★ 10/10/2016
Snow’s perfect second hockey-inspired Colorado Ice contemporary (after Maybe This Kiss) is a tender romance about life handing two bruised, vulnerable people an unexpected second chance. Divorced from her high-school sweetheart, who’s now a superstar NHL player, Abigail Jansen hopes that her hometown, Glenwood Falls, Colo., is the right place to restart her life. Then Dani, her nine-year-old daughter, makes the local junior hockey team, and the coach turns out to be her ex’s best friend, Jackson Westmore. Jackson’s snarky attitude hides his true feelings toward Abby; he knows “the only thing more off-limits than your best friend’s girl was your best friend’s ex-girl.” As Abby and Jackson’s lives become more intertwined in that small-town way, their sizzling sexual chemistry leads to frustrated emotions and difficult choices. When Dani’s father comes to town for a father-daughter dance, he shows his true colors, prompting Abby and Jackson to make some serious decisions. The emphasis on romance will make this book appealing even to readers who aren’t into sports. Quietly humorous, profoundly moving, and captivatingly seductive, with supportive secondary characters, this novel is sure to enthrall fans and newcomers to this series. Agent Stephany Evans, FinePrint Literary. (Dec.)
This week’s Romance Roundup includes a vampire demon working for the good side, a bad boy who wants to improve his reputation, and a cook who gets help from a motorcycle-riding hunk.