this is totally the f/f sports romance i've been jonesing for. out on the ice features two ice hockey players who are so in sync with each other it's just fantastic. like they have a dark moment, and miscommunicate a little bit, but at the same time they never actually stop communicating.

they both have baggage, and stuff to work on. but like they never stop working on themselves. it's so utterly refreshing. these two grown-up ladies having an adult romantic relationship and working through their stuff. it's low-angst but there are real emotional stakes and you can't help rooting for these two ultra likeable characters.

this was the perfect comfort read. it was sweet, it was fizzy, it was just all-around good.

**out on the ice will publish on august 24, 2020. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/carina press (adores) in exchange for my honest review.

5/5 stars go to how Doug, the precious 11-year-old black lab, was written. He was perfect and adorable and as someone who has a 10-year-old chocolate lab, his description was incredibly accurate.

As for the actual main characters and storyline, I thought it was all okay. I really enjoyed the first real bonding scene that we got between Caro and Amy when they were training and meditating, and I just really wish we got a lot more of that kind of content. Their relationship kind of jumped from one stage to another and most of what we did see was the two ladies at work, or they were separated. The conflict and angst were hard for me to get through since it lasted a decent amount of the book and I felt like it started pretty late in the story. Caro's internal conflict and issues were understandable for the most part, but that mixed in with the homophobia of her family just seemed so stereotypical for a book with this theme? I also wasn't a fan of the fade-to-black romance scenes, but that's really just a personal preference. And I have a hard time seeing the two women on the cover and picturing them as the Caro and Amy that are described in the book, which also threw me off.

There were definitely moments in this book that had me in my feels and made me really care about Caro and Amy. I loved reading about two female hockey players as a female hockey player myself (especially when I can't really think of any other books with a female hockey player POV), and I really loved the 3 Amigas and their friendship dynamic. I would especially love for there to be more romance books with female hockey players, whether they're f/f or m/f, and selfishly I would like them to be set during the characters early 20s or even high school, but I can also appreciate that this book had older characters since that isn't a common case. But for the most part, there was just too much angst with not enough romance scenes for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Caro Cassidy owns a girls-only hockey training center in Chicago and hires Amy Schwarzbach to be a coach at her summer camp. Amy is out and proud, while Caro is out and not. The two bond during the summer, and fall for each other. But with Amy returning to Boston for her season in the NWHL, will their relationship last?

Honestly, I didn't love this book but I didn't hate it. I liked that the main characters were in their thirties. That's not something you see all the time in romance, and I appreciated that they weren't all 21. However, I would have liked seeing more of the early steps of their relationship outside of the rink. It felt like the book jumped over those parts and I find that those are often my favourite parts of romances.

I also found that the homophobia Caro gets from her family was a lot. I get that they're her family, but I don't understand why she stayed in such close contact with them when they are so horrible towards her. The religion-based homophobia could be painful for some people, so be cautious going into this.

*Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Out on the Ice by Kelly Farmer

Caro Cassidy helped Team USA win Olympic medals when she was younger, but now she’s content to manage a hockey training center outside of Chicago for girls’ hockey.

Amy Schwarzbach never made it to the Olympics, but she’s a hotshot player for a professional women’s hockey team. She’s very excited about the opportunity to work at Caro’s facility because Caro has always been one of her idols.

At first, Caro doesn’t know what to do with Amy’s exuberant personality because it’s such a stark contrast to her more reserved nature, but opposites attract.

I absolutely adore Rachel Reid’s queer hockey romances, as well as Avon Gale/Piper Vaughn’s too, so I was excited to read a queer hockey romance featuring two women. There weren’t as many game scenes as some of the other hockey romances, but the milieu was enough for me—I love hockey!

There’s a bit of an age gap between Caro and Amy, but that wasn’t the biggest obstacle they faced. Amy is proudly bisexual and very much out. Caro, on the other hand, prefers to keep her personal life private. This stems from her family’s intolerance of her sexuality, an issue that reappears over the course of the narrative. This plotline was a bit heavier than I was expecting, but it served as an interesting contrast to the lighter material.

That said, this book is so cute. Amy is an absolute sweetheart and her charm is practically contagious. Doug the dog stole the show at every possible opportunity, despite being a lazy old man who prefers to loll around. Caro spent so much of her life on hockey—first as an athlete and then as a business owner, and so finding love was never a priority for her.

I would recommend Out on the Ice. I loved the slow burn aspect of the romance and the difference in personalities, but the best part of this book was Caro becoming more comfortable with herself over the course of the book. On that note, I loved how therapy is normalized. This was a lovely book, and I’m looking forward to reading more from Farmer in the future.

A solid debut f/f romance from Kelly Farmer, though the book suffers from being too draggy at times.

I'm getting more into lesfic romance, and because I'm obsessed with hockey players, I figured Out on the Ice would be a perfect fit for me. In many ways, I was right. I liked the sports/hockey aspects of the book, even if they could have been highlighted a bit more, and I think the story had a ton of potential.

I really liked having a half-Jewish MC (shout out to my fellow Jewish ladies!), and I loved the strong bi-rep in the book. There was a lot of bi-education, but it worked for me and didn't feel like too much. I also loved the discussions about mental health and anxiety and depression. It made the book feel very real. Neither characters are close to perfect, and I liked seeing them as whole people with flaws.

I read a lot of books without any sex content at all, and that usually works fine for me, but I wish this book had had sex on page. There was SO MUCH sexual buildup to this story that the fade-to-black scene just about killed me. Also, just know that the image on the cover of the two MCs doesn't really reflect what they look like. You'll need to rearrange that in your mind.

My main issue with the story was how slow it was. I can take a very character-focused book without much plot, but the author really has to write a snappy book. This one dragggggged. I read it over two weeks, which is a long time for me, and I had to push to finish it.

I also think that the characters didn't seem exactly suited for one another. At times, they felt too different and wanting different things, so I wasn't all in for them. I really liked them as individuals, but I wasn't sure about them together.

A good hockey romance with some well-developed characters, I think Out on the Ice will appeal to readers who don't mind a slow-paced story. I think Kelly Farmer has great things up her sleeve, and I look forward to reading more from her.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: homophobia, biphobia, forced outing, talk of suicide and suicidal ideation, and depression

The description of Out on the Ice truly sounds like it was made for me- a sweet, f/f hockey romance? Colour me interested! Ultimately, I liked this fine... just fine. I enjoyed seeing both Caroline and Amy develop as individuals as well as in their relationship, and I appreciated how much emphasis was put on communication in all the relationships mentioned. I also liked the inclusion of Caroline's therapy sessions! I thought that this was a really good way of normalizing therapy and self-reflection. I loved the hockey aspects (obviously) and the talks about the queer community. However, the writing wasn't spectacular, and I felt like there were lots of moments where the dialogue felt really forced and unnatural. As well, while I most were challenged well in the text, the moments of homophobia and biphobia totally took me out of the story- there is a scene where the characters are in a bar during Pride and background characters make gross comments about Amy's bisexuality, for what seems like no reason. Same with the homophobic rhetoric coming from Caroline's family- something about the way they were written just made me feel disconnected. All in all, I think this is a fine read (albeit a tad long) for hockey fans, and I'm excited to see how Farmer's writing improves with time!

Kelly Farmer’s debut, Out on the Ice, is a sweet f/f romance. Hockey romance is a surprisingly large subset of m/m romance. When I saw a women’s hockey romance on NetGalley, I was delighted. I got this as an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amy Schwartzbach is a professional hockey player with the National Women’s Hockey League team the Boston Ice. Caro Cassidy has been retired for a few years and has opened up a hockey focused ice rink for girls, Girls & Goals. She has hired Amy to work for her as a coach for the program’s Summer camp.

Amy is a bouncy, out and proud bisexual who uses her social media platform to raise the profile of women’s hockey and LGBTQIA+ rights. Caro is not in the closet, but her relationship with her family makes her shy about being open and public. She is also wary of alienating the parents of the girls she trains at her rink.

They take time to get to know each other before starting a romantic relationship, and then ease into a long distance relationship. Farmer very nicely works their daily lives, friendships and families into their romance. Caro and Amy bring needed things into each other’s lives and that’s reflected not only in how they relate to one another, but also in how they relate to the other important people in their lives.

A major plus is Caro’s very good dog, Doug. Doug is an emotional bridge that allows Caro to connect with people. I was disappointed that Out on the Ice is a closed door romance. I think the way people have sex is an important part of the romance. When Amy thinks about the way they had sex for the first time in generalities, I felt deprived. That said, the emotional intimacy between them was built beautifully. It was a nice read.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
I am a big ice hockey romance fan – but there aren't many about the women's game, so I was really excited to get to see a different side to the story. I had imagined how it might be, and this book certainly reinforced some of my expectations, and reminds us again how female athletes get a raw deal in professional sports which have been so dominated by men. The work that Caro does in trying to give upcoming players the chance to grow in a safe space is a lovely part of this really enjoyable romance. I might add, there is really very little if any speechifying of these issues in the book, they are just my observations – in fact, the book shows the life and lets you come to those conclusions for yourself!

I really enjoyed watching Caro allow herself to be open to Amy's clear attraction, and also the journey which she took to get herself to that point. Her attitude was so rigid, so work focused, that it had to be someone who really cared about her and showed her the genuineness of those feelings that could break through. Always a difficult situation when romance hits at work, but even more so when the employment is temporary and then there will be an issue of distance. Caro is the logical to Amy's romantic, but as we see, their joint skills are what makes the difference – at work and in their relationship.

Very enjoyable read, thank you, Kelly Farmer.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is the story of two famous hockey players who find each other while working together at a hockey camp for young girls. Caro, the owner of the camp, is an Olympic legend who is determined to keep her personal life private. Amy is the Megan Rapinoe of hockey – she’s loud, proud, and full of life. The sparks between them are instant but a relationship is a little more complicated.

This is a fun read. I really enjoyed the hockey action and I love the way Caro and her coaches interact with their students. Amy is fabulous. I love her energy, her colour, and the intensity of her relationship with her two best friends. It took me longer to warm to Caro but once I understood her history, it was easier to understand her coldness and her caution. There are moments where Caro is great, but her hang-ups are a little overwhelming at times. While I loved Amy from the start, I came to like Caro by the end. It is easy to see how the two women balance each other.

The pacing of this story is a little erratic. I really enjoyed the action at the start, but things became almost painfully slow as Caro and Amy worked through the many barriers to their relationship. It’s a low heat read – something that makes sense for Caro but not for Amy. I really love the characters that surround Caro and Amy and I would love to see a couple of them in their own books.

3.5 stars

tws: homophobic and biphobic language (all addressed and challenged), discussion of past suicidal ideation (there are tw's in the beginning of the book too)

i won't write a summary because the description of the book is pretty on-point. so:

what i liked:
- communication. i feel like a broken record every time i mention this in my reviews but healthy communication is so important to me and it made me happy to see amy and caro actually talk to each other and avoid so much annoying drama that i used to see in books (i've been pleased with all my recent reads in this respect recently so. a win.)

- the discussions about mental health felt so natural and real, both regarding caro's depression and amy's ADHD, now i really want to go see a therapist damn.

- the dog and amy's nicknames for him *insert pleading eyes emoji*

- bi rights!! amy is bi and proud and it felt really nice to see her and her parents be so adamant about why bi erasure is harming, and also the "it shouldn't be my job to educate people on these issues" scene was one of my favorites.

- the found family trope

what didn't really work for me:
- it took me quite a while to get invested in the story and connect with the characters, and i'm not sure if it's just me of if the book is also at fault.

- the homophobic, lesbophobic and biphobic situations and stereotypes, even though they were challenged, completely brought me out of the story multiple times. from caro's family, to random people's comments, to both our main characters and the side characters bringing up harmful stereotypes, i was really so tired. maybe in the past i wouldn't have removed 1 whole star because of it, but it just felt like too much and some of them were really upsetting. again, they were addressed and challenged every time, yes, but it was still jarring (at least for me).

- the whole privacy vs that lgbtqia+ safe space certification situation/plot point could have been handled way better.

so all in all i did enjoy this, but kind of just the second half, because it took a while for me to actually care about anything, and i loved certain things while others... eh. so yeah, if all that homophobia is not that upsetting for you, you might really enjoy this book a lot.

I love women's hockey so when I saw this F/F hockey romance I thought it was perfect for me. But honestly? This book was really boring. Plus it's in third person which I hate. So I just don't think this was the right book for me.
There were things I really loved about this book. I loved the bi representation. Some reviewers didn't like that it was so in your face, but I liked that it talked about biphobia and bierasure even in the LGBT+ community itself. I really liked that.

I do have to put a warning on this that there is a lot of talk about homophobia in this which comes from one of the leads family. That felt real to me for several reasons, but I also don't want people to not be aware of it and have to re-live their trauma.

Like I said, I don't like third person. Sometimes I think I am the only one. Sometimes I got confused who's thoughts were who's. Also this is a slow burn closed door romance, which had I know before I read it, I wouldn't have read it. It was so slow, and I found myself so frustrated reading it. Once the couple do get together it still felt like the pacing was too slow and boring for me.

I do think a lot of the reason this book fell flat for me was just because it was not a book for me. That's totally okay! I'm bummed because I was super excited about this one, but it ended up just making me feel "okay" about it. I think if you like closed door and slow burn it's for you. Just not for me.

*I received a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a good book! I love ice skating romances as well as queer romances. So many of my favorite tropes in a delightfully queer context.

Out on the Ice is the debut novel from Kelly Farmer that focuses on Caro, a former Olympian, and Amy, a professional athlete. The sport that brings them together is hockey, and it’s great to see a FF hockey story. I’ve read my fair share of MM, and it’s nice to see the tables turn. Farmer writes with wit and skill that makes me think she has been writing and perfecting her craft a long time, even if this is her official debut.

The establishing premise is that Amy is working at Caro’s hockey school over the summer. Caro is socially awkward, but she values her business and her privacy. She tries to branch out, and that’s where Amy comes in. Amy has a big bold personality. She’s the one expected to keep the party going, though on the inside “Schwarbie” is looking for some calm, and she wants to improve her hockey game and stay in it as long as she can.

Both of these heroines are over 30, and I find that refreshing after reading so many stories about 20-year-olds. Both of these women have been through enough knocks to know what’s good for them and not. When they fall in love, it’s gentle and mature without needless drama. Plus, the world around them feels full and real. Amy has interesting friends, and I can’t wait for the book about Gina. (Yes, Carina Press, we need more books in this series. Make that happen.)

Caro and Amy become long distance girlfriends for a while, and it does put strain on the relationship. We see on page that both of them work at it. We also get to see how each woman struggles with her inner demons. When something happens that blindsides Caro, she takes it out on Amy. Acting with grace, Amy removes herself from the situation so that she doesn’t say something that can’t be taken back. It was good to see the difficulties like this because it’s just another aspect of a real and healthy relationship that Farmer highlights in the book. She also makes sure they get their resolution that includes handling this in a fair way that makes them grow better as a couple.

In short, this is a book I enjoyed reading and recommend to others who like hockey stories, FF romances, and the possibility of visiting characters again. There is a variety of LGBTQIA+ rep in the story, and bisexual erasure and the damage it does is addressed several times by both Caro and Amy.

DNF @ 21%

I love sports romances, especially hockey romances (even though I’ve never watched a game in my life), but this book was a struggle for me. I think it has a lot of potential and I’m sure others will love it, but for most of what I read I was bored and wishing more was happening - either with characters or with outside factors.

But I was willing to push past the boredom and give this a solid chance. The reason for my DNF is discomfort with something that feels potentially like antisemitism. I am Jewish, but I didn’t grow up in Jewish spaces and have limited knowledge on certain nuances, but when Amy calls her mom a shiksa when telling Caro about her background, it kinda jerked me out because I was under the impression that word is considered derogatory and Jewish folks more knowledgeable than me have talked about not wanting it to be used. I could be overreacting and blowing the throwaway line out of proportion, but it did make me uncomfortable enough that I don’t wish to finish this book.

YMMV

When I started reading, I was worried Amy was going to exhaust me. She’s very sweet and fun but she’s also an hyperactive extrovert. As I kept reading, I realised the author had done a wonderful job creating the characters’ voices. If I worry about Amy exhausting me, it means she’s plausible.

Amy Schwarzbach, an out and proud bisexual pro hockey player, is hired as a coach for the summer by Caro Cassidy, a former Olympics medalist (and more). Professionally, the two women hit it off immediately. They also do on a more personal level, and that’s where things get tricky. First, Caro is Amy’s boss. Second, Caro isn’t exactly closeted but she’s not really out either. She keeps her private life private and, above all, as far away as possible from the rink and the safe place she’s created in Chicago for young girls who dream of playing hockey. Moreover, with Amy’s appaling track record with relationships, her best friends are worried she might be more interested in the idea of Caro Cassidy than in Caro Cassidy herself. And Caro is struggling with abandonment issues: her parents got divorced, her mother shunned her after she was outed and her girlfriend left her when she decided to retire after an injury. Now she’s content with her job, her dog Doug and her therapy sessions.

The odds are not in favour of a real love affair, and when you add to all of this the fact that Amy has to go back to Boston at the end of the summer, anything serious between them seems doomed.

While I was quietly enjoying watching the relationship unfold, something interesting happened: I never really noticed how or when, but I suddenly found myself much more emotionally invested in Caro and Amy’s well-being. I read distractedly at first then got really focused once they got together and the real work began.

Ignore the Megan Rapinoe lookalike on the cover, I didn’t picture either woman as they are in this image. It does reflect the spirit of the book, however. Out on the Ice is a debut novel, and it’s really promising. You don’t have to care about sports to enjoy it. I really liked how Kelly Farmer dealt with Caro’s homophobic family and Amy’s attempts to fight bisexual erasure. It never felt didactic and was very coherent with the character. Another interesting aspect was how mental health plays into it all. How both women are more broken and vulnerable than they seem, the way they open up to each other, the strength the relationship brings them.

If you’re looking for a quick sweet yet not shallow read, give this one a try.

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

I am not sure if I am harder on queer lit or this just didn't have any spark for me. Caro was like every coach I have had for any sport ever and I found Amy too irritating to get invested in. The dog might have been my favorite part though...

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this book. I am providing a voluntary review. All thoughts and views are my own.

Out on the Ice is author Kelly Farmer’s debut novel, and it was a delightful one indeed! Amy and Caro were an adorable match that caught my heart early on. This is a slllooooooowww burn romance, but the relationship between them is so dang cute and real that the story never sags because of the slower paced romance aspect.

I read this book immediately following a MM romance about hockey and can officially say I know more about hockey after these two books than I’ve picked up throughout my entire adult life just, ya know, adulting. (Which isn’t saying much, because I am anything but a sports person.) That being said, while this book is heavy on the hockey—so might theoretically not be the best fit for non-sports lovers such as myself—I believe Farmer does a good job of toning it down just enough to make it something us non-athletic types can still wrap our noggins around. I might have preferred a bit less on a purely personal basis, but I think what’s in there is important to the story and therefore I wouldn’t actually recommend it be removed. Plus, I’m all about learning new things, and what better environment to do so than within the pages of an engaging romance between two beautiful women??

The writing in this book was tight and easy to read. Farmer built a stable world and likable characters, including several side characters that served their purpose but didn’t get in the way. Amy was a ray of sunshine that kept a smile on my face, while Caro was a doll who understandably had some reservations about making her and Amy’s relationship public.

Overall, the story works very well. It’s a light, fluffy romance but with a punch of heart. I’d definitely recommend it to all lovers of lesfic, but most especially those who can get down with some detailed hockey and fun-loving gals!

This was a low-angst, quick-to-read, romance.

Caro Cassidy runs a hockey school for girls. She keeps her personal life close to the vest and doesn’t advertise her sexuality. She adheres to a strict professional policy. In comes Amy Schwarzbach, lives her life out loud and doesn’t let anyone tell her how she should live her life. She does her best to encourage girls to be true to themselves while playing hockey in a safe space provided by Girls and Goals.

What I liked about Out on the Ice was the fact Caro and Amy were polar opposites, but they still fit together. Caro had gotten stuck in a repetitive cycle, but Amy makes her consider what how she could change for the better.

Amy was a bisexual character and If eel like there aren’t enough books with bisexual characters, and they talk about their previous partners. It was a genuine representation.

A lot of the romance was off screen, so if you’re looking for that you aren’t going to find that here. It was very sweet.

I was left wanting, but this was a good debut for Kelly Farmer .

Thank you to Carina Press and Netgalley for providing me with an arc for review!

If you know anything about me, you know that I am absolutely new to reading the romance genre. I couldn't resist wanting to read this book with the most adorable cover. This book absolutely surprised me with the conversations it had about bi erasure, found family, and writing positively about therapy!

This really is such a sweet romance. The conflicts are absolutely believable for the fleshed out characters Farmer has given us. Another thing I really enjoyed about this is that the romance and relationship aren't rushed and everything between them doesn't happen in a matter of weeks.

This book really was the perfect introduction to romance and if you like sports and sapphics this is for you!

It was my first sporty queer romance and I'm surely looking to read more, even though this book didn't necessarily hook me as much as I hoped it would.

After a surgery, Caro Cassidy retired from being a pro hockey player and now is running a hockey camp for girls. However, after hiring a bright, cheerful, and full of energy hockey player Amy, not mixing professional and personal life starts to be harder and harder.

This book was okay. I didn't dislike by all means but it sadly didn't score a place between my all-time favorites. What mostly fell flat for me was the characters - Amy and Caro had very indistinct voices despite having completely different personalities. They were really blad and I couldn't connect to either of them, despite them facing stuff that I personally experienced as well. The side characters weren't really fleshed out either, to the point where I wouldn't see the difference between Gina, Mel, or Kris speaking. I also feel the dialogue felt stiff and didn't flow naturally. It also goes for homophobia, which is very intense in this so keep an eye on that. Some of the things being said were so over the top it didn't feel real, although honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to hear people say that in the real world. Despite that I did enjoy the personal development both main characters went through and I think it was well-written.

I also felt the pacing was a bit off at times - most of the women's' relationship development happened in the first 50% and then there was a moment when barely anything meaningful would happen up until the last 15% when things got intense. I felt bored most of the time and only managed to get more invested in the end.

What I liked about this book was hockey stuff - the relationship Amy had with the kids Caro was coaching was really nice to see and I liked how different their approaches to the young players were. I'd love to see more of it since the most prominent thing in this book was the romance despite everything. Hockey took a bit of a background part, which wasn't a vice exactly, but I'd still read more about it.

Another thing I really liked was how prominent the mental health theme was. Caro regularly goes to therapy and is very vocal about it to Amy, explaining that her fight with depression is a work in progress and that it needs to be taken into account. It really normalizes getting help with mental health issues, looking for a therapist, and using a medication, which is a really good thing to talk about in a book. It's also stated that therapy won't immediately make everything better and that sometimes it takes years to get your life on the right track and that it's okay.

Another thing I liked was how the author addressed biphobia - I've read quite a lot of books with bi characters, even more than with lesbian ones (clear use of labels is also something I appreciated), but none of them elaborated on biphobia to this extend. Amy talks about prejudice even within the LGBT+ community and how people who aren't cis and gay have to and are expected to constantly educate others on the topic of their sexuality.

I'd recommend this book to the fans of sporty queer romances and despite this book not having made it to my favorites list I'm still curious to see the author's future work.

Very PG romance between female hockey players. While it was nice to read an LGBTQ+ romance with the setting being two successful, Olympic athletes, I found the writing not engaging enough. The romance genre is full of great writing now, and this was just ok. It might be good for those interested in hockey already.