Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Ice Devils

AUTHOR:  Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood

PUBLISHER:  Wainscott Press

LENGTH:  247 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 25, 2022

BLURB:

Skating the line between love and hate.

When winger Blake Conti signs with the national champion Bethesda Barracudas, he isn’t looking to get involved with anyone. Still bruised from an old relationship, his focus is on playing hockey. But when one of his new teammates turns out to be the hottest man he’s ever met, Blake wonders if he should reconsider his aversion to romance.

Mark Sakamoto—Sako—one of the Barracudas’ rising young stars, is immediately smitten with Blake. Deeply closeted because he fears revealing his sexuality to his family, Sako resists his attraction by using scorn and insults to push Blake away. Hurt by Sako’s behavior, Blake reacts in kind, and the two men are soon at war.

Just as their fighting threatens to disrupt the team, the unexpected happens, and Sako and Blake bond over a silly prank. Their newfound camaraderie soon develops into a relationship, and the men become inseparable. With “ice in public, heat in private” as their motto, they keep things secret, but as they fall for each other, Sako knows he has to tell his family the truth. He dreads their reaction, but it’s the only way he and Blake can live happily ever after.

Ice Devils is a low-angst, enemies-to-lovers romance featuring scorching athletes, light-hearted comedy, riveting hockey, sweet-steamy romance, and a beautiful HEA.

REVIEW: 

Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood’s Ice Devils is set in the same hockey universe as Ice Angels, Nice Catching You, The New Next One, and Fire in the Ice.  I’m not sure why the authors didn’t link them as a series of interconnected standalones, but that’s what they are.  You can read and enjoy Ice Devils even if you haven’t read any of the other books.  However, the context from the other stories enriches the experience, especially because of the cross-over appearances of many characters from the other books. 

Like its predecessor Ice Angels, Ice Devils is a sweet and funny sports romance, but it has more bite.  This is an enemies-to-lovers story focusing on Blake Conti and Mark “Sako” Sakamoto, two NHL hockey players who are teammates on the Bethesda Barracudas.  Sako took an apparent dislike to Blake from the moment he walked into the locker room after joining the team.  Blake’s not sure why Sako hates him, but he begins to dislike Sako in turn.  There’s no denying the immediate, charged energy between them, though, but it’s an attraction they each deny.

Ironically, they bond over the juvenile pranking of their teammates.  That opens the door to allow them to give in to that simmering attraction.  They strike a deal of sorts:  prank together, skate together, and get together.  But no one is to know about the pranks.  In public, they act like teammates who dislike each other.  Any down and dirty activities happen behind closed doors.  Their “ice in public, heat in private” commitment doesn’t play out as seamlessly as they hope, though, and their teammates start to suspect they may not hate each other as much as they pretend to.  

This story feels different from the authors’ prior works in this universe. The pranking and banter between Blake and Sako provide the most humor of their books. It gives the story a lighter feel, notwithstanding some serious, poignant moments. The found family of the teammates is featured and provides that warm fuzzy, reassuring feel that we take away from all of these authors’ stories. The romance is low angst with a few emotional moments and progresses from enemies to lovers slowly but plausibly.  

Overall, Ice Devils is a fun, enjoyable romance that includes plenty of hot, sexy scenes amidst the clear emotional connection between Blake and Sako.  I recommend Ice Devils and indulging in this immersive hockey universe.

RATING:   

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon