Amazon Bestselling Author Mickey Miller, brings you a brand new standalone enemies-to-lovers romance.Recklessly cocky. Brutally handsome. Exceptionally Talented. And Utterly Ruthless.Meet my childhood crush, everybody.Except handsome Shane North is all grown up now, and he’s out for revenge…on me.Before I moved away, Shane was my best friend’s older brother. But Shane isn’t the lanky, spindly … brother. But Shane isn’t the lanky, spindly boy I used to know. He’s been replaced by a handsome man with broad, muscular shoulders and hockey scouts lining up to get him to play for their team.
When he “accidentally” sends me a selfie one night after a chance phone call, then shows up at my house per my mother’s request, a passion ignites inside me that I’ve never felt once in my life.
But there’s one big problem: Shane is holding onto an enormous secret. Something everyone in town seems to know but won’t tell me. My father was the richest man in Black Mountain, and had his share of enemies, as reading his diary informs me.
The more I fight my attraction to Shane, the more I fall for him. Despite his secrets, recklessness, and temper, he’s got a protective streak a mile wide for those he cares about. Which, after one very hot night, includes me.
My attraction to him comes on strong and without warning. But this is no fairy tale. This is a nightmare.
I just pray the big bad ice wolf known Shane North is on my side.
And before I make it out of Black Mountain, I’m going to have to confront the secrets about my father this town has tucked away.
Or should I say, if I make it out of this town.
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I enjoyed this read. This book is a departure from the norm for this author and in my opinion, it really did have a much different feel to it than so many of his other works and that isn’t a bad thing. I just feel you need to keep in mind that this is not a fun, light and upbeat romance. The story is very well written and is made up of a complex blend of intensity, drama, tension, suspense and sizzle. While this is NOT a dark romance, I felt the overall story had a dark tone to it. It is edgy and twisty but also has a surprising level raw genuineness to it. I felt that Shane and Natalie generated lots of sparks and sizzle but for me at least, they fell way short on the emotional connection. Regardless of how the story unfolded, I could never get past the feeling that their relationship was based solely on the superficial.
I absolutely loved this story. I have to say it is to date one of my favorite Mickey Miller books. Though this story is not what you have come to expect from Mickey Miller, his other books are on the lighter side. ie rom com. I think Black Ice will touch you in ways you don’t expect. The relationship between Natalie and Shane is so intense as are the feelings they experience. You can definitely feel that Mickey has put a lot of himself into it. Yes, there are dark elements to it but as you read about everything that Shane has gone through you begin to understand him more. My heart was breaking for not only Shane but Natalie as well. Mickey did a wonderful job making the reader feel like they were going through all the feelings along with Shane and Natalie. Shane had a lot to deal with and yet he was able to rise above all of it and make sure Natalie was safe and cared for. The chemistry between them was so passionate and intense. A very well written story that will stay with me. Wonderful HEA! I look forward to more of this type of story from Mickey Miller.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Wow! Just wow!
I didn’t hate this book but I didn’t love it either. It was just.. ok for me. I like a good dark and gritty story but this one just seemed more like an offensive bully being cruel and a naive girl putting up with it. I desperately wanted to like this book but something just felt off to me.
Enemies to lovers, best friends older brother taboo, with suspense untwisting secrets along the way.
Secrets of a town, of their family members who had died. While the town, and Shane, had no blinders in place, Natalie had been sheltered by her father. Unknown to all of the horrible things her father had did to the town, which starts to come to light once she goes back to box up his belongings after he passes away.
Really good read, kept me interested from beginning to end. Good mix-up suspense and steamy romance moments. Well-rounded characters who engrossed you from beginning to their HEA.
I just couldn’t get into it. Don’t understand why the bad deeds of the father warrants kidnapping and attempted murder of a daughter. Hard to read and disturbing.
I can’t believe I even finished this book. I think I kept waiting for it to get good since there were so many great reviews, but it never did. I also waited for it to be about hockey since that was what was depicted in the title and on the cover – again, I was disappointed and deceived. I was interested to read a romance written by a guy, but yet again – disappointment. I didn’t like this book even a little, so I can’t say I will ever try any of his other books.
None of the characters were appealing, believable or likeable. The male was such an ass and a bully. He treated the female in a very demeaning/abusive way. The female was such a weak character and so immature, I couldn’t get behind her or wish for a happy ending for her. I just didn’t care about her or any of them. Their relationship was not enjoyable or even happy. I just wanted it to end and put me out of my misery.
This book was bad, bad, bad and I am not recommending anyone buy it. At least I got it free.
I had difficulty putting this book down. The dialogue w/witty and the concept of retribution although misplaced was well developed.
3.5 stars.
First time I have read a story from this author. I thought it would involve a lot more hockey, however, it’s a really twisted small town story.
“You won’t tell me anything! It’s like I’m talking to a brick wall or something!”
This book would make you feel like banging your head against the already mentioned brick wall would be a far better experience than suffering through the scenes in it.
The writing was repetitive, literally one thing would be said/thought by one of the characters and then 10 sentences later repeated 5 more times for good measure.
The hero would go off about some “plan” for eternity without giving you even the smallest detail. Like yeah, we know you have some shady plan, good job. How about you elaborate on that. Not to mention how he was bitter for half his life and hated the heroine for something she had no control over.
The main characters and their ‘relationship’ were so questionable, they would start to have some type of breakthrough with actually talking about each other only to end up making out & the running off to separate spaces. Talk about them acting mature.
The hero was written in a way the author thought would be appealing to women, but he comes off just as a POS. He was in no way subtle, or gentle, or considerate towards the heroine’s feelings (her dad has just died and the ‘hero’ immediately jumped to the opportunity to destroy any happy memory she had of him). He would literally say how he needs to warn her to leave the town so she doesn’t get hurt/killed only to postpone it in order to get laid. And don’t even get me started on his friends.
Book is advertised as “Enemies to Lovers” when in reality is nothing like it, bully romance kind of fits it more (only the romance part feels fake af), at times it felt like a bad thriller/mystery too. This is what happens when a book tries to be so many things at once.
What I love about Mickey Millers books is that Whatever the storyline it’s not going to be like anything else I have read. And with Black Ice it didn’t go in the direction that I thought it was. Which is why I love his books. This enemies to lovers book is a little bit dark and definitely steamy. And was definitely a page turner!
Romance Rehab: Book recs, author services, general badassery: https://www.romancerehab.com/
Egads, what did I just read?
Plot overview: I…don’t even know. Sorry. I’ve got nothing.
Judging by the cover, I thought this was going to be a sports romance with an enemies-to-lovers element. That’s not really what I got. There’s hardly any hockey in the book, and it’s really more a bully romance, in my opinion. But, long-story-short, here’s where the book fell down:
The heroine:
I can’t even remember her name and I don’t care enough to go look it up. That’s how much of an impression this chick left on me. All I can tell you for sure is that she’s a flaming idiot. She’s super immature, and apparently doesn’t mind having a dude treat her like complete crap, because she kept coming back for more every time Shane shit on her. (Proverbial shit. Not real shit. But even that wouldn’t have really surprised me with this book, if I’m being honest) I pretty much hated She Whose Name I Don’t Care To Recall in chapter 1 and she never managed to turn my opinion of her around in any way. She’s whiny, clingy, and needy, too. (The trifecta of sucky romance heroines) If the hero had pushed her off a cliff at the end of the book, I wouldn’t have been too angry about it.
The hero:
I use the term “hero” very, very loosely here. Shane’s the type of guy who harbors vehement hate in his heart for a girl for reasons that were totally out of her control. He’s the type of guy who plans to kidnap and “punish” said girl (who technically did nothing wrong), and even encourages/recruits other bullies to threaten/scare/hurt her. He’s a douchebag twatwaffle of the highest order and I had ZERO tolerance for him. But since I hated the heroine too, I felt kind of conflicted about the whole thing. I mean, they kind of deserved each other, so…yeah, there’s that…
Plot weirdness:
There’s nothing in the blurb that really hints at how dark and twisty the plot gets, or that the hero and heroine would kill a guy, then get turned on by how they’re willing to kill for each other. (Yep. That happened. I took issue when it happened on Sons of Anarchy and I took issue with it here. It’s stupid.) A heads-up would’ve been nice.
Typos and grammar errors:
I’m not a grammar Nazi. Not by ANY stretch of the imagination. I’m willing to overlook a fair number of typos if I’m enjoying a story. But when I’m hating a story, like I was hating this story, those errors just sort of jump off the page and slap me in the face. I was slapped in the face many, many times while reading this one.
Anyhoo, long-story-short, this one was NOT my cuppa. But if you don’t mind sports romances that aren’t really sports romances, heroes who are giant turds, heroines who are too stupid to live, and dark and twisty plot weirdness that’s riddled with typos, this one might be up your alley. To each his own. That’s my motto.
Black Ice was a little darker and edgier than this studied usual rom-com style. I liked that he was willing to explore a different genre, and I thought it was a good read. I had a few questions about some of the plot points, but overall it was suspenseful romance with a slightly darker bend. Nicely done.
Shane and Natalie do not like each other. Secrets are used as revenge and have a way of coming out. The darkness of this story was edgy with a unique spin on it. I did enjoy this most of this story, but the ending had me thinking that they only stayed together because of what happened.
Do not let the title fool you, Black Ice is HOT!
Natalie and Shane’s journey is an intense roller coaster of emotions. It kept my heart pumping and I just did not want to put it down! Black Ice presents a great balance of steam, wit, raw emotions, drama and angst. You will be enthralled and sitting on the edge of your seat until the very end.
I highly recommend Black Ice and author Mickey Miller!
What can I say other than well done Mickey Miller.
This was a lot darker than Mickeys other books but he handled it well.
I was totally immersed in the story… this book pulled me in and didn’t let go.
The tragic tale of grief and loss and what it makes us do.
I was totally with Shane and his wanting revenge. I felt the same way after the loss of my nephew.
Mickey handled these darker feelings in his characters psyche well. We understood Shane’s demons and His conflict due to his feelings for Natalie.
Even with the darker undertones Mickey still brought the heat. The chemistry between Shane and Natalie is of the charts.
Love your romcoms but this one was a treat.
Think you have a knack for dark romantic suspense.
Must read
When I first finished the book I was a little disappointed with what I felt was a lack of resolution for Shane and Natalie. I thought they should have more conflict after the climax. Although, now that I’ve spent some time thinking about it maybe Mickey Miller intended it as a social commentary on a systemic problem of small towns dependent on mining or a single industry. Or perhaps I’m just looking for a reason and explanation to the results of the falling action?
There were a couple of things I noticed at the beginning of the novel. First, Shane has a weird fascination with aggressively kissing Natalie’s neck. It kept making me think of Dracula and every time Shane and Natalie started kissing it’s all I could think about. I noticed there are several grammatical and syntax errors: missing words, mixing of tenses within a sentence, incorrect tense use. At one point Shane deletes a text from his phone, but a few sentences later Shane says they left their phones at home. While for most readers these are not big issues and probably don’t disrupt their reading, whereas for me they are noticeable and they change my evaluation of a book.
I anticipated this being wildly different from Mickey Miller’s usual work. I’m not so sure it is, it has similar themes as Mechanic with Benefits and Professor with Benefits. Although, there is a slightly darker element explored through substance abuse and trauma. This is, above all, a true enemy to lovers’ romance.
Black Ice, an enemies to lovers romance, was much darker than what readers have come to expect from Mickey Miller, but it added a whole new depth to his writing.
Back in her childhood hometown for her father’s funeral for the first time since she was a kid, nothing seems the same to Natalie Toft. The entire town seems darker and breathes an air of despair with rampant alcohol and drug use. Natalie is getting all kinds of odd and dirty looks as well, and has no idea why. When she tries calling up a childhood friend, only to discover the worst, she instead reunites with Shane North, her best friend’s older brother who is crazy hot, but also clearly carrying secrets around with him everywhere he goes.
Shane North never expected to see Natalie Toft again. And, now that he’s back in town he doesn’t know whether he should stick to his childish plans for revenge or try to get her in his bed. As he tries to figure it out, he’ll have to work to keep her safe from the other’s also out for revenge who will do anything to get back at Natalie for what her father did to theirs. He’ll also fight his attraction to the woman he’s supposed to hate.
When the truths start coming out, can Natalie ever trust Shane again? And, will she make it out of Black Mountain alive?
If you are looking for a light hearted romance, Black Ice is not the book for you. That being said, I absolutely loved the psychological aspects of the love / hate relationship as well as the question of whether or not the sins of the father fall to their child?
Natalie and Shane are absolutely explosive together physically and emotionally, but they have so many trust barriers and emotional baggage between them, it seems almost impossible that they could ever find a happy ever after, that is even if they make it out of the danger and drama that is Black Mountain.
Black Ice was not what I expected, but I really liked this other side to Mickey Miller’s writing. 4 stars.
In this book we have Natalie, who moved from Black Mountain when she was younger, as her parents divorced. Natalie & her mom wound up in Florida, and Natalie just never went back to Black Mountain, Michigan.
We also have Shane. Shane had a sister, Louisa who was friends with Natalie. When Natalie moved 9 years ago the girls didn’t stay in touch. Natalie had a crush on her friends older brother when they were younger.
In Black Mountain there was an mining accident. Many in the town blame Natalie’s father, who has recently passed away. Natalie is back in town to clear his household belongings. Natalie knew nothing about the mining accident. Shane & his friends always blamed Natalie’s father for it and for the loss they suffered. But, now that Natalie is back in town, will they continue to go after her for vengeance?
I did receive a free ARC Copy of this book from the author. I am freely leaving an honest review.
Enemies to Lovers at its finest! Another one to steam up those kindles… Childhood friends that drift apart, unspoken tragedies, then to meet up college aged, a little jaded and smoking hot… that connection is still there even if they don’t want it to be. Shane and Natalie still share that connection they always had even if life got in the way. Shane harbors so much resentment towards Natalie for things that are so far out of her control… he’s kinda the alpha you love to hate. They both fight the sparks between them every step of the way but nothing worth having is ever easy… Did I mention their story is HOT???