Breaking the Ice
Amy Andrews
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A bookshop face off!
About the Book:
NHL hot shot, Nick Hawkeye Hawke has 4 months to recuperate from a potentially career ending injury. All he has to do is take it easy and keep things low key. So, looking after his grandmother's beloved second hand romance bookshop and working very closely with the ruthlessly efficient Samantha Evans is just what he needs right? Wrong!
Career driven Sam has impulsively decided to swap her highly stressful corporate job for a slower pace in her favourite bookshop at the exact time her biological clock has started to tick. And she wants absolutely none of that. But when your boss is a hot hockey superstar and you can’t stop daydreaming of him being your baby daddy, forced proximity takes on a whole new meaning.
With temptation around every book shelf, Nick and Sam find themselves skating on thin ice until they put themselves firmly in the friend zone. But the more they try to resist their slow burn, the more they want each other. How long can they stay in the zone until one of them breaks the ice?
Previously published as Risky Business
Career driven Sam has impulsively decided to swap her highly stressful corporate job for a slower pace in her favourite bookshop at the exact time her biological clock has started to tick. And she wants absolutely none of that. But when your boss is a hot hockey superstar and you can’t stop daydreaming of him being your baby daddy, forced proximity takes on a whole new meaning.
With temptation around every book shelf, Nick and Sam find themselves skating on thin ice until they put themselves firmly in the friend zone. But the more they try to resist their slow burn, the more they want each other. How long can they stay in the zone until one of them breaks the ice?
Previously published as Risky Business
My Review:
Breaking the Ice is a hockey romance that focuses less on the sport (the mmc is out on a injury) and more on Nick taking on the responsibilities of his grandmother's second hand book store. When his neighbor comes by the store, he learns that Sam is between jobs and offers her one. The job is only temporary though, as Sam has her sights on getting her accountant job back in a couple of months after the nepotism, and thereby the sexism, wears off and they come crawling back for her. In the meantime, they decide to friend zone their relationship, this is, until they don't.
A lot goes on this book. Injured hockey player rehabbing. Accountant leaving the job where she's been training her boss's worthless nephew. Sudden management of a bookstore. Forced proximity. Biological clock ticking. Body and self-esteem issues. There are so many other things that would make this list longer. This seems like a long list but the author does a great job weaving it all together and Breaking the Ice is a great book for the most part.
There were some cringey scenes, awkward dialogue, and missed opportunities for growth and maturity. The first couple times we hear her eggs "talk" added an element of amusement but after a while, I was over the internal discussions with them. While I understand Sam's biological clock is ticking, the dates she goes on are disastrous. I wish she'd had a couple decent dates, at least. She deserved to have fun occasionally.
Overall, the book was entertaining. The characters may not have been 3 dimensional but they weren't boring or uninteresting. Sam seemed like a typical 30-year-old who comes to the abrupt realization that her corporate job is unfulfilling. She seems fun but has huge self-esteem issues. The continued bad dates don't help with that. Nick is resistant to fall for Sam in any capacity other than friends-with-bennies. She's planning kids and going back to her old job. He's not the family type and will be going back to his hockey team in a few weeks.
I enjoyed their banter, slow-burn chemistry, and compatibility. When they finally give in to their basic urges, we get a little bit of steam. This book has likable characters, descriptive world-building, and a fun story. I found Breaking the Ice to be a quick read that flows well, pulls you in, and keeps you engaged.
I was provided a copy of this book.
My Rating:
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Amy is an award-winning, USA Today best-selling, triple RITA nominated, Aussie author who has written eighty-nine contemporary romances in both the traditional and digital markets. Her books bring all the feels from sass, quirk and laughter to emotional grit and sizzling heat.
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