Book: Melt the Ice by Lindsey Saenz
Reviewed by Maggie Hayes
Rating: 3/5
ARC REVIEW
Melt the Ice by Lindsey Saenz
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)
When Scarlett returns to her late grandmother’s ranch after twelve years away, she immediately collides with Lucas—the childhood best friend turned first love she left behind.
Now a professional hockey player, Lucas never stopped waiting for “Lettie” to come home. And now that she’s back, he’s done letting her slip through his fingers.
When the ranch becomes the target of an unknown threat, Scarlett and Lucas are forced to work together to protect the place that holds both their past and their future.
I went in expecting a standard hockey romance (which felt fair given the title and cover), so I was surprised by how little hockey actually factors into the story. This reads much more like romantic suspense—or even cowboy romance—than sports romance. That said, once I adjusted my expectations, I ended up enjoying the story for what it was.
Lucas absolutely broke my heart. A childhood shaped by tragedy left him with deep insecurities and low self-worth, and watching him spiral under the weight of unresolved grief was genuinely devastating. I loved how his teammates stepped up as his found family, determined to care for him the way he’s always cared for them.
And Scarlett? I was raging on her behalf. From the prologue alone, her father is a full mustache-twirling villain. A lesser woman would have crumbled, but Scarlett dug in her heels to protect her ranch—and later, her man. I especially loved how Lucas’s found family embraced her once they saw she truly had his best interests at heart.
While this is the first book in the Tampa Bay Hawks series, the Wilder Brothers (from Saenz’s other series) feature heavily, and reading those books first would add helpful context.
Thank you to Luna Literary for the ARC!
For fans of: 🚨 Romantic Suspense | 🖤 Black Cat x Golden Retriever | 🫶 Childhood Friends to Lovers | 🧠 Mental Health Rep | 🫶 Found Family | 💔 Grief | 😭 High Angst | 🌫️ Fade-to-Black Romance
Bookstagram #ARCReview #RomanceBooks #RomanceReader #RomanticSuspense #HockeyRomance #FoundFamily #HighAngstReads #MeltTheIce #TampaBayHawks