Stark Springs Academy

By: Ali Dean

Narrated by: Leanne Woodward

It’s not a place for the weak.

No one here tolerates wimps.

If you can’t handle it, leave.

Welcome to Stark Springs, Colorado, home to the most talented young athletes in the world. When Roxie Slade snaps into a pair of skis, there’s no one on Sugarville Mountain in Vermont who can keep up with her. Not even the boys. Still, Roxie was shocked when she received a scholarship to Stark Springs Academy, a boarding school that churns out Olympians in each graduating class. Entering as a high school junior, Roxie can’t wait to learn from renowned coaches and train with the fastest ski racers from all over the globe. But upon arrival, Roxie discovers that Stark Springs lives under its own set of rules, and it appears one boy plays dictator.

Ryker Black is not friendly and Roxie cannot fathom why everyone wants to be his friend. Sure, he’s gorgeous and rides a snowboard like it’s his fifth limb, but he’s cold, ruthless, and holds way too much power over the Stark Springs population. Roxie won’t put up with it. She’s here to train, and she doesn’t care about impressing anyone off the slopes. The only problem? Ryker Black doesn’t permit defiance. Not without consequences.

This boxed set contains all three books in the best-selling boarding school sports romance series: Black Diamond, Double Black, and Black Ice.

©2017 Ali Dean (P)2022 Ali Dean

A Sports Romance with A Great Story and Wonderful Couple!

Thank you to Ali Dean and Booksprout for allowing me to listen to a copy of this series. I loved seeing Roxy and Ryker's relationship blossom, and how they tackled what they faced. The arcs that each character went through was amazing, and I am sad to see these characters go. Highly recommend giving this series a listen or a read.

Bully's

Wow – what a series! I am not sure that I have ever read a series where I went from loving a character one minute to hating them the next! I have to remember that these are high school kids, so their behavior will be somewhat immature! The storyline is well written and takes you through the junior and senior year in the life of a skier and snowboarder. Roxie is an up-and-coming potential hopeful for skiing, she is awed by the way things are done at Stark Springs Academy. Who heard of a student being the one actually in charge? Ryder is this student who has everything in the palm of his hand. Everyone is afraid of him (even the adults) and he decides who can be in his little posse.

Roxie has gotten under Ryder’s skin and throughout the series, I believe that sometimes Roxie thinks to much about the future as a 17-year-old – she didn’t know how to have fun and was thinking about marriage and children when her and Ryder first started seeing each other.

Lots of drama, angst, deception, betrayal, mystery, twists and turns, revelations, and SECRETS! I did enjoy this series and look forward to reading more from this author.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Sexy, Harlequin Presents type of rich, alpha hero

This box set of the Stark Springs Academy series is a convenient way to experience all three books in this highly entertaining, YA series, which focuses on three things: winter sports, romance, and a suspense subplot. The events of these books take place across a time period of about a year and a half. I had previously read all three books in Kindle format when they were first released a few years ago, and I recently experienced them again in the recently released Audible audiobook version of this box set. The talented voice artist who narrates this series, Leanne Woodward, does an excellent job with both male and female voices of all ages and multiple different regional accents.

At the start of Book 1, seventeen-year-old rising junior, Roxie Slade, has become a champion ski racer in an extremely expensive sport in her home town of Sugarville Mountain, Vermont. But there is only so far she can go in her sport without a great deal more money than her middle-class parents can afford to send her to important competitions. Until, amazingly, she receives the enormous windfall of a full-ride scholarship to the prestigious Stark Springs Academy, an exclusive boarding school in the gorgeous Colorado mountains. It caters to elite, winter-sports athletes and is world famous for regularly fostering Olympians. Roxie will be receiving training from renowned coaches and offered the opportunity, all expenses paid, to compete in prominent skiing competitions in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Unfortunately, soon after she arrives, she comes under the domineering attention of gorgeous, 18-year-old senior, Ryker Black, an incredibly skilled snowboarder. For some mysterious reason, he acts as if he is the dictator of the school, and he is determined to bring Roxie under his thumb.

This fun, YA, sports-romance series has more than a little flavor of a Harlequin Presents novel, with its ultra rich, alpha, romance hero. Though the main plot centers, as is this author’s brand, on a gutsy heroine who is an elite athlete, there is a touch of romantic suspense in a crucial subplot, as well as enough focus on the enticing chemistry between Roxie and Ryker to satisfy avid fans of YA romance.

The entire series, as is typical for YA novels, is written entirely in the first-person point of view of Roxie. In order to enjoy the complete arc of Roxie’s adventures, it is important to read all three books, in order, and this box set is the ideal way to accomplish that.

I rate this series as follows:

Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Sports Plot: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Suspense Plot: 4 stars
Setting: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Audiobook Narration: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars

Good

This was a pretty fun boxed set. The characters were relatable, and I really enjoyed listening to the story.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Love Ryker and Roxie

This was my first book by Ali and I'm in love with her imagination, writing and plot. The characters and chemistry were so amazing and drew me in right from the start. Looking forward to more books by Ali.