Blood on the Ice

Title: Blood on the Ice

Author: Katriena Knights

Publisher: Samhain Publishing

Publisher URL: www.samhainpublishing.com

ISBN/BIN: 978-1-61922-136-9

Genre: {M/M} Paranormal

Rating: 4 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Dragon Minx

Hockey. It’s ring wing Travis Payne’s life. His dream of winning the Stanley cup is one step closer when the Chicago Blackhawks win a place in the finals. His future changes one night when he’s attacked by a vampire and he wakes up in a special room at the Cook County Morgue. Travis isn’t human any more…his rights have changed and he can no longer play hockey in the NHL.

That doesn’t mean Travis can’t play hockey for the local vampire hockey team, the Chicago Cobras. Unfortunately, being a vampire means the Stanley Cup will forever remain out of reach. Travis isn’t happy and it’s up to Cobra captain Marcus Antonius to teach him how to survive in the vampire world and to deal with his new teammates and their style of hockey.  The former Roman gladiator would also like to help Travis directly into his bed. Can Travis let go of his old life and make a new one with Marcus?

Blood on the Ice is by a new author for me—Katriena Knights.  It has two things I love, vampires as the main characters and hockey, so I had to give it a try. What more could I want…a well written story of a human learning to be a vampire while battling the NHL.

It’s an interesting twist on the genre—vampires out in the world and openly playing hockey. I loved the details of Travis trying to handle being a new vampire. It’s one of the things that really set the story apart. It covered the hard parts of his new life instead of glossing over them, and showed his uncertainty and emotions during this difficult time. This transition phase is also a good way of getting Marcus into his life…and this guy is interesting and seen so much during his long life. I like him and together he and Travis make a good couple.

What I liked: It’s obvious the author knows her hockey from the vivid imagery used in the rink during practice and in the games. The action is fast paced and realistic. There are several wonderful secondary characters that really flesh out the story. In fact, I’d like to see more of them and could see Blood on the Ice being the first book in a vampire hockey series.

My niggles: The set up was a little long—meaning Travis and Marcus didn’t meet for several chapters. That being said, the guys didn’t get their relationship started for awhile and didn’t get physically close until maybe 70% through…but it was hot and sexy. Enjoy.