Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Hot Ice, Tennessee
SERIES: Hard Spot Saloon
AUTHOR: Raleigh Ruebins
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 237 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2025
BLURB:
A hockey hotshot has me wrapped around his finger…
Even after I learn his secret.
Jesse is cocky, tattooed, and even more possessive off the ice.
…He’s also my friend’s younger brother. Found that out like a puck to the face.
He’s college hockey royalty, but my world’s different. Simple.
I spend my days outside on my ranch riding horses, and my nights at the local saloon, trying to forget my past.
But Jesse’s used to getting what he wants.
And he’s decided he wants me.
I can’t want him. I don’t. He’s too young, even if he commands me like no one else can.
But my first time with a hockey player lit a fire in me, too.
His possessive streak keeps coming out, and he’s telling me that I’m his.
And when I’m with him, I can’t stop saying it, too:
Yours.
REVIEW:
Note: This is book 2 in the series and so contains spoilers for book 1. That being said, it can be read as a standalone, although I think for more context on Mason and his issues, book 1 is helpful.
Mason is a fun tine guy. He’s the life of the party. He’s a bit of a fuckboy. What he really is though is a man running from his grief and his pain and his loneliness. He’s trying to fill up that space with “fun” and parties and drinking and sex. Not really working too well for him though. So he decides he’s going to have a sex-free summer. Uh-huh.
At the kickoff to summer party, Jesse, a college hockey players is watching Mason’s shenanigans from the edge of the party. The bar is his brother’s place. But Mason doesn’t know that. Yet. Jess has caught Mason’s eye and when he goes inside, Mason follows him. Mason is a huge flirt and he wants Jesse. Until he finds out he’s Kane’s younger brother.
Mason is drunk and starts to walk home. Jesse comes across him in his car and orders Mason in. Mason doesn’t take orders. Except that he really really wants to from Jesse. They get to Mason’s house and the flirting carries over to kissing. The best damn kiss of either of their lives.
But Mason doesn’t do relationships. And Jesse says he’s not looking for anything. He’s been burned. Bad. But a closeted cheating ex, who even now taunts him like his dirty little secret. Mason doesn’t have all the details but he knows Jesse’s ex is a jerk. And he’s about to find out just how much of a jerk he is.
These two are like magnets. They cannot stay away from each other. Mason is trying to resist but he only wants to talk to and see Jesse. Jess wants Mason is an way he’s never wanted anyone before. But there are obstacles. And there are things that they are each going to have to address before they can really be together.
I enjoyed this book so much more than the first one. I had a lot of trouble connecting with Finn and Ori. No such trouble here. Jesse and Mason are very very different. But their differences end up being quite complementary. Jesse has really struggles with his cheating ex – especially since they live in the house and they play on the same college hockey team. The fact that Elliott treated him SO poorly and then STILL tried to gaslight him was a lot. Mason has been running from his grief. He’s self-medicating with drinking and casual sex and anything to take his mind off of losing his dad – his best friend, his single parent, and the man he doesn’t think he can live up to. The complication of Kane being Mason’s best friend and also Jesse’s much older brother is sort of the elephant in the room. But Jesse is tired of hiding. He just has to consider Mason’s feelings here because Mason isn’t sure he can lose Kane as a friend. Their feelings are just too strong though. The way Kane finds out though kind of ends up being ok because Jess and Mason’s relationship takes a back seat to other more urgent matters 😉 If I had one niggle with this story, I really wanted to see Elliott get what’s coming to him in a real way. He was just a terrible person. The age gap here was about 10 years but there were times that Jesse seemed like the more mature one. Maybe as an introvert he just didn’t exude the playfulness of a 21 year old. He also hadn’t had things easy being raised by a single mother and his focus was really hockey and school – both of which he excelled at. The push/pull between them as they are both trying to find their balance was very well done. Both had very real fears that they could end up with a broken heart. Luckily that was not to be! The support they offered each other when the chips were down was so heartwarming. I really loved how they worked things out. I’m anxious to see who is next to be slapped up the side of the head by love in this town! Highly reocmmended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
