Ice, Love, & Other Penalties

A Decker Family Novel

De: Claudia Burgoa

Narrado por: Emma Wilder, Robert Hatchet

From USA TODAY Bestselling Author Claudia Burgoa comes an enthralling single dad, hockey romance that skates through the challenges of forbidden love, healing after trauma, and found family.

They say never mix business with pleasure.

As a single father, and the captain of the Seattle Sasquatches, I’m adamant to keep every corner of my life separate and running perfectly.

That is, until Indie Decker walked into my life.

She’s the team owner's little sister, my new nanny, and so completely out of my league.

Our first encounter? Pure fire, clashing wills with a passion that ensnared us both. Our second? A tentative truce, maybe even a budding friendship. But at some point, we slid recklessly into a 'friends with benefits' arrangement, thinking we could stay casual.

Wishful thinking, I know.

With each passing day, our no-strings-attached fling starts weaving threads between us that I’m not ready to cut. Indie’s fierce independence clashes with my need to protect, to heal, and to love her despite her warrines to open up.

But will my steadfast will and soft hands be enough to get through her defenses? Or am I doomed to sit in the penalty box of Indie’s heart?

Ice, Love, & Other Penalties is part of the family Decker but can be listened to as a standalone.

©2024 Claudia Burgoa (P)2024 Claudia Burgoa

Beautiful Story & Listen🎧 Compelling & Heartfelt!

Claudia Burgoa does it again and pens another amazing novel, a sports romance that tugs at your heartstrings and captivates your attention the entire time. The Decker family world is one of my favorite places to spend time in, well, it is the stars of that world and my favorite characters, the Deckers, all their relations, extended family and loved ones included. This book is Indigo “Indie” Decker’s and Tyberius “Ty” Byrnes’ story and wow, talk about emotions, you can feel how much heart Burgoa put into this story as the emotions pour off the pages and go straight into your own heart. Indie is working with her brother Jude, owner of a professional hockey team, the Seattle Sasquatches, and when Tyberius, the team captain, is in a bind, he gets Indie on it to help him. Ty, a single father of six-year-old daughter, Myra, is new to Seattle, and has no family to help, and when his daughter’s nanny quit without notice, he had no choice but to reach out to his boss, Jude, who agreed to help. Indie’s first impression of Tyberius was not the best, and she did not love the idea of having to help him, but she agreed and stepped in to watch Myra until she could find someone qualified to take over. Ty does not trust easily and was reluctant to place his trust in Indie, but she stood her ground and up to his insecurities, while staying true to herself. Indie battles with inner demons because of PTSD from a past incident with someone she puts trust in, another hockey player, so she prefers to steer clear, and after meeting Ty, that includes him, but for a different reason, the feelings he stirs up. It was great to watch these two get to know each other, staring with dancing around one another while navigating their new situation, listening to the back-and-forth banter between them and then seeing their relationship morph into something more, despite Indie fighting it. These two were perfect together and for each other, both had their own issues to get past, and each encouraged the other, two broken people whose pieces fit together perfectly. I loved all the layers of the story and how it all played out with the perfect balance of drama, a touch of angst, some heartwarming moments, lots of heartfelt emotions and a slow burn, but so worth the wait romance. As always, the writing, plot and world building are incredible, as are the character growth and development. Claudia Burgoa, thank you for another beautiful and wonderfully amazing and loving story and the emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 Jason Clarke and Emma Wilder were the perfect cast to bring these characters to life and did so with a complete understanding of who they were portraying, humanizing them while giving them voices that are fitting. I loved how they owned their roles, sounding believable and just as I imagined the characters to sound. Wilder was a natural in Indie’s role, grasping every aspect of her personality, from her battles with her inner demons to her fierceness. Clarke did the same in Ty’s role, and was just as amazing showcasing his personality while dealing with his own inner battles and being an awesome dad, team player and person. Both were equally fantastic performing the roles of the secondary/side characters, including Myra, who was adorable. They set the right tone for the story, captured all the characters’ emotions and had you feeling each one. These two made a fabulous team, with voices and talent that complement each other and a performance that is entertaining and a pleasure to listen to.

An emotional, slow burn romance

Story Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
Audio Narration Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
Spice Meter: 2.5 🌶

Keeping with her signature style, Claudia Burgoa's latest Decker novel, Ice, Love, & Other Penalties, is an emotional, angsty romance. The story explores trauma and other heavy themes, but they are handled with sensitivity.

Indie and Ty are the main characters and the romantic pairing of the story. Ty is a single-dad and NHL player, and Indie is hired as his daughter's nanny. The romance is a slow burn, with plenty of fun banter mixed in with more serious, deep conversations. Indie and Ty helped each other to heal and formed a strong connection.

The audio is narrated by Emma Wilder and Robert Hatchet. Their performance was clear, articulate, and expressive. The emotion in their delivery accurately portrayed the feeling and tone of the story. Overall, the audio format was enjoyable.

Ice, Love, & Other Penalties is available now in digital, physical, and audio format.

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*TW/CW: This book contains sensitive subject matter such as SA, rape, self harm, suicide. For the full list of potential triggers, please visit the author's website.

Emotional

This was a terrific addition to the Decker Family series. This is Indigo (Indie) Decker and single dad and captain of the Seattle Sasquatches Tyberius (Ty) Brynes’s story and what an emotional read it was.

I fell hard for Ty and admired his persistence with Indie and his relationship with his daughter Myra was swoon worthy. The chemistry between them was hard to ignore and once they crossed the line, all bets were off. The banter was witty and their texts had me smiling at times.

The Deckers make an appearance and as is typical with this family they get all up in one another’s relationships. This just adds to the enjoyment of the story. Ice, Love & Other Penalties is a good mix of drama, angst, romance, humor, and passion.

From the moment they met, the sparks flew. Both have secrets and when they are revealed will it bring them together or rip them apart?

The narration by Emma Wilder and Robert Hatchet was spot on.
Not only did they bring all the passion, angst, pain and drama to life with their narration and they did justice to the wonderful characters that Ms. Cane created. Their voices are easy to listen to and brought the story to life for me.

...grabs ahold of the heart and never lets go.

A tale of two strong personalities that grabs ahold of the heart and never lets go. From the spice of temptation to the emotion of romance, Burgoa speaks from the soul. Wilder and Hatchet are an excellent combination. Their voices are a revelation. When the heart goes blue the soul is courageous and that strength bleeds out through their delivery of Indigo and Ty. Ty and Indigo take a dramatic dance through not always beautiful and hard to resist to find their rainbow waiting on the other side

Heartfelt, emotional, and steamy romance!

I can't resist a single dad romance and Ty and Indie's heartfelt, emotional, and steamy story is everything I love to read! Hockey team captain, Ty, is a single dad in need of a nanny immediately for his adorable little daughter, Myra. His boss, Jude, needs him on the team, so he talks his younger sister, Indie, into helping Ty out. Ty and Indie clash it first, but soon the sparks begin to fly. They begin a friends with benefits arrangement, but when things get too real, Indie backs away. Both Ty and Indie have heartbreaking pasts that keep them from sharing their deep secrets. Can they find the strength to be vulnerable and open their hearts to the love they fear, but also long for? Burgoa took Ty and Indie on a very unexpected journey that was so moving and engaging. Her writing is so poetic as she slowly breaks Ty and Indie down and then puts their broken pieces together into one beautiful heart. I really cared for Ty, Indie, and Myra, and loved the family they were building together. Indie is creative, kind, and a bit lost, and I loved watching her heal and grow. Ty is so caring, and thoughtful, and such a good dad. I also loved how patient and encouraging he was with Indie. They were so perfect for each other, and their chemistry was combustible. I really love catching up with the Decker clan, while also learning more about other family members that we are just getting to know.
Narrators, Emma Wilder and Robert Hatchet are amazing as they bring this wonderful story to life. They nailed all the characters perfectly, making me feel all the complex emotions they went through, and made me laugh out loud, cry, and totally swoon. I can't get enough of this Decker family and thoroughly enjoyed this fun, emotional and steamy romance that captured my heart.