Dancing on Ice

by Reegan Ellis

They’re rivals on the ice… but things are starting to heat up off it.

To Charles Shaw, skating is all that matters. He doesn’t need other people; all he needs is a sturdy pair of boots and fresh ice beneath him. After being out of the game for two seasons due to injury, Charles is ready to return to the competitive figure skating scene in a big way.

There’s just one little problem: Jamie Morales, owner of a pair of gorgeous dark eyes and a shimmering smile that manages to thaw even the most stubborn parts of Charles, no matter how hard he tries to freeze Jamie out. But Charles needs to focus--gold medals are the only things he should have his eyes on, not his handsome, charming rival.

They’re both fighting tooth and nail to win…

But when hearts get involved, they may just discover that gold medals aren’t the only things up for grabs.

Dancing on Ice is a 57,000-word standalone gay romance novel with no cliffhanger and a HEA.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Sports, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary, M M Sports Romance, LGBT

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 24, 2017

Reviews

[John-Torleif Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rivalry between Jaime and Charles was delightful. The more each man pushed to get under the other's skin, the more focused he became on his rival as a person. I especially loved the point for each of them when they finally realized that they felt more than irritation, or rivalry, between them.

I found it rather amazing that, when I really thought about it, there were really only 3 characters in this book - Jaime, Charles, and Evgeny. This book, and these characters were written so well that an entire supporting cast of characters wasn't needed to show off the MC's.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time you meet Charles, you can tell that he's determined and keeps to himself while he's trying to make his way back into competitive ice skating after what, to anyone else, would be a career ending injury. And Jamie is the complete opposite; happy and liked by everyone because he's so easy going.

Because they are complete opposites, sparks fly from the moment the literally run into each other. I loved every moment in this book, from them getting to know each other, to the skating, the competitions, and then falling in love.

For those who love romance, this book is perfect. I highly recommend reading Dancing on Ice!!!

[J. Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I just felt it went a little bit too fast from them starting to like one another to being utterly in love that the one who lives for the ice ends up throwing a competition as a symbol of his love for the other.

[Tanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reegan Ellis has written books which I liked, but this book I loved. I was enthralled from the first page till the last and I read it in one sitting.
It is the perfect enemies to lovers story with the two figure skaters, Jamie and Charles. Although they are competing in the same sports they couldn’t be more opposite. Charles started figure skating at an early age and has always been driven to the max. Two back injuries prevented him from competing for two years and he is back with a vengeance. His dedication makes him focused solely on his career. He is grumpy bordering on arrogant. A loner who doesn’t need anyone else.
Jamie always loved figure skating but had to go for ice hockey instead. The last few years he finally has the chance to follow his dream. He is the happy-go-lucky guy, always smiling, friends with everyone. He feels deeply.
All through the book, I had a smile on my face. It was funny and light-hearted and sweet. I couldn’t help laughing along with Jamie. But there is more to him than just laughs. He is a great judge of character and he soon sees Charles as he really is. Their journey from enemies to lovers is beautifully written with lots of humor and swoony moments. Reegan Ellis has a knack of bringing the characters to live. Not only Jamie and Charles, but also Evgeney, their Russian coach. He is strict but with a heart of gold for the sports and for his pupils. I was completed invested in their lives and I didn’t know whom I wanted more to win. The scene in China was just perfect and had me melting all over.
Reegan Ellis gave us an interesting insight in the figure skating world. Just in balance with the overall story.
A delightful story that left me with a warm feeling in my heart. Highly recommended.
I was honored with an advanced reader copy and am voluntarily leaving a review of this book.

[Sadie Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Yuri on Ice, so this was a fun read.

[H.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

This was a great little love story. Fun, fast read and lovable characters! Definitely going to look into this author’s other stories.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light. Cute. Entretaining.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was an interesting story with some very sweet moments, and some great character development. The plot involved a bit too much suspension of disbelief for me, as I know that the real-world ice skating community is NOT accepting of LGBT competitors in the slightest, but I suppose I shouldn't hold my inability to suspend disbelief against the story.

As for the romantic connection, it is there, and has its moments, but seems strained and jerky as well, being a bit hard to follow and understand at times. It ends up in a good place, but it takes a while to get there, with no real reason that I see for why it had to take such a long and confusing route.

Overall, enjoyable if frustrating. 3/5.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical sports romance between two gay athletes. One has no life beyond his sport, and the other tries to get him to have a little fun.

[avid reader 1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dancing on Ice started out a bit slow for me. I am not a big sports fan, so the ice skating information was just not something that I enjoyed, but that is a personal preference that I won’t allow to affect my rating of this book. As a whole, this is a good read. The characters are well developed and interesting. Charles is a bit hard to like in the first part of the book, but it was just the author showing us how Charles has to be to protect himself and stay focused on his career. After spending time with Jamie, he gradually relaxes and becomes a more personable character. Jamie is a happy character who doesn't allow much to get him down. I did want to see more of the four months training that they spent around each other. Also, the main characters do not show a strong emotional or physical attraction until halfway into the book. It feels like a leap when they finally discover that they can’t stop thinking about each other. The spicy scenes are well done and I like the enemies to lovers premise.
I will read more from this author.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Shaw is a loner. Ever since he was a child, ice skating has been his whole world with no time for anything or anyone else. Coming back from serious spinal surgery, he is going to be trained by Evgeny Kozlov the world’s greatest trainer.
Jaime Morales has only come been in the competitive figure skating scene for a couple of years but is nearly at the top and just needs a top trainer to help him get there. He approaches Evgeny to get him there guessing that his hero Charles is already working with him.
So, what happens when Evgeny brings the two together to train?
What can I say about this book? Only that it is one of the best new author books that I have read on this topic in a long time. Reegan has drawn her characters with depth and feeling. She shows great knowledge of the ice skating subject and also the countries our heroes travel to. This is a book that deserves to do really well.

[Violet Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an entertaining book the writing was great. The plot was fascinating and it was steady throughout the book. I found the story and characters wonderful. The characters were well developed and thought out. Charles Shaw and Jamie Morales, they are both ice skaters and are the MC’s of this book. There was humor, ice rinks, competition, a Russian Coach, medals, a green squid, a father that shows up out of nowhere and so much more in this book.

Here is a quote from the book, “Cheers to that!” Charles said, though his glass was empty so he snatched mine up instead. “Hey!” I exclaimed. I snatched it away from him, but not before Charles had polished off the last few swigs of mine. He giggled. “Aww, c’mon! Let’s get another round!” “You are a lightweight and that is a terrible idea,” I laughed. There is more but you will need to read the book which I can recommend as a good read. I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book for an honest review.

[Izzy Ferreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Who doesn't like enemies to lovers stories? This is such a sweet one that keeps you invested in the main characters lives from the very beginning. Both characters are figure skaters but with different backgrounds. Will they glide into their happy ever after? And who will ultimately win, and is a medal all they want? I guess you'll have to read to find out. Totally recommend it though.

[GhostMMreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! I loved how these two characters evolved from competitors, to friends to lovers, to very public couple. The book is centered on these two men, their daily life and training and there are almost no side characters, except for their trainer, whose intervention just came at the right time to let these two understand that apart they were good, but together they were explosive!

[Kenzi Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story that is worth way more than the listed sale price. This is the type of story that has you smiling as you read. I loved the way Charles falls for Jamie almost against his will. You can feel how perfect they are for each other. The world of competive ice skating was and intriguing back story and the coach was a real character. As I said, a beautiful love story.

[Esther Alayeto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book by Reegan Ellis and I loved it! Great storyline that flows flawlessly and kept me hooked from beginning to end. Charles and Jamie are wonderful characters who go from enemies to lovers and are great together. It's a sweet and sexy story. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly liked this book. For starters, I love ice-skating, so, right there, there was a huge plus for me. But aside this fact, here we have a light-hearted, sweet, funny read. I was drawn to the characters from the beginning, and left this book with a warm heart and a smile.

What else could you wish?

[Jennifer babcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of this world 🌎 great 👍

This book is sweet and spicy it is everything you could possibly want and more. The characters spin you through their world at a wonderfully fast pace and then you think you have everything and couldn't ask for more. The characters are up up with on your toes, quadruple toe
Lutz, romance that is sure to set your heart a racing.

[Sharade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lol of COURSE I went looking for queer figure skating romance books. Ao3 can only do so much.
A sweet and quick grumpy/sunshine romance (on ice), it scratched my double itch for opposites attract stories and figure skating content, in this uneventful and pretty shitty off-season.
And HAH a kiss during Cup of China? Could it be MORE Yuri on Ice? :D

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was OK. The characters were cliche but entertaining. The writing was palatable. As someone who is a fan of Yuri on Ice and reads a lot of Yuri on Ice fanfiction, I would rank this somewhere right alongside the middle of the pack. There are several things in this book that are almost transparently recognizable as having been co-opted from that anime skating series. But that's OK. I got this through KU so it didn't cost me extra to find that out.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ADORED this story!! Started it on a whim, loved Jamie's irrepresible cheerful spirit and how he liked to poke Charles, and I loved watching Charles fall for it and be less grumbly. They're so cute and adorable and the end was just what I wanted.

[Jennie Mandigo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Pam ✦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read better yurii on ice fics tbh

[fishreads (on indefinite hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unexceptional rivals to lovers story. The only stand out character was their Russian coach, even if he was a cliche of a tough silent coach with a soft heart underneath his hardened exterior.

Themes: dual POV, rivals to lovers, opposites attract, coming back from injury, figure skating, no actual Olympics

[lemonysnickety · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predictable, but cute

To be perfectly honest, I downloaded this because of an anime and wanted something similar. I can’t say it delivered on that, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. The pacing is steady and doesn’t linger unnecessarily or skip past important bits. The story flowed fairly naturally as far as dialogue and characterization, and there was a nice chunk of character development also. This was an easy, entertaining read with some nice heart-warming moments—the one character was kind of an a-hole at times, but it was obviously on purpose, and it was nice to see that both characters had work to do for things to work out. Light story with some serious points and a sweet happily ever after.

[UnusualChild{beppy} · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
I enjoyed the first book I ever read by this author. It was a short Christmas story, and it was cute and well written, so I had high hopes for a longer book. Although it wasn't bad, it was a let down, but it was just a run-of-the-mill romance with nothing special and nothing to remember.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot better than I expected at the beginning. I loved all the subtle references to actual skaters, and Jaime was my favorite.

[Annie Holm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a fan of MM romance and everything that involves ice and skates it was a no brainer to pick up this book wven though I'd never read a book by Reegan Ellis. It's always exciting to me when I dive in to unknown author territory - will I enjoy it? Will I be disappointed? Well, this book absolutely delivered and I'll most definitely be re-reading it in a not to distant future.

The main as well as supporting characters are well developed and comes off 3 dimensional. They all have that something that makes them seem real to me.

The plot moves along smoothly even though there are no big complicated plot twists to throw the reader for a loop. That makes it a perfect and enjoyable summer read when you just want to put your feet up and chillax.

I've given this book and author the biggest compliment I have in my book - I bought and read everything written by Reegan Ellis.