Release day Review | Fire and Ice by Andrew Grey ~ '

Fire and Ice

Carlisle Cops book #2

Andrew Grey

***** Tams 5 star review *****

Carter Schunk is a dedicated police officer with a difficult past and a big heart. When he’s called to a domestic disturbance, he finds a fatally injured woman, and a child, Alex, who is in desperate need of care. Child Services is called, and the last man on earth Carter wants to see walks through the door. Carter had a fling with Donald a year ago and found him as cold as ice since it ended.

Donald (Ice) Ickle has had a hard life he shares with no one, and he’s closed his heart to all. It’s partly to keep himself from getting hurt and partly the way he deals with a job he’s good at, because he does what needs to be done without getting emotionally involved. When he meets Carter again, he maintains his usual distance, but Carter gets under his skin, and against his better judgment, Donald lets Carter guilt him into taking Alex when there isn’t other foster care available. Carter even offers to help care for the boy.

Donald has a past he doesn’t want to discuss with anyone, least of all Carter, who has his own past he’d just as soon keep to himself. But it’s Alex’s secrets that could either pull them together or rip them apart—secrets the boy isn’t able to tell them and yet could be the key to happiness for all of them.

Grab your copy of Fire and Ice today from Dreamspinner Press.

Carter Schunk is a good cop and a computer genius, so he winds up spending more time at his desk than on the streets, much to his dismay. When he finally gets some street time he answers a call for a domestic disturbance, but what he finds in the home deeply disturbs him. A waif of a little boy that has been neglected and abused, told he was bad and forced to live in squaller. The traumatized toddler quickly takes a shine to Carter, who is kind and gentle with him. And then the Ice man walks through the door.

Donald Ickle works for social services. A dark past that he keeps to himself made Donald want to help children that wind up in foster care, like he did. He’s seen a lot in his line of work that would make anyone question their sanity, and he copes by hiding behind a tough exterior. Hence his nick name around the department, Ice. Carter experienced that cold exterior firsthand about a year ago when the two of them met and shared a… rambunctious weekend together. Donald turned that icey personality on full blast for Carter once their weekend was up. But there is nowhere to run to now, Donald and Carter are forced into close quarters again for the sake of the little boy that has them both wrapped around his little finger.

Little Alex is the heart and soul of this story. That little man seriously stole the show! I cried like a baby when he told Carter his name was ‘piece of shit’. I wasn’t kidding when I said he was horribly abused, so be prepared for that. I give Grey some serious props for presenting it in the classiest way possible within the story though. And then there is this twist at the end that made me tear up a little again, I didn’t expect it, very surprising and brilliant.

And while this story may initially present itself as an insta-love story, you have to consider that Carter and Donald have actually known each other for a year, and neither have forgotten the intensely passionate weekend they spent together. Carter knows exactly what he wants, Donald. It will take a lot of convincing, love and attention to get Donald to accept he feels the same way though. He’s terrified to give his heart to another man that will duck and run when he learns the truth about Donald’s past. So Carter has to prove to Donald that he’s in it for the long haul.

Not to sound like a broken record, but I am continually amazed with Grey’s imagination. He constantly comes up with fresh new story ideas to keep his readers entertained and chomping at the bit for the next story. Fire and Ice is a little bit dark and very detailed, descriptive with the storyline. The characters are so perfectly flawed, three dimensional and just real, which gave them depth. I devoured this book in a matter of a few hours. It’s passionate, intense, sexy and endearing. I think this just became my new favorite Andrew Grey book, will definitely be reading this one over, and over again.

I think it goes without saying, but I will, fans of Grey are going to be blown away by this one. If you enjoy a good love story with a bit of grit and grime, a hard fought happy ever after, romance and a sexy alpha male with a protective streak, you’re going to want to grab a copy of this one.