Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Sugar and Ice by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey Blog Tour


When love is on the line, the worst decisions can end up having the best endings.

Tate Collins, an all-American hockey phenomenon, was the highly marketable face of Dallas hockey. Loaded down with endorsements and playing his best game, he was a superstar and a household name. No one ever expected him to fail, but overnight, after the worst decision of his life, everything spirals out of his control. Abruptly, his reputation is in tatters, and he’s traded to the Arizona Raptors in a shocking move. Brushing off the wild and unfounded accusations that he faces on social media, and stuck on the second line, he keeps his head down and works hard to earn his spot. Tate knows he can make a difference if only his teammates would let him. Something has to change for him to earn their respect, but falling for the captain might not be his best move.

Vladislav Novikov has been called many things over his long and illustrious career, but the new nickname of Iceberg seems to fit best. Perhaps it’s due to his icy blue eyes, or the way he rams into opposing players as he defends his goalie. Or maybe it’s because of his cool demeanor when not playing the game he loves. Whatever the reason, it’s why he’s the perfect team captain for this wild bunch of puck-pushers. His perfectly controlled life is smooth as ice until Tate Collins rides into Tucson with his apple pie ways and those damn dimples. The young superstar immediately catches his eye. Despite knowing better than to start something with a teammate, the big, bad Iceberg is about to have that chilly veneer around his heart melted away by Tate one sweet kiss at a time.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54427056-sugar-and-ice


Book 4
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca



Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie☆☆☆☆
This is the fourth book in the series – and links to other series by this talented duo of authors, both together and separately. I would definitely recommend that you read them in order, as they are very rich as a whole, but you could certainly enjoy this a great deal as a first read and go back afterwards.

Captain Vlad is delighted that many of his team members are happily in love, and even his friend from home (Russia), Stan, goalie for a rival team, has settled down with the man of his dreams. He, however, does not believe that he will be able to find a boyfriend, let alone a husband, until long after his career has ended – as the backlash on his family back home could be awful. So when newly traded Tate turns his head and gets him having to think horrible thoughts to calm himself in the showers, he knows he needs to keep his distance.

Tate has been traded by Dallas due to his ex-fiancée being very indiscrete and posting team secrets he shared with her all over the media. In fact, she is still quite a problem, possibly due to mental health issues rather than malice, but the impact on him is the same – guilt, embarrassment, and the reason he has had to move. His immediate attraction to Vlad is unexpected, certainly not unpleasant, but very complicated.

As these two guys sort out their feelings for each other, sort out their lives generally, and sort out team plays to lead them to rise in the league, we get to travel along for the ride. It is fun, hot, and sweet, even the swearing parrot adds to the richness of the story. Very easy reading, and another excellent chapter of this up and coming hockey team full of entertaining players and partners.


Sarah☆☆☆☆
Tate is a hockey superstar trying to prove himself on a new team while being smeared through the tabloid press by a malicious ex. Vlad is the closeted captain of Tate’s new team who ignores the attraction he feels to the team’s new star while trying to help Tate fit in.

We’re a long way into RJ Scott and V.L. Locey’s hockey books, so most of this feels very familiar. The Raptors are still an underdog team but with Tate, they have the potential to pull themselves up the league table. I enjoyed the hockey action here and I liked Tate’s personal journey back to himself as a player.

This is definitely one of the more basic of the authors’ hockey stories. It’s an entertaining read but it lacks the character development I love in some of my favourites. Vlad feels a little too much like Stan – but he’s a Stan without the humour or warmth, which isn’t quite the same. The romance in this book is sweet and a little steamy but it won’t be one of the more memorable love stories from any of the interlinked series. This is a fun read and a decent addition to the series but the authors have definitely written better.


Avid Reader☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars
M/M Sports Romance

You start with Tate. He's in some trouble with his team, the country, and the person he thought he could save. You aren't really sure what is going on, but you know that it's up to Tate to pull through. You are rooting for him to do that, and while he does keep his head down and works hard to do well in his new team, you can feel his melancholy.

Vladislav is Tate's new captain and he's very stoic. He worries about his teammates, his family, and wants the best for everyone. He has a quietness about him that gives others strength. When he meets Tate in the flesh, he can't help but notice how handsome he is. But being captain comes with some drawbacks. He doesn't want to interrupt his team's dynamics.

These two heat up the sheets and the ice. But you want them to succeed. They have a slow burn relationship, despite their physical attraction. I did think the issues with Tate could have been written with less mystery. It felt very strange to see the fallout but not know exactly what the reason behind it was.

Overall, you'll like these men. They have hearts of gold and a very strong connection.


Veronica☆☆☆
It was good to be back with the Raptors. This time we have a romance between the stoic, cold as ice captain Vlad and sweetheart Tate Collins, who was recently traded to the Raptors from Texas.

I’m a big fan of this series and I enjoyed Sugar and Ice but I would have liked for us to have spent more time with Vlad and Tate and see them actually falling for each other rather than being told. There were times when it felt like parts of their getting to know you story were missing and at one point I even went back a few pages in case I had actually missed something.

But on to the good. The hockey action was entertaining as it always is. Tate and Vlad are a lovely couple and the addition of mild BDSM add a little spice to the intimate scenes. I like how Vlad loves listening to Taylor Swift and didn’t get any of Tate’s movie references, and I loved Tate’s big heart. But my favorite thing in Sugar and Ice wasn’t our couple, it was Colorado’s Emu. The Emu made me laugh and left me eager to read the next book in this series so we can learn more about Colorado. Overall, Sugar and Ice was a good read and a solid three stars.


Also Available in the Arizona Raptors Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca

For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Coast to Coast Blog Tour.


Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Across the Pond Blog Tour.


Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca

For reviews & more info, check out our stop on the Shadow and Light Blog Tour.




USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott writes stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, a happily ever after.

RJ Scott is the author of over one hundred romance books, writing emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

She’s always thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers.


Connect with RJ

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
RJ Scott’s Facebook Group



USA Today bestselling author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Doctor Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.


Connect with V.L.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Vicki’s Vixens Facebook Group



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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Sugar and Ice (Arizona Raptors #4) by RJ Scott & V.L. Locey to read and review for this tour.

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