Audio Review: Ice devils written by Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood, narration by Nick J. Russo

Two seemingly opposites find common ground in being Ice Devils

From the blurb:

How can they get past old wounds to find their perfect happy ending?

When winger Blake Conti signs with the national champion Bethesda Barracudas, he isn’t looking to get involved with anyone. Still bruised from an old relationship, his focus is on playing hockey. But when one of his new teammates turns out to be the hottest man he’s ever met, Blake wonders if he should reconsider his aversion to romance.

Mark Sakamoto—Sako—one of the Barracudas’ rising young stars, is immediately smitten with Blake. Deeply closeted because he fears revealing his sexuality to his family, Sako resists his attraction by using scorn and insults to push Blake away. Hurt by Sako’s behavior, Blake reacts in kind, and the two men are soon at war.

Just as their fighting threatens to disrupt the team, the unexpected happens, and Sako and Blake bond over a silly prank. Their newfound camaraderie soon develops into a relationship, and the men become inseparable. With “ice in public, heat in private” as their motto, they keep things secret, but as they fall for each other, Sako knows he has to tell his family the truth. He dreads their reaction, but it’s the only way he and Blake can live happily ever after.

Ice Devils is a low-angst, enemies-to-lovers romance featuring scorching athletes, light-hearted comedy, riveting hockey, sweet-steamy romance, and a beautiful HEA.

Laora's Review:

Josh and Ryan always know how to reach me as a reader so that I feel I am on the bench next to ice, in the locker room or a fly on the wall with the characters they create. And what I like best is that we keep meeting previous characters for more than a cameo

This was a hot and hockey heavy mm romance about Mark and Blake who are the pranksters 'ice devils' of their hockey team. They have a snarky animosity, but through their pranks they bond and find there is more happening under the surface and become boyfriends whilst keeping the chirps going for their teammates.

Throughout the book their relationship develops and they both find their way to better communicate what they want and need from each other and realize it really is love. True to their writing style Mark and Blake have a sweet hea.

Josh & Ryan delivered another volume to their Barracuda hockey series and I am silently hoping for 'Gags' to have his story told next.

For the audiobook:

Nick J. Russo brought the right amount of humour, care, love and heat in his narration of a book I really enjoyed reading and listening to. I can totally recommend Ice Devils and the others both in written and narrated form.

Rating: 5 Stars

Lesetiger's Review:

Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood are synonymous with heartwarming and entertaining books and Ice Devils is no exception. I love it when a book is authentically told and I can identify with the characters.

I like sports romances and these two authors describe the events in such detail that you feel like you're right there: in the locker room, on the ice, and in the protagonists' free time. And when the Barracudas have a hockey game, I can't help but root for them.

Mark and Blake are initially hostile to each other, but you can tell there is tension between them. Blake catches Mark playing a few pranks on the team and suddenly the two become unusual partners. I loved the tension and banter between the two.

What I also really enjoyed was meeting protagonists you already know from the previous volumes. The book can be read as a standalone, but if you've already read the other books, you'll have even more reading pleasure.

My favorite part of the book was when Mark came out to his parents. It was very emotional and very heartwarming. So good!

Great chemistry between the protagonists, romance, some hot moments, some humor, of course hockey and great camaraderie make Ice Devils an absolute feel good book.

Nick J. Russo brought the story to life with his pleasant narration pace and different voices for the various protagonists. He nailed the characters perfectly and he portrayed the emotions very well. An absolute pleasure to listen to! 

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Also, check out the Ice Devils Audiobook Tour page for an excerpt and giveaway!