Reviewed by Lesley
TITLE: Friction
SERIES: Cold Blades
AUTHOR: K.C. Wells
PUBLISHER:K.C. Wells
LENGTH: 598 Pages
RELEASE DATE: June 23, 2026
BLURB:
Luka was built for control.
He chose the one thing that would destroy it.
Luka Davorin
On the ice, I know exactly who I am.
Every movement has a purpose. Every risk is measured. Every mistake carries a price.
Off the ice is different.
The federation that built me expects obedience. My country expects medals. And the truth about who I am has spent so long buried that sometimes I almost believe it’s gone.
Then I arrive in Milan and see Dean Foster again, and the things I’ve spent years ignoring start demanding attention.
Dean Foster
I’ve never had much use for reinvention.
I know who I am. I know how to compete. I know how to handle pressure.
Then Luka Davorin skates into my life.
One conversation becomes two. Then ten. A glance becomes a habit. The space between us gets smaller.
And suddenly certainty feels overrated.
Luka
We were never supposed to happen.
Different events. Different flags. Different worlds.
But the Olympic Village has a way of putting people exactly where they shouldn’t be.
The closer Dean gets, the harder it becomes to pretend this is temporary.
The media is paying attention.
My federation is paying attention.
And if I stop running from the truth, I could lose everything I’ve spent my life building.
The question is whether I’m finally ready to choose something for myself.
Different flags. Dangerous heat.
A high-heat MM Olympic romance featuring forbidden attraction, bi awakening, first times, quiet power dynamics, closeted athlete tension, and two men discovering that freedom can be just as terrifying as love.
REVIEW:
If you follow my reviews, you’ll know I more often than not read light and fluffy books. This is not light and fluffy. It does have an HFN ending, though.
There are some authors I will read no matter what they write, and K. C. Wells is one of those authors. She rarely lets me down, and this book was no exception. This is an ice‑skating romance set at the Winter Olympics 2026. It follows the seemingly impossible romance between Luka Davorin of the fictional Velkarya and Dean Foster of the United States of America – impossible because of the countries they represent and how vastly different those countries are.
Luka and his partner Mila have skated together their whole careers. They present as the perfect couple on the ice. Dean is a figure skater who is coming into his own at exactly the right time. All of them stand a real chance of medals this year.
Luka and Mila have no freedom; they only know they must be obedient and do what their federation demands. Dean has all the freedom that a non‑restrictive and accepting country can provide. The dichotomy between their worlds is massive.
This is a beautifully told love story that clearly demonstrates the repression LGBTQIA people still face in some countries today. Whilst Velkarya is fictional, the situation Luka and Mila are in is still a reality for far too many people globally.
I read this book over three days, which may not seem particularly quick, but I was working during that time, and it is a long book. I didn’t actually realise how long it was until I read somebody else’s review just before finishing it. It doesn’t feel like a long book, the story is so well written, and it isn’t overpacked with unnecessary content. It’s genuinely engaging, and I came to care for all the characters, not just the main couple. What’s going to happen with Ethan and Nathan? Mila, Luka’s partner, has become as important to me as Luka and Dean. I’m really hoping we get a continuation of her story in book two.
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