Review – Ice Storm by Tracy Goodwin

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Ice Storm by Tracy Goodwin
Series: New York Nighthawks #3
Published by Loveswept on November 22, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Sports
Pages: 239
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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When an injured hockey legend with a PR problem and a former teen star craving an edgier public image start a fake relationship, neither expects a real challenge—ignoring their fiery chemistry—in this steamy friends-to-lovers romance.

Theo: They call me Thor. I’m the showman with mad skills on and off the ice until a nagging injury forces me to confront—long-term—the possibility that my career is coming to an early end. All endorsement deals hinge on my reputation, and my bad-boy persona isn’t cutting it. To keep my sponsorships, I need a major image overhaul. Enter Olivia DeLaurentis, the quintessential girl next door who’s hell-bent on shedding her good-girl charade, and what better way than to get together with a rule-breaking Avenger wannabe? So she and I strike an agreement—we pretend-date. The odds of anything real happening between us are slim, especially since we’re already friends and she’s also my best friend’s sister. One problem: She turns me on, and I learn real fast that Liv is playing by her own rules.

Olivia: I was a teenage America’s Sweetheart, but what I once thought was the opportunity of a lifetime has left me typecast as an innocent, naïve girl—and I’m sick of it. My brother’s best friend, bad-boy hockey star Theo Ture, needs some positive PR, so I offer a fake relationship. It’s not my first. The difference? This time I’m in complete control. What’s there to lose? Certainly not my heart since Theo’s already friend-zoned. Plus, the poster boy for an alpha male—bold, brash, tattooed—is not my type. At all. But there’s one problem: I didn’t expect the explosive chemistry between us, or the vulnerability behind his tough-guy façade. Or that he has a hidden secret I’m desperate to uncover. He’s not the only one with secrets, though—and as the lines of our fake relationship blur, I’m worried I’ll be the one exposed. . . .

I enjoyed this book. This is the third book in the New York Nighthawks series but it is the first book that I have read from the series and I thought it worked fine as a stand-alone. I picked this book up on a bit of an impulse. I was in the mood for a hockey romance and this book caught my attention so I decided to give it a try. This was my first experience with Tracy Goodwin’s work and I am happy to report that it was a good experience.

I liked Theo and Olivia and love the chemistry that they had with each other. They have been friends for a long time and never really thought about anything more. That is until they kiss and sparks fly. The fake relationship that they planned doesn’t stay fake for very long at all. My favorite parts of the book were the scenes with just Theo and Olivia. I thought that they were really good together especially when they let go of the stress that they were facing in their individual lives. I did think that most of the conflicts in the story weren’t really a big deal so it was a little hard to see why the characters were so upset.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance. Like a lot of sports romances, there wasn’t a lot of the actual sport in this story but it was still an enjoyable romance between a couple of characters that were easy to fall for. I do plan to keep my eye open for more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Loveswept.

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