ce ricci – Goodys.Blog

Publish Date: August 9th, 2023
Number of Pages: 422 Pages
Publisher: Deserted Press LLC
Genre(s): LGBT, Erotica

Total Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

I don’t know if he’ll forgive me for falling in love with you.❞

— CE Ricci, “Caught Stealing”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

It’s not stealing if he’s meant to be mine…

Let me tell you how Holden Sykes operates. As the campus playboy and one-and-done king, he doesn’t do strings. Or repeats. Or names, for that matter. So when he tries making my best friend the next notch on his bedpost, I react poorly.

Some would call it jealousy or an unrequited crush, but friends protect each other from making mistakes. The same ones I’ve already made. Which is why driving Holden away seems like my only option.

Too bad he’s not giving up without a fight. Each prank leads to another until he turns this into a game far more precarious than intended. One filled with stolen moments and heated glances, drawing me into his orbit.

But the undeniable attraction simmering between us leaves me caught in the crosshairs of an impossible decision. Loyalty…or love.

*Caught Stealing is the second in a five book standalone college sports romance series featuring a road-tripping rubber ducky, two guys fighting for the upper hand, and enough cock-blocking shenanigans to make your cheeks flush. Not suitable for anyone under 18 years of age*

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CE Ricci has become a go-to author for me for MM romance for a reason, and the main one is how easy it is for me to get swept up into her books and truly enjoy the story. What can I say; I just really enjoy her writing and really connect with it and her characters!

Caught Stealing is another one that was definitely a hit for me. It wasn’t perfect, but it definitely grabbed my attention and was a thoughtful and truly engaging story throughout as you see what happens with Phoenix and Holden.

Holden is a total player, man-whore type character with the list of who he hasn’t been with is probably shorter than who he actually has hooked up with…you get the idea. Well one night, Phoenix is one of his conquests at a college party where they meet, sparks instantly fly…but then Holden was so drunk that he doesn’t remember any of it the next day. But of course Phoenix does, which makes the brutal sting of rejection all that more sharp, and thus starts his resentment towards Holden.

It doesn’t help that Holden starts a flirtationship with his roommate and childhood best friend, Kason, two years later during their senior year and still acts like their tryst still never even happened…

That’s the main premise that leads into this story, which is a lot of banter, side eye, sneaky lustful looks, and “hate to still be attracted to you” kinda vibes. I was totally here for it all! I know that sounds bad, and there’s definitely a line that may be toed or crossed with people with this, but I still believe it was handled well in this case with this book. I could be wrong in some people’s eyes, but everyone can have their own opinion on the matter, and it definitely gets addressed in this book too.

I also love that even though this is book 2 in the Leighton U series, it can definitely still be enjoyed as a standalone title without much ruined for readers who hadn’t read the previous title, Iced Out, before starting this…although, I personally say why WOULDN’T you read Iced Out because it was so so good! There honestly wasn’t much if anything spoiled from book 1–you know the characters end up together in the end so that’s not exactly spoilery–and you may even notice a scene from book 1 given more attention and new context too!

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What I Liked:

The Prank War! The banter between Phoenix and Holden is a major highlight, and as Holden is starting to swoop in on Nix’s friend/roommate, battle lines get crossed and a prank war begins! Definitely some comedy mixed in with some heat as things get more and more tense between these two
The Sneaking Around! Like I said before, this part may or may not sit well with some readers because it toes the line of cheating, but I think it was fine in this book and even Holden admitted that him and Kason were never exclusive. It does get addressed, but it also toeing the line of taboo and forbidden also added to the hot factor and definitely raised the heat and sexual tension in this story.
Holden As The Reformed Player…I’m such a sucker for the player/rake who falls super hard once they discover their attraction to the other MC is more than just lust. Holden is a great example of that! He’s definitely slept his way through campus, but once he discovers he has true feelings for Phoenix, he becomes this devoted, thoughtful, and caring guy who really wants the affection from him. A golden retriever kind of character if you will…plus it’s hot when he still wants to get down and dirty with some spicy scenes too!

What I Didn’t Like:

I Have Questions About Kason and Phoenix’s Friendship…This relationship raised some questions and I’m going to talk about them here…It seemed odd that a friend like Kason would have Phoenix give up his dream school to come to Leighton University with him like he apparently did, and then the lying to him and sneaking around that Phoenix does…I mean, if they’re childhood best friends they should’ve definitely been able to have a more open conversation about these things and not let them all fester and become so resentful like they clearly did…I mean, sure that makes for the plot and inner conflicts to become more apparent, but I do question if lifelong best friends would’ve gotten to that place in the first place? Possibly some plot armor or plot convenience here, but I could definitely be wrong with the terminology on that, but the relationship itself in this regard still seemed odd to me.

Conclusion:

Overall, another great MM romance title from CE Ricci where I believe if you’ve enjoyed her other titles, you’re almost guaranteed to really enjoy this one too!

The banter, the spice, the sexual tension, there are some similarities to book 1 that you may catch with the dynamics of the two guys in this one too; it’s another rivals-to-lovers kind of story, but there’s more history between the two MC’s in this one and the situation luckily isn’t EXACTLY the same as Quentin and Oakley’s relationship! The two stories definitely stand a part enough from each other too.

Definitely a book to check out if you’re a MM romance fan!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Publish Date: December 23rd, 2022
Number of Pages: 358 Pages
Publisher: Independently Published
Genre(s): New Adult Romance, Erotica, LGBT+

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

Falling in love wasn’t part of the deal. Hell, I was the one who went and told him not to fall in love with me, yet here I am doing exactly that. Catching feels in a fuck-buddy relationship, like a goddamn amateur.“
– C.E. Ricci, “Iced Out”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

All’s fair in hate and hockey.

My path to success never included an enemy as a teammate, especially one as infuriating as Quinton de Haas.

Clawing under my skin is his favorite pastime, only feeding the animosity between us as the years pass.

We’re as completely opposite as two people can be; the golden boy and the black sheep.

Constantly at odds or at each other’s throats.

The only thing we can agree on is hockey is our true love, and we’ll do whatever it takes to come out on top.

I never imagined that drive would lead me to do the unthinkable: falling into bed with my not-so-straight rival.

But athletes are a superstitious bunch, and when our hook-ups lead to victories, we tell ourselves we can’t stop.

Besides, it’s all for the sake of the team, right?

*Iced Out is the first in a five book standalone college sports romance series featuring two misunderstood rival teammates, pages of snarky banter, and more secret spicy times than any book should be filled with. Not suitable for anyone under 18 years of age.*

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My first ever CE Ricci book, and this one absolutely stole my heart! I absolutely loved Oakley and Quinton’s story here as they go from bitter rivals/teammates to steamy AF lovers….but of course the story couldn’t go so smoothly and had to have some bumps along the way.

This story is a duo perspective surrounding both Oakley and Quinton, two Leighton University Varsity hockey players, and even though they’re teammates on the ice, they can barely stand each other…call it rivals, call it enemies, either way there’s some major animosity between these two. Quinton is the team captain, but when a drug test suspiciously turns up positive, the tables flip and Oakley gets the spot…yeah, that’ll smooth things over…

Now one thing to know about hockey players especially, if not all athletes, is that they can get extremely superstitious. If they find one thing that helps them start a winning streak, they stick to it. So when a losing season starts to turn around after a random night when these two randomly get down and dirty together, what do they decide to do??? Keep doin’ it of course! Boy logic for you.

But hey, at least this means you’re guaranteed for some hot, spicy MM action in this book that involves sneaking around, secret hookups, library shenanigans, and just lots of heat in general!

BUT that’s not to say there aren’t some softer and more tender moments that happen between them that really make you swoon for them. Quinton is especially a total sweetheart who just wants to find somebody to love him. He’s just the snarky, dark haired blue eyed bad boy who hides his hurt beneath a smirk that I’m a total sucker for!

The beginning is definitely a little slower paced than I’m sure some readers would want, BUT it also sets the story up for later conflicts so while it’s not favorable, it’s definitely necessary in my opinion. One could also argue the 3rd act breakup that OF COURSE occurs–not really a spoiler because it ALWAYS happens–was overdramatized, but again I think that just comes down to the specific reader and their personal opinion.

The book tied together very well in the end, and even if you don’t want to read the next book in this series, it feels satisfactory enough with the ending and doesn’t leave a whole lot up in the air with any major cliffhangers, and yes there is a HEA for anyone wondering.

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‘Oh, baby,’ he murmurs, sex and desire dripping from his voice as he layers his body over mine. ‘You know all’s fair in hate and hockey.’”
– C.E. Ricci, “Iced Out”

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What I Liked:

The Spice! Lots and lots of flavor with this book…I’d give it 3.5 or 4 peppers overall for the spice meter. These boys get naughty on several instances in this book, and MM spice fans will LOVE every second of it.
Quinn is Total Book Boyfriend Material! Quinn is basically everything…he’s got blue eyes, dark hair, great body, tattoos, snarky whit, a temper, and a smirk that hides the hurt he wants to keep from the world except when Oakley sees a side of him that no one else gets to see. Quinn stole my heart in this book, and while he was cynical and moody, all he really needed was somebody to be there for him!
Parents Aren’t the Main Conflict! Usually in these college romances, parents play a big part of keeping the two apart or driving a wedge between them, and at the beginning it really looked like this story was going that route since Oakley is a legacy kid and Quintons parents are the typical rich, ice-cold waspy types who don’t approve of him playing already. Luckily, this isn’t a huge conflict that keeps popping up in the story, THANK GOD!
There’s a Decent Amount of Actual Hockey Playing! Sometimes “sports romance” novels involve very little actual sports being actually played. This is not the case here, and a big chunk of the plot has to do with their hockey season and them playing games. I just can actually appreciate when the plot/conflict of a sports romance actually includes sports related issues.

What I Didn’t Like:

The Beginning Is A Little Slow…Maybe I was just impatient for the spice to happen, but yeah I can agree with some readers that the beginning could have been maybe a little condensed? Maybe not involve as much going on, especially if they ended up not being issues later on in the story?
The “Betrayal” Wasn’t Entirely One’s Fault…So the big third act breakup involves an act of “betrayal” and that’s all I’ll say about that, but part of me always felt like one kind of unfairly put more blame on the other when the other couldn’t fully even control that what happened had actually happened. I know that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you don’t know the context, but I don’t want to spoil…

Conclusion:

Overall, I am now a HUGE fan of CE Ricci after reading this MM hockey romance she wrote! and even better that it’s a part of a series of standalone MM college romance novels! I will certainly be getting my hands on many more CE Ricci books now I can definitely confirm!