Title: For the Love of Skating
Author: Madeline Fay
Publication Date: June 20th 2020
Genres: Sports Romance, New Adult, College Romance
Source: Free ARC (BookFunnel)
Heat Gauge: 4 out of 5 hot showers
Summary
Kat is a broken woman, hardened from years of living under the thumb of her abusive father. Ice skating is her one true passion, a means to escape the s**t show that is her life and a way to connect with the memory of her late mother.
Granger has plenty of his own baggage. Betrayed by his girlfriend and teammates, he is determined to focus on his dream of going pro with ice hockey. Relationships will only complicate matters.
Neither Kat nor Granger are ready for the sparks that fly when they first meet each other on their college ice rink, so they channel their feelings into mutual disgust. But there is no denying the intense chemistry between them and over time a strong friendship develops. But can they trust each other enough to take things further?
Review
I enjoyed this book, despite its flaws. I was grabbed by the main characters from the get-go, especially Kat whose prologue had me tearing up big time. The slow burning relationship between Kat and Granger was intense and full of sexual tension (something I love in a romance). The secondary characters could have used a little more work though. I felt that the two best friends were a bit 2-dimensional.
Madeline Fay has a very raw writing style that puts you right into the emotional headspace of the protagonists, alternating their first-person perspectives. Her language is colourful, even a bit gratuitous at times with a f**k tonne of F-bombs throughout. Even though this sort of language does not offend me, I did find the excessive swears were distracting.
While this was a sports romance, it was not heavy on the sporting theme. Ice hockey fans might be disappointed, I don’t know. For me this was a positive because I’m not a big sports buff. I thought there was just enough focus on the game to develop the characters without detracting from the romance plot. It can be a tricky balancing act and I feel that the author did a good job.
For the Love of Skating is a steamy “enemies to lovers” romance with plenty of titillating tension building scenes. I recommend it for anyone who likes a hot romance novel.
About the Author
US based author, Madeline Fay is a self-proclaimed hippy at heart. Prior to her recent plunge into sports romance, she wrote several paranormal romance and fantasy books.