When a viral brawl on the ice forces a grumpy defenseman and his relentlessly sunny rival to co-coach a youth hockey team, they have forty-three days to survive each other before the biggest game of their lives. But as the sacred outdoor Lantern Game approaches, the only thing more dangerous than losing a pro scout's contract is losing their hearts.

Ostrander Tech senior Ivo Halasz is carrying the weight of the world, needing a pro contract to save his family's diner in the snowy town of Kestrelford, New York. The last thing he needs is to share the ice with Toby Larkin, the golden-boy Aldenbrook center who laughed under him during a fistfight and treats everything like a joke. But Toby's cheerful armor hides a secret fear that only the unforgiving rink can silence. As they teach six-year-olds how to skate in the freezing early mornings, this small town gay sports romance begins to thaw Ivo's frozen exterior. The fierce competitors soon discover that the boy across the river might just be the one person they can't afford to break.

• A grumpy sunshine gay romance featuring fierce competitors
• Perfect for fans of rivals to lovers college hockey and forced proximity mm romance
• An atmospheric christmas hockey romance and mm hockey romance set in upstate New York
• Steamy but closed-door heat level with a guaranteed happily-ever-after standalone story
• A dual pov mm romance audiobook told in alternating chapters by the two leads