Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

It wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be but it was a nice sapphic romance and it's great for the winter time!

For a YA book this probably ticks all the boxes. There's plenty of angst and certainly plenty of moments where I just wanted the characters to put two and two together earlier, but ultimately it was a good positive story with some skiing and love thrown in for good measure.

2.5/5 stars

E.J Noyes is a wonderful writer, but unfortunately this wasn’t the book for me. This book follows the Olympic skier Stacey and her coach’s daughter (who also happens to be her best friend) Gemma. While Noyes usually writes adult novels, this one is definitely aimed towards younger audiences, either young adult on new adult. It has the makings of a solid romance with good characters and a well-written story, but unfortunately none of it clicked for me.

I didn’t feel drawn into the romance, nor was I invested it the characters. I do think a lot of this might be because this book isn’t aimed at my age group, and personal preference regarding tropes and storyline’s. I still think the author is a wonderful lesfic writer and can’t see what she comes up with next.

This book had some well-developed characters and was well written. The communication was great, and it shows that a good relationship takes work especially when there's fear and anxiety involved. The main characters had great chemistry. and were just a joy. Well done has always Noyes. I recommend.


Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC.

I absolutely love EJ Noyes’s writing and this book was no different. The story was great and I loved seeing the characters again. I tend to stay away from youth LGBT books, but this was a great story. It did a great job of telling a coming of age story.

Stacey and Gemma are best friends. They do everything together and are inseparable. The plot focuses on them going from friends to lovers. Stacey is a skiing champion. so, the book has a good description of skiing and what it takes to be a champiio0n. I found the characters great and they were not the same so there was drama and emotion throughout the book.
I recommend this book for skiing and romance readers.

ARC received via Bella Books in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Noyes’ Gold, Aspen is one of my favourite Noyes characters. When I read Gold, I thought we might one day get a book about Gemma and Stacey, but assumed since they were young teens it would take place maybe 10 years later. I’d have enjoyed this more if it did.

This features an 18 year old Gemma, who is a senior in high school, and her BFF Stacey, a skiing wunderkind who is coached by Aspen (also Gemma’s adoptive mother). Stacey is 20, and has won at the Olympics and various other skiing events and is being forced to take a break at the start of the book.

The two girls love each other as BFFs but are also in love, even though Stacey has a girlfriend, Bree. While both Gemma and Stacey are lovely, together and separately, Bree is an outright bitch and not at all worthy of Stacey, who admits she’s with her solely for her looks and social media connections, which even she admits is shallow and honestly didn’t make me think much of her character.

Even though both girls harbour feelings for the other, their ages just made it hard for me to buy it into the romance. A lot is made of Gemma’s decisions regarding college, and I couldn’t help but wonder what impact her studies and Stacey’s travels would have on their relationship. Noyes doesn’t do the thing most lesfic authors do where she breaks up her couples just because, but there is a small bit of drama and even it felt immature, like two school girls fighting online.

I did love catching up with Aspen and Cate again, some of the best scenes in the book were either of them with either or both girls, and that was enough to keep me reading. I also liked the way Noyes handled both girls’ approaches to sex and how they explored that on their own terms, but the romance itself didn’t do anything for me. Given their ages, I saw this as more of a HFN than a HEA, but I think that about all teen romance. Anyone who likes YA/NA will likely enjoy this more than I did. 3 stars.

This friends to lovers romance by E.J Noyes was a nice book to cuddle with on the couch. Stacey and Gemma have a great friendship and it believably grew into more once they were brave enough to speak their minds.
Because we read the story from both of their point of views it was easy to understand where they were coming from in their actions and I really enjoyed coming along on their journey. Noyes managed to get into the mindset of a 18 or 21 year-old most of the time, yet at some points it felt " too" adult to fit this couple. Never the less a really nice book well worth any romance reader's time.

****Thank you Netgalley and Bella Books for giving me the chance to read and review this book ***

Schuss by E. J. Noyes is NA/YA novel and a follow up to her book Gold. Several characters from Gold make an appearance so if you haven’t read Gold, read it first. You don’t have to but why not, it’s a fantastic book.

This book was sweet and even a bit steamy for a NA/YA novel. I’m a huge fan of E. J. Noyes and have loved all of her books. This one wasn’t a typical Noyes novel, its about 18 year old Gemma and 21 year old Stacy, who were side characters in her previous book, Gold. They’re best friends and both are falling for each other but are afraid that they’ll ruin their amazing friendship if they try to pursue a relationship. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but the story works.

I really liked it but maybe wished it took place more than 3 years after Gold. They’re both so young and in very different places in their lives. Stacy just medaled at the Olympics and Gemma is still in High School, getting ready for College. Their conversations and communications are almost too adult but there are plenty of reactions that remind you that they’re both still very young.

I loved seeing the main characters from Gold again and enjoyed seeing an older version of both Stacy and Gemma. I think I read in another review that the reviewer might need another book to complete this series and I have to agree. My vision for the third would be that Gemma goes to college Stacy keeps growing in her Ski career and they break up. I know, I’m ruining sweet, youthful, love. Then we get a third book when they’re both older, wiser and ready to settle down. As much I liked this book it didn’t feel like the entire story for all of these characters was finished.

I love E. J.’s books, always one of my favorite writers. Read it for yourself, it might be exactly what you’re looking for!

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Best friends to lovers for Gemma and Stacey in this snowy story.

It was great seeing how at ease they were as friends and supported each other. I was happy that there were some hurdles for them once they admitted their feelings as being friends and being lovers brings on different challenges.

I liked the relationships they had with their parents and in Stacey's case her coach.

An ARC was provided via Netgalley in return of an honest review.

Winter sports, snow and ski slopes feature in this young adult romance with leads Stacey and Gemma. An accomplished skier, extrovert Stacey focuses on alpine ski racing and training to change the color of the medal she won at the last Winter Olympics. Gemma quiet and reserved will soon be off to college, film and photography her passion.
Best friends since childhood, we go through the roller coaster events in their lives. The tough training involved for a winter sports athlete, the intrusive spotlight, being there for each other (though Gemma fills that role more often than not). They both have feelings for the other and eventually those emotions are recognized and realized.
Communication aside, the relationship seemed a bit too angsty and lacking maturity and I questioned the prospect of a long-term HEA. Heated moments yes, but still just an okay read.

I received an ARC copy of E. J. Noyes’ “Schuss’’ from Bella Books (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
So, here it is !!! => My rating : 2.5⭐️

It’s not a secret that I usually appreciate a lot E. J. Noyes’ books. I’m totally fan of the “Ask, Tell” series & I deeply LOVED her novel 🏅 GOLD 🏅 in which teen Gemma and Stacey have been introduced.

I was curious about “Schuss” since it’s a “spin-off”/ sequel of “Gold” which is still one of my favorite stories. Despite me not being into late-teens/YA/ twenty-something characters, I thought that “knowing” the MCs would help me to connect with them… God !!! I was so wrong about that! I really wanted to love “Schuss” but I join the minority who didn’t fell head over heels for 20 YO Stacey and 18 YO Gemma. I couldn’t get invested in their relationship, at all. Whereas they were both smart kids in “Gold”, here, as young adults I thought they were totally immature, childish even. It was like reading a book about 2 different people than those we met previously & I felt totally DISconnected from both of them. As a matter of fact, I didn't really like either of their “grown-up” versions lacking of substance &, I confess that I almost DNF the book.

The least we can say is that I’ve been buried by an avalanche of disappointment about the MCs of this book but, even if I wouldn’t have minded having it way more important, at least I appreciated having a slight follow-up on Cate and Aspen’s relationship… And, like in “Ask Me Again”, I liked the switch from one MCs’ POV to the other each time we hit a new chapter …

This is the sequel to Gold. Aspen and Kate have married, and Aspen has adopted Kate’s child Gemma. Aspen is now a trainer to Stacy Evans, an up-and-coming alpine skier that just won Bronze at t the Beijing Olympics. Stacey has had girlfriends but keeps them at arms distance, though not sure why. Stacey’s training and ski schedule is brutal and doesn’t give her much free time. She explains this to potential girlfriends so they understand that her job is skiing .
Gemma and Stacey have been friends for years. They both have a crush on each other but are afraid of ruining their friendship. The story takes you on the complicated struggle of friends to lovers and all that entails. I enjoyed this book very much.
This is the sequel to Gold. Aspen and Kate have married, and Aspen has adopted Kate’s child Gemma. Aspen is now a trainer to Stacy Evans, an up-and-coming ski star. Gemma and Stacey have been friends for years. They both have a crush on each other but are afraid of ruining their friendship. The story takes you on the complicated struggle of friends to lovers and all that entails. I enjoyed this book very much.

What would you do if you had a crush on your best friend? Not to mention that your friend is a famous skier and her coach is your step mom? So many obstacles are in the way of Gemma revealing her crush to Stacey. When people start telling Stacey that she needs to stop being oblivious to the way Gemma looks at her, does Stacey start to realize that she she may have a crush on Gemma.
Also, Stacey just recently broke up with her girlfriend. That girlfriend is not happy about this and goes out of her way to let all her fans on Instagram know how unhappy she is.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲.

I thought Gold was a solid book and was looking forward to this one as well because Stacy and Gemma were really cute kids, but after reading this, I find it hard to believe that they are suitable partners for each other at this age because they are very different people.

Gemma and Stacy are best friends who are in love with each other but are afraid to risk their friendship until one of them finally decides to make a move. Gemma is 18 and Stacy is 20 and that's only 2 years apart but their personalities, priorities and experiences are really different. Gemma is going to college whereas Stacy is working her way to the top of her pro ski racer career which takes up a lot of time, energy and sacrifices and while Gemma has been a supportive friend for a long time, I think it's different playing the role of girlfriend to a celebrity and she wasn't entirely cut out or ready for it. Gemma is too shy, sweet and innocent and Stacy doesn't really help to ease her in.

I have nothing against Stacy. She is an achiever and she also genuinely cares for Gemma. But I thought she's terrible to the women she dates. With the other women, her heart wasn't in it. And the truth is, to a much lesser extent, I find this to also be true when she's with Gemma though her insensitivity to Gemma's insecurities are totally unintentional. It helps that Gemma is surprisingly good at communicating her needs and discomfort and that Stacy listens and tries to do better. But to be honest, I don't think this is the right time for either of them to make a big commitment if we're aiming for the long haul.

That being said, they have a number of sweet moments together that I enjoyed. I'm also glad to see Aspen settling in so comfortably as a parent to Gemma. She and Cate make a good parenting team and it's heartwarming to see Gemma grow up well under her mothers' care.

Ahhhh...young romance. This was an in-depth look at young people working to figure out how they feel about each other. The 18 and 21 year olds were best friends who became lovers. I appreciated the 2 person point of view. I also appreciated how Gemma processed and spoke up for herself. She will need to continue to do that if this relationship is to last. Stacy has a stronger personality but she is willing to listen, process, and make changes as necessary. This read provided no twists or turns just straight ahead story telling which to a great extent was refreshing. Being a big fan of this author, I will read just about anything she writes.

4.25 stars! I am a huge Noyes fan and Gold, the sort of prequel to this book is my all time favorite. I was really looking forward to this book although I’m not the biggest N/A Y/A fan. I enjoyed the book very much, though I’d wished for a bit more angst. I’ve come to enjoy the tension that builds in Noyes’ other books and felt that was somewhat missing. In spite of that, I was still thrilled to read two well developed young adult characters navigating first love. Really looking forward to the audiobook release.

E.J. Noyes is an autobuy for me, so when I saw this on NetGalley I knew I was going to read it no matter what....so bottom line I might be a bit biased <smile>. This is a sequel of sorts from Gold, but you can read this as a stand-a-lone. I did enjoy revisiting some old characters but the storyline jumps years from Gold and picks up with the younger characters in Gold, Stacey and Gemma.

I am not sure what age audience the author was targeting (in my opinion most of her books are tailored towards adult/older readers) her MCs are usually much older so I feel like this is a more coming of age/YA target. I enjoyed the story even though the MCs were so young (compared to me<smile>) so if you are looking for a moe young adult story line with warmth and friendship, this is the book for you.

Ms. Noyes has a knack for really getting the reader immersed into the environment/activity her characters are passionate for (skiing in this case, equestrian/Dressage in Pas de deux, etc.) which attest to her diligence to researching and writing what she knows about.

I said at the start Ms. Noyes is an auto read for me and I enjoyed this story even though the characters were for me a bit too young to relate with, the story was warm and enjoyable and I would recommend if you are looking for a well rounded story with sweet characters and a love for snow.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own.

Really good book. The relationship between Stacey and Gemma was really cute. I liked that they were friends first before getting together as a couple. There were some really good moments throughout this book especially between Gemma and her parents. I loved that both girls were first time lovers to each other, and when Gems mom gave her a list of things to do after being intimate for the first time, I literally laughed out loud. This was such a cute story there were a few bumps that happened but nothing that distracted from the story. The support characters were really well written, the skiing terms were really well described. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family and I look forward to what's next from this author.