Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: The Winning Edge
AUTHOR: Keira Andrews
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 210 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 8, 2018
BLURB:
Can figure skating enemies find love off the ice?
After an explosive locker room confrontation with his Russian rival ends in the most intense sex of his life, American pairs skater Dev Avira is distracted to say the least. He’s worked for years to have a chance at Olympic gold, and he can’t let himself—or his partner—down. Playing cat and mouse with the steely and smoldering Mikhail Reznikov is the last thing he needs as he prepares for the biggest competition of his life, but they can’t keep their hands off each other as the Games approach.
Dev soon learns that beneath Mikhail’s arrogant and aloof exterior is Misha, a passionate man who warms Dev’s heart and scorches his bed. They’re both determined to win, but for Misha his freedom could be at stake if he and his partner take anything less than gold. Who will stand atop the podium? And can secret lovers from different worlds make a life together once the competition ends?
This gay sports romance from Keira Andrews features enemies to lovers, two alpha men, sequins, and of course a happy ending. Content previously published as novellas Cold War and Holding the Edge.
REVIEW:
When two ultra-competitive characters start as rivals and have their first romantic encounter in the locker room, you know you’re in for a steamy story with a lot of conflict and tension. But Dev and Mikhail (Misha) can’t deny their chemistry for long, making this a perfect enemies-to-lovers sports romance that always brings the drama.
This is a great example of a sports romance that doesn’t skimp on the actual sports. If you’re not familiar with the world of competitive ice skating, you don’t need to worry, because we get a lot of detail about competition rankings, different events, and different technical aspects of pairs figure skating. We get a great feel for the Olympics atmosphere before we even fall in love with the romance. As someone who already loves ice skating, I was totally fan-girling over the entire setting.
Andrews always knows how to really bring the heat with her romantic pairings, and Dev and Misha are no different. While they may have their differences in competition, there’s no doubt about who is in charge in the bedroom, and their effortless push-pull dynamic heats up every love scene. We definitely get some great romance and sweetness, but Andrews never shies away from the dirty as well!
My only issue came with pacing. I think this story should’ve stayed as a two-part release with two distinct novellas. They don’t really flow as one story. In the second half of the book, I think the romance shifts into turbo-drive a little bit, coming at us fast with the coming-out and love confessions. While part one was perfectly paced and nuanced in its characterization of both men, the latter part dipped into saccharine sweetness and melodrama just a little too much. The first part (Cold War) has a great story arc and a satisfying ending, so to have the story continue seamlessly onto the next part (Holding the Edge) leads to burnout rather than excitement to see what Misha and Dev are up to next.
Despite this clumsiness of putting the two stories together, I really enjoyed this book on both a plot level and a romance level. It brought the excellent sizzle, drama, and story arc in equal measure.
RATING: 
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