Melting the Ice

Play by Play, Book 7

By: Jaci Burton

Narrated by: Lucy Malone

Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Everything's coming together for budding fashion designer Carolina Preston. Only months away from having her own line, she could use some publicity. That's when her brother suggests his best friend as a model - hockey player Drew Hogan.

Carolina and Drew already have a history - a hot one, back in college. Unforgettable for Carolina, but for Drew, just another slap shot. This time, though, it's different. His perfect body would be for professional use only. This time, she could use him.

Drew is all for it. He's looking forward to the exposure. Plus, it would give him a chance to prove to Carolina that he's changed. If only he could thaw her emotions, convince her to let down her guard and let him in just one more time…

©2014 Jaci Burton (P)2014 Tantor

Melting The Ice

I really enjoyed Drew and Carolina's story. They have been friends for years and back in college they hooked up and he was her first and then he ghosted her...as much as he could with her being his best friend and college roommate's sister. Now they are both living in New York and he is playing professional hockey and she is starting her own clothing line and her brother has volunteered Drew to model for her. These two spark when they are together and Drew brings out something in Carolina but together they are terrific!

Cute Love Story!

Would you try another book from Jaci Burton and/or Lucy Malone?

Yes, I love Jaci's stories. We need a different narrator, Lucy was kind of boring.

If you’ve listened to books by Jaci Burton before, how does this one compare?

I love the story line and charming love story.

What aspect of Lucy Malone’s performance would you have changed?

Lucy didn't bring the character's to life in her voice, it was just boring to me.

Could you see Melting the Ice being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Most definitely - yes!

Fun sports story but narration a bit wooden

I am listening to a lot of audio books these days because of a long commute and have enjoyed reading Jaci Burton's stories, so I indulged in a set of the Play by Play series audiobooks without trying just one first. That may have been a bit of a mistake.

The story is cute, with designer Carolina and hockey player Drew. It's basically a "the one who got away" story. Drew was cute and wasn't just a testosterone-laden jerk. Carolina seemed down-to-earth but a bit timid and insecure for someone who was otherwise driven.

The narration is where I think the audiobook really fell apart for me. Lucy Malone's voice was rather monotonic, she didn't have a good "male" voice to work with, and her attempts to differentiate female voices seemed to rely a lot on talking faster.faster.faster. Even the sex scenes sounded wooden and fake. There really weren't easily identifiable voices for each character and, once or twice, I had to think to figure out whether Carolina or Drew was "speaking".

I'm going to try another story in this same series with this narrator but if it's as blah in narration as this one, I may not bother with the rest.

OK but Not Great

Story line drug on in several places. One chapter seemed to have been thrown in just to take up space. Totally different story line that was not mentioned before or after. Very strange.

Mildly Entertaining - Loved Drew

While the plot was mildly entertaining, NHL player Drew (30) was smart and sexy with hidden depths. It was refreshing to have a strong male "hero" who wasn't arrogant, dominating, selfish and violent. Example: he volunteered to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a homeless shelter.

Carolina (sister of Gray Preston from book 6) was relatively normal for the rich daughter of the Vice President - hardworking, self-sufficient and confident. I liked that she was intent on becoming a successful fashion designer, but didn't understand why Carolina believed that she couldn't have a personal life as well as a career.

When Carolina took Drew home to celebrate Christmas, I wasn't surprised that brother Gray was still an obnoxious jerk. (In previous book Gray liked to hit & degrade his wimpy girlfriend). Now engaged with a pregnant fiancé - I wondered if he was still beating her - Gray was arrogant enough to confront Drew about being "good enough" for Carolina.

I liked both Drew and Carolina; the plot just needed more "something", perhaps more interesting supporting characters, a cute pet or two and less explicit sex scenes.

Loved it!

Great narrator and fabulous writing. Love a strong women who can hold their own. And, a alpha who can complete her. Missing the Riley clan wish the uh would stay in the story line. Can't wait for the next book. Well worth the credit.