging airhead who aspires to be a trophy wife and nothing more. Newly single and hoping to enjoy a night out with his teammates, he ends up hitting it off with a down-to-earth waitress who’s a complete breath of fresh air—until Duncan learns that she’s a part-time model. He tries to forget about her, but their sizzling chemistry has him coming back for more.

Amber is working hard to put herself through school, and has zero interest in dating a professional athlete. She’s seen firsthand how fame and fortune can mess with their heads—her father’s brilliant football career ended in a firestorm of addiction and infidelity. So Duncan’s attentions immediately have her on the defensive. Still, there’s something different about him. And once she stops trying to freeze him out, irresistible temptation turns into all-consuming passion.

MY THOUGHTS:
This is my first book by this author and it won’t be my last. I need to go back and read the first book in this series, Major Misconduct, as well as the Heller Brother’s Hockey Series. I love a good sports romance. There are steamy sex scenes and some crude language, so if that’s not your type of romance book, then stop right here.

Amber had issues with Duncan being a professional athlete, as her own father was a well-known football player that succumbed to alcohol, drugs, women and eventually was put in prison for his illegal antics. This left her mother and Amber to be thrown from the life of luxury to destitute. Amber’s mother was so blown away by the father’s deception that Amber became the parent and took care of her mother both emotionally and financially. Amber finally had enough and left LA for Chicago to go to college. She lives with her good friend Easton, who is a photographer and was responsible for finding her part time modeling gigs to help supplement her waitressing job at the Sin Bin, a bar and restaurant owned by Jared Rupper, a Chicago Aces Hockey player and a teammate of Duncan’s. Amber has no time for romance, between working, her studies, thesis research, and volunteering for a non-profit organization, she just can’t do it. She fights the attraction and feelings she has for Duncan.

Duncan is a country boy with a quick temper and trust issues with women. He has dated many gold diggers and he’s had enough. He meets Amber and is attracted to her, not only for her wholesome beauty but for her fun loving personality. Until he attends a charity function and she is modeling. Even though he loathes the idea of dating another model, his attraction to Amber is too strong. So they embark on some very steamy encounters, as they both don’t want to label their relationship. Duncan is sweet and as down to earth as you can get. What you see is what you get with him so he has trouble with Amber's secrets.

Duncan and Amber had amazing chemistry and they had a lot of personal baggage to get through. The book takes you on a journey of love, trust, discovery and forgiveness. Loved every minute of this sweet and steamy love story. I can’t wait to read more!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

Good story line but the ending was bland.

I've never really been a sports fan but I do seem to love sports themed movies and books. I especially love reading about hockey players and I'm happy to report that Icing was an enjoyable read. I was also pleasantly surprised to find out the main character, Duncan, was not a cocky womanizer that most professional athletes are portrayed. He's just an average, well average hot guy, who grew up on a farm that loves hockey and made a career out of it. I also loved that he was slightly awkward around woman. Because of his career, the woman who did flock to him were beautiful models who wanted to ride his coattails. Tough, I know! Being fed up with these types of woman, he breaks up with his latest model girlfriend and decides to steer clear of woman all together. Yeah, that lasts as long as it took him to walk away from her into his friend and fellow hockey player's bar where he meets Amber. Amber's character was also a pleasant surprise. Yeah, she's waitressing part time but she also models part time and is no stranger to limelight. She has also been burned by that limelight so she is striving for a normal career and does not want anything to do with professional athletes (which you will learn why when you read the story). She no longer pays attention to sports so she had no clue who Duncan was when he shows up at the bar. Duncan assumes Amber is just a waitress. Sparks fly immediately, but what I like the most is that sparks are flying because of their banter back and forth, not because of the usual one look of lust. You actually see them fall for each other because of who they are as people not because he's hot and she's beautiful. This was a pretty low angst book, which is a nice change of pace. The struggle in this book is when they both find out who the other is and try to stay away from each other only to find out that they just can't seem to stay away. This was a sweet romantic story and a very enjoyable read. This is just one of several standalone books and I will definitely be reading the others in the series.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.