Cold as Ice is book two in Beth Bolden’s new series of hockey romances set at a fictional Portland University, but I didn’t feel I’d missed anything by not listening to book one, Melting the Ice. I freely admit that college-age romances aren’t ones I gravitate towards, but I’ve enjoyed books by Ms. Bolden before and Darcy Stark is one of my favourite narrators, so I thought I’d give it a try – and I’m glad I did. The characters are young, yes, but they’re not dumb or wildly immature and are easy to like and root for, and their grumpy/sunshine romance is nicely done.

Malcolm McCoy is twenty-two and in his last year of college. He’s conscientious, dedicated and single-minded, a model student who has made the Dean’s List four times in a row and an exemplary hockey player who is headed to the NHL once he graduates. He’s famously even-tempered and unflappable – but there’s something about his newest linemate, Elliott Jones, that rubs him completely the wrong way. Elliott – who used to have a massive crush on Mal that was dashed when he hit on Mal and was shot down – is a hugely talented player and he could be a really great one, but he’s irresponsible, cocky, and flighty – and seems more interested in having fun and sleeping around than he is in playing hockey, which drives Mal nuts.

When the story begins, Mal and Elliott are called in to see Coach after practice, and Mal can’t help wondering if they’re about to get reamed out (again) because they’re forever sniping at each other. But Elliott is pretty sure it’s not that; he’s failing his statistics class, and if his grades don’t improve fast, he’ll lose his scholarship – and his place on the team. Mal is not at all sympathetic when he learns about this, believing Elliott to be a slacker who doesn’t take anything seriously, and when Coach asks Mal (who got an A in the subject) to tutor Elliott to help him get his grades up, he’s not happy about it. Neither of them is. Mal thinks Elliott must have been skipping classes and not doing the work; Elliott thinks Mal is a stick-in-the-mud who doesn’t know how to have fun – but they have to (reluctantly) agree on one thing; the Evergreens stand a better chance of winning the Frozen Four with Elliott on the team than without him.

Mal stipulates three sessions a week, surprised when Elliott doesn’t complain about the tutoring impinging on his partying time. But that’s not the only surprise he’s got in store; as they spend more time together getting to know each other off the ice, Mal learns there’s much more to Elliott than he’d suspected, and that he’s completely serious about staying on the team and making hockey a career. And Elliott comes to understand why Mal is so rigid and reserved, how his father’s insistence that playing hockey isn’t a real career has made him so determined to prove that he can that he hasn’t had room in his life for anything else. Not even getting laid.

Well, of course, Elliott has a solution for that ;) Sex lessons in return for statistics tutoring – it’s only fair to return the favour after all.

The enemies-to-lovers portion of the story is fairly short but is very nicely done. It’s clear from the get-go that Elliot’s constant needling of Mal is born of his desire for Mal’s attention and that Mal’s dislike of Elliot is due to frustration because he wants him badly but has decided he can’t have him. Their chemistry crackles from the minute they meet, and I liked the slow-burn aspect of their relationship, the subtle shifts in their view of each other as they get to know each other better. Mal has built a lot of walls, not only to defend himself against his father’s disapproval but also against the heartache and embarrassment he suffered when he was burned by the last guy he really liked. He’s confident on the ice and in his academic abilities, but not so much when it comes to his personal life, and there are times he continues to question Elliott’s reasons for wanting to be with him. But Elliott has the emotional intelligence to realise what Mal is doing and why and the patience to break down those walls bit by bit; he’s a few years younger than Mal, but his upbringing in a loving family with a trio of older sisters who adore him means he’s comfortable in his own skin in a way that Mal has never been. I liked the way the author shows that their very different playing styles – Mal’s planned and by the book, Elliot’s free, easy and all instinct and no preparation – actually complement each other and is often (to Mal’s annoyance sometimes) very effective. Then later, we see how they’ve begun to influence each other’s play in a very positive way and that Mal’s adoption of aspects of Elliott’s more impulsive attitude and Elliott’s improving technique and focus are turning them into an unbeatable force on the ice.

As I said at the beginning, college-set romances aren’t ones I normally seek out, but I enjoyed this one. Mal and Elliott are good for each other and while Elliott is a bit of a party-boy to start with, he grows up a fair bit during the course of the story and shows that he’s capable of dedication and commitment. I admit that I take HEAs at such relatively young ages with a pinch of salt, but this one is fairly convincing; Mal and Elliott know they have a tough road ahead of them in professional sports, but are determined to do whatever has to be done in order to make their relationship work.

There’s a secondary storyline running throughout surrounding Elliott’s problematical statistics class. It becomes clear that something hinky is going on when Elliott continues to receive poor grades although he’s putting in the work and has a far better grasp of the subject thanks to Mal. I’m not sure how plausible the plotline is, but it’s an interesting angle.

Darcy Stark has been Beth Bolden’s narrator of choice for her past few series, and I was pleased to see he’s on board for this one, too, because he’s one of my go-tos. His voice is easy on the ear and has a distinctive, slightly husky note, and his performances are always well-paced and expressive with a good range of character voices and clear differentiation. I really liked the portrayals of the two leads; Mal’s speech is considered and equanimous – unless he’s getting snarky with Elliott! – giving a clear picture of someone who keeps their impulses and emotions tightly controlled, where the higher pitch and warmer tone assigned to Elliott perfectly depict the younger man’s more outgoing, breezy nature and good humour. Their growing emotional connection comes through clearly, and the secondary cast is appropriately voiced and the characters are easy to identify in multi-person conversations.

I enjoyed listening to Cold as Ice, and plan to go back to listen to the first book and then pick up the remaining titles in the series as they appear (I’m especially intrigued by whatever is going on between Coach and Zach!) The one negative I can really offer is that the book is a bit overlong; once Mal and Elliott have fessed up and admitted they want to be together, the pacing slows and there’s a lot of filler in the second half before we find out what’s going on with the statistics class near the end. I don’t object to long books in principle – if an author needs time to develop a romance, then I’m all for it, but I’ve come to realise that long(er) books are part of Beth Bolden’s MO, which is part of the reason I’ve – so far – stuck to audio. When you enjoy listening to a particular narrator, they help you to get through the… flabbier parts of the story!

Although it could have been a bit shorter, Cold as Ice is fun, entertaining, and sexy with likeable leads and excellent narration. College-set hockey romances are two a penny these days, but this is one of the better ones and I’m happy to recommend it.

Breakdown of Grade: Narration – A; Story – B

Running time: 11 hours, 38 minutes