I loved reading Blake and Sako’s story with my eyes when it was first published and I loved it all over again when I listened to this audiobook. Nick J. Russo does such a great job with New Adult stories and he’s really been doing a wonderful job with this series.

Playing for the same team, Blake and Sako begin as adversaries sniping at each other every chance they get. After bonding over a prank, they become co-conspirators pulling more pranks on their teammates. Agreeing to be “ice in public, heat in private,” their behavior confuses many of their teammates; others suspect that there is more to their relationship than that of adversaries.

They take things pretty slow, trying not to let their nearly uncontrollable attraction to each other escalate their relationship too quickly. Most of this story is fairly angst free and there are several light-hearted moments. But conflict is often needed to keep readers interested and there are a couple of great scenes where their relationship nearly blows up. I really felt the connection between these two MCs, as well as the connection all of their teammates had to each other.

One of my favorite parts of this story, and one that made my eyes leak way too much, was when Sako came out to his family. If a writer can get me emotionally invested in a book (e.g., bring me to tears 😊) then it’s nearly a sure bet that I am loving everything about it; that definitely applied to this story.

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We won the game 5– 3, a triumph because we hadn’t beaten Seattle for more than a year. Our victory playlist was already blasting through the speakers when we reached the locker room, and we took time to savor the win. The guys made a big deal about my goal, which put a huge grin on my face. I’d signed with the Barracudas the previous summer as a free agent, and tonight’s was certainly my most impressive goal of the season.

A reporter asked for an interview, and when we finished, I turned to go to my stall. Sako stood in my way with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. “Good goal,” he mumbled. Sounds of celebration filled the background while an awkward moment ticked by. “Score a few more like that, and you might convince me you know how to play hockey.”

“Get real. I hope you were watching. You might up your game to a professional level.”

He dropped his arms and stepped forward, too close for comfort, causing me to move back. I’ll be damned if he didn’t inch nearer until we were nose-to-nose. A shudder ran up my spine as his musk surrounded me.

“Oh yeah?” He curled his lips into the half-grin, half-sneer that had taunted me all year. “Conti, I played better than you when I was in juniors.”

While I tried in vain to come up with a smart retort, he called Nick’s name and walked away.

Bitterness washed over me as I wondered again why he hated me so much. I’d never had trouble getting along with people, but arrogant Sakoshit had taken an instant dislike to me the minute we met. Somehow, he knew exactly how to push my buttons. It didn’t take me long to figure out how to push his too, and our interactions quickly disintegrated into a series of snarky comments, glowers, and petty arguments. We both gave as good as we got, and I came to enjoy pissing him off. If he was going to be an asshole, it seemed like I was determined to be a bigger one.

ICE DEVILS. Copyright © 2022 Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood. All rights reserved.

Bethesda Barracudas Hockey Series

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