Not all men need to be an Alpha…

Synopsis

Justin
I thought I’d left my past in Minnesota when I moved to Iowa, but it was right there waiting for me.
Long blonde hair, curves in all the right places, and a death glare that hits harder than a slap shot to the solar plexus. On the ice, I’m a pro at blocking shots, but Savannah Bowen has slipped behind all my defenses and made a home in my heart.
I had no intention of revisiting the past, but when she’s damn near everywhere I go, I’m a goner.

Savannah
Hell freakin’ no.
It doesn’t matter that Justin Ashe is seven feet tall and sexy as sin, or that I’ve had a crush on him for years. He cheated on my best friend in high school, and that makes him off limits.
I can’t be with him, but damn, it’s impossible to stay away from him. Girl Code says uteruses before duderuses.
He’s supposed to be my enemy, but the more I see of him, the blurrier the lines get.

Welcome to UCR hockey, where fierce AF heroines and hot as puck heroes find their hockey ever afters. If you pucking love college hockey romance series, you’ll adore UCR Raccoons hockey.

FREEZING THE PUCK is a delicious slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, ovaries before brovaries sports romance. This interconnected full-length stand-alone is the first in a new series with no cheating or cliffhangers and has a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

My review

If there is one thing Savannah holds on to, is that it’s always sisters before misters. So when years ago, Justin cheated on her best friend Molly, that was the foundation of a hatred still lasting till present times.
Luckily, Savannah and Justin never crossed paths, until just recently. Now they seem to meet each other all the time, and despite Savannah efforts, she starts to feel an attraction towards him. An attraction she tries to resists, because of what Justin did to her best friend and is still unforgivable.
However, Justin may not be the guy everyone thinks he is. In fact, there are more than just one lie going around about him and despite his fierceness as captain of the Cedar Rapids Raccoons, he has a gentleness and a caring nature you wouldn’t expect from a hockey player. And he cannot take Savannah out of his mind.

My dearest Lasairiona, 

Being a big fan of your previous series filled with A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Alpha – men, having my ovaries exploding with each new book, I was both looking forward to this next series, but also a bit worried. Because after such a delightful series, how could *anything* be better than what I have read before? My expectations were so high that I thought they would be impossible to be reached. 

But what on earth was I thinking, having even a tiny doubt about you and your wonderful writing skills??? 

I just loved how Justin is the total opposite of an Alpha. Even if we often dream about a man taking control, isn’t it that we also need the kinder, gentler men to sweep us off our feet?
And Justin did exactly that and even more!
Justin shows us that being an empath isn’t easy, feeling someone else’s emotions so deeply, feeling not only their happiness but also their pain and struggles.
I am not an empath myself, but I care deeply how everyone around me is feeling, so this book made me understand a little bit better how being an empath affects that person’s life. 

But this book is so much more… 

Who would ever think that a fear of flying would turn out to be something so hilarious for the readers, yet so swoon – worthy material! Seeing how Savannah is struggling during the flight was almost making me afraid of taking a plane again. And then to be forced to sit next to your sworn enemy, could things even get worse for her?
But Justin shows what a perfect gentleman he is, trying to help her and distract her, comfort her… *Tizi was swooning before anything actually happened!*   

I could perfectly understand the dilemma Savannah was facing. She and Molly have been best friends since high school after Molly rescued her from an awkward situation. So when Molly caught Justin in a compromising situation, Savannah stayed and is still staying loyal to Molly. So no way Savannah would give in to her growing attraction to her sworn enemy! 

If only that was the only problem Savannah was facing…
When we meet her, she made a terrible discovery that shook her ground. Now, as a bystander it’s easy to say that it isn’t that big of a deal, as she did have everything (it’s hard to say anything about it without giving away what the discovery is! 😊).
But how can anyone judge on how to feel if you aren’t in the same situation? And feelings for sure don’t always listen to reason, as they have a mind of their own. 

While reading, I was blown away with Justin’s job. I found it both hilarious and also amazing to read that a man would be doing what is mostly expected from a woman. Now, don’t go thinking crazy things, it’s rather innocuous in a way, yet it left me flabbergasted in a good way. 

It takes a while before Justin and Savannah finally get into some action. But while I couldn’t wait for that action, it didn’t bother me that it took so long. It only made it possible to understand the characters much better and fall completely and irrevocably in love with them!
When the action finally took place, I swooned how considered and determined Justin was to achieve his goal. He won’t settle for less than an amazing O from Savannah, even if it takes hours! If only all men would be as passionate as Justin! 

Savannah and Justin are a match made in heaven, they both couldn’t find a person more perfect for themselves.
While obviously there is some friction between them, even after getting together, it fitted their character perfectly, the reason of the friction and the way they behaved afterwards.
And I found it a nice touch of this amazing, wonderful, talented author of even mocking a bit romance books, by refusing a third act break – up. Who could make up this stuff!!! 

My dearest Lasairiona, you blew me away with the start of this new series. I devoured this book, I adored it, I wanted to read it all over again. And I don’t blame you at all for my lack of sleep, and when I did sleep, dreaming of finding my own Justin to my Savannah!