Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Ice Angels
AUTHORS: Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood
NARRATOR: Nick J. Russo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 4 hours and 19 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 11, 2022
BLURB:
Drew and Cleevs love hockey, but they love each other more. How can the men find a way to save what matters most?
Todd Cleever and Drew Simon are crazy about each other. They started dating three years ago when “Cleevs” was a rookie defenseman for the Chicago Ice. Drew, the team’s captain, was a few years older than Cleevs. Both men were deep in the closet, but it didn’t take long for them to fall in love.
Cleevs was traded to the Bethesda Barracudas a year later, causing a heartbreaking separation. Ever since, they’ve skated around the problem with occasional stolen nights together and brief vacations under the guise of “friends”, but two years of living apart have taken their toll.
As the holiday approaches, Drew and Cleevs decide things have to change. Still, with their careers and two professional hockey teams in the way, how can they score the game-winning goal and save everything they cherish most?
If you like fierce love, a smallish age gap, exciting hockey, and a steely determination to make things work—not to mention enough steam to fog up all your windows, and a fantastic HEA—this is the audiobook for you.
REVIEW:
Note: This can be enjoyed as a standalone, but I would recommend listening to the previous books set in this world by these authors. There are major spoilers for those books in this story.
Drew and Todd used to play for the same team – the Chicago Ice Hogs. Drew is the captain and the highest paid center in hockey. Todd is a young defensemen that Drew fell hard for. When Todd gets traded to the Bethesda Barracudas, they have to start doing the long distance thing. This is all complicated by both of them being closeted. Todd has since come out, but Drew hasn’t been ready to do so yet, despite his friends Nick Johnson, Kevin Moore and Tyler Jensen all being out married gay hockey players and Todd’s teammates.
As the holidays approach though, Drew and Todd are missing each other more and more. Getting by on random nights together when they can make it work with their schedules and plausible excuses for not being with their teams is taking its toll. They are hit especially hard as they see their friends and teammates happy in their personal lives. Todd is especially tired of his teammates trying to set him up with the other “single” gay player on the team.
Of course you know it’s just a matter of time before somebody figures it out. Luckily it’s one of their best friends who inadvertently discovers that Cleevs and Simon are much more than friends. He would never share their secret though, so they feel OK about it. Especially since Drew’s road trip roomie has figured it out long ago too. Drew is sad that he hadn’t been honest with his old roommate before and it’s cathartic for him to let the secret go.
When another incident occurs on a road trip, it’s clear that their relationship can no longer stay a secret and they need to determine how to handle it. Drew’s agent is a big help and they manage to share both Drew’s sexuality and then go public with their relationship. Luckily they have a lot of support from friends, family and a surprising number of fans. They are finally ready to share their lives publicly and full time 😀
If you’re a fan of these authors’ hockey books, you’ll probably enjoy this nice holiday addition to the series. There are appearances from the MCs from both Nice Catching You and Fire in the Ice as well. This story is a bit different to the last one in that initially both men were closeted when they got together. It’s taken longer for Drew to come to terms with being honest about that part of his life that he really considers nobody’s business. But he remembers the fear of his younger days – wondering if he would be able to play in college let alone professionally because of his sexuality. The determining factor for him is that he wants other gay kids to see that performing at the highest level as a professional athlete has nothing to do with whether or not he is gay. He’s worked hard and put in the time and persevered. Todd is younger and little less fearful because he’s had a lot of examples out before him in this life. But he understands and doesn’t want to push Drew either. The timing seems right since they are going to be spending the holidays together in their favorite getaway spot and things just seem to work out for them 😉 There are things that are a bit cheesy still in this series with some of the over the top romantic declarations. I could have done without so many sex scenes also, but to each his own.
Nick Russo as usual raises the telling of these stories with his fantastic narration. His performance of these characters is spot on. The consistency across this series with recurring and new characters adds to the enjoyment of the audiobooks. He is a fan favorite for a reason, and this book is another example why. He puts so much emotion into the performance that we feel the joy, the fear, the sadness, the humor and the passion of these characters. Thoroughly enjoyable listen 🙂 Recommended for fans of hockey love stories and happy endings.
RATING: 
BUY LINK:
Audible