I had such a great time reading Breaking the Ice by Whitney Dineen! What really made this book shine for me were the characters, Zach and Ellie. Ellie is that perfect mix of strong-minded and caring—she’s someone you can’t help but admire. And then there’s Zach, who’s just the kind of guy you’d want in your corner: down-to-earth, protective, and totally swoon-worthy.

The chemistry between them felt so natural, and I found myself completely wrapped up in their story. Whitney Dineen has a way of creating characters who feel like real people, the kind you wish you could meet in real life. If you’re in the mood for a romance that will make you smile and leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy, this is a must-read!

Such a great read!

I enjoyed reading this book and really like Zach and Ellie. They both were great characters and I was rooting for them the entire time. It was hard to not want them together. I really was hooked on their romance journey the entire time!

I recommend giving this a read! :)

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ellie is doing everything she can to keep up with her mom's medical bills without losing their house. Zach is a playboy billionaire currently making headlines for all the wrong reasons. When Zach comes into town to help with a charity hockey event Ellie feels an instant attraction to him. She tries to avoid it because of the publicity but what if that reporter has a vendetta against Zach?

Check this one out if you enjoy: small town romances, billionaire romance, kissing only

DNF. I cannot stand Zach. He is awful. There are no ethical billionaires, but that is something I would normally put aside for a billionaire romance for the ~fantasy~ of it all. However, this literally starts out with people complaining Zach doesn't donate enough of his money (he doesn't, proven by the fact that HE IS STILL A BILLIONAIRE) and Zach feeling like he DOES donate enough, he just does so ~anonymously~ so I feel like the "there are no ethical billionaires" thing has now become fair game. BTW, Zach feeling like it's not charity if it's not anonymous is...absolutely ridiculous. He is also a CRYPTO-BRO. Absolutely terrible. Then he ponders how, because his highly-competent assistant doesn't fawn over him, it must be the case that no men want to date her. And then as soon as he lays eyes on the heroine, WHO HE HAS STILL NEVER SPOKEN TO, he compares her to a pin-up girl. Gross. THEN, when he has showed up earlier than agreed upon and Ellie insists that the place he's supposed to stay in isn't ready yet (because, again, he's a day early) he just railroads her into agreeing to let him stay anyway. Him literally saying he'd stay at a hotel for one night, it's not a problem, could have saved this for me, but as it is, this behavior was the last straw. I don't get the vibe that Zach's character is actually going to change at all, just that everyone is going to figure out he had a heart of gold (he doesn't) all along, so I am out.

4⭐
🧼 Clean Romance

She's a small town woman who teaches kids how to skate and is her mom's caretaker. He's her boss's billionaire brother with a bad reputation.

This is a super cute, short and fun romance. It's great to pick up as a quick read. (I had it finished in under 3 hours and it left me excited for more of Maple Falls in future books!). With it being shorter in length, it is pretty fast-paced. I would have loved this as a longer, more fleshed-out novel, but I still adored it as a quick read!

✨ Enemies to lovers
✨ Forced Proximity
✨ Billionaire
✨ Clean Romance

Calling them "enemies" is pretty generous, but Ellie definitely started out with a strong distaste for Zach due to his recent bad publicity.

I'd recommend this to any romance reader who enjoys a fast, easy read with cozy small-town vibes.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC copy for review. My opinions are my own. 💕

Thanks to Partners Publishing and NetGalley for the digital eARC of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I needed a palette cleanser after reading a slew of in-depth non-fiction books and discovered this "clean" romance (I hate the term because it implies sex as something dirty, but I digress), combining an enemies-to-lovers as well as a sports romance.

The book was good for the most part. Ellie's character was totally unlikeable. She judges before getting to know Zach, based on social media rumors, which makes no sense, because she knows his brother, who can vouch for him. So, in that aspect, the "hate" felt forced, and I had a hard time rooting for her.

This is the start of a series, and depending upon which sports are represented, I may or may not seek out more. I don't give a whit about hockey, but figure skating, Yes!

I also liked knowing going in that this book wasn't trying to replicate Icebreaker.

This book is so cute and acharming contemporary romance that combines humor, warmth, and engaging characters. The story focuses on the evolving relationship between the protagonists as they navigate personal and professional challenges. Dineen's writing is light-hearted and relatable, making it an enjoyable and quick read for fans of romance.

Breaking the Ice is book one in the Love on Thin Ice series by Whitney Dineen.
This was such a charming and witty romance.
A fun small town hockey rom-com that I devoured.
What does an entitled billionaire and small-town ice-skating coach have in common?
Well here we have Ellie and Zach who I just adored.
I loved their personalities and whit.
This was a wonderful small town romance read, with plenty of humor and swoon.
I can’t wait to jump right into book two!

Thank You NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I'm loving this hockey romance story with Zach and Ellie. The small town feel is perfect and the characters stories apart and together really brings the warmth in this book.

Thank you netgalley for Breaking the Ice by Whitney Dineen

Breaking the Ice is the first of a new series and it did not disappoint! This is my first book by Whitney Dineen and it will not be the last, I have already purchased a few of hers after reading this one! You can't help but Love Zach and Ellie! They are the main characters, but the minor characters are all so much fun to read, and there is a lot of set up for more stories to come! I can't wait to read the rest of this series. Thanks #NetGalley for this ARC!!!!

This is an easy read. Cute story, however it is very surface level with lots of tell not showing us information about our characters. I do really like the idea of interconnected love stories centered around an event. The story takes place over the course of a few days, so it's a very quick relationship. There were also some parts that made me cringe. But overall, this was a fun read. I'm excited to read more of these books.

Review going live October 7

elle and zach had the sweetest story! i am so excited for this series, Maple Falls is just the cutest town! billionaire romances are one of my favorites and this one did not disappoint! the tension was top notch and i just loved these two together! highly recommend if you are looking for a fun and sweet, small town romance!

I was beyond excited to read the first in a new closed door hockey themed romance series but let’s just say I hope the rest get better.

Ellie
My life is not turning out like I thought it would.
My mom’s arthritis has gotten so bad that I had to move in with her. I’m making ends meet by giving ice skating lessons at the arena in Maple Falls. I’d be in serious trouble had the Harts not given me that job.
Which makes it impossible to say no when they ask me to let Troy’s obnoxious billionaire brother stay in the cabin on my mom’s property during the charity hockey event they’re running.
Zach
First the tabloids call me out for being a cheapskate and then Yolanda Simms takes to national television to tell everyone what a vicious heartbreaker I am?
Yeah, my life has been better.
My brother thinks I can fix my bad press by coming to Maple Falls and donating big to his new charity endeavor. Too bad he didn’t mention the woman who owns the cottage I’ll be staying at hates me with a passion.

Okay first off I absolutely hated Ellie’s character. It is 2024 why are we still judging people based off of the internet/rumours/ their financial status. I understand that yes sometimes fame and money can make someone act nasty but she’s super close to his brother; surely if he’s that nice and praises his brother than he can’t be all that bad? There were some analogies that came off as extremely outdated and other moments that just seemed completely insensitive in my option.
*Spoiler*
Lightheartedly using IVF to trap someone; so many families struggles with infertility and IVF and we’re just gonna carelessly throw that in as revenge? It really rubbed me the wrong way.

There wasn’t enough hockey for my liking and overall the plot was just an extreme miss for me. I will continue the series because it’s a multi author one but as long as they’re stand alones you can skip this one.

It was only abut two years ago when I read my first book by Whitney Dineen. It was No Ordinary Hate the first book in the A Gamble on Love Mom-Com series that she cowrote with Melanie Summers. I became an instant fan of both authors. Seriously if haven’t read the series yet and you are a fan of romcoms you owe it to yourself. But now on to Whitney’s newest book: Breaking the Ice.

Breaking the Ice is the first book in the new Love on Thin Ice series, which is described as a sweet small town hockey romcom series. This looks to be a seven book series with each book being written by a different author and focusing on different couples and taking place in the small town of Maple Falls. It very much reminds me of last years Sweater Weather series. And that’s a very good thing because I loved that series as well.

Breaking the Ice stars Ellie, a skating instructor from Maple Falls, and Zach, the billionaire brother of Ellie’s boss, who is coming to town to hide from the press and try to rehabilitate his reputation. And while Ellie already has preconceived notions about Zach and is determined not to like him (and is pretty much borderline hostile toward him when they first meet) their is definite an instant attraction. And while Ellie is determined not to like him, Zach is equally determined to prove to her he is actually a nice guy. And while the romance angle of the story is super cute, Whitney also weaves in a truly touching subplot of a daughter’s love for her mother. And as for the villain of the story, Yolanda is a character you’ll love to hate, lol. The novel isn’t quite 200 pages, which is a shame as I’d have been more than happy to spend more time with these two, but it did mean I was able to finish it in a single sitting. Whitney has definitely set the bar high for this series and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. And I have say I’d be fascinated to know the process these authors go through to write a connected series like this. Bottomline this is a wonderful forced proximity/ enemies to lovers story. I’d like to thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Breaking the Ice.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R22Y6V9FB6RR1B/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

The first book in a series.

Zach is trying to escape a scandal in the gossip pages and signs up to help his brother Troy get a charity ice hockey event started in a small town in Washington.

Ellie dislikes Zach because of the scandal in the papers and because he’s rich. That kind of made me not like her right away. Very immature. She doesn’t even know him, but because he’s staying at her mom’s cabin behind their house, she feels the need to judge him.

He’s trying to break the ice and be approachable, but she fights it every step of the way.

This wasn’t as good as I had hoped.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

If you want small town billionaire sports romance. You will love this book! It is a closed door romance which I loved!

I would like to thank Netgalley and the author for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was enjoyable, but I did find the writing a little basic at times, and some of the plot lines were a little problematic.

This was a very cute, small town/billionaire romance. I loved how quickly the story progressed. This book helped me out of my reading slump! I also thought the inclusion of a recipe at the end of the book was so fun! I’ll definitely be trying that recipe at some point.
All that being said, I did have a couple gripes with this book. My main issue with this one was the FMC. Don’t get me wrong, I love a headstrong FMC that’s willing to put the MMC in his place, but Ellie just came off as mean. She hates him before ever meeting him because of his bad press, and even after being shown on multiple occasions that he is clearly not the same man the media portrays him as, she still is downright mean/aggressive towards him. I found Ellie’s behavior immature and annoying.
Overall this was a cute read. I don’t regret reading it and will most likely continue the series, but I don’t think I’ll be rereading this one specifically.

An enjoyable opposites attract romance on ice!

Ellie coaches figure skating in her hometown so she can take care of her ailing mother. Zach is trying to hide out from a PR nightmare and help his brother raise money through a charity hockey game. He stays in her guest house and soon finds himself drawn to his closed off landlady.

Read if you like:
-Short, Sweet Romance Books
-Opposite Attract
-Small Town Romance

This was a fun book to read in a day. Zach was nice, but not really believable as a billionaire. And Ellie was relatable. Not too heavy on the angst with lots of small-town charm. I'll definitely look for more in this series.

What a great 'falling for the billionaire' read.

✔️Billionaire
✔️Small town
✔️Hockey/Ice Skating
✔️Drama with an ex

This story has it all. Such a light easy read, perfect between heavy books or series.

Thank you NetGalley and Partners Publishing for my DRC!