For
the figure skater and the hockey player, their sport demands total devotion,
but can falling in love come first?
My name is Shaun Stanton, and I’m bisexual.
In hockey-obsessed Chesterford Academy, Shaun Stanton stands out as the star
player and captain of the Chesterford Coyotes, and his exceptional skills have
already attracted the attention of NHL scouts. He lives and breathes hockey,
but there’s more to his story. His father wants Shaun to be the star he never
was, and their relationship is a complex mix of guidance and intimidation.
Worse, while hockey is Shaun’s sanctuary and a key part of who he is, he
harbors a secret his dad can never discover: Shaun is gay He’s caught between
the future career he’s destined for, and the truth he has to hide. There’s one
bright light in his life, the vibrant figure skater who shares the early
morning practice ice, a friend he worries about, but has now become something
more—Kenji is everything Shaun wants and can’t have.
My name is Kenji Kelly, and I need to be perfect.
Kenji Kelly is a young man who walks two worlds: his family is a beautiful mix
of American and Asian cultures. He loves both figure skating and hockey, and
he’s a out and proud pansexual teen. While it seems to the world around him he
has it all, deep down Kenji has a secret that’s slowly becoming harder to
conceal. His life is the ice and his coach does not believe in failure. The one
person who knows his hidden secret is Shaun, the captain of the Coyotes and a
friend from youth hockey days. Shaun’s gaze towards Kenji, once filled with
concern, now seems to hold something deeper, unsettling Kenji but also igniting
similar giddy, burgeoning feelings in him. As their feelings for each other
become stronger, the secrets both young men carry grow heavier and more
distressing with each passing day.
Trigger Warning: mention of an eating disorder.
Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Chesterford Coyotes series!
For book one, Off the Ice, click HERE.
For book two, On Thin Ice, click HERE.
Book
3
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Paperback (US)
There was a heated exchange of words, Kenji skating backward and away, almost at center ice. All I needed to do was to push forward on one skate, and glide there, and we could say hello. We’d been best friends once, and if I apologized—if I was honest with him about how I’d messed up—maybe we could go back to being friends. As the argument escalated between my dad and Kenji’s coach, I felt a knot form in my stomach and I was paralyzed by my own insecurities. I watched Kenji and cursed myself for not having the courage to reach out to him.
Dad was becoming more animated, Kenji’s coach just as loud, gesticulating wildly.
I didn’t have the balls to skate to the center ice.
And Kenji didn’t turn to look at me.
Dad returned, as scarlet as me, but where my reaction was shame and confusion, his was temper and hatred.
“You’re sharing the ice,” he snapped.
He was so angry, and I didn’t know how to feel. He’d sacrificed everything for me; worked three jobs to keep me in hockey gear, drove me to every practice and game, and even volunteered as a coach for the team. The thought of letting him down filled me with guilt.
I owed him.
He’d poured his heart and soul into my hockey career, and it all centered on us practicing six days out of seven on this ice, and today we didn’t have the ice.
I should feel territorial, right? It was what Dad wanted me to feel, I was sure. Instead I felt… weird. Then something hit me. Why was I sharing the ice that was for the school? I was somewhere for the Academy teams to practice and play, and it wasn’t open to the public, courtesy of a shit ton of funding from very rich benefactors at our very wealthy campus. Why was someone from outside Chesterford Academy on our ice?
“They’ll let anyone join this damn school, freaking twirly shit getting in our way. Fucking girls out here on our ice.”
“He’s—”
“No!”
I wanted to defend Kenji, to explain that figure skaters were as valid as hockey players, same as I’d done when Kenji had left hockey for the figure skating and begged to be allowed to be friends with him still. But my dad’s hatred had spilled over and scared me.
“Shut your mouth and listen up,” Dad snapped. His reaction stung, his threats left me feeling powerless and defeated, and small.
So small.
“Figure skaters are boys as well,” I word-vomited, thankful the boards were between me and him when Dad stiffened and sent me a stare that would kill other people. Dad had never touched me, apart from fixing my hockey hold, or straightening my back, but his expression was murderous, and that meant the curses would fly and he’d take out his impotent rage on me with words. He leaned over the barrier, and my heart skipped, my chest tightened. I held my position and tilted my chin as he lowered his voice, hate dripping from every word.
Ruthie
– ☆☆☆☆
This is the third in the series, and is another great book from the talented
duo of V.L. Locey and RJ Scott. This time we get an interesting pairing of two
very different ice sports – the oversized, slightly brutish hockey player,
Stanton, and the diminutive ice dancer, Kenji.
Both guys are now training on shared ice in the early hours of every morning,
their respective coaches bullying them on the ice, using horribly negative
slurs to get them to improve. I really hate this style of coaching, so was
super angry at both of them and very relieved when things change.
Though they were great friends as youngsters, there was a rift, and it is
really touching watching them retrieve the friendship, admit that it might well
be much more than just a friendship, and navigate a possible future, all whilst
dealing with their coaches hounding them to be better. For Stanton, he has to
find the strength to live his own dream, rather than his father's. For Kenji,
the road is much more complex as he has a coach who demands his weight stay at
a set point, something he feels he can only achieve by starving himself most of
the time. It is difficult to read, but the authors have done an amazing job of
providing balance and insight.
I definitely recommend this book to you – and for series fans, there are plenty
of links to earlier books, which are very satisfying.
Shannan
– ☆☆☆☆
Dance on Ice is the third installment in the Chesterford Coyotes series.
It can be read as a standalone – and the trigger warning for an eating disorder
should be taken seriously. If this is a topic you yourself have struggled with
or can't read this type of story, please skip this one, as it is a big topic in
the plot.
Kenji and Shaun were the closest of friends when they were younger. They played
hockey together until Kenji was pulled more toward the figure skating world.
Shaun's dad took issue with that and refused to let Shaun remain friends with
him. Shaun hated that he was no longer a part of Kenji's world, but he owed his
dad for all his sacrifices. Kenji is proudly out as pansexual while Shaun is
hiding deep in the bisexual closet even though there are very well known, out
hockey players. His dad pushes him hard to be the best and make the NHL at any
cost. And Kenji's coach bullies him for his weight – having daily weigh-ins;
the stress to be perfect pushes Kenji to an eating disorder. Kenji wants to
hate Shaun, but he can't. Shaun wants to protect Kenji and be the one he can
lean on. They fight for a regained friendship but they both want more.
The bullying they both experienced was heartbreaking. Seeing Shaun finally
stand up against his father was everything, as was Kenji's coach being exposed,
unfortunately at the injury of Kenji. There friends stood behind them both and
became the support they both needed.
Another great story from this duo of authors!
USA
Today bestselling author RJ SCOTT has written over one hundred and fifty
romance books. Emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, single
dads, hockey players, millionaires, princes, bodyguards, Navy SEALs, soldiers,
doctors, paramedics, firefighters, cops, and the men who get mixed up in their
lives, always with a happy ever after.
She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with
family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week’s break from
writing, she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a box of
chocolates she couldn’t defeat.
Connect with RJ
Scott!
Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ TikTok ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Facebook
Group: RJ Scott – Special Secret Group
Facebook
Group: MM Hockey Romance
V.L. LOCEY loves worn jeans, yoga,
belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the
New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.)
She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock
of assorted fowl, and two Jersey steers.
When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie
in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.
Connect with V.L.
Locey!
Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Facebook
Group: V.L. Locey – Vixens Reading Group
Facebook
Group: MM Hockey Romance
Hosted by
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided
a free copy of Dance on Ice (Chesterford Coyotes #3) by RJ Scott & V.L.
Locey to read and review.
