‘Hot ice’ is a compilation of three lesbian novellas by Bold Strokes Books authors Aurora Rey, Erin Zak and Elle Spencer, all romances with an ice-queen protagonist.

‘Ice on wheels’ by Aurora Rey is a story centered around roller derby. Brooke Landry loves being part of roller derby team ‘Big Easy Bruisers’ and her job as a real state agent. When her disliked rival Riley Fauchet relocates and joins Brooke’s team and her same company, sparks fly and not of the romantic type. As time goes by and both women get to know each other, there is a possibility of friendship or even something deeper, if only Brooke could listen to her heart…
I have to admit that I know nothing about roller derby but readers don’t need any previous knowledge to appreciate the story. Ms. Rey makes the most of the fast and furious sports action and the initial antagonism between the main characters. It’s fun, romantic and sexy. 4 stars.

‘Closed-door policy’ by Erin Zak is an age-gap romance between a young college professor and her mature student. After a life-changing incident, nurse Caroline Stevens got divorced from her long-time husband and decided on a career change. In her early 50s, she’s living with her adult daughter, working as a bartender and going back to college. In a creative writing class, she meets lecturer Dr. Atlanta Morris who is famous for her icy attitude and heavy criticism. Despite a rocky start, Caroline cannot deny being attracted to Atlanta, the first woman she’s sexually interested in her life. But Atlanta doesn’t seem interested in Caroline, or is she?
This is a teacher-student relationship in which, unusually, the student is the older of the two. There is a slow build-up of chemistry between the characters in and outside the classroom and the secondary characters are all distinctive and well-written. The ending is a bit rushed but this is a novella after all. 3.5 stars.

In ‘Private equity’ by Elle Spencer, Cassidy Bennett is chief of staff for successful venture capitalist Julia Whitmore, known for being reserved and fierce. After they spend an unexpected evening at a lesbian nightclub, Cassidy gets to know another side of her aloof boss and she cannot stop desiring more.
This is your typical workplace romance between an ice-queen boss and an easygoing employee. It reminded me of some of Lee Winter’s books because of that larger-than-life personality of Julia and Cassidy’s sweetness. Ms. Spencer knows how to develop their relationship and get their chemistry to off-the-charts levels. Really entertaining and hot. This was my favourite of the three. 4.5 stars.

Overall, a very good compilation of lesbian novellas with the appealing theme of ice-queens. 4 stars average.

See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com

I enjoyed reading this anthology with an Ice Queen theme. I went in knowing I could count on Rey and Zak to entertain but the real surprise for me was Elle Spencer’s Private Equity, my favourite of the bunch.

Ice on Wheels by Aurora Rey

I don’t know much about roller derby but it certainly is a butch wonderland. The nicknames of the girls on the team are worth the price of the book alone. So entertaining.
Riley and Brooke go from warring blocker and jammer on opposing teams to warring team mates when Riley moves to New Orleans and joins Brooke’s team. Their attraction is undeniable and Riley does her best to push down the blocks Brooke throws up between them. Let the strategizing and gamesmanship begin. I did think the Hot Ice in this story was the big chip on Brooke’s shoulder. Grow up girl and see what’s right in front of you.

Closed Door Policy by Erin Zak

An age gap romance which flips the ice queen to the younger end of the gap. Easy to admire Caroline and root for her to find some happiness. Much harder to like the contrary Atlanta. From her perspective, I can understand her reticence to get involved with a student she is so clearly smitten with but her behaviour comes off more as immaturity and petulance. In hindsight, it's a good thing the ice queen is generally the older one in a couple. Makes me less likely to want to slap some sense into her. I did enjoy this read and all my emotional responses while reading it.

Private Equity by Elle Spencer

Julia Whitmore is a venture capitalist and Cassidy Bennett is her Chief of Staff. Sounds boring but when told in first person from the love struck Cassidy’s point of view it pops and sizzles. Her inner monologue is funny and endearing. Her attraction to her boss, the untouchable IQ herself makes for some great inner dialogue. The writing was lively and fun. Reminded me of Melissa Brayden and that's always a plus.

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley

Ice On Wheels - I don't really know much about roller derby, so that part of the novella sailed right over my head. but, the 'enemies to lovers' part was definitely cool and well done. It was believable that they didn't like each other and how they got closer too.

Closed-Door Policy - Little surprised that I didn't like this one more, since I've liked Erin Zak's books in the past. Caroline is an older student going back to college, and she's in Atlanta's class. Atlanta has gotten a bunch of crap for something that almost happened while she was a Grad Student, and so she overcompensates when she deals with Caroline. I personally just really didn't like the characters, either of them, Caroline didn't seem to be written quite her age, and Atlanta, I have no words for Atlanta. This novella was a hard read.

Private Equity - Ah, I flew through this story so fast I think I got rug burn. It was about Cassie and Julia. Cassie is Julia's (a venture capitalist) Chief of Staff. She also has a heckuva crush on Julia. Julia, though, is an 'Ice Queen', although there may be some cracks forming in that ice. The back and forth here was delightful, and I really liked Julia's daughter, Lily too. It was a fun and delightfully predictable read.

Overall it was a good bunch of novellas, I really liked one, one was good, and one I only sorta liked some parts of it. Still, the third story, by Elle Spencer was probably my favorite novella in the last few years.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

I was given this book form NetGalley and BoldStrokes books in exchange for an honest review.

The first story Ice on Wheels is about a roller derby athlete and her arch nemesis. I thought the story was very interesting, but I thought that the reasons for Riley to hate Brooke seemed overblown and a little bit childish. I did love their interactions though and I thought that Brooke was sweet to try and be friends with Riley. The story was interesting and had a good amount of Angst. Even thought it was short it felt like it could be a much longer full length book.

The second story is about an older woman going back to college, and she meets the teacher from hell who in fact is in love with her. First Atlanta seems predatory, and she instantly falls for Caroline. After about four pages I stopped reading. I am not into stories one teachers dating their students no matter how old they are. Atlanta reads a story from this one and instantly feels a connection to her and decided she has to be mean to her. It seemed weird. So I did not finish this story.

The final story was my absolute favorite and I went back to read it again. I really loved Julia and I thought she was an interesting character, Cassidy was a good match for Julia and she had the funniest inner voice. I liked her self deprecating humor. This was such a great story and I wish It was longer and more full length,

Who doesn’t love ice queens? As Roslyn Sinclair (who knows her ice queens) wrote, “Any fan of ice queens knows that what makes an ice queen irresistible is when she finally reaches melting point”. To end the year in the best way, Bold Strokes Books gives us three ice queens, in three novellas, by three different authors, and the result is both fun and hot, as should be. I enjoyed all three, for different reasons.

The first novella is Ice on Wheels by Aurora Rey. Brooke, aka Femme Fatale, has been holding a huge grudge against Riley, aka Moby Dyke, since last season’s Louisiana Women’s Roller Derby championship, when Riley’s last block against Brooke lost the latter’s team the title. When they end up on the same team for the new season, and working for the same company, Riley tries her best to charm her way back into Brooke’s good books, or at least to a civil relationship.

Brooke is not so much an ice queen as a bruised one. I liked how Riley is such a natural charmer, mostly unaware of how much space she takes but willing to turn the charm down if it helps Brooke feel more comfortable. I like that she doesn’t understand how being so nice could be a “bad” thing but she’s willing to do it anyway. No ego there.

The pace is excellent, Brooke’s change of heart is totally believable, the chemistry between both characters works well, and the novella-length is perfect.

The second novella, Closed-Door Policy by Erin Zak, is an age gap teacher/student romance, but this time, the teacher is a lot younger than the student. Caroline Stevens’ life completely changed after she was shot doing her job as a nurse in Chicago. Her husband left her and she moved to Sedona, Arizona to be closer to her daughter and her family. She enrols in an eight-week college program to get her teaching certificate and apply for a job as a nursing instructor. One of her classes is creative writing, taught by Dr Atlanta Morris, an incredibly talented and bitchy young teacher, who also happens to be supposed to mentor her.

The characters are great, even if I wanted to shake Atlanta more than once. I really liked Caroline’s trio of college students friends, the way they take her in as one of their own despite the age difference. I wish there had been more about the daughter, she seemed fun and I enjoyed the family dynamics.

Caroline’s real attraction to a woman for the first time at 55 goes surprisingly unchallenged (her barely-there doubts are mentioned a few times but never beyond the surface), and I didn’t completely believe that waiting eight weeks was really so difficult when not doing so meant fatally endangering Atlanta’s career. Which also led to a rather rushed ending. It was still fun to read, even so.

My favourite novella of the three is Private Equity by Elle Spencer. Julia is definitely an ice queen but when we meet her, the thawing has already begun, unbeknownst to her chief of staff Cassidy. When Julia, her tough and cold-hearted venture capitalist boss, asks to tag along to her friend Sarah’s birthday party, Cassidy can’t say no. She can’t say no either when Julia pretends to be her girlfriend so that Sarah will stop trying to fix her up with totally inappropriate women. As her closest collaborator, Cassidy has seen sides of Julia most people don’t know, most notably as the mother of a precocious five-year-old daughter, and these glimpses into her more private self make her impossible to resist, even though she’s straight and her boss, and all that.

This novella is so very Elle Spencer. It’s hilarious and moving, well-written, sarcastic and sweet at the same time. While it doesn’t feel rushed, or crammed or anything, this story is one I could absolutely see as a longer novel.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I love a good ice-queen story, and this book gave us three for one! Aurora Rey's <u>Ice on Wheels</u> had our two leading ladies Brooke and Riley not only literally clashing on the rink but also professionally. I loved the chemistry between these two and thankfully it was hot enough to melt the ice between them.

Erin Zak's <u>Closed Door Policy</u> was probably my favourite of the three and I could have done with a full length novel of this story. I loved Caroline's young friends, they were hilarious. I loved the slow burn of Caroline and Atlanta's high-risk relationship, their chemistry was sizzling as well.

Elle Spencer's <u>Private Equity</u> was my least favourite but still enjoyable. I found it hard to connect to the characters but still found the premise of their relationship interesting.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed all three of the stories in the book. My favorite was Elle Spencer's. She just really has a way of creating chemistry between the main characters that jump right off the page. I highly recommend this book!

Hot hot hot.... What a great read! Each story is short enough to get through easily and quickly, but so well thought out and written that you don’t feel cheated by the lack of pages.

This is a really good compilation of stories all featuring an ice queen. All three stories were great, but Elle Spencer's was my favorite - I loved the first person present tense with the broken fourth wall. I could just see Claire Dunphy sitting on her sofa in between scenes of Modern Family adding her two cents. A great way to spend a winter weekend.

Three spicy short stories.

The novellas each contain an ice queen that needs to be thawed. Thus the title 'Hot Ice.'

Ice on Wheels by Aurora Rey

Riley slams into Brooke during a roller derby championship and the move secures her team's victory. It also securely places her at the top of Brooke's hate list. And much to Brooke's dismay, Riley moves to her town and joins her team the following year.

I liked how Brooke was so attracted to Riley despite the massive grudge she had. No matter how nice or charming Riley was, Brooke was dead set on hating her.

A cute enemies to lovers story.

Private Equity by Elle Spencer

Cassidy is the chief assistant to Julia Whitmore, a super rich venture capitalist in Chicago. Cassidy is in love with Julia's 5 year-old daughter and quite possibly in love with Julia, too.

Julia uncharacteristically invites herself out with Cassidy while they are visiting Cassidy's hometown for business. A bit of alcohol later, they find themselves crossing that boss/employee line. Unfortunately for Cassidy, Julia reverts to her cold business-like demeanor.

This story had a lot of heart and quite a bit of depth for so little time. This was the strongest among the three novellas.

Closed Door Policy by Erin Zak

Caroline is a 55 year-old woman who is living with her daughter after a significant incident resulted in her moving and wanting to change careers. She decides to go back to school so that she can teach. Her professor is the beautiful and enigmatic Atlanta Morris, who has a reputation for being a touch professor. Atlanta finds herself crushing on Caroline. And she can't crush on Caroline because she is a student. So she starts treating her like crap and grading her inhumanely.

This story was just OK for me. I couldn't ever get a real handle on who Atlanta was or how old she was? Just that she was younger than Caroline. And I didn't buy into them having feelings for each other, really. I could understand attraction with all the feisty interactions they shared.

Overall, this was a decent selection of romantic novellas.

I recommend to those who like to read romance, short stories, ice queens, roller derby, start-ups, bars, and education.

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. Wow. This was a great read, these three authors did a fantastic job weaving their stories with the cold 'ice queens' and their journeys. These were very engaging and passionate novellas, so very happy that I picked this up!

This was a nice read - 3 quick stories from authors I enjoy reading. Ice on Wheels was an interesting setting in that I don't think I have every read about roller derby, but it was a fun read. Rivals that come together and one of them being a bit nasty at first, made for some fun chapters.

Closed Door Policy, was a collage setting, and this author was actual new to me. the Professor was a bit nasty to the non-traditional student, but it made for a good story line. I will probably look for more books by this author - one note, I hope in the final published copy, at the end where the give you background on the authors they fix this authors bio (it was a copy of Elle Spencer's bio).

The last story in the book was by a favorite author of mine, Private Equity. This story actually made me wonder/hope maybe they make a cameo in a future book and have some more in-depth background/story arc to them. The story in this book was great, and for a novella, understandable, but I kind of got into their characters and I could go for a book dedicated to just them.

All in all 3 fun stories for a nice winter evening read

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.

To see my Amazon review, it is under CC-3 great stories

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

When I first found this book I mostly wanted to read it because I'm a big fan of Erin Zak's writing and her other books, but I ended up really enjoying the other two stories as well.

Ice on Whells was the first thing I've ever read by Aurora Rey and I liked it. It wasn't my favorite though, probably mostly because I'm not a big fan of derby and I didn't understand a lot of the references when reading about it which left me confused a lof of the time. I enjoyed the characters and I always enjoy a good ''ice queen'' in a novel.

I really enjoyed Closed Door by Erin Zak. I always enjoy her writing and her characters. I think it was my favorite story out of the three although I felt like the ending might have been a little rushed. Other than that I really liked it. I really liked both the main characters Atlanta and Caroline, the chemistry between the two was great. I thought the age gap in this story was quite interesting since the teacher was actually younger than the student which is something I've never read before but really intrigued me.

I was a little nervous going into Private Equity by Elle Spencer since I've read one of her other novels previously and it wasn't my favorite. I really enjoyed this one though and I'll definently pick up another one of her books in the future and give her a second chance. I thought the writing was great, the characters, the chemistry between them, the plot, I really enjoyed it all.

This is definently a good book to pick up if you want three quick and fun but still well written and interesting stories. The ice Queen theme is definently a plus since I always enjoy ice queen characters in books.

I LOVE stories and novellas like these. All three of them are quite entertaining and good, with me being the most in love with Private Equity! I loved that story! I can easily say it goes to my favourite novellas.

Ice on Wheels by Aurora Rey

Brooke Landry roller skates with the Big Easy Bruisers, a roller derby team from New Orleans.
Riley Fauchet is a skater for the rival Team, the Cajun Queens.

There are a lot of people in this story. A lot. Too many. The propensity of the author to give them clever roller derby nicknames, obscures what their real names are, and when their real names are used, it's very confusing.

That said, the story calms down and focuses on Brooke and Riley. They have some professional history between them, and when Riley is hired by the Bruisers, they need to put it aside for the good of their team. Then, when Brooke's real estate company hires Riley it could be fireworks, but in which way?

This turned out to be a very good story!

*************************************************

Closed Door Policy by Erin Zak

Caroline Stevens is an emergency room nurse from Chicago, now taking a break and working in a bar in Sedona, AZ.

Caroline decides it's a good idea to take some classes at the nearby college extension - classes that might lead to a job as a nursing instructor at the high school career center.

Dr. Atlanta Morris's reputation precedes her. She's tough and unrelenting, but she gets results. When Caroline enters her Creative Writing classroom for the first time, with one look, Dr. Morris finds she must, at all costs, keep her emotions under control. A decision to get involved with another student is not in anyone's best interests, especially hers.

Erin Zak writes like I would, if I could write. Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy her stories.

**************************************************

Private Equity by Elle Spencer

Cassidy Bennett, Chief of Staff to...

...Julia P. Whitmore, beautiful, staid and severe, the quintessential ice queen and owner and CEO of WhitCap, an enormously successful private equity firm.

This story is interesting in that it shows us the slow, inevitable cracking of the ice that surrounds Julia Whitmore. It's fascinating to watch, and Elle Spencer writes it so well while occasionally breaking the "fourth wall" and speaking to the reader in asides.

Julia is maddening and Cassidy isn't the only person who thinks so. The reader will think so, too. She seems to run hot and cold, and at the drop of a hat. What will it take to melt for good, the ice that surrounds her?

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

ARC provided by Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This collection brings together three ice queen novellas by three great authors. The star of the collection for me was Elle Spencer's Private Equity--the voice of Cassidy is distinctive, crisp, and hilarious. Reading it gave me a giddy feeling, similar to reading Casting Lacey and I would have happily read 500 pages of Julia and Cassidy's story.

In Private Equity, Cassidy is chief of staff to VC Julia Whitmore (the ice queen). Work takes them to Seattle and one fateful night at a club leads to so much more. This story was so sweet and funny. The bonus star is definitely Julia's daughter Lilly--the relationship she and Cassidy share is beyond sweet.

In Ice on Wheels, Aurora Rey takes to Louisiana for some roller derby. After Riley takes out star jammer Brooke in the finals bad blood is brewing. Between seasons Riley relocates to the Big Easy putting her on Brooke's team and working in the same real estate office. Brooke is frosty, nursing her injured pride and fighting her attraction to Riley, who is gregarious and easygoing. It takes Brooke awhile to thaw but the payoff is worth it. I loved the derby aspects of this novel and the character of Riley was excellent. I did feel like a lot of their relationship coming to fruition played out off the page. I would have enjoyed a few more sweet scenes. Overall an enjoyable read.

Closed-Door Policy by Erin Zak centers on a teacher-student relationship with a young professor and a much older non-traditional student. Dr. Atlanta Morris is plagued by a past indiscretion and puts up walls, especially between herself and students. Caroline Stevens has relocated from Chicago to the SW to be closer to her daughter after suffering from a gunshot wound followed by a divorce. I liked the premise of this story but felt like it spent so much time setting up the conflict (Atlanta could get fired if she crosses a line with Caroline) but didn't quite have the payoff I was hoping for. The real star for me was the friendship Caroline had with her 20-ish-year-old college friends Kate, Kelli, and Michael.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I usually love quick short stories especially by authors such as Aurora Rey, Erin Zak and Elle Spencer.
The first story is called Ice on Wheels by Aurora Rey. It stared out as a fun read about two rival Roller Derby teams, especially how the main characters meet. Let’s just say Riley takes Brooke out, literally..lol.
It ends up Brooke hating Riley and then not only does Riley become a teammate but a co-worker as well. Towards the middle of the book the story kind of lags and was tied up in a quick neat bow..too quick. It felt like Brook hated Riley most of the book.
I love Rey and will continue to read her books but this wasn’t my favorite.
3.5 stars

The second story by Erin Zak was not my favorite, but it’s Zak and I am fan of her other books. It started with a great premise. Who doesn’t love a hot ice queen professor falling for a student. Dr. Atlanta Morris is the ice queen professor that’s starting a new mentorship program in Sendona. Because she has had a prior history with a student she’s taken on the approach of being cold, because she doesn’t and will not ever let that happen again, until she meets new student Caroline Stevens. Caroline is a former head trauma nurse who decides due to a bad incident in the hospital and recent divorce from her long time husband, that it’s time for a change. That change is to go back to college to get her teaching certificate and teach other future nurses.
The premise is great but I couldn’t get into the characters at all. Atlanta was so mean to Caroline even I wouldn’t date someone like that. The drama was hot and cold and I literally would ask myself when would these characters grow up. It just wasn’t believable to me.
2.5 stars

The last book was the best of the bunch, Closed-Door Policy by Elle Spencer. I read another review and agreed that I so wished this story was a full length book. Julia Whitmore is the ice queen successful venture capatalist and Cassidy is her trusty assistant. Cassidy has had a crush on her boss for the whole 6 months she’s been her assistant and can’t believe when that cold exterior changes and Julia starts to want to know more about her.
It also doesn’t help where not only does Cassidy have feelings for her boss but totally in love with her bosses little girl Lily.
Can Julia also been feeling the same as Cassidy this whole time? Is it more important to keep her amazing assistant or be her lover? I wonder what she chooses.
Love this book and just wished it was longer.
4 stars

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a compilation of novellas by three authors I like, so costing it as an ARC was a no brainer.

The first story is by Aurora Rey and features MCs Brooke and Riley who are in opposing roller derby teams and then become team mates, they also end up working together. Both characters are likeable, but Brooke does not like Riley for most of the story, and watching Riley work around this was pretty fun. I enjoyed the roller derby stuff too, it’s not a sport I’ve ever read about in lesfic before. I wouldn’t have minded a longer version of this. 3.5 stars

The second story is Close Door Policy by Erin Zak, and was the weakest of the three. It features MC Atlanta, a tenured professor about to teach an extension course and Caroline, who used to be a nurse and is now trying to get a teaching certificate. The premise was interesting in that though this is teacher/student the student is older. Atlanta had a issue with a student relationship previously and is therefore a bitch to Caroline to try and hide her attraction. This doesn’t work at all because everyone but Caroline knows about it. They also don’t need to hold out very long to make this an non-issue once they admit feelings for each other (2 weeks) but still can’t manage it. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. It’s hardly likely with what was on the line, that two grown ass women wouldn’t be able to hold off on the sexy times for two freaking weeks. Anyway, I didn’t like most of their relationship, so I didn’t care whether they got together or not. 2.5 stars

The final book is Private Equity by Elle Spencer, and it was easily my favourite. It features Julia, who is a corporate big wig and her chief of staff Cassidy. They’re in Seattle (with Julia’s 5year old daughter Lily) to do work on some business deals. I loved both characters and how their relationship unfolded. Lily was a delight and the side story with Cassidy’s parents was also interesting. I really wish this had been a full length novel, I’d have liked to see what Spencer did with those storylines with more time. 4 stars.

Overall, I liked two of these quite a bit, and would have read the longer version of both. The other not so much. Probably 3.75 overall, rounded up.

Well well well, my favorite storyline in this genre. The good ole "Ice Queen" who gets tamed by the usually sweet, girl next door type. Who does't like that?? I of course needed to give this book a read. Overall, all the stories were interesting and well written. I did have a favorite, but that's not to put the other two down.

Note for everyone, the summary of the book has them out of order from where they are in the actual book. It goes Ice on Wheels, Closed Door Policy, and then Private Equity. I kind of found that annoying, but maybe that's just my OCD.

Ice on Wheels: Good story. I thought for some reason the ice queen was going to be Riley (the "butch" one) when it first started, even though the summary said differently. Not sure why, it was just the vibe I got during the first chapter but then it sorted itself out. I also had a little issue with the jump in character perspective from one paragraph to another. I'm old school and like them separated by chapters. I did really enjoy the roller derby component, and you can tell that the author clearly knows her stuff when it comes to the sport.

Closed Door Policy: Again, good story but I had some minor critiques. There was so much depth to this story, that I actually felt like the length on this one was a disservice. It made it feel rushed, like it was trying to cram itself into a certain length. For example, there is a big deal about this being an expansion campus, but you never really find out if it worked out. I really liked that Caroline was so much older and going back to school, but I did find it weird that all of her friends were 20/21 years old. That didn't make much sense to me. I barely have things in common with 21 year olds and I'm only 15 years older. I thought she would be more motherly to them, and not on the same emotional plain. It was still a fun read, nonetheless.

Private Equity: I hate having a favorite when the authors are so talented, but this one was the one. I think it's because Elle Spencer just keeps getting better and better with her writing. This is also the only story where I felt the "IQ" wasn't necessarily acting like a b*tch for the sake of acting like one. She just had a strong personality and was hard core at business. Another plus, it felt like it was the correct length, yet I still wanted more just because it was so good. The attraction between the two MCs was not only hot, but adorable so I couldn't stop reading. Well done!

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

In “Ice on Wheels” by Aurora Rey I found Brooke to be annoying. It was such a small little thing to get angry over, and it happened 4 months before. It’s sports, sometimes you lose and sometimes you win. Holding a grudge against someone who beat you fair and square in a competition is childish. Get over it!
I would not describe Brooke as an Ice Queen, more as a childish, jealous and bitchy woman not being able to let go and move on. Her friends saw it as a crush, I saw it as being childish cause Riley bested her and took the “spotlight” when she showed up at practice and work.
And I don’t get the 180 in Brooke’s attitude. One minute she’s bitching to her friend about Riley, the next she wants to know Riley’s life story and plays games with her. I do not see the attraction, from either side. It just happened without any real build up in my opinion. There was no chemistry between the MCs.
I don’t feel connected to this story and I barely managed to finish it. I would have given this 2 stars if I read it on its own.

“Closed Door Policy” by Erin Zak. I’ve read 2 Erin Zak books before, one I really loved and one I felt was just okay.
Already from the first page I can tell that I’ll love this book. I really loved MC Caroline and her family. I caught myself smiling like an idiot several times. I really loved 55 yo Caroline’s friendship with the 20-something Kate,Kelli and Michael. I liked the difference in ages of all the characters. I really loved Caroline, she’s light and fun. Really loved the build up between the two MCs Atlanta and Caroline. I also loved that not everyone in the story was lesbian/gay. It annoys me when the MCs (obviously) and every single of their friends is gay, so this was refreshing to read. I love that there isn’t really any panic and thoughts like “omg I have feelings for a woman, I’ve always been with men, does this mean that I’m gay now?!”.
Only thing I found annoying is that they could have waited. It’s always nerve wrecking when people do stuff they can get fired for.
But I really loved this short story and would have loved this as a whole book with more build up and more romance. But all in all I would have given this a solid 4 stars on its own.

“Private Equity” by Elle Spencer. I’ve read 2 Elle Spencer books and I loved them both, especially “Casting Lacy”. I usually love the way she writes, and they way she builds up the chemistry and the characters. The emotion and angst that she puts into her stories.
It took me a little while to get used to the writing style in this book, but once I did I really liked the story. I liked the relationship between MC Julia and Cassidy, and the relationship between Cassidy and Julia’s daughter Lily. Sadly there wasn’t much time to get a real build up and depth to the characters. But it was a cute story, I just wish it was a lot longer :) I would give this a 3 on account of the length and not much of a build up :)

All in all I would rated this as a solid 3 :)