Bound (Fire on Ice #1) by Brenda Rothert

College senior Kate Camden has learned to adapt - to her last year of school, to the promise of motherhood, to the fact that she’s doing it all alone. But just when she’s learned to adjust, heartache threatens to break her apart.

Pro hockey player Jason “Ryke” Ryker has it all: adoring fans, a promising career, and a beautiful wife. But when his seemingly perfect life is shaken by tragedy, he’s left questioning whether having it all is ever more than an illusion.

When circumstance brings Kate and Ryke together, they discover they don’t have to hurt alone. Bound by a grief that haunts them both, they must rely on one another to survive heartbreak. But that grief is more powerful than they realize, and the tie that binds them together may ultimately tear them apart.

Four Stars

Death is our fucked up camaraderie 

Death. Love. Second chances. Hockey.

So, yea. I couldn’t refuse this book once I found it. Both the H/h suffered a huge loss. It was this type of commonality that brought these two together. Knowing that, you knew going into this, this was going to be an emotional read. However, as the story unfolded, it wasn’t the grief nor the sadness that made me a hot mess. No worries, I’ll delve into that in a sec. 

I wasn’t the only one. Funny how I felt more kinship with this random mix of strangers than a lot of my longtime friends. 

Kate Camden suffered the loss of her 18-week-old baby. The pregnancy was purely accidental, and though she was initially conflicted about it, in the end she very much wanted the baby. With the help of her mother, she was ready to raise her baby without the father. But when she lost her baby, she was never the same. She was left a broken mess and a future with children uncertain. To help her move forward from her loss, her mother convinces her to attend a grief support group. This is where she meets NHL Hockey player, Jason “Ryke” Ryker. 

But it was something else about her that was commanding my attention. That sadness on her face – I’d been there. The haunted look in her eyes – I’d looked that way. She’d lost someone, and though I didn’t even know who, I felt like she knew me. I wanted to wrap her in my arms, take her to bed and make her feel something so deep and powerful it made the sadness go away 

Ryke was still grieving the loss of his wife. The support group has helped him a lot through his loss. When he sees the newest addition to the group, he was immediately drawn to her. He learns that she’s in need of a job. So what does he do? Offer her a position as his personal assistant. He is desperate to find out more about her, but the more time they spend together, the more interested he becomes. 

I wished for words to soothe her, but I didn’t have any. I was a hockey player, for Christ’s sake. My favorite words were fuck and fucking. 

Having feelings for Kate not only confuses him, but it completely freaks him out. He loved his wife, but their marriage was far from perfect. He doesn’t want to freak Kate out, but then again he’s trying way to hard to not make the same mistakes he did when he was married. But he slowly starts to realize that Kate is not like his wife at all, and that realization makes Kate more intriguing. 

And that was it. As soon as I heard those words I knew this was a man I could fall deeply in love with. If I let go of the tight hold I had on my heart, he would own it. 

**Sigh** These two constantly fight their attraction to one another. They’re both very hesitant to take things between them further – Kate especially. OMG! Does it make me a horrid person because I just wanted to tell Kate to get the fuck over it already?I know, I know. I should be more sympathetic, but my patience grew very thin when it came to Kate. Ryke was nothing but a gentleman to her. He was sweet, kind, generous and did nothing to deserve the mixed signals she constantly gave him. One minute they’re hot and heavy, but then out of the blue Kate puts the kibosh on it. Ugh. 

So aside from the female blue balls I got while reading this, I did enjoy it. Plus it helped a lot that Ryke was a hot hockey player. I’m a sucker for hockey and hockey players. I kid you not, but as I write this review, I’m watching HBO 24/7: Red Wings/Maple Leafs Road to the Winter Classic. If you do not know what that is, that’s okay (I guess.) I’m a die-hard Red Wings fan and I LOVE hockey players. Le sigh… Sorry, I digress. I look forward to the sequel, and no worries…this does have an ending of sorts, but I’m glad there’s more to their story.