This was a sweet, low angst read that I really enjoyed. I haven't read the first in this series but will be going back to remedy that to see how Nick and Jacob get together.

In Fire in the Ice we get Kevin and Tyler's story, they knew each other in school and stayed in touch for years, Kev always had a huge crush on Tyler, but Tyler thought he was too you, and he was in love with NIck anyway. (Tyler and Nick's story is in a novella which I haven't read either).

When this story starts Tyler has been traded to the Bethesda Barracuda's, Kevin and Nick's team and while Nick is happy to be able to play with Tyler again, Kev is not. Their friendship was seen by both very differently and Tyler's decision to not keep up the communication between them has led to Kev feeling pretty hurt.

After the initial passive/aggressive behaviour from Kevin, the two eventually sit down and communicate and from then on love is on the cards. I loved that they communicated how they felt, that they weren't afraid to show each other how they felt and that because of their past history they were comfortable with each other and pet names came easily (I can't say I really liked the whole giving their dicks a name, but each to their own).

The sad part about their blossoming relationship was that they had to keep it a secret from their friends and teammates. The NHL and its fans have become more tolerant of LGBT+ players, but it seems two players on the same team being in a relationship might be too much. There was plenty of secrecy, drama and worry about being found out and then when they are found out, everything comes to a head.

I liked that the majority of their team and the hierarchy were supportive of their relationship, some of the behaviours, well, one in particular shocked me, but mostly everyone was great. I'm not sure how true to life this is in the hockey (or sports) world, but I like that in fiction it can play out the way I wish it would in the real world.

I enjoyed the guys' parents hitting it off the way they did, there were some amusing scenes with Tyler's dad and Kev's mum. I also loved how supportive they all were of each other, just how a family should be.

I'm looking forward to reading Ice Angles because one of my favourite characters was Cleevs and he gets his story in this one.

This is also available as an audiobook read by Nick J Russo