Title: Strictly On Ice
Author: Helen Buckley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Rating: 5 out of 5
Synopsis
When falling in love comes with the risk of falling flat on your face …
Former Olympic skating champion Katie Saunders is well known for her ‘ice queen’ persona in the press. On the face of it, perhaps Katie should have forgiven her former skating partner and ex-boyfriend, Alex Michaelson, for the accident that shattered both her ankle and their Olympic dreams – but she just can’t seem to let it go.
When Katie reluctantly agrees to take part in a new TV skating show, it’s only because she’s desperate for cash. What she didn’t count on is the drama – not only is she partnered up with infamous love rat rugby player Jamie Welsh, but one of the judges is none other than Alex Michaelson himself.
As the show progresses, will Katie be shown the hard way, once again, that romance on the ice should remain strictly off-limits?
My Review
I really enjoyed this story, which follows the main character Katie. Katie once was an outstanding ice skater, a gold medalist, with an incredible skating further ahead of her. Her whole world suddenly came crashing down after a terrible accident ended her skating career. Shying away from the media and and interviews, Katie soon was dubbed the ‘ice queen’ by the press. Her real life relationship with her ice dance partner Alex also ended as she blamed him for her accident and refused to have anything more to do with him. Struggling for money, when she is offered the opportunity to take part in the TV reality show Sport Star to Skate Star, Katie feels she doesn’t really have any option but to agree.
Jamie is known as a notorious love-rat, who made a fool of himself by going on a drunken bender before the World Cup final. After ruining his own career and marriage, he’s now a washed-up, unfit ex-rugby player. He agrees to take part in the skating show for the money, but also to put his past behind him finally. Katie and Jamie are partnered together for the show. As the story continues, we get to see the growing friendship between the two of them.
Difficult and darker times
There are some difficult topics covered in the story. On a personal level, I did struggle a little bit with the more darker moments. However, I think the author has covered these subjects really well and with a level of empathy. I really enjoyed Strictly On Ice – so much so I read it in one day! Strictly On Ice is a lovely heartwarming romance, packed full of love, laughs, tears and emotion. It is an absolute MUST read.
Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for providing the materials for this post and organising the Blog tour. Be sure to check out the other blogs that participated in this Blog Tour.
