Cold Rival

Northern Stars Hockey #3

by Sebastian Hart

He’s the ice in my veins. I’m the fire that’s about to melt him.

They call us the league's bitterest rivals. On the ice, we’re war. Off the ice, we’re a disaster waiting to happen.



I’m Drew Callahan, the fiery alternate captain of the Northern Stars. I live for the speed, the hits, and the roar of the crowd. I’m the lightning to the league’s storm.


Then there’s Aleksander "Sasha" Novak. Captain of the Glacier Wolves. He’s cold, disciplined, and irritatingly perfect. He plays hockey like a surgeon, and he looks at me like I’m a problem he needs to solve. He represents everything I’m not.


I hate him. I’ve spent my entire career trying to beat him.



But when a locker room brawl forces us into a humiliating league-mandated "sportsmanship" campaign, the distance between us vanishes. Suddenly, I’m seeing cracks in his perfect armor. I’m learning that the ice in his eyes might just be a defense mechanism—one that I’m dangerously close to shattering.


From sharing a jersey at the All-Star game to a quiet, stolen moment in a hospital corridor, the lines are blurring. We’re supposed to be enemies, but the tension between us doesn't feel like hate anymore. It feels intense. Complicated. Inevitable.



When a brutal play threatens to end my season, Sasha makes a choice that shocks the world. He sacrifices his game to save mine. Now, the only thing scarier than facing him on the ice is admitting that the fire between us might be turning into love.




Cold Rival is a sweet, slow-burn MM hockey romance



❄️ Rivals to Lovers & Grumpy x Sunshine
🏒 Forced Proximity (The "Fake Nice" PR Stunt)
⭐️ All-Star Game Teammates
🔥 Hurt/Comfort (He sacrifices the win for him)
❤️ Low Heat / Fade to Black (Focus on emotional tension & romance)
✨ Happily Ever After guaranteed

173 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 5, 2025

About the author

Sebastian Hart writes small-town LGBTQ+ cozy mysteries about old records, quiet secrets, coastal weather, complicated townspeople, and the stubborn clues people leave behind on paper.

He is the author of The Fog Harbor Mysteries, a bookish cozy mystery series set in a misty harbor town where former archivist and bookseller Elias Thorne works alongside Police Chief Silas Kane to uncover the truth behind long-buried crimes. Each book features a complete mystery, a warm small-town setting, a slow-burn emotional bond, and Lord Byron, the cat who considers every investigation his personal business.

Readers who enjoy coastal towns, bookshops, archives, hidden messages, family secrets, and low-violence mysteries can start with Murder in the Curiosity Nook.

For the Fog Harbor reading order and reader extras, visit:
https://readers.fogharbormysteries.com/