Sugar and Ice

Sugar and Ice by Aven Ellis

Sugar and Ice is the first full-length novel in the Rinkside in the Rockies Series by Aven Ellis!

Josephine Rossi has recovered from a broken heart, but has vowed that she's all about the desserts now as a recipe tester for Bake It! Magazine. Cheesecake never breaks your heart. Unless it cracks on the top, but still, it tastes amazing if you bake it just right. She knows what to do in the kitchen as far as making luscious desserts. Men? Apparently she's not so good at figuring them out, so she refuses to bother. Josephine knows it is safer to stay in the kitchen than to take another chance with her heart.

Denver Mountain Lions forward Cade Callahan is passionate about hockey, but is also about finding love. He thought he had it once, but a disastrous romance last holiday season has him keeping his heart in check. While he’s fearless on the ice, he’s guarded with his heart. Cade is determined history won’t repeat itself again. He won’t let his guard down until he’s certain he’s met The One.

However, Cupid's arrow might just strike when these two least expect it. When an oven goes out, and a cheesecake for testing has to be baked, and Cade just happens to live in the same building with a working oven...Well, things other than cheesecake might just heat up in the kitchen. Can these two passionate people learn to trust their hearts again? Can love override fear for Josephine and Cade? And will they find the combination of sugar and ice is the sweetest one of all?**

Thank you to the author for the book in exchange for a honest review. 

Jojo is taking a break from men. Her heart was broken and badly. She thought that Marco was her forever after, clearly she was wrong. She's going to focus on her job now. She wants to be a cookbook author. She just knows that this cannoli cheesecake she's developed is going to get her boss to take her seriously and give her the chance she needs.  When she goes to put them in the oven its cold and she knows that she preheated it. Knowing that if she doesn't get this in the oven she'll miss her chance for now she thinks about her options.  She remembers that her roommate's boyfriends apartment is one floor away and she does what she has to. She wasn't expecting his roommate Cade to answer the floor in a towel.. Soaking wet and in a TOWEL. She loses some brain function. Had Cade always been this hot? She needs his oven and he offers to take her for coffee while the cheesecake bakes.

Cade has met Jojo before but he doesn't remember seeing her.  When she shows up at his door with cheesecakes in hand, wearing a vintage apron and her hair wrapped up and braided he sees her. She's different and he likes different. He's been hurt but Jojo makes him want to try again. She makes him feel all kinds of things. Trust is hard for him but he really does want to try for her and the longer he's with her the more he wants from her but also the more he expects her to betray him. 

I so loved Cade and Jojo's story. Its sweet and lovely.  Aven has a way of spinning a tale that keeps you sucked in. I read this all in a day and didn't even realize I was reading it so fast. You'll love seeing mentions of other characters from other books and even spying a hint at pairs of characters to come. Please leave the author love in the form of a review, it really shows you care. 

**Goodreads summary