Fire & Ice

by Robin Lynn

What's your safeword?

Firefighter Tripp Truett has somehow tumbled into a whole new kind of relationship with his quirky paramedic best friend, Lee, but mutual relief from their high-stress jobs quickly develops into something more.

With all the missed signals and crossed wires, can these two ever figure out that they're so much closer to being on the same page than they think?

A flaming hot queer romance novel where a foray into BDSM helps two friends find themselves & what it really means to burn.

Genres: M M Romance, BDSM, Friends To Lovers, Romance, Contemporary, Queer, LGBT

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 8, 2022

About the author

Robin Lynn is a 36-year-old queer, autistic mother of two, an unabashed fangirl sometimes known as “Wings,” and a disabled former firefighter, paramedic, and registered nurse. She writes for queer audiences with the goal of reflecting and centering the lgbtqia2s+ community in more media, because everyone deserves to see relatable, imperfect main characters who mirror themselves simply existing and getting their happy endings.

Find out more and follow Robin for additional content and future projects by visiting: https://linktr.ee/castielslostwings

Reviews

[D · Rating 1 out of 5]

Look. I almost never write reviews and I really hate writing negative ones. And I totally and 100% support and encourage the practice of filing the serial numbers off a fanfic and publishing it as a real book.

But you have to at least try to actually file the serial numbers off. That means removing the stuff that makes it painfully obvious to anyone with even a passing familiarity with the fandom where this started out.

I wanted to enjoy this so much. I was absolutely on board for the premise. I'm such a massive fan of best-friends-to-lovers that I should have been the ideal demographic here, and at first, I was into it. It was a little choppy and weirdly-paced, but I was dealing with that, and I liked the characters, and the premise was cool, so it was all fine.

But here's the thing. I'm not a destiel fan. I'm pretty adamantly not a destiel fan, and in fact, I haven't been a Supernatural fan in many, many years. And I have reasons for that. That doesn't mean I won't read a book that started out life as a destiel fic, but then I need it to...not be a destiel fic anymore. The music? The trench coat? The strangely-formal language patterns? The backstory of the two brothers growing up in motel rooms by their drunk crazy grief-stricken father after the death of their mother? The references to a "guardian angel?" The entire cast of surrounding characters? ("Marley?" Really??? The Ash character even has a freaking mullet.) I finally tapped out for good during the scene where Cas Lee scars his handprint onto Dean's Tripp's shoulder.

If this were on KU, I wouldn't be writing this review, because I would have started reading, eventually realized this was very much Not For Me in an extremely obvious and inescapable way, and opted out. No harm, no foul.

But...I do resent having paid for a destiel fanfic, I'm not going to lie. The world of fanfic is wide and wonderful, and I read plenty of it, and I can pretty easily avoid what I don't want. And the world of books is wide and wonderful, and I read plenty of them, and it's slightly harder to avoid the ones you don't want, and sometimes you're going to buy one you don't like. Them's the breaks.

But the only reason this book is one I don't like is because it is not actually a book at all. It is a fanfic that is not even trying to not be a fanfic anymore. Literally none of the world-building was removed or even altered as far as I can tell. The author seems to have just find-replaced literally nothing but the names. The fandom aspects are unavoidable and super gratuitous. (There is literally no reason on earth for the handprint scene in particular beyond adding some fandom-specific color to the fic.) It is impossible to read this as a standalone book if you have eventhe slightest familiarity with the fandom it came from, so there is no way for "Tripp" and "Lee" to be anything other than "Dean" and "Cas" in my head.

And I don't want to read about Dean and Cas.

And I was very much not told I was going to be reading about Dean and Cas when I spent real, actual money on this book.

So, yeah. This was a DNF that has probably put me off of all future works by this author, because even if she's a good writer, the trust is definitely gone now. And I'm bummed about it, because I was into it until the fandom stuff became impossible to ignore, and even then, I really put genuine effort into trying to "read around it" until I literally physically couldn't anymore.

[Shonee · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 50%

This book started off with me almost DNFing it because the MC was being a horn dog over a panicked mother crying on her son that he'd just saved because she was wearing yoga pants. Gross.

Then, Christine read reviews and let me know they were saying this was an obviously refurbished Supernatural (SPN) fanfiction. First, I didn't see it. and then the details started creeping in.

Trip (AKA Not!Dean)
- Horndog
- green eyes
- freckles
- couple inches taller than the other MC
- Likes fruity drinks with umbrellas in them
- has a younger brother who went the academic route in life.
- spent his childhood traveling with their mom not in the picture.
- likes to wear women's underwear.

Leander (AKA Not!Castiel)
- has a hodge-podge family dynamic.
- blue eyes
- couple inches shorter than Not!Dean
- socially awkward
- wears a trenchcoat
- carved his handprint into Not!Dean's arm.

These details added absolutely NOTHING to the story, so why the author chose to keep them in is beyond me. Gross opening scene aside, I liked this book a lot more when it wasn't super obvious that all this author did was change the names of SPN characters.

[ancientreader]

No star rating, and this isn't really a review, because I should have loved this and I'm at something of a loss to understand why I didn't. BDSM is my preferred flavor of sexy romance and I'm well disposed toward firefighters (the sub) and paramedics (the dom). The firefighting and medical passages here seem to be well founded in research, though they maybe get a little tryhard in their use of the professional idiom. A couple of BDSM conventions, like capitalizing "dom," or like the sub being punished for not addressing the dom as Sir in-scene, feel cringey to me, but that's me, and I can read past them if the relationship and the sex work for me otherwise. But the sex scenes here mostly bored me and I don't know why. I kept almost finding them a turn-on and then sort of drifting off, frustrated. It was like being edged without actually getting to the edge, if you see what I mean, so I finally gave up and re-read Kris Ripper's Bad Comes First.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4.25 stars

There were many things working for me with Fire & Ice. I liked that Tripp and Lee were already so close and were both mostly on the same page. Lee is a Dominant and although Tripp has never been a submissive before, he’s all in. Tripp trusts Lee and for Lee, Tripp is everything he’s wanted. Tripp likes the release of not having to make decisions and Lee likes to get out of his head and be in control to decompress from his job as an EMT. Both men see trauma daily and they understand each other on many levels.

I really liked the story this book was telling and the writing in general. However, I did have some issues with the book. The book is long—430 pages long. I didn’t feel it needed to be that long. The author clearly writes information on being a firefighter and an EMT, and while I like detail in books, at times there was too much detail on many topics. We see both men at their jobs on calls, we get backstory on almost everyone they come into contact with, and there is an abundance of descriptions on every page. It made for a long read that I would have liked to have been tightened up with more focus.

Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so first and foremost I thought this book was well written. It was long af but well written which made the overall length a little more tolerable though I do think there was a lot of filler paragraphs that were not needed. I enjoyed the major trope of Lee and Tripp's relationship - I'm a sucker for mutual pining and the whole "omg he could never have feelings for me" from both characters when LITTLE DO THEY KNOW...yeah. Good shit.

I thought it was a bit rushed at first as I would have like to see more of Tripp and Lee's friendship without the added friends with benefits element to it. I think if they started that nature of their relationship later on in the book it would have made that development just a tad bit more interesting. They both are just harboring feelings for one another but it's never really explained how it got to that point, just that they've been friends for almost a decade.

And then there's this... Listen. I read A LOT of fanfic. I don't always mind when books read like fanfic but in the case of this book where it *was* a fanfic turned novel (which is great btw, I think it's great when fanfic writers are given opportunities to publish) there are some things that I think need to be more a conscious effort. For one, you can't assume that the reader has all this background information on the characters like you can when writing a fic. Details that previously you would be able to be like "oh this is something everybody knows" no longer applies. A lot of the side characters fell superflat for me, I didn't really care about any of them and then Lee's brothers randomly showed up at the end after there was a whole bit about how he barely speaks to either of them?? Is that something that would make more sense if I understood the dynamic of the characters from the original fic? There were a few other moments like that which just left me wanting a little bit more explanation.

What I will say, is that the Thing that happens to finally make Tripp and Lee confess their feelings for one another was good. I also just like firefighters so that was something I enjoyed about this book too. Overall, I didn't dislike the book, but it wasn't a favorite either.

I received an arc from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.

[Joyffree]

The overall story idea was delightful
First responders are one of my favorite tropes
The cast was a diverse mix of personalities
I enjoyed the friendships, the feel of family bonds that comes with such heroic work

I appreciated the detail when it came to the fire/rescue scenes.
I was holding my breath, white-knuckling my kindle hoping everyone came out the other side unscathed.

However when it came to their relationship...
To the intimacy...
I felt a bit lost
It was like I was seeing only part of the events -
I was missing important pieces of the picture and wasn't able to acquire the emotional connection I would have liked

If we would have met them before they crossed the friendship line into that D/s relationship. Maybe spent a couple of nights kicking it with them, getting to know their personalities and how they interacted together. More background before the story progressed would have been better for me.
Why were they playing "avoid the feels" like it was a game of hot lava?
Why was Trip so quick to shut down?
What put Lee off on personal?
Some of it is revealed much later in the story but by then I was not able to acquire that personal connection

[Lesetiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to spend a little time reading the book, but it's worth it. The story is told alternately from the point of view of the two main characters, Lee and Tripp.
The writing style is wonderful and very detailed and the story reads well. It took me a bit to get into it, but eventually the story grabbed me.
Tripp is a sympathetic firefighter whose best friend Lee is a paramedic. The two fit well together and eventually become more than friends. Lee introduces Tripp to the world of BDSM and it was described really well, intensely and believably. The two have a strong foundation of trust and love to lean on and build on.
I loved how the relationship between the two developed. And in addition to sexy scenes, there is some work-related drama that made it impossible for me to put the book aside.
Fire & Ice is an emotional and intense book with multi-layered characters that I enjoyed reading immensely and won't soon forget.
I received a review copy and volunteered to leave my opinion.

[Amanda D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

I am always up for a firefighter/paramedic romance. You just cannot go wrong with men in uniform putting their lives on the line. This book was very well written. You can tell the author was a firefighter with all the technical information included that as a wife of a firefighter I understood but might be a bit much for your every day reader.

[BrittReadsALot · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. The pining, the amazing bdsm, the love they share. I loved the friends ti lover angle. I loved how they interacted. I loved that they both were so sure of themselves. This book was amazing and I loved it so much!!

[Lilly [Hiatus due to School]]

This was not for me. DNF

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this wanting some fire fighter action but it is mostly a BDSM romance, so be warned.
I did go through some reviews after I started reading it and the people saying its a supernatural fanfic did take away some of mt enjoyment because I kept looking for signs, but lucky for me I know nothing about supernatural and can say that if this is, the characters are unique enough that I couldn't see it from my tumblr osmosis knowledge.
It is very very long and I was kind of reading for a conclusion about halfway through. I love a slow burn and I love good sex scenes but this dragged a bit and thats mostly because I was wanting some emergency worker action scenes. I will say the portrayal of BDSM in this was very very good, lots of communication and scene set up, aftercare and the scenes written are usually them trying something new.
would I read this again? no. Would I recommend it? also probably not unless you are looking for a long BDSM book.

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book - I like the genre, seemed like a good premise - but I just didn't. I couldn't finish it. I tried really hard, but it is just SO SO SO long - and why??? It's not like much was actually happening, it just seemed like the same thing over and over. And the mutual pining gets ridiculous. It goes on and on and on and ultimately I just didn't care. The sexy times are totally not sexy at all, described very clinically without any eroticism. Overall I found the writing style hard to take, it read just very factual, not descriptive, a lot of telling/recounting but minimal description or nuance. And the third person present tense was annoying. I kept going back to try to finish it as I hate to leave a book unfinished and almost never do, but this is one where I had to let it go (and again, it is so very, VERY long).

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written story by new to me author and I enjoyed it a lot. I liked both MCs, Lee and Tripp were strong and vulnerable in their own way, I loved the techniques they used to cope with work stress, very effective for both of them I thought. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars was because it felt to me that their story began a few days before the book starts, how did they come up with D/s dynamic as way to cope with stress, why did both believe they're alone in how they feel..... Other that this little thing I thought the story was interesting had very steamy scenes and well deserved HEA. I am going to look for more books by this author.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lot. A lot of words and pages, a lot of emotion and pining, and a lot of kinks and heat. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it is my favorite book of the year so far. It starts right after Tripp and Lee have negotiated a BDSM relationship for stress relief. It did seem like we were starting in the middle of the story. It would have been nice to get some background info and I would have loved to read that negotiation scene! The main characters are great and were fleshed out really well. I absolutely adored both of them, but especially Tripp.

You can tell the author has experience and did some major research on firefighting, EMS and hospital care. It is very well written and accurately portrayed. There are several scenes in the book where the MCs are working. These scenes all provoked a lot of emotion, one more so than the rest. If fires, EMS, or medical care is a trigger, I would definitely avoid this book. In addition to the serious emotions from the MCs work we get some fun cheeky banter. First responders have a very distinct sense of humor, and it is present in this book. Some may not appreciate it, but I love it. There is some great banter between the MCs as well, especially when Tripp decides he wants to be a brat. I love that there is such a broad range of emotion in the story.

There is a ton of heat and kink in this book. Lee is an experienced Dom, while Tripp is just learning about his submissive nature. They explore many different kinks together, but we don't get more than one or two scenes with the same kink. There were some that were a little more than I prefer, but since it wasn't a recurring thing it didn't really bother me. The chemistry between these two is off the charts, and there is SO MUCH pining!

One thing I really didn't like about the book was how long the chapters were. I'm the type of person who likes to finish a chapter before I set a book down. With chapters that took almost an hour each to read and a toddler, that was not possible. As much as I enjoyed it, I also think the price is a little steep for the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. It evoked a ton of emotion, had a set of wonderful MCs, plus plenty of heat and kink.

I received an ARC of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.

[Emily Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tripp and Lee's story reminded me of why I love best friends to lovers romances so much, and even though their journey was long, I stayed engaged from start to finish. I will admit that it took me a few chapters to get used to this author's method of storytelling, but once I got familiar with the characters, it was easy to engross myself in their budding BDSM explorations. Tripp and Lee had been friends for a long time, but both men were convinced the other was totally uninterested in anything romantic between the two of them. I don't really know how that conviction resulted in the two of them starting up a romance-free BDSM relationship, but there was undeniable sexual tension there to explore. It only took a single scene for me to see how all-in both Tripp and Lee were, and those feelings they didn't think the other had? Yeah, that was a poorly concealed lie. As Lee and Tripp thoroughly explored pain, pleasure, dominance, and submission, it was incredibly obvious to me that these two were deeply in love, and bringing BDSM into their already close friendship provided an outlet for all those sweet, sappy feelings to blossom. I really love how thorougly this story explored the ups and downs of kink--sub drop, dom drop, scene planning, negotiations, all the often overlooked aspects were front and center to Tripp and Lee's journey. On top of that, the intensely heady scenes they participated in made me feel like I was soaring right alongside Lee and Tripp, and somehow every day brought something different and exciting for these men to learn about each other. In the background constantly was the question of if Tripp and Lee would ever be brave enough to admit they were in love, and after a long, long time and harrowing life-or-death situation, it was incredibly moving to see these two declare their feelings at last. By that point I was already sold on the idea of their forever love, but to see Lee and Tripp finally live out that future was overwhelmingly wonderful in the best way.

**I voluntarily read an ARC of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Carra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story with a full cast of great characters. Tripp and Leander star as best friends who add a new dimension to their friendship by using BDSM to handle the stress from their jobs, which as a firefighter and a paramedic—both in leadership positions—can be considerable. Theirs is strictly a Dom/sub dynamic, nothing romantic at all.

When things start out, they are just starting to find their way as Dom and sub, and there is plenty of exploration going on. Both of them benefit, but they each also have their own deeper feelings for each other…which of course neither expresses to the other since from the start they both agreed this was just a stress reliever.

There is plenty of naughtiness throughout the story, erotic and stimulating. Scenes are highly detailed and extensive, and written so that you have a deep understanding of what both men are feeling. Given the amount of page time devoted to these intense scenes, this story goes beyond just contemporary romance to what I’d classify as erotic romance.

My one issue with this book is its length. I felt it was far longer than it needed to be to tell the story, with many points just being covered repeatedly as Trip and Leander both kept waffling on if/when they should tell the other how they feel. And for me, the fact that this is written in third person present tense made it more awkward reading as well (I strongly prefer past tense as it flows better and is easier for my brain to digest). There is also a lot of detail in the fire and rescue scenes as well.

The story length—which could likely be reduced by a quarter to a third and still do these guys justice—affected me enough that my rating is somewhere between 3.5 to 4 stars. I’d probably add a half star to that if it didn’t feel so drawn out. Regardless, Fire & Ice is still a really good read, and if you’re a fan of M/M erotic romance with BDSM, this book is one you’ll want to add to your collection.

[nance]

dnf.

i might finish this later? when i'm in the right headspace? it's competently written and some of the scenes are right up my alley. the problem is that this is very, very obviously filed off destiel fic. in fact, it's so obvious that the serial numbers are less filed off and more hastily taped over. like, girl, did you even try?

the kicker is that i totally would have enjoyed this as a destiel fic! i love me some destiel. but i came into this wholly blind and expecting, you know, an original novel. instead i got castiel and dean winchester with new identities and new jobs, with a lot of elements from the fandom and the show (castiel, i mean, leander wearing his favorite tan trenchcoat! one bdsm scene where leander takes a blade to dean--i mean, tripp's--arm and, with consent, traces the outline of his hand, i cannot fucking even! tripp's childhood consisting of being on the road bc his dad was on a justice/vengeance quest after his mother's killer, are you kidding me) scattered throughout the narrative like LAND MINES. i'd be getting into it, finding my vibe, and then BOOM. just so incredibly distracting, and they kept taking me out of the novel, which completely hindered my enjoyment.

maybe it's a skill issue on my part, i don't know, but if i want to read fic, i will go to ao3, not audible dot com.

this could have been so, so good. aside from the absolutely lazy to nonexistent effort to make this into a standalone, original novel--i really do think girlie just ctrl-f'd and mass replaced the names--the writing is quite decent and teddy hamilton is an absolute dream of a narrator. i was so excited that he was narrating a competently written book, for once, but aaahh, i can't seem to be anything but distracted by its sordid fanfic past.

[Hannah Best · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars. This was the absolute LONGEST, most drawn out plot of nothing with a bunch of BDSM thrown in that I’ve ever read. I love a good BDSM book and there was definitely a lot of sex and spice in this book, but everything was just so two dimensional the entire time that it took away from the fun of reading it. Some scenes were hot, but most were honestly boring. Additionally, there wasn’t much of a plot. Anything interesting that happened didn’t even occur until after around the 50-60% mark. I only knew there’d be some major plot points because this book was on a recommendation list for hot EMT moments. But honestly, I was disappointed. This book is a great example of telling, not showing in my opinion. All the major plot points, and even the spicy scenes are just sort of spelled out for the reader. There’s no feeling to them. Being clinical and detached is kind of Lee’s character MO, but that does not mean the entire book (geez how long was this book?!) has to be written that way. It made it feel so much longer and not in a good way. If I hadn’t been waiting around for some major drama moments that my book club had hinted would happen (which were disappointing really), I would probably not have finished this book. There are some really good MM spicy books out there that’s I’ve really enjoyed and this one just did not make the cut. However, if you want to learn about the MM BDSM scene between a Dom and sub, there was some decent explanations for some things in here (again with the telling not showing, but whatever).

[W · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah, this…. did not work for me. Should have DNFd. This had WAY too much spice and lack of character development to be a romance. But the author was trying too hard to also include a plot for it to work as an erotica. You jump in page one expected to know these characters and their backstory, to care about them when there’s no information about them, you don’t see their friendship develop, their crushes develop, nothing. The writing was all over the place, inconsistent, “friggen” one minute when they’re trying each other up and saying “fuck” the next. Randomly there’d be dialogue that would fit in a cowboy romance? The pacing was also nonexistent, like you read his first drop, they deal with it, great, but then he drops too and you’re like “ok, I mean, I get it I guess?…” and then he gets hurt, they confess their love, and that feels like it should be the third act issue that they resolve right before their HEA but no, the books continues on still, there’s an epilogue about their wedding that’s not an epilogue, and then for some inexplicable reason he’s injured as well? And THEN it finally ends? Overall I just didn’t care about the characters at all, especially Lee bitching about how he shouldn’t be the only one to say he wants more, like DUDE, YOU were the one who was explicit in your “I don’t want a romantic relationship” if you change your mind that’s on YOU to communicate and deal with the fall out, Mr. Boundaries.

[SNik · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intense BDSM relationship blooms between two best friends that secretly love each other and find they are meant to be each other's forever. Standalone. Best friends to lovers. BDSM. Dual POV. Tripp is a firefighter and secretly in love with his best friend Leander. Lee is a paramedic and secretly in love with his best friend Tripp. When Tripp and Lee negotiate a BDSM relationship to expand their friendship into a stress reliever, both men are just grateful to have the other man intimately thinking there is no chance for more. This story is a long read with a huge amount of honest communication, but not where their emotions are concerned, so it takes a while for the relationship to grow from friends with a huge amount of steamy interactions to confessing their love. Definitely engaging, with likable characters, a supportive cast of secondary characters, and a real push and pull between Tripp and Lee as they discover they complete each other’s wants and needs together in a committed and loving relationship. I appreciated the amount of consent and negotiation discussed, as well as the natural growth and change of Lee and Tripp’s dynamic over time. This debut book from Robin Lynn is well-written, emotional, with high steam and two characters I was easily invested in and so happy to read their HEA. 4.5 rounded up.

[Tonya Kloiber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is l-o-n-g, and emotional. I will admit to having shed some tears while reading. BUT...the kink aspect of this book is probably some of the best I've read. Negotiations, consent, constant check-ins, after care...it's all there and extremely well-written and researched. I am not as familiar with the fire, paramedic, or medical side, but everything seems to also be well researched and written so a lay-person can understand. By no means will this be an easy, quick read. This book requires the reader to invest time into it. Tripp and Lee together are fun, sexy, and well-matched. The pining between them can be a bit annoying, especially since honesty is so important in any kink relationship, and they are lying to each other about feelings and emotions. But once they get that straightened out, the book progresses so much better. The brotherhood between the outlying characters becomes an important aspect of the book, and is also fun to read.
The one, picky little thing I was annoyed the most by was the use of Lee and Leander for the same character. It was just weird how it would change literally in the middle of the paragraph. Other than that, this may be one of my favorite reads.

[Juniper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll start by saying I like the author’s writing style: the prose is clear, readable, and easy to get caught up in. There’s a nice balance between descriptive imagery and the mechanics of the actual events on the page, and I’m all for that. In terms of the actual content of the story: lots of heat, plenty of pining, lots and lots of potential, overall. The premise, a friends-with-benefits exploration of BDSM with shared feelings growing ever stronger on the side, has tons of appeal. So yes, lots of potential. Was that potential fully realized? For me, not always. It would have been nice to have a bit more background/context on Lee and Tripp’s friendship, as well as just who they are, beyond their feelings for and chemistry with each other: we’re sort of immersed in that right away, and it does flatten the characters a bit. I can’t actually think of much to say about supporting characters because they felt more like animated plot devices than individuals (fair enough, I guess, they aren’t the main actors, but still). Overall, however, I did enjoy many aspects of the book. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one long book, duel point of view in alternate chapters, which are long in themselves but extremely thorough and detailed. Due to this it took me a few chapters to get totally engrossed but once you get a feel of the characters and the storyline it hooks you in.  The BDSM seemed to be approached from a refreshing angle, intense and very hot scenes with a heavy amount of subspace and subdrop that plays into the narrative really well. Fantastic to see some Shibari too, which always increases the intimacy of a scene in my opinion. I loved the relationship between the two MC's they were very believable and oozed chemistry. Tripp is a firefighter so expect some challenging chapters with some angst. This was definitely needed to give the story some grit and credibility. It ends with a HEA but not before some seriously sexy scenes followed up by a beautifully romantic ending. It is a 5 star read and it feels like one of those books that will stay with you for a while. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book that deep dives into the characters of Lee and Tripp, their relationship and kink exploration. I was fascinated by the chemistry and intimacy, and overall I enjoyed the novel.

My only reservation is about the length. While it it well-written and the author is clearly extremely talented, they never use five words when fifteen will do, and it ends up coming out overlong. There's a lot of side characters who don't seem important in the grand scheme of things, and who could be removed without much affecting the plot. I think it could be between a quarter and a third shorter than it is, and just revising it and tightening it up would make the difference between a good book and an excellent one.

As I said, the writing is gorgeous and I love the characters and their development. I would gladly read more by this author and look forward to their future career.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A the 40% mark I would have given this 5 stars. But after slogging though the rest of the book, I've lowered my rating to 3 stars. In general, the reason for my lowered rating is that the book is just too damn long. I don't mind long books if there is a reason for it, but in this book, there were several logical places to end - places where the characters are in a good place and have a HFN or even a HEA. The extended epilogue was quite unnecessary and added nothing.
After finishing the book I learned that it began as fan fiction, which explains why the characters feel a little underdeveloped - it's because when the author was originally writing this, they knew they didn't have to explain the characters since the fandom already knew them. I don't know anything about that fandom (I believe it is Supernatural) so the characters remained a little mysterious to me - we don't learn that much about them besides the colour of their eyes!

[Haylee Wireman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was writing this review before I even finished. First let me say “Wow!” This book hooks from the very beginning. The BDSM aspect is intriguing and fun, but it’s far from the whole of the story. This is a slow burn with sex included. Leander and Tripp both are hopelessly in love with each other but believe the other isn’t interested beyond blowing off some steam after work.
But what ensues is a story of understanding and learning about each other that we could all take a page from. The vulnerability both men show with each other is breathtaking. The character building in this book is flawless. After an incident both men realize just how much the other means to them and their true feelings show. This book is going to put me in a book slump, because nothing will be able to compare right now. I already miss Tripp, Leander and their merry band of misfits.

[smatchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

OH.MY.GAWD I FINALLY finished this book! While it was well-written overall, it was at least twice as long as it needed to be and in a lot of parts excruciatingly detailed. There were several points where I thought “ok, the main story could end right here, with a short epilogue to wrap things up” but then it just.kept.going! There were literally several pages of discussion around Lee wiping Tripp’s butt! Despite all the detail, the MCs felt a bit one-dimensional. Lee was a cold, rational Dom who was almost always in control. Tripp was a flippant risk-taker who doesn’t take anything seriously. Even when Tripp is hurt, they break down in predictable ways. I ended up skimming over a lot of the detail because I hate not finishing books. If you are the type that loves a lot of detail, this book is for you! It wasn’t for me.

[Saskia Veldhuis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not actually sure what I specifically liked about this book but I could barely stop reading it, which prompts me to give 5 stars. Full of excellent accurate details and plots. I really loved the depth given to both MCs although I would have appreciated a section about how they were friends first before feeling more. There was a bit too much use of italics for my taste. I'm not usually a fan of mutual pining over a long period of time but it worked well in this story. I also liked the difficulties both characters had in communicating - it's refreshing that they are both not able to easily verbalise their issues/worries but that this is something that can be accepted and doesn't need to be changed.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fire & Ice is a love story about two first responders and their journeys of self discovery through falling in love and BDSM. Alternating POV gives you insight into two interesting, complex characters, both of whom you'll want to shake sense into and swaddle and put in your pocket for safe-keeping. The BDSM is clearly written by someone who "gets it", you don't have to worry about it pulling you out of the story, quite the opposite in fact. Overall, the book is very much an enjoyable, emotional, sexy ride that will grab you and suck you right in. The best course of action is to simply hold on tight and enjoy it!

[Cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way I was hooked from the very start of this incredible book. The BDSM plot of this book is sexy and intense and just downright HOT. But it is also such a strong foundation of trust and love that hold the main characters together in a way I have never seen before. Right away you are rooting for them to get out of their own way and allow each other to feel everything they are fighting against. And the DRAMA of their jobs it kept me on the edge of my seat, staying up way too late NEEDING to know what came next. Fire and Ice is Hot in content and Warm in heart it's just absolutely unbelievably special.