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A review by mjsam
Hot Ice by Erin Zak, Aurora Rey, Elle Spencer
4.0
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a compilation of novellas by three authors I like, so choosing 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 I loved her interactions with Cassidy, 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.
This is a compilation of novellas by three authors I like, so choosing 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 I loved her interactions with Cassidy, 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.