Love on the Tracks by Tamsen Parker is a good fit for those seeking an emotional and fast-paced romance that explores the highs and lows of a fictional snow and ice games athlete's journey, complete with a chart-topping heartthrob love interest and the glamour of the sports world.

Rowen does Lunge for the Snow and Ice Games and she’s one of the top performers. She wants to be in the top three to make it to the next level. Every-time before she goes out she listens to License to Game.

Zane is the lead singer of License to Game. He’s ready for a solo career. He’s been watching Lunge and is going to take a break and go watch the Snow and Ice Games.

Zane’s manager and Rowens dad agree to a public romance between Zane and Rowen to help both of their careers and get them seen by the public because who doesn’t like reading and seeing famous people together. It’s suppose to be fake and only to further their careers but can they keep it that way?

This is my first book by Tamsen Parker and its very well written and she makes you feel like your right there with the characters. Both Zane and Rowen are someone you’ll fall in love with. Can’t wait to read the rest of the books in the series.

*~~*ARC kindly provided to me for an honest review *~~*

- Review to come

Review originally posted on my blog with added content on Mikku-chan / A world full of words

When luger Rowan meets her celebrity crush, boybander Zane Rivera, sparks are flying all over the Denver Snow and Ice Games. When they come up with a fake relationship to gain some much needed press, who knows if the relationship will turn real.

I found Love on the Tracks to be a cute, sexy read. Zane and Rowan are both interesting, likable characters, especially Zane. I will say I wanted a bit more depth to the relationship, and more character development. Rowan's dad is a stock kind of villain, I would have preferred if he weren't such a cookie cutter character, and for Zane to give up after one confrontation with him was pretty weak. Still, I liked the story and the two leads so three stars seems fair.

Luge athlete and a boy band member, yes please! Rowan admitted in an interview that she has a crush on Zane of License to Game the lead singer. He has a thing for athletes and decides to surprise her at the Snow and Ice Games. What starts out as a fake relationship to get sponsors for her and exposure for his next album turns into something more.

I love that the back drop is the O games (we can't say the real world as it is traded market). What do boy bands do when they are growing up.

Well written and an enjoyable story. I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

Love on the Tracks is the first book in the Snow & Ice Games series from Tamsen Parker and a great start to a new series. I really thought Ms. Parker did a great job setting up the Snow & Ice Games as games for serious athletes.

I really like both Rowan and Zane as individuals and as a couple. I did laugh out loud a bit when Rowan fan-girled all over Zane when she initially met him. I would love to blame such reactions on her age, and it partly is true, but I myself have felt that way meeting authors for the first time, so I totally got it. I did expect her to get over her fan-girl issues a bit sooner, but as Rowan was only 20, I gave her a pass for this one issue. Part of why I loved Rowan so much was that she knew who she was and had no problems with going after what she wanted. I love she is such a fierce competitor in luge and she has very little issue speaking her mind.

Zane is the lead singer of Licence to Game, which is the boy band he started out with 10 years ago. At 26 he is a bit more mature than Rowan, but not so much they didn't work for me. I did love that he was already thinking ahead to his next music venture even while still at the top of the game with Licence to Game. I loved that Zane and Rowen were kind of thrown together to help both their images and improve their marketing for their respective groups, yet you could tell early on they had genuine feelings for one another. They also pretty much had trouble keeping their hands off each other when they were together. I loved how passionate they were about both their careers and each other.

I really enjoyed Love on the Tracks and recommend it to anyone who enjoys fast-paced super sexy romances. I am completely hooked on this series after only the first book and can't wait to see where Tamsen Parker takes us with the rest of the books in the series.

Rating: 4 Stars (B-)

3.5stars
Tamsen Parker is a new author for me! Music and sports combined in a hot and sexy story #perfectcombo.

Rowan was always focused in her career, she wants to be on the podium and nothing could make her lose focus… except for the hot lead singer of the most popular boyband- Zane Rivera.
When her crush turns into reality, Rowan agrees to be the fake girlfriend, the friend with benefit but not for long as she quickly falls for Rowan…

“ For the love of all that is holy, singing is not the only thing Zane Rivera’s mouth is good for.”

What happens next?
If you are looking for a quick good romance that will make you feel good, this one is for you.

*Arc kindly provided by the author via Netgalley

Love On the Tracks follows Rowan and Zane. Rowan is at the Denver Snow and Ice Games to compete in Lunge, which has captured the public's attention and has pushed her into the public eye. Zane is the lead singer of a band called Licence to Game, which has become the most popular band in America. Both know of the other and are attracted to each other, and when they meet this leads to chemistry between them. When they do meet, there's a moment where Zane kisses Rowan's cheek which get's caught on camera and goes viral. This leads to a plan where they will fake date to garner more attention for the other. As the two are already attracted to each other, they're both on board but it soon leads to something else.

If you know me at all, you know I don't ever read none diverse adult m/f romances (and m/f in general). This one however sounded interesting as did other books in the series so I decided to give it a shot, and I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed both of the main characters. I loved how driven Rowan was. Zane was also a good character, he really respected and supported Rowan in her career. I also really liked how he was shown to be really attracted to Rowan's athletic body, which is something I haven't seen shown in m/f romance before. His type seemed to be athletic women which is kind of rare to see in media.

I did like their relationship a lot too. When they first had sex, there was a good degree of communication. I also like how two forms of birth control were used, that being the pill and a condom. Maybe it's because I rarely read adult m/f, but I haven't seen this before and I really loved seeing it.

I would say my only complaint about this book was that they said 'I love you' a little too quickly for my taste. I think they needed a little more time to say it but that's more of a me thing, they did have good chemistry. It was overall, a pretty good m/f romance.

I have to admit that Love on the Tracks was a bit of a slow start for me, but I’m glad I continued to read because I absolutely adored the romance between Rowan and Zane in the end!

An an avid fan of winter sports (just watching on TV, not participating but still) I was very excited to read this romance featuring a female luger and boy band lead singer in a fake relationship while in reality both have a secret crush on the other.

It's a light, fun story though the characters came off as a bit immature and I would have like some more depth in their arcs.

I appreciate that the author chose to highlight a sport that is not so popular. Rowan is a professional athlete and we get to see how ever-present sports is in her life, how it shapes everything about her. What's more Zane was not only not resentful of her commitment to her professional career but he admired her dedication, he absolutely adored her very muscular and athletic body. There is some light femdom which I found fitting to the characters. There was no shame on his part for enjoying letting her call the shots in bed.

Zane a typical musician in a boy band, he is enjoying his fame and good fortune but also looking forward to the next steps in his career. He didn't stand out as much as she did for me though I liked how supporting, caring and the same non-suffocating and non-alpha he acted with Rowan.

The main conflict felt a bit artificial and we saw her dad undeservedly presented as the villain in their story. It all read a bit too much like your average NA romance but was enjoyable overall.

I didn't appreciate the jab at the Russian athletes at the end, felt it was unnecessary for the story.

It's a nice story, a bit on the sweet side. I liked the way the author presented the world of professional winter sports and I'm looking to reading the next books in the series.

I love love Rowan and Zane!
This book wasn't what I expected in a good way.

Thanks Netgalley

Wow, okay... this was super cute and sweet. I really needed a book like this. Things are crazy before the holiday and this was the perfect little getaway for my brain. I loved Zane's sweet nature and his honesty, and really dug how agressive Rowan could be while still being a total fangirl.

It's a HFN ending that honeslty feels like there is no way they're going to be able to keep this up, but the fact that they're young and willing to try is simply adorable and endearing.

Romance between a female athlete and a male pop star--definitely something different,. Liked one this because it was a light, interesting romance story and an easy read. Narrated alternately in first person by the two main characters Rowan and Zane who conjure up a fake dating relationship after a photo of them together goes viral. Quick romance story that take space over the time of the sports event that Rowan is participating in. Liked it and I think it is a reasonably good start to a new series. Definitely a quick entertaining romance. Thanks NetGalley!!

This is the first book in this series by this author. This is a contemporary sports romance read. This book has very likeable characters, you will fall in love with as you read. I enjoyed this story and couldn't put this book down till I'd finished it. I can't wait to read more in this series and by this author in the future.
Highly recommended
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

Like this story. The age of Zane is an issue to me, I don't see him as a boy band so I make him 24 in my mind. Then the story is great, a good romance between two Americas sweetheart.
I received a ARC from Netgalley for a honest review.

Love on the Tracks by Tamsen Parker
Snow & Ice Games #1
New Adult/Sports Romance
December 5, 2017
Swerve
Reviewed by Kini

I am a big fan of Parker’s books as tends to write a solid and usually emotional story and frequently pushes the boundaries of my comfort to the edges. The blurb alludes to a fake relationship between a female participant of the Snow & Ice Games and a boy band member, I imagined both H/H would be younger but was a little surprised when I found out the heroine is twenty. I don’t read a lot of new adult, but because I trust that Parker usually gives a good story, I gave it a shot.

Rowen is a contender for a medal in the luge competition. She is confident in her body and with its abilities. She has a huge crush on the lead singer for the current hot boy band, License to Game. By sheer coincidence, Zane, the lead singer of said boy band, has a passing interest in Rowen and ends up going to the Snow & Ice Games (SIG) to arrange a surprise meeting with her. It was kind of cute, but could have been embarrassing for her. Luckily she handles it well. For kind of silly and superficial reasons, they decide to engage in a fake dating relationship during the SIG in the hopes that they will both benefit from the exposure. I love a fake relationship, but this didn’t work as well for me. It felt forced and the rationale weak.

Rowen has a lot of agency over her body and sexuality and had no issues voicing her desires for Zane. In fact she was the one that kissed him first and moved their physical relationship forward. That is not something I see frequently in romance, so it was a little different. Her mother passed away ten years ago and her dad is very involved in her life and her career, in fact so involved they get in an argument about her having sex with Zane. It was weird. Her dad also adds to the conflict of the story and it felt forced and I didn’t care for it.

One of the things that really bothered me was that Rowen was frequently described by Zane as a “girl”. So much so that girl appears in the book 64 times, of course not all are in direct relation to Rowen. Meanwhile the word woman is used 8 times. It was hard for me to reconcile this hard working athlete who has confidence in her body and abilities and agency over her sexuality to continue to be referred to as a girl.

Their fake relationship quickly changes once they spend some time together and have sex. The book is pretty short, 164 pages according to Amazon, so there are only a few sex scenes and they are decent. The whole book felt a little fast and perhaps if it was a bit longer, the story could have felt deeper and I would have connected to it better.

Overall, I just didn’t connect with the characters or the story. The dad was a weird component for me that didn’t feel authentic. Rowen was a strong badass women and the conflict diminished that for me a tiny bit. This is book one in a series and I won’t be rushing to read the next ones.

Grade: C-

When things become suddenly very real…

What do you get when you mix a rock star and an elite athlete into a fake relationship? If you guessed sexual heat (at the minimum) and wild, satisfying mattress mambo (at the other end) then you are correct!

Rowan’s fan crush for Zane and his boy band goes way back. Whether trying to zen while competing or enjoying down time, she plugs into his music and gets swept away. When Zane is suddenly not just a distant figure but a living, breathing, sexy, hot MAN on her phone and in her dating calendar, she can hardly believe it…

Zane is looking for a quiet place to hide from everyone and a casual glance at a feature about the Snow & Ice Games has him heading to the mountains and checking out a luger who has caught his eye….

These characters were fun to get to know as their physical attraction, and forced togetherness, meant I learnt about them as they were doing the same. They had some obvious goals but they also had more hidden (and frustrated) dreams. There was unexpected shyness and an understanding and empathy that surprised them both. Given their situation there had to be some real drama to add to the already reality-esque of their situation and there is, courtesy of interfering family and record companies.

I liked these characters who were more than caricature figures in the tabloids even as I found the story not zinging my heart like I wanted it to. It should have – all the elements were there – but the connection fell just a bit short. I LIKED this story and as the first in the series I know there is more to come – and hopefully LOVE! ~3.5 stars, Diane

Rowan Andrews is looking to make it big at the Snow and Ice Games and listening to her favorite boy band in her downtime is how she unwinds.

Zane Rivera needs a break from the boys in License to Game and decides to check out the Snow and Ice Games after seeing Rowan's picture in a magazine. He knows she's a fangirl and so does everyone else when he kisses her. When a fake relationship is set up to everyone's satisfaction to capitalize on the publicity, it's a no-brainer that they are going to fall for each other.

The relationship develops nicely for the main characters as they play out fake relationship. I liked Zane's interest in Rowan's athletic prowess, and Rowan has some surprises of her own to share with Zane -- namely why they need all those condoms at the Games!

This was a really sweet story of a happy-for-now with a nice bit of the sport too! I love it when a sports romance does a nice job of including the sport in the story and Love on the Tracks delivers.

Overall, I loved the story and characters and mostly the timeliness of this story! With the Winter Olympics in a few months, Love on the Tracks is just the right romance warm up for the occasion. Looking forward to more in this series!

An ARC was provided for review.

I'm a huge fan of obscure winter sports, and it is a winter Olympic year, so when I saw that the heroine of this book was a top-rated luger, I knew I had to give it a try. As if that wasn't enough, add in the fact that the hero was a rock-star and this book was all kinds of catnip for me. I'm happy to report that the book lived up to all of my expectations. I wasn't sure what to expect but this turned out to be a wonderful, sex-positive romance between two really nice characters who are both at the pinnacle of their respective professions. Rowan is a 20 YO who has been training on the luge for years, hoping to medal at the world championships. She's totally devoted to her sport with adult level maturity and razor focus, while at the same time, she's still barely out of her teens and shows it in her fangirl devotion to a popular boy band. Zane, one of the band members, on the other hand, totally admires all of the athletes competing in the winter games, so when he reads a profile of Rowan that mentions how much she loves his band, he decides to surprise her on a talk show she's doing. When their appearance together starts trending, they both agree to a "fake" romance for the sake of publicity. Since they are both attracted to each other, the fake romance turns real pretty quickly.

What I loved about this book was the respect that Rowan and Zane showed toward each other and to their respective professional responsibilities. Rowan got a bit fangirly sometimes, but overall, their relationship was depicted as one of equals and of mutual admiration. I also loved that Rowan was a strong, solid, athletic woman and that Zane found her to be wildly attractive and didn't mind at all when she was assertive in bed. I would characterize this as more of an NA romance rather than adult contemporary. The angst level was pretty low and there wasn't a lot of conflict, although what there was of it at the end did seem to be a bit contrived. Overall, I came away from the book with a happy sigh and a big smile. I've never read anything else by this author, but I will definitely be picking up some of the other books in this series.

I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.