Changes on Ice is a heartfelt and sensual age-gap romance featuring two hockey players from very different backgrounds at very different stages in their careers. While it’s the third book in the author’s Changes series, it can be read as a standalone; the first two books feature the same central characters (a throuple) but this one features different leads and a different storyline. Both protagonists appeared in secondary roles in the earlier books and reference is made to a significant event in which they were both involved, but the author gives enough information about what happened during the course of this story for the reader not to feel lost.

Rusty Dolan’s parents threw him out when he came out to them as gay, so he got in his truck with his hockey gear and went to stay with his mentor and friend, Scott Edison, an NHL star who, along with his friend and team-mate, Cross, coached Rusty and helped him get a place on the Eugene Gryphons, a developmental team in Portland. Now nineteen-going-on-twenty, he’s playing well and loves what he’s doing, although making ends meet is tough; the pay isn’t great and he’s broke most of the time, but at least he can live as his authentic self. Plus, he’s having fun checking out the local gay scene – which has a lot more to offer than small town Kansas.

Roger LaCroix – aka Cross – is one of the NHL’s top defencemen. He’s an All Star, has won the Norris trophy twice and helped the Portland Rafters to a Stanley Cup win – which he hopes to do again. He’s very wealthy – both as a result of his career and from being born into money – and successful, but he’s missing one thing he really wants, which is someone to share his life with. He thought that perhaps he’d found that person in the form of his ex-girlfriend, Willow, but even though he loved her and he knew she cared for him, things just didn’t work out and she broke things off. That was a few years ago now, and Cross hasn’t found anyone else he wants to spend time with or be intimate with, which is starting to worry him, just a bit. He’s known for a while that he’s interested in both men and women, and also believes that he’s demisexual – but he never told Willow for fear of her reaction, and is still closeted as far as his bisexuality/bi-romanticism is concerned. Even though his friend Scott Edison is out as gay, poly and in a committed relationship with his two partners, being anything other than straight in professional hockey is tough path to tread and he’s just not ready to take it yet.

Rusty and Cross got to know each other a little the previous summer when Rusty stayed with Scott and his partners at their Kansas home and Scott and Cross helped Rusty prepare for his move to the Gryphons. Rusty developed a crush on Cross but kept it to himself; he knows Cross is way out of his league and was just being friendly but still… a guy can dream. They’ve stayed friendly and text each other now and again, but aren’t close; yet when Rusty needs help getting rid of an ex who won’t take no for an answer, Cross is the person he calls. Rusty doesn’t have any real friends; he’s too busy trying to navigate a locker room filled with casual homophobia, a team captain who doesn’t really care and a coach he knows will throw him off the team given the slightest reason, to have been able to trust any of his teammates sufficiently enough for friendship. He’s not sure what he’d hoped Cross would do to help, so is surprised when he offers to pretend to be Rusty’s new boyfriend (Cross is straight, as far as he knows) and that they should meet the ex together to make sure he gets the message.

Although that’s the set-up for the slow-burn romance between Rusty and Cross, Changes on Ice isn’t a fake-dating story. Rather it’s a story about these two men learning how to reconcile their differences and create balance in their relationship, about Cross coming to terms with his sexual identity and both of them learning to understand their partner’s emotional and sexual needs and figuring out what type of intimacy works for them.

Cross is thirty and seems like he has everything; Rusty is nineteen and has nothing, so there’s a lot of difference to navigate here. Cross is more concerned about the age gap than Rusty is, and while I know it won’t work for some readers because of Rusty’s age, it worked for me; he’s one of those characters who’s life experience has forced him to grow up quickly so he feels older than his actual years. Rusty’s main concern is their vast financial disparity; he doesn’t want to be ‘kept’ and he wants pull his weight however he can, and Cross quickly learns not to downplay the cost of things or offer to pay for things more often than Rusty can afford to go halves. I really liked the way the story explores the issue of money and shows how important it is that they reach a compromise they can both live with.

The issue of Cross’s sexuality is expertly handled, too. As well as the age difference and financial gap, Cross worries that he’s not a suitable sexual partner for Rusty; he keeps waiting to feel the sexual desire for Rusty he’s sure must follow the emotional connection they’re building, but it never happens, which causes him to have a major re-think about his sexuality. Realising he’s asexual – not totally sex averse, but not all that interested in sex for himself – makes him feel as though a weight has been lifted after a lifetime of feeling that there was something wrong with him because he didn’t enjoy sex the way other people did. But how can a nineteen-year-old man with a healthy sexual appetite want to be with someone like Cross, who isn’t particularly bothered about orgasms?

With a lot of care, support and communication is the answer to that one. Rusty’s initial reaction – being a little disappointed and not quite understanding it – feels realistic when you also take into account the fact that he doesn’t want to feel like he’s taking from Cross all the time without reciprocating. The portrayal of Cross’s asexuality feels nuanced and honest, and I liked that he’s able to show Rusty that what they do in bed isn’t simply one-sided and that Rusty is absolutely giving as well as receiving pleasure. Rusty being so completely accepting is lovely to read.

While Cross and Rusty are navigating all these potential relationship minefields, there’s some external drama happening that keeps things moving. Rusty’s creepy ex just won’t go away, Cross’s father – who is still annoyed that his son decided to pursue a career in hockey rather than joining the family business – starts shit-stirring, and of course, there’s the matter of when and how Cross is going to come out so he can be with Rusty openly. There’s a lot going on, but none of it detracts from the romance, which is the real heart of the book.

The two protagonists are superbly written and fully-rounded, and their romance is full of warmth and genuine affection. Changes on Ice is a lovely read that will tug at the heartstrings and have you rooting hard for Rusty and Cross to get a very well-deserved HEA.