Riverbend Skating Club is the most exclusive skating club in the country. Hundreds try to get in, only a lucky few succeed.
For Riley, Riverbend is a chance to start over and leave behind a painful betrayal. No more mixing business and pleasure. She tried that once before and learned the hard way how quickly things can go wrong.
The moment Riley accidentally walks into the men’s locker room, Hudson knows his life will never be the same. She’s the woman he’s been waiting for, and somehow, he’s going to convince her that she's been waiting for him too.
Content Notes: This book contains steamy scenes suitable for readers over the age of 18. There are mentions of the past suicide of a character connected to one of the main characters.
If you're looking for sweet and steamy romance, you've come to the right place! I started reading romance novels in my early teens and writing them soon afterwards; growing up in small towns in western Canada, there wasn't much else to do! Luckily, those early stories have never seen the light of day.
Now, I live in the UK with my husband and daughter and spend my free time diving into magical or just romantic settings where true love (almost) always wins.
Pushing the Edge by Canadian indie author Melody Tyden is the first book in her Riverbend Club series. It is a fresh start, figure skating, spicy, workplace romance. ⛸️
I loved the easy friendship and relationship between Riley and Hudson. And the story of how they met. I also appreciated Hudson's calmness and way of looking at life, especially when it came to competitions. Both characters felt real and had complex backstories. I really enjoyed Riley's character growth.
Melody did a wonderful job of writing the skating scenes. She made me feel like I was either on the ice skating or watching from the stands. I felt the movements on the ice and anxiously waited in the kiss 'n' cry area for the results. I finished the book with the biggest smile on my face.
I also enjoyed the Canadian settings in this book and being able to picture where the characters were.
Melody introduced many new characters in this book, and I am now looking forward to more of this series.
"He understood before I did that a good skate, as wonderful as it would be, isn’t what defines us. Only we get to do that."
After watching all the figure skating at the Olympics, I've been on a skating romance binge and this one hit the spot. Riley's boyfriend cheated, so she moves to a new club where she meets the super-sweet Hudson who's happy to be her friend but wouldn't mind being more. There's some will they-won't they tension and some drama involving both her ex and people from Hudson's past. There's also a good amount of skating and behind-the-scenes at competitions that was fun to read about. It looks like this is going to be the first book in a series, so I'll check out the next one when it comes out.
This is a good, easy, HEA read with great FMC and MMC. Not a literary masterpiece, but throughly enjoyed. Also, respectful use of the un-aliving subplot and its affect on survivors. Thank you!