Ice Angels By Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood, Performed By Nick J. Russo
Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM, New Adult
Tropes: Established couple, hockey, jock/jock, secret relationship, low-angst
Released: Audio-April 11, 2022; ebook-Oct. 29, 2021
Publisher: Wainscott Press
Length: 4 hrs, 19 mins / 152 pages
Drew and Cleevs love hockey, but they love each other more. How can the men find a way to save what matters most?
Todd Cleever and Drew Simon are crazy about each other. They started dating three years ago when “Cleevs” was a rookie defenseman for the Chicago Ice. Drew, the team’s captain, was a few years older than Cleevs. Both men were deep in the closet, but it didn’t take long for them to fall in love.
Cleevs was traded to the Bethesda Barracudas a year later, causing a heartbreaking separation. Ever since, they’ve skated around the problem with occasional stolen nights together and brief vacations under the guise of “friends”, but two years of living apart have taken their toll.
As the holiday approaches, Drew and Cleevs decide things have to change. Still, with their careers and two professional hockey teams in the way, how can they score the game-winning goal and save everything they cherish most?
If you like fierce love, a smallish age gap, exciting hockey, and a steely determination to make things work—not to mention enough steam to fog up all your windows, and a fantastic HEA—this is the audiobook for you.
Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003
Another great audiobook from these authors!
I am so happy that these authors finally decided to show their hockey books as a series. The books do standalone very well but I think you might enjoy them more if you read them in order. (Note: as of this writing neither Audible nor Goodreads are showing them as a series so take a look at Amazon.)
I read this book when it was first published and listening to the audiobook made it an even richer experience. Nick J. Russo has been doing a fantastic job performing the books in this series. Ice Angels is a sweet and spicy romance about an established couple, both hockey players but on different teams. They aren’t out and hiding their relationship, and the infrequent times they are able to be together, is having a negative impact on each of them but they haven’t really discussed it much with each other.
We met both of the MCs of this story in earlier books by this writing duo but you don’t need to have read them to enjoy this story. The blurb really tells you everything you need to know about this book but it can’t convey how deeply Drew and Todd love each other. We know that they’ve been together for a while, so this book lets us see into their life after they fall in love and how they deal with coming out.
Parts of this story made me feel all nice and gooey inside, while other parts kind of broke my heart for what this couple was going through. I’m not a hockey fan but for some reason I really enjoy sports related MM romance. The authors keep the hard-core hockey lingo to a minimum and also explain things that a novice like me might need to know.
I love the solution the authors came up with so Drew and Todd could be together. I also loved what happened when they vacationed in St. Barts. I’m being deliberately vague because I try not to write spoilers. Please give this book a try; I think the books by Taylor and Harwood keep getting better and better.
Story: ♥♥♥♥♥
Narration: ♥♥♥♥♥
O Factor: Scorcher
Available to borrow with Kindle Unlimited.
Nothing put me out like boring, late-night TV, so I climbed into bed and turned on the set. Relaxing back into the pillows, I ignored the talk show and thought about coming out. There was no reason not to since the league was welcoming gay players with open arms. Todd had already told people he was gay, and I needed to man up and do it too. Then we’d be able to make life a lot simpler, not to mention more rewarding, by coming out as a couple. I knew Todd loved me but wasn’t sure he was ready for that. He always changed the subject when I tried to bring it up. We had been committed for years, and I planned to talk to him at Christmas and see what he thought about taking the next step in our relationship. After a loud, frustrated groan, I turned on my side and considered jacking off, but I was too tired. If I could get Todd on the phone in the morning, maybe we’d do it together.
Snowflakes bounced off the back of my neck, leaving an icy burn behind. I pulled my coat tighter and hunched over against the wind. God only knew why we’d rented a cabin in the woods instead of going to the Caribbean, but I couldn’t wait to get inside. Todd already had a fire going, and I needed to thaw out. Odd beeping sounds made me walk faster; electronic noises in the middle of the woods had to be bad news.
“Drew, wake up.”
“Mm.”
“Drew?”
“What the fuck?” I yelled, sitting bolt upright.
“Easy, babe. It’s me.”
A man sat on the edge of the bed, silhouetted in moonlight. Two buttons were undone at the top of his fitted blue shirt, revealing a patch of pale skin that made my breath quicken. He had a beautiful angular face with sunken cheeks and a strong jaw covered by the perfect amount of stubble. His deep-set dark eyes glimmered with mischief, and his black hair was swept away from his forehead. He’d had a haircut since I saw him last, and the new style suited him.
I took a deep breath as warmth spread through my chest. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. I’ve been missing you so bad.”
“Missed you too.” His voice was soft and deep.
“I texted you twice. You didn’t answer.”
“Wanted to surprise you.”
“How’d you work it out? Aren’t you guys flying to Montreal tomorrow?”
His lips curved upward, and he took his time tracing a finger down my cheek and across my chin. “Told them I had to go see my dads for something important. Said I’d meet the team at the hotel in Montreal tomorrow night.”
“Smart.” I caressed his sides, impressed as always by the hard muscles there. They met at the front in the kind of abs most men only dream about having. “Did you warn your dads in case someone calls?”
“Of course.” He leaned forward to kiss my nose. “Pops said he was tired of lying for me and I should make an honest man out of you.”
“Okay.” I couldn’t stop the grin that worked its way across my face.
“But enough…” He kissed my right cheek. “Talking…” He pressed his warm lips against mine for a heartbeat or two. “Especially…” He licked the corner of my mouth. “About my dads.” He nibbled my lower lip and finally gave me a proper kiss.
When he wrapped his arms around me and slipped his tongue into my mouth, I didn’t even pretend to resist. Not until every nerve in my body screamed for more did I pull back. “Surely you didn’t come all this way just to kiss me. I need a lot more than kisses.”
He growled and crawled on top of me. “Exactly what I was thinking.”
Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood met in law school and were married in 2017. They live in a suburb of Washington, DC and share their home with a big, cuddly German shepherd. Ryan and Josh enjoy travel, friends, and advocating for causes dear to their hearts. Ryan also loves to swim, and Josh likes to putter in the garden whenever he can. The romance they were so lucky to find with each other inspires their stories about love between out and proud men. You can contact them through their website at https://www.ryanandjoshth.com/.
Ryan-Amazon | Joshua Harwood-Amazon | Ryan-Bookbub | Joshua-Bookbub | Contact | Facebook Author Page | Facebook Group Page | Ryan-Goodreads | Joshua-Goodreads | Instagram | Newsletter | QueeRomance Ink | TikTok | Twitter | Website
Nick J. Russo
Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Audible
Promotional materials and review copy provided by the authors.
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