Happy Friday, everyone!
I was going to post on my usual Tuesdays but ended up forgetting to write my post - oops! So I'm sharing my post today instead. I've read some books since my last post, and most have been pretty good. I'll be sharing some quick thoughts about Tamsen Parker's Snow & Ice series! If you're looking for a quick sports romance read, any of these books might work for you!
Snow & Ice Games
Love on the Tracks - Seduction on the Slopes - On the Edge of Scandal - Fire on the Ice - On the Brink of Passion
You guys know how much I love all things sports romances. I was excited to read these books because they were set at a Winter Olympics-type sporting event, so we got to see different sports, some that you don't really see in romance. I will say that I enjoyed all of them very much, and pretty much finished them in one sitting, though I was left wanting more.
[★★★1/2]
Love on the Tracks' heroine, Rowan is a luger with a massive crush on heartthrob Zane Rivera. I liked this story quite a bit even though I'm not entirely into books with rockstars. There's the fake-relationship trope here and it was well-written. Both characters are quite likable too. I liked all the insides of luge, which isn't a sport that I've thought too much about, so that was interesting. Who I didn't like in this book was Rowan's dad. He does some shitty things and ugh, I was ready to punch the guy! I will say that the romance between Rowan and Zane developed quite fast here, but I expected that with the short length of this book.
[★★★★]
[★★★★]
Seduction on the Slopes was quite possibly my favorite in this series. This one features skiers and an age-gap romance. And it's an M/M romance. I thought this one was so much fun, and I loved the dynamics between Crash and Miles especially. This was definitely on the sexier side, but we see the two begin to fall in love over the course of the sexy times. I would have loved for this book to be a bit longer because I loved these two different personalities and how well they clicked together.
[★★★1/2]
On the Edge of Scandal features the romance of a female hockey player and her coach. It has the unrequited love storyline and ahhh! I don't think I've screamed enough about how much I love this trope! At the start of the book, Bronwyn has a jerk boyfriend, and Ash watches from the sideline as he pushes her around. I didn't particularly care for the scenes of the jerk boyfriend, but once he was dumped, I was pretty happy with this book. There were interesting conversations here about the power dynamic at play, and I liked how there was clear consent given on both Bronwyn and Ash's sides before they dove into a relationship. Their romance is sexy and sweet. Of course, I loved all the hockey elements as well. A good read!
[★★★]
[★★★]
Fire on the Ice is the F/F romance between two skaters competing for different teams. This installment read very differently from the others to me because of how much focus was on the sex, especially in the first half. This was one of my first F/F adult romances, so I was very much scandalized by some of the sex scenes - haha! *blushes just thinking of the book*
I did wish we would have seen Maisy and Blaze connect on a more emotional level in this book instead of just them banging like bunnies. They were both interesting personalities, especially with how different they were from each other. Blaze is more no-bullshit and Maisy is quiet and shy. So, I would have liked to see why exactly these two contrasting people connected so deeply and I didn't feel like we saw that here.
[★★★]
I did wish we would have seen Maisy and Blaze connect on a more emotional level in this book instead of just them banging like bunnies. They were both interesting personalities, especially with how different they were from each other. Blaze is more no-bullshit and Maisy is quiet and shy. So, I would have liked to see why exactly these two contrasting people connected so deeply and I didn't feel like we saw that here.
[★★★]
On the Brink of Passion was my least favorite book in this series. It made me a little uncomfortable if I'm being honest. I was excited to read it because it has a figure skating couple, but oh gosh. I'm a romance reader who doesn't always like reading about tougher situations, and here, there were some seriously awkward sex scenes with discussions about verbal and non-verbal consent. It was all important talk of course, but because I wasn't expecting it, it took me aback. I did end up liking it towards the end, especially because the hero, Beckett, was a sweetheart, and the heroine, Jubilee started to open up more emotionally.
Overall, I liked this series a lot though there were both ups and downs. I would definitely read more from Tamsen Parker in the future!
Have you read this series? What are some of your favorite sports romances?
Let me know in the comments below!
