Hannah Grace's Icebreaker

Drama, drama, drama! At least in Icebreaker it's the good and juicy kind. *winks* I enjoyed this book wat more than I expected to. It made me reminisce my college dats, dating, campus fun, going to events, and feel blessed at how much happier my liver is without ALL the college drinking. LOL! 

Icebreaker's plot went deeper than I expected. At first, I was figuring it would be like the movie Cutting Edge or the book Pucked, but it really held its own! I loved the competitive ice skater vs competitive hockey player. There was an inherent understanding of what they need to get done to succeed and also how enjoy life and blow off steam. It has a good intro and story, we meet the players, there is a natural arc, realistic twists and issues to try and tear Anastasia and Nate apart, followed with understanding and the reiteration that positive communication is key, and finally, we get our beloved happily ever after. As Susan Elizabeth Phillips would tell us, that's what you need for a successful romantic comedy novel. Anything less is a tragedy. Also, these aren't really spoilers since you know this is marked as an "enemy to lovers" book.

Also, wowza! Ms. Grace gives us steamy, spicy, drippy, sexy scenes throughout the whole book! You will not be disappointed and...this is your warning if you are listening to an audiobook. I had no idea my 30 minute jog through the park was going to be 25 minutes of lusty bedroom antics. I can't even remember if I was jogging, or stutter step jogging, or going between jogging and racing. LOL!

If you want some great romance, Icebreakers is your friend.

Becky Banks' Flux

Vega and Hoyt are the enemies to lovers you didn't know you needed. They are the hacker-world book version of Yellowstone, the drama you can't help but get sucked into as you read along with their adventures and antics. Who knows where you might end up: jail, a penthouse suite, a gala or on the run. Flux is a layered story with a great arc, time doesn't stall anywhere and the characters are always developing and evolving as the mystery and thrills are unraveling around us. Plus, lots of luscious spice with Vega and Hoyt... lots.

Author Becky Banks has a talent for writing characters with quirks, charisma, sometimes broken and in need of healing, as well as humor. She has a talented way with words to paint you into the scene; smelling, tasting, feeling everything, electrifying the air around the characters. I have read everything this author has written and Flux is my new favorite book of the authors.

Vega comes from an abusive past that continues to haunt her and her family. She is passionately dedicated to protecting those she loves, herself, and other women who reach out in desperate need of the Valkyrie, to swoop in and save them from abusive men. While I had a love/hate relationship with Vega, we encounter time and again, a positive balance of strength in her because Vega tries to see both sides of the issues and situations, even if she has rules placing her more on the dark side (usually the lawbreaking side) than the light, that your scales tip in favor to love her. It is this willingness to see, absorb, and react that builds Vega's character throughout the book and strengthens her nature into someone likeable and loveable. You want to cheer her on as she evolves with the story.

Hoyt is a beautiful, intelligent, ruthless, billionaire, ex-NFL player, who will give you all the hot and bothered feelings we want to escape into. He has a head for tech, protecting people and placing securities in companies with an unbreachable tech system. I found myself falling more in love with Hoyt when I noticed his penitent towards patience, over and over, teaching Vega kindness is something you can give without cost to your confidence or value. Hoyt is a spot on character for this story. He was raised in a loving home but has battled his own demons and come out the other side stronger on every front.

Vega and Hoyt are uniquely capable of loving, challenging, and understanding each other as no one else has been able to. It is this new twist in reality, this glimpse into a stable shelter, supportive partner in life, and unconditional love, that Vega has secretly always sought. Through a chain of events that quickly spins out of control, Hoyt and Vega have to decide if their new found love is worth fighting for, in a world that seems to want to tear them apart, or, to be corny, will the breach to their hearts be repaired as the language is rewritten to incorporate the new variables they desperately dream of?