Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Iced Out

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Iced Out by CE Ricci

25 reviews

ink_mon's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

many time skips (weeks, months), doesn’t feel like a continuous storyline/ storytelling

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akirokis's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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galleytrot's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

READ: May 2023

FORMAT: Digital

BRIEF SUMMARY:

In this contemporary sports romance, hockey rivals Oakley and Quinton never expected they would wind up as teammates throughout their university years. At year four, there is animosity in the team over the captain position falling into Quinton’s lap, especially considering the circumstances that caused Oakley to miss his chance at it. When the pair's fighting comes to a head, bursting past sexual tension and right into a steamy encounter the night before their first win of the season, the superstitious duo form an agreement: no-strings-attached sex on the nights before their games, for as long as the wins keep on coming.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4 / 5⭐

As far as sports romances go, I don’t think it’s difficult to get the formula wrong. Athlete falls for someone, performance either suffers or excels in the face of it, something-something Big Tournament, agents/scouts are watching... this book hits all of the typical beats without adding much of anything new. I haven’t seen the superstition angle used before, though; turning relationship-development into a ritual with rules and stipulations is admittedly a new one to me, which has made this book stand out a little among others.

Oakley is your typical hockey-is-in-our-blood prodigy whose father and uncle each went pro in their time, and he’s set up (and working hard) to follow in their footsteps. He’s a stickler for the rules and for playing his best game, but Quinton’s short temper and flying fists have put multiple road blocks in his path throughout the years. Quinton has the natural talent, having took to the rink like a fish to water as a child, but his parents have the family business in mind for his future and they’re waiting for the day he gets bored of the sport so that he can step up. He’s damn good at the game, and he feels his happiest out on the ice, but he was raised in a world where cunning and deception were the prime method of crushing the competition. In Quinton’s eyes, Oakley’s family ties put him at an infuriatingly unfair advantage while he is forced to put in the hard work and effort it takes to play among the best.

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.25 / 5⭐

This book was my introduction to Ricci’s work. While I wouldn’t say there was much here that would stand out among other authors of similar works, I still enjoyed this story well enough to give her her due. Critically, there were a lot of awkward or strange phrasing choices made in this book. It happened often enough for me to take note of it, but clunky wording is fairly low on my list of offenses compared to inconsistencies, typos, and grammatical errors.

FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.75 / 5⭐

I wanted a spicy hockey rivals-to-lovers, and that’s precisely what I got. If it’s what you’re looking for, I see no reason to pass this one up. The spice in this book is its strongest asset– our guys have got chemistry. No complaints from me on that front.

This book has representation for gays and bisexuals. There is otherwise little in the way of diversity.

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.

This book contains: sports injuries, fighting; mentions of drug use (performance enhancing drugs, opiates); strained family relations (unsupportive parents); and, alcohol use.

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readbyjaimes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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g_monaghan's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Tiktok lead me here, hoping for some m/m romance with two stupid pretty men but was not ready for the emotional journey it took me on, great spice scenes and the character development of quin 🩷

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kaylamei's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I’m drowning in him. So much so, I don’t care if it might go against the rules we’ve set out. Nor do I give a flying fuck about kissing him in public, where anyone can watch or judge or feel forced to shield their children’s eyes.

Quinn and Oakley are lovable hockey rivals who find themselves hooking up to keep a lucky winning streak.

Premise: 4/5 - Hockey enemies to lovers. It can’t compare to Heated Rivalry, but the college age players and the lovable jock attitudes are there.

Prose: 4/5 - Good writing. Nothing exceptional about it but nothing bad. Perhaps could have used a little more poetic waxing. Overall clean and tight writing.

Spice: 4.5/5 - Well written spice. Versatile/switching. Believable and steamy. Lost a little because I’d like to have seen more switching. Perhaps it was not always furthering the plot either but spicy nonetheless.

Tear-worthy: No. I did not cry. They were cute and you definitely felt bad for Quinn’s poor family life, but it was not gut wrenching.

Could have used better and more well developed friendships outside of the main pair.

Content Warnings