Book Review: Icy Control by Carly Robyn
Official Synopsis: Jake Reid has spent years earning every shift, goal, and ounce of respect in the Boston Bobcats’ locker room. Then his father buys the team and suddenly he’s no longer the hardworking player who helped his team win Stanley Cups, but the new owner’s son who hasn’t earned his place. The spotlight is brutal, the pressure to prove he belongs is relentless, and Jake’s carefully controlled world is starting to crack.
Sophie Davies has spent years waiting for the right time, the right guy, and the right moment to stop watching her life happen from the sidelines. Or more accurately, from the stands cheering for a hockey player she’s never let herself want out loud. But when she loses her apartment and needs a place to stay, Jake offers his spare room.
Starting over pushes Sophie to do the one bold thing she’s never dared to do… ask Jake for exactly what she wants: a secret fling with no strings and no feelings.
Except living together makes it impossible to keep things simple. What’s supposed to be casual starts to feel a lot like falling. As the season intensifies and Jake fights to prove he belongs, the one thing he can’t control is how much he needs Sophie. But will the girl who’s never asked for anything fight for forever with the guy who was never supposed to be hers?
In a world where control is everything, sometimes the only way to win is to stop playing it safe.
I have always really enjoyed the Boston Bobcats series by Carly Robin and this book is no different. First of all, you have Sophie and her two chaos cats, the ones who caused a fire in her last apartment and are the reason she is so desperate to find somewhere else to live. You also have Jake Reid, a superstar hockey player with intense 'daddy issues' who now has to deal with the fact his dad bought the team. When Jake agrees to let Sophie move into his condo, since he is planning on moving out in a few months anyway, he doesn't expect to fall in love with not only the cats but Sophie as well.
When Sophie and Jake decided to have a 'roommates with benefits' relationship, to help both of them get rid of some tension, they both don't plan on it ever becoming something more. For one, if Sophie's brother ever learns about it he will definitely kill Jake, and Jake isn't a relationship guy anyway...right? But it is becoming harder and harder to hide their very real feelings for each other, especially when Sophie's best friends are trying to set her up with any single guy they can find.
One thing I really liked about this book was how Jake especially learns more about the type of people he needs in his life, and the ones who have been there to support him the whole time. Jake and his father don't get along and having his father around more is not doing anything to help Jake's mental health. But as his teammates and friends keep supporting him, helping him avoid the awkward situations, he starts to figure out who he is true family might be. He also falls so hard for both Sophie and her cats, which I absolutely loved. He watches horror movies with her, even as giant baby about it, starts buying toys and things to keep the cats occupied, and works hard to support Sophie in her endeavors as well.
I also need to shoutout the chaos cats, Kit and Zo. Kit is a lovely orange cat who just wants to eat boots and be involved. Zo is a shadow cat who shows up to judge and scare Sophie's large NHL goalie brother. They are both are great part of the story and I really appreciated them.
Overall, this book is a really fun hockey romance with a great found family aspect. It is also quite spicy (I mean they are roommates with benefits) but also has a lot of sweet emotional moments as well. Definitely one to check out if you look a hockey romance!
I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars!
Icy Control comes out November 10,2026!
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