Written on Ice

Ice and Shadows, Book 1

By: Smardline S.

Narrated by: James Cavenaugh, Charlie L Wood

She's the figure skater. He's the hockey player. And the only thing more dangerous than falling for each other are the secrets buried beneath the ice.

Welcome to Valcérre. An elite university in the middle of the snowy mountains with the best hockey and figure skating programs in the world, and secrets no one talks about.

Luna Del Sol is the new figure skater trying to prove she belongs. As a Black Latina, she's used to pressure. To skate like she has something to prove.

She didn't come here to get distracted, but she wasn't ready for Valcérre’s broody hockey star.

Zayden Aldenhurst is the coach's son, a legacy hockey star, and the only Black player on the team. Everyone thinks he has it all, but he's just good at pretending. Until Luna walks in and reminds him of the things he tried to bury, and everything he shouldn't want.

They're supposed to hate each other until an anonymous message leads them to a hidden rink tied to a student who died five years ago.

No matter how hard they try to stay away, they are drawn back together like magnets. And the closer they get, the thinner the ice beneath them becomes. One crack, and everything could shatter.

©2025 Smardline S. (P)2026 Tantor Media

It’s a pass for me

Two things. I did not know this is part of a series and I thought it was YA (I must have just assumed from the cover). It ends on a “cliffhanger”, but that explains why the B plot was so thin and inconsequential until the last six chapters. No buildup at all, all tell and no show. And if this is suppose to be giving dark academia vibes, I think it missed the mark. Also, while the MCs are young (19/21), this is not YA, there is spice lol. So many times I wanted to DNF’d this book and if I wasn’t listening on audio, I would have. I picked it up because of the Black lead characters, but unless it plays a part in the next book, there was no discernible traits or actions shown that made me think they were Black characters. And I know all Black people are different, but they could’ve been changed out for any race of characters, so kind of pointless for me. Anyways, the writing was fine, but I am not invested in the “mystery” set up in this book and all characters are flat, especially the secondary characters. I did like the male narrator though lol