Bellerose & Blinov On Edge: A Novel

by Mary Van Winkle

Marie Bellerose and Dmitry Blinov were America’s Sweethearts －the youngest Olympic gold medalists in the country’s figure skating history. Then they broke up. No warning. No explanation. The dream team disappeared.

Ten years later, Dmitry is drifting and Marie’s skating solo toward scandal. When their old coaches pull strings for one last favor, neither can say no.

But going for gold together again means reopening old wounds －and sparking new desire.

Their comeback could win gold…if they don’t kill each other first.

Genres: Sports

430 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2026

About the author

Author of self-published Finding Wonderland. Writer, reader, and reviewer aspiring for a traditional book deal. I'm half-Cambodian, All-American. Cat-loving, retro-hearted Ravenclaw. I've been writing forever but writing seriously since I was 19 and elbow deep at the salad bar of my first job.

Reviews

[Auj · Rating 4 out of 5]

It sucks that Goodreads still doesn't have half-stars because this was definitely a 4.5 for me! (Though they are coming out or have already come out with the DNF shelf.)

I knew I was going to enjoy this book when 14-year-old Marie had an unrequited crush on her ice skating partner, 18-year-old Dmitry. I'm a sucker for young love. Dmitry marries his girlfriend, and a devastated Marie breaks their partnership and leaves Dmitry and the skating club in Salem behind.

Fast forward 10 years, Marie is a party girl and alcoholic. Dmitry's divorced and trying to figure out his next steps. Dmitry's parents, who are coaches, and Marie's grandmother plot to bring the two back together, and an enemies to lovers dynamic begins.

There's a lot of bickering that goes on almost too long. The romance is quite the slowburn and the book was almost too long for me, but the romance and HEA felt very well-deserved as a result. The ending made me teary multiple times and was beautiful.

I didn't understand what Marie saw in Dmitry so much when they were young besides looks, but he did grow on me as a hero. Marie was feisty and always had a mean, witty comeback for an ice skating competitor. There were also great secondary characters like Dmitry's parents and Marie's grandmother who brought a lot of humor to the story. I wrote "lol" multiple times in my notes. Moreover, I found Marie and Dmitry calling themselves "B & B" after their last names amusing.

Besides either one (mostly Marie) putting the brakes on their relationship, which was frustrating, as they had plans to break up after the Olympics in Milano, my biggest complaint about the book was that it could have used a pass with a proofreader as there were a few typos. "Hoarse" was written as "horse"; that's the only thing I recall on the top of my head. However, none of the typos were so egregious; I do understand that this was a long book and typos are bound to happen. I also wished the text messages could have been formatted better. The year headings with an Olympic circle and two figures were gorgeous, however. I thought it was crazy when the book caught up to the present, March 2026, and then reached into the future, 2030.

I loved the ice skating (I had to Google "kiss and cry") and found the idea of falling in love with your skate partner very romantic. I wish a book like this could be turned into a movie, so we could view the ice skating and choreography. I could tell that Mary Van Winkle did her research.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves romance, especially a good sports romance! I can't wait to read what Mary has for us next. (I wouldn't mind a romance for Lara, Dmitry's contemptuous sister.)

[Tova]

*I recieved a free copy from the author in exchange for a review (coming this summer)

[Chloe West · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deliciously emotional second-chance romance packed with tension, chemistry, and Olympic-level stakes. Marie and Dmitry’s history crackles on every page, blending ambition, heartbreak, and undeniable desire into a comeback story that’s impossible to put down. Compelling, romantic, and full of sharp edge-this one absolutely sticks the landing.

[Mary Van Winkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why not be the first person to write a review for my book? Why not tell you about Bellerose & Blinov as only I can? Why not? Let's start!

Well, if I'm talking about starts, B&B started early summer 2024 in a Goodwill (this is actually the story I promise to tell in my Author's Note which you'll know when you read B&B). The conversation went something very close to this:

My dad: There's a brand new doll in it's box for $3.
Me: I don't have space...and I don't know who that is...
My dad: Are you crazy?! She's brand new, in her unopened box and she's only $3!- buy her and look her up!

About fifteen minutes later I had inhaled a brief history of Katia Gordeeva (the figure skater the doll was based on) and her late husband, Sergei Grinkov's biographies and my life since has been transformed.

While Bellerose & Blinov On Edge is not based on G&G's lives or history, it is inspired by them: An elite figure skating pairs couple, Olympic medalists, two people paired together since childhood, an epic love story.

This is a book about resilience, the strength of family, forgiveness, and redemption. It's an enemies to lovers, slow burn, forced proximity, enemies to friends to lovers, figure skating sports romance with Winter Olympic goals. And. It features cameos from two of my real-life cats.

Intriguing, right?

Enjoy!