I am a hockey romance addict, so when I saw this anthology I had to have it. I have read a lot of anthologies, what I liked the most about this one is that it had a common theme. Each novella was about a different NHL player on the recent Stanley Cup Championship team the New Orleans Cajun Rage. The stories were about the individual player’s day with the Cup and a legend about them finding their true love on their day. I love how all the books were clearly coordinated. Players were mentioned in each other’s books, and Edwin Motz, the Keeper of the Cup, made an appearance in the stories. Even though each tale had a common theme, every story was amazingly different, enjoyable, and exciting. I like that some of the authors tied their books to existing series. I love that 20% of the royalties earned goes to the Homes For Our Troops charity, a nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially modified homes for severely injured veterans.

HOT ON ICE consists of eighteen stories:

DEEP CHECK (Station Seventeen #1.5) by Kimberly Kincaid. After a fight, hockey Center, Finnegan Donnelly couldn’t leave his hometown of Remington and his two best friends behind fast enough. Seven years later, he finds himself taking the Cup home to visit his ex-best friend Asher’s grave. While there he is reunited with January Sinclair, the other person, he left behind. DEEP CHECK is a sweet second chance hockey/firefighter romance.

BEAR NAKED by Katie Kenyhercz. After nine years, NHL Defensman, Bear Thompson, returns home to Bear Mountain Reserve in Canada. He wants to get permission to allow a television crew and outsiders onto the reserve for his day with the Cup in hopes of giving his people some good publicity. However, he needs to convince the Chief/his ex-girlfriend, Aria Paul, that it is in the Mi’Kmaq’s best interest. BEAR NAKED is a charming second chance romance. I loved the cultural aspects of this story.

BODY CHECK by Desiree Holt. NHL Defenseman, Matt Vorchak, is coping with a career-ending injury. He returns home to San Antonio for his day with the Cup, to do some apologizing, and soul searching. He seeks out Lizzie St. John, the girl he walked away from. BODY CHECK is a thought-provoking second chance romance.

BREAKAWAY BROOKE by Angi Morgan. Left winger, Deacon “Tripp” Sanders heads to McKinney, TX for his day with the Cup. Coming from a prestigious family, his life has been threatened. Unbeknownst to him, his family hires bodyguard, Brooke Henderson, to keep an eye on him. BREAKAWAY BROOKE has a bit of a supernatural feel. It is full of action and twists.

UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN by Kim Golden. NHL Center, Jonas Magnusson, is recovering from a concussion. He goes home to Stockholm for his day with the Cup; while there he is reunited Mariam Kidane.

IN SKATES TROUBLE (Chicago Rebels, #0.5) by Kate Meader. NHL right winger star, Ford Callaghan, takes the Cup home to Chicago; while there he meets the woman of his dreams, Addison Williams. Unfortunately, she is also the ex-wife of his team’s owner. I adored this story. I will definitely be following the new Chicago Rebels series.

CHECKING YES by Misty D. Waters. Left winger, Cooper Banks, left Dove Harbor, Georgia, after discovering a secret, leaving behind Savannah Jane Scott, the love of his life. Three years later, he returns home for his day with the Cup. CHECKING YES is a delightful second chance romance with many exciting twists.

PENALTY BOX BLUES (a Wild Thing novella) by Robin Kaye. Defenseman, Stryker Gyllenhal, pays off a debt to a friend by taking the Cup back home to Boise, Idaho; while there he is assigned a handler, his ex-tutor and childhood friend, Trish Reynolds. However, he doesn’t recognize her now that she is no longer hiding behind frumpy clothes. PENALTY BOX BLUES is a heartfelt read with a lot of insight and thought-provoking content. This was an adorable story that made me want to check out the Wild Thing Series.

FREE AGENT by Robin Covington. Jamie “DC” Washington has had an eventful year; he just won the Stanley Cup; he is a free agent, and he announced at a press conference that he was gay. While heading to Washington DC, for his day with the Cup, he bumps into his PT Etienne, whom he has been lusting after.

BLADE (B-Squad #2.5) by Avery Flynn. Goaltender, Flynn Kazakov spends his day with the Cup in Snow Bay, The Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Thief, Gillie Pike, tries to warn him that someone is attempting to frame him. BLADE is full of action and twists.

MAKING HIS MOVE by Susan Scott Shelley. Backup Goalie, Rod Fraser heads to New York. He bumps into his sister Kelsey’s best friend, Arielle Charton, who he has had a crush on. He tries to convince her to go on a date with him.

CHECK MY HEART by Christi Barth. Center, Kurt Lundquist, dying little brother Jasper, request that he win the Cup. Ten months later, he won the Cup but Jasper wasn’t around to see it. Kurt runs into Jasper’ nurse Lissette, whom his is attracted to but feels is off limits.

BLOCKED by Heather Long. Bad-boy right winger, Archer Durham needs to clean up his reputation. He becomes involved with pop star Hoshi Sato.

FULL CONTACT by Andie J. Christopher. Left winger, Anders Sorenson goes to Thunderbay Cove in Northern Minnesota. His teammates put a $150,000 bounty on his virginity.

COURAGE by Lena Hart. Coach Mason “The Rage” Courage fights to keep his marriage.

RANSOM by Nana Malone. Right Wing, Ransom Cox is stranded in a cabin in Hope, NY, with his high school crush, Lexa Carlisle. RANSOM is a fun romance.

CAGED by Virginia Nelson. Right Winger, Oliver “Ollie” Tremblay felt obligated to spend his day with the Cup in his hometown. Having bad memories, he left the town as soon as he could. He is reunited with his childhood crush, Maisie Miller. I like how the story flashed back and forth between the past and present.

THE WARM UP by Xio Axelrod. Defenseman, Constantine Zimin just won the Cup, but it is bittersweet because he has no one to celebrate it with. His twin sister died ten years ago; his parents couldn’t make it, and his best friend / teammate Jonas was in the hospital with a concussion. He heads home to Philly where he meets nurse, Sujarta Meriwether.

HOT ON ICE is an amazing read. Fourteen of the authors were new to me. The authors I was familiar with were: Katie Kenyhercz, Susan Scott Shelley, Desiree Holt, and Heather Long. I highly recommend this anthology to anyone that enjoys sports romances. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Ok so I am not a real Hockey fan, however bc Kimberly Kincaid wrote it, I had to read it. I love all of her writing and this is no different. Although I don't read Hockey books, The story in this book kept me interested just as all of her other books. This books does fall into the series of her Station Seventeen series but you will not be lost bc it can be read as a standalone. If this is her first book you are reading, You will quickly run and grab her other books!

This is a an Anthology and Kincaid is with a bunch of fabulous authors in this. I look forward to reading all of the books in this group.
Kincaid has really done a great job with keeping me pulled into this book. These ladies do an amazing job with their writing!

If you love hot romances, hockey and a collection of great writers than look no further. Each story follows one of the members of the New Orleans team and each one is a day in the life.

What would you do if you won the Stanley Cup? What would you do with it?

---Part 2---
Due to the quite a number of novellas and length in this anthology, I planned to read and post my personal thought in three batches and this is the second one. Reviews are based on the order of reading.

Ransom: The Player by Nana Malone – 2.5 stars
My first Nana Malone’s book and the novella is part of the Player series which centered on the Coulters, a dynasty of professional athletes family. Like other novellas in Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology, this novella told the story of one of Cajun Rage player after the team won the Cup.

Offense star Ransom Cox used his day with the cup at his hometown Hope, NY to celebrate his mother’s birthday. Unlike the stories I’ve read so far, the day with the cup only serves as the opening here. Right from the get go I like Ransom for his love and devotion to his mother. Mainly this aspect was the highlight of the story for me. Other than that, Ransom: the Player is basically a steamy reading of young love (although lust is probably more appropriate) finally came true.

The build up of their romance was rather nice actually, but then the ending felt rushed. The only vibe I got between Lexa and Ransom here was physical; which made the declaration of love a bit premature. Who knows, perhaps if the story were longer readers could learn more on Ransom’s effort to win the girl of his dream. Perhaps.

Courage by Lena Hart – 4 stars
Well, I should’ve guessed the story about (one of) the coach would lead the score! 😉

Courage is the first time for me to read Lena Hart’s writing and I enjoy the novella immensely! It’s a journey of finding the way back to love, trust and commitment for Cagun Rage new head coach Mason Courage and his wife Jules.

Story of established couple could be tricky for me and frankly I started reading this by readily taking Mason’s side, which – as the story progressed – proved to be wrong. As in, wrong to take side because he’s as much responsible for the mess their marriage in as Jules was.

This was the kind of story that was so real and could happen to any couple. I love how the author made the plot just flow naturally and not having to solve everything at the same time. There’s the routine one step forward two steps back tango people went through when they fought to win, but in a way that didn’t feel too deliberate or excessive to me.

The novella are mix of angst, cute, amusing, heartwarming moments with a dash of steamy scenes. Also livened up the pages were the supporting characters such as Mason’s PA, Doug, and the Courage kids, Jeremy and Madison each with their quirk and antics. But what I loved above all here is not only Jules and Mason’s mutual acknowledgement of their part in the problem and their willingness to work together, but also the build up to the moment.

It’s safe to say that Courage is my favorite of my second batch read of Hot on Ice and a nice introduction to the author’s works! I’m looking forward to read more of her books.

Checking Yes by Misty D. Waters – 2 stars
This novella was meant to be some cute and heartwarming read with family secret, second chance, small town story. Only this felt too convoluted for me.

Cooper was determined to win back the woman he love and came clean on why he left the way he did. Yet somehow, for a rather crucial issue, the way the character delivered it to his listener was way too casual. There’s also his issue with his brother, then everything’s just peachy even when their “talk” on their issue was interrupted in the middle. I also didn’t perceive Savannah Jane herself as a strong heroine; what I see of her in this novella just give off confuse vibe.

Too bad really. The story arc had such potential; but aside from too many loopholes to my liking, the delivery of the story just doesn’t work for me.

Blade by Avery Flynn – 2.75 stars
Talk about imperfect characters! In a hot and smutty novella of second chance!

Though I’ve heard the author’s name for a while, this is a first time for me to read Avery Flynn’s book. Part of Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology, this novella also tied-in to the B-Squad series. The heroine, Gillie, is kid sister to one of B-Squad member and the Cajun Rage goalie Flynn, best fried of said member.

Gillie lost her scholarship when cancer took away her ability to sing. To make do she had fallen into the wrong crowd and thievery. When she first met Flynn, a situation put her in situation that jeopardizing his career and his name. Flynn helped her but lost his trust in her; even left her to move to another state. Now years later, a reformed thief Gillie got roped into a plan to frame Flynn for stealing the Cup to pay back the debt of Flynn’s saving her before.

This is a pretty straightforward story, what’s really drew me was the suppressed feeling and tension between the MCs. There’s still void in their heart as a result of past incident that wrecked the blooming love between them; the knowledge the screwed up the chance and wanted to make amends.

I could go more with plot exposure on dealing with bad guys, less graphic scenes as shown here, or without the half-witted move Gillie made because… well, the reasoning was too rash and foolish for me. But all in all, this is an entertaining steamy introduction to Avery Flynn’s works and B-squad; plus, the grand gesture at the end was nothing to be overlooked either. 😉

Body Check by Desiree Holt – 2.75 stars
Another second chance story, this time of Cagun Rage star defenseman, Matt Vorchak and his high school and college sweetheart Liz St. John.

While I got the general plot, this is one where the delivery just didn’t agree with me. Too many self-talk (or thought) and self-reminiscing of both character. Also, considering the length of time Liz and Matt been together before they split-up, to me their attraction based mainly on lust and little else. Added to that, Matt’s array of grand gestures by way of showing he was sorry and asking for a second chance was too over the top and way too easy. Considering he got them all planed and implemented in less than one day was just surreal.

On the other hand, self-pitying aside, I kinda liked Matt and his passion. And I grudgingly liked Liz too, once she and Matt back together. That last chapter made up the previous mouth-pursed ones for me. 😀

Penalty Box Blues by Robin Kaye – 3- Stars
A fun friends-to-lovers story between queen of oblivious, Trisha Reynolds and Cajun Rage “enforcer” Stryker Reynolds. Both were high school friends, then Trish tutored Stryker during their college years. Now, he’s back at Boise for his day with the Cup and their friend Karma roped Trish into acting as his handler during his visit.

Penalty Box Blues is a spin-off from Robin Kaye’s Wild Thing series that centered on the Kincaid. Some of the characters in the series were back as supporting characters here, including Karma Kincaid. Though the start was a bit bumpy, as the story flow the MCs grew on me.

The instant attraction (or rather, lust) between the characters were predictably expected. I liked the way the author spun the story though, making it all appear realistic. I love the special need spin the author brought into the plot; even if – again, predictably -the twist close to the end felt too much. There’s also lack of grovelling scene, although at the same time I admired the heroine’s mature outlook in seeing the actual problem and not playing victim.


Advanced copy of these novellas are kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

---Part 1---
These novellas are part of Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology , stories Cajun Rage hockey team members on their one-day-with-a-cup after they won the prestigious Cup . I picked 6 novellas as the first batch, would go to the other 12 after finishing a couple of other books. Reviews are based on the order of reading.

Except for two, somehow I manage to pick one-who-got-away second-chance story from the bunch and [ member of Cajun Rage who decided to transfer from the team.

In Skates Trouble by Kate Meader – 3 stars

A steamy whirlwind romance between Cajun Rage’s star right wing and a six-year-older woman he should’ve never touched. This novella is prequel to Meader’s new Chicago Rebels series. I would think that alone would give away the plot pretty easily! 😉

Likable characters, instalove and steamy scenes are all and good. However, this being one of the non-second-chance of the bunch and a novella length at that, I feel missing details here and there. What I love was the mending rift with the family part of this story. That and the promising intrigues the new owner of the Rebels hinted here.

For sure the novella sounds to be an interesting start to Chicago Rebels series. I for one look forward to the their upcoming releases.

Bear Naked by Katie Kenyhercz – 3 stars

A second chance romance of the only First Nations hockey player who played for Cajun Rage and his highschool sweetheart turned chief of the band. The novella is my first Katie Kenyhercz’s story. This is a comfortable read with Canadian aboriginal backdrop history and two strong characters who – finally – realized compromises need to be made to win back love of his life.

Under the Midnight Sun by Kim Golden – 2.5 stars

An interracial one who got away romance of Cajun Rage Swedish star. Another one of new-to-me author first read! While Jonas was a likable enough character, I couldn’t really warm up to Miriam or – what I feel – such a self-righteousness with how she treated Jonas in the past and present. In a way, for me it’s more amusing to read the interactions between Jonas and Edwin the cup keeper, rather than the main characters themselves.

Free Agent by Robin Covington – 3.5 stars

An M/M romance of the newly out and (trying to be) proud Cajun Rage player who left NOLA for DC and – finally – got a chance with his former team’s physical therapist. I say Robin Covington wrote quite a sexy M/M story and I quite enjoy the banter and flirting between Jamie “DC” Washington and Etienne Beaufort. I applaud the author on her first foray into MM romance genre, that her story did not focus only on the male on male gymnastic aspect of it. Oh yes, there’s a number of those, for sure. But I could also feel the budding connection other than sexual tensions between the characters.

Caged by Virginia Nelson – 2 stars

Another childhood sweetheart story, though somehow the alternate flashback and present setting didn’t do it for me. Even if the gist of sweetness and youthful love is there, I didn’t quite feel the connection between Ollie and Maisie. The same goes for what Ollie had been through in his teenage years; I felt like I should feel more sorry for his younger self than I actually did. So of the first batch, this novella is my least favorite of the bunch.

Deep Check by Kimberly Kincaid – 3.75 stars

What can I say, Kimberly Kincaid doesn’t disappoint me on this entry to the Cajun Rage stars novellas. Of the first batch, this and Free Agent are my favorites of the anthology so far. My only regret here was that Finn didn’t get the full closure with his dead best friend. Otherwise, I really enjoyed overall delivery of this story; the pace, the banter between characters, and yes it also helped to have a bunch of firefighters from Kincaid’s Station Seventeen series featured in the story. But above all, I think it’s Finn Donnelly’s journey to actually feel he belong to a community – not only to a single woman – that made me love this novella!

Advanced copy of this book is kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hot on Ice

Let me start my review with stating what a wonderful book this is. Bringing 18 accomplished authors together to write 18 new stories that flow one right after the other was genius. The stories follow each hockey player on a journey on their day with the 35 pound trophy and it's keeper after winning it all in the final game of the season. Every story in unique and the passion they find along the way is off the charts steamy,

Run, Jump, Skate and hurry and buy this book. You'll laugh, giggle and even shed a tear or more along the way. I truly enjoyed each and every one!!!

Thanks you Netgally for letting me read and review.

I was given an ARC of one of the stories in the Hot on Ice anthology, Check My Heart, by Christi Barth. It's short and sexy. Kurt is a pro hockey player for the Cajun Rage, and he's a fighter on the ice. But, he can't fight the cancer slowly taking away his little brother, Jasper's, life. Lisette is Jasper's hospice care nurse. Kurt has noticed how hot she is, but he's more concerned with his little brother. Now, 10 months after Jasper's death, Kurt runs into her when she's about to interview for a job with his team. A few words from Kurt and her potential job just may disappear. But, Lisette doesn't have to know this, does she? And if she finds out he blocked her from getting her dream job? Will she kick him out of her life or will she let her heart forgive him?

I really like Check My Heart. It's emotional, and has a nice message about learning to grieve and let go of the grief. Kurt and Lisette are both great characters, and their chemistry is hot!!

Deep check:
January and Finn grew up and after the death of his beat friend he left his hometown forever till something in his career happened and he need to make amends to two people. Determines to go back as as soon as possible he forgot what was in front of him. This book was a quick read but great!!!
Courage: this book was about a couple that lost their way after 10 yrs of marriage and the journey back..awesome story
Checking yes: best ending of a book ever
Ransom: very heartfelt book about a couple of teens in love but never admitted it and years later falling in love for the real reason.
Bear naked; this book was about coming home to your roots and finding that one love and trying to prove he deserved her back.
Breakaway brook: it took place in a town that I lived for 9 yrs with ex and son so reading this kinda made me laugh cause in tx you go all out lol..but honestly it was a great suspense and never expected that kind of storyline but it makes me want to read the whole series.
Penalty box blues: this book hit home for someone that deal with type of learning disability and knows the struggle but I also know it makes someone stronger in other ways. Love love this book
Blade: was the most action packed book in this series and suspense wonderful book.
Free agent: a wonderfull book
Making his move: the best book for coffee lovers
Check my heart: even when you make mistakes and in the beginning you see sadness, the sadness can turn to happy and mistakes can be fixed

4.5 - "The guy's as hot as puck." Stars!

This novella is initially being released as part of the Hot On Ice Anthology, and you can pre-order a copy here -

Amazon - http://amzn.to/2jFsJg8
iBooks: http://apple.co/2fOCS8g
B&N: http://bit.ly/2gC6ceJ
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2ggBnyg

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In my humble opinion, In Skates Trouble is worth the cost of purchasing this box-set alone. The story between Ford and Addison didn’t really feel like a novella to me, it was well rounded the characters well developed, as well as a good set of secondary characters to flesh out the story overall.

"Leaving so soon. Mr. Eavesdropper?"

Older woman, younger man is always a trope I enjoy, and the author delivered it up perfectly, yes the difference in age was mentioned but it wasn’t the mainstay of the story, the fact that Ford’s boss was Addy’s ex-husband had more of an impact on the relationship, and due to how things proceeded between them, Ford actually came across as the older person on a few occasions.

"The exchange of phone numbers is the best way to prevent the further exchange of bodily fluids…"

Plenty of sass, snark, and one-liners from both sides, as you would expect from this author, but once again she managed to bring emotion to the story, with the ghosts of Ford’s past.

"You’re staring…"

"...You’re stunning."

Another reason to grab this anthology at its crazy cheap release price, is that this sweet and sexy tale is also the prequel for Kate’s new Chicago Rebels series, and on the strength of this novella I am all sorts of excited to read more from it.

ARC generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review.

Deep Check by Kimberly Kincaid - 5 stars - Finn Donnelly has come back to Remington after winning the cup for one reason, to bring the cup to the grave site of his friend. He doesn't expect to run into January Sinclair but the blast from the past is one that changes everything. The kiss between them the night before he left town caused the fight between him and Asher and put up the walls between him and January. Now being back in town he realizes he not only needed to apologize to his dead friend but to January. That apology leads to so much more and changes everything. This was a fully developed read in a short novella and did not leave me crying for more because it was so satisfying. Hot and sexy hockey players along with the Station Seventeen gang, what more could I want.

**Received an ARC copy for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

Holy hell, is this one sexy novella! I am dying..dying to read the rest of the anthology, and the rest of this new series. Addy, and Ford steamed up the pages, and made me swoon. The perfect combination :)

God I loved this box set with all these great authors. Hard to find one great story out of the bunch as they where all excellent an loved every story an can't wait to see what else comes from these authors in the future. Would totally recommend this box set to everyone. Thanks for letting me read this.

A great assembly of hockey novellas! Most of the authors I have never read before. I can certainly see myself picking up a few more books in the future.

4 1/2 STARS! -- I read 2 of the novellas in advance ... each is detailed below

BREAKAWAY BROOK by Angi Morgan -- 4 STARS!

A fun & quirky read!

Hockey player Deacon Sanders has received some threats, but he’s not concerned. His family however is and secretly brings in bodyguard Brooke Henderson to keep an eye on him during The Cup festivities planned in his hometown. Can the persuasive powers of this unique bombshell bring this hunky guy to his knees?


DEEP CHECK by Kimberly Kincaid -- 5 STARS!

A sweet, yet super hot friends to lovers reunion story!

Cajun Rage center Finnegan Donnelly lives for hockey. He loves the game, he loves his team, and he loves the high the game brings to his life. When circumstances take him back to the hometown he hasn’t stepped foot in for years, will he find there’s more than he expected waiting for him back there?

4 STARS

Sitting on a balcony in a hotel in his hometown Chicago Ford Callaghan, star right winger of the Cajun Rajuns, overhears a spicy conversation between friends. One of the voices sounds familiar, the other one smokey and sexy.

Addy, a successful and famous plus-size model, is fascinated by their eavesdropper. After calling him out they share an explosive anonymous experience. Addy regrets that she will never see and get to know this man but after her marriage to the controlling owner of a hockey team she cherishes her independence.

This was such a sweet and sexy read! Ford is delicious and dead-set on making Addy his. He goes after her relentlessly and he doesn't take a no for an answer. He knows Addy is a strong woman but also senses her vulnerable side. And he knows how to bring the wild kitten out of her. Ford was panty-meltingly sweet and hot.

“I lick this, it’s mine.” Better she be warned. He waited for her acquiescence, needing that final word.
“Yes.”

Addy is an independent, intelligent woman who after being a trophy wife wants more out of life. She puts her career first, a man with Ford's personality doesn't have room in her life. She puts her foot down when she feels cornered but you also feel that she cares about this beautiful man.

I need my career. I need to be someone other than a wife.

I love that a jock doesn't always have to be a man-ho who indulges in meaningless one-night stands. He lets his girl know in no uncertain terms that she is the most important thing in his world.


Kate Meader packs a surprising amount of story into these 100 and odd pages. Of course you can't expect in depth characterization but for this short novella we get a really good picture about who our main characters are. Do I wish it would have been longer? Hell yes, I think there was a lot of potential for a full length novel, especially Ford's past.
This story is told with a good dose of the dry humor I have come to love about this author. As per usual we also get some of the hottest sex scenes in the romance world.

This novella is a great introduction into Kate Meader's new Chicago Rebels series and I can't wait to see what this author has for Harper and Remy in store!

You will get a bang for your buck, or rather 99 cents, with this really great anthology. All the stories center around the players of the New Orleans Cajun Rage hockey team. A team that has just won the Cup. Each story is engaging and you can’t go wrong with this list of authors.
One of my favorite stories is DEEP CHECK by the talented Kimberly Kincaid.
In this one the main characters are Finn Donnelly and January “ his Calendar girl”. If you have been a reader of Ms Kincaid , you will be happy to know that Station Seventeen is an important part of this story. Finn left town after a kiss that broke up friendships. Tragedy inspired him to become the very best in his field and he has come back mostly to honor his dead friend’s faith in him.
What I find amazing is that Ms Kincaid was able to create a thorough and deep plot in a novella without wasting any words. You did not feel she was cutting corners ,but rather, you felt all the emotions compacted in this story of forgiveness, redemption and second chances.
Just for this story, you should consider purchasing the book. To make it more enticing, part of the earnings from the anthology will be donated to Homes for our Troops charity. A win-win for everyone !
I was gifted this book by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

Bear Naked by Katie Kenyhercz

Bear Naked was a little too wordy for my enjoyment. If it had more dialogue between the characters, I would probably have enjoyed it much more. BUT to the author's credit, she had some world building to do which was spot on.

Through Netgalley I was able to receive a select few novellas in this awesome hockey anthology. My review was completely voluntarily written. All of these novellas are about the same team, just a specific player, after they have won the Stanley Cup. They each get to spend a day with the cup, some more intensely than others and some use it reunite with old lovers.

Body Check: Very simply, Matt developed a huge ego over the years as his success grew. After a career ending injury he realizes who should be important to him and sets out to make amends. I wasn't a fan of Liz at first, not giving the guy a chance, but she was hurting. Low on the heat scale, til the end, it was a sweet fairy tale type story. New author to me and enjoyed her style.

Under the Midnight Sun: Sweet second chance love story. Another player injured in the Cup finals decides to return home and find his old girlfriend. Even though this was an ARC copy, the edits needed review again and the last chapter repeated the previous one. Lovely story but a little slower than the others.

Deep Check: A coordinating novella with the Station Seventeen series. The station administrator, January, was best friends with Finn, center for the Rage, while they were kids. Feelings were misconstrued and like all teenage incidents it blew up quick. This one has a good vibe going, Finn making amends and letting January shine with a fundraiser. Definitely high on the heat scale.

In Skates Trouble: A new series starter for Meader to revisit Chicago and maybe have hockey meet firefighters. This started off fun and flirty and stayed there. Both have a past that needs to be sorted and just be themselves. I did like how Callaghan wasn't afraid to lose everything, usually the woman has to give something up.

Blocked: If I was being attacked by the paparazzi and left defenseless I wouldn't push away a knight in sweaty running clothes, I think Hoshi Sato agrees. Hoshi is a recent winner of a pop singing competition and Archer Durham is fresh from winning the Cup. Both in NYC for different reasons but he feels the need to protect her and teach her a few tricks about dealing with the press. I get the feeling Archer and his family are part of a much bigger series because we meet his cousins and they are most definitely some kind of royalty.

Blade: Part of the B-Squad series, Marko's sister is back to her old con artist tricks but not by choice. Someone has it out for Flynn, best goalie in hockey, and Gillie needs to help him. Full of bedroom antics and action on the tarmac, Avery Flynn never disappoints with her suspenseful romance.

4.5 Stars Hot on Ice is a great box set that brings you 18 brand new sexy stories from fabulous bestselling authors. I have read Body Check by Desiree Holt, In Skates Trouble by Kate Meader, Bear Naked by Katie Kenyhercz, Blocked by Heather Long and Deep Check by Kimberly Kincade. I have loved every single one of them and can’t wait to read the rest. Make sure you pick this box set up you won’t be disappointed!

This anthology is well-priced and proceeds go to a great cause, so I apologize for this review of the sneak peek to be a downer. I am a HUGE hockey romance fan and was so excited to have a chance to read the short stories from Kimberly Kincaid and Lena Hart in this collection. What a bummer, though, that neither story lived up to my expectations.

I've read plenty of shorter romances and novellas that were so emotionally rich, I walked away deeply satisfied from reading them. These 2 stories could hardly contain my interest and my eyes simply skimmed to key mediocre dialogue to follow the story because the interstitial text was sadly just as "meh."

When I get my hands on an anthology, I am most excited to be introduced to the stylings of a new author. These stories were a 1st for me from KK and LH and I am disappointed that I'm not hooked to pick up more from them.

If these 2 stories are the offerings from NetGalley meant to entice you to purchase the whole collection to read more, do yourself a favor and simply make the tax deductible donation to the cause and spend your 99 cents elsewhere.