Holiday on Ice (Play by Play, #8.5) by Jaci Burton ~ Review

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Source:  Received an eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Superstar hockey player Patrick “Trick” Niemeyer and dancer Stella Slovinski have picked up where they left off a year ago, resuming their hot, uncomplicated affair. Stella refuses to call it dating, or a relationship. But lately, Trick is looking for more…

Stella’s been burned before—in a relationship she never talks about—not with her family, not with her friends, and definitely not with Trick. But now it’s the holiday season and Trick is determined to give Stella his heart wrapped up in a bow. He knows Stella is the right woman for him, but he’ll have to melt the ice surrounding her heart to keep her from walking away.

Review...

Characters, story, writing & afterglow...

Characters.  I really enjoyed both of the main characters.  Trick has always been a player but he's feeling the need for more with a certain dancer.  He's sexy and sweet from his steaming up the sheets to his surprising Stella with a Christmas tree topper that's just for her.  I enjoyed reading about Trick.

Stella is a very dedicated dancer working on Broadway.  Her career is very important to her and it takes all her time.  A few random hook-ups worked just fine for her especially after the last time she let her heart get involved, it was broken badly.  She's a tough cookie to crack.  But Trick is up to the challenge.

Story.  It's usually the guy who's determined to avoid the relationship.  It was nice to see that turned around.  The New York setting was fun and, of course, I really enjoyed the hockey aspect of it.

Writing.  This one is well written.  It's a novella and those are always a challenge for me.  I tend to like novels better.  One thing that worked well here was that these two already knew each other.  They weren't starting from nothing.  There were a few places that a lot of telling happened instead of showing happened.  Those weren't my favorite parts.

Afterglow.  I felt satisfied when I finished.  I would have loved a little more with these two but it was an enjoyable Christmas story.

This one will appeal to fans of this author as well as peeps who want that quick holiday read.  Read it in an evening.

           

This one was my teaser yesterday.

 

About the author...

Jaci Burton is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of over 50 books. She lives in Oklahoma and when she isn’t on deadline (which is often), she can usually be found wrestling with her uncooperative garden, wrangling her dogs, watching an unhealthy amount of television, or completely losing track of time reading a great book. She’s a total romantic and longs for the happily ever after in every story, which you’ll find in all her books.