After reading Sleet Kitten, I couldn’t help but jump right into Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly. I was ready for more from the Sleet men and the women we met in book one. And this book absolutely gave me everything I wanted.
Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly
Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly is the second book in the Sleet series. It is a hockey romance published on January 1st, 2023 and is 329 pages long. You can find the book on Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, and the author’s website here.
Premise
Isabelle has sworn off hockey players. Not only had past hockey players used her to try to get close to her father, the Sleet’s Coach, but the ones she’s around regularly won’t touch her with a ten foot pole. All she needs to do is get on that dating horse, which according to her best friend Meghan, means having a one night stand to try to build her confidence.
Zach and Isabelle had one rule, no talk of work or family. The night was everything she could have hoped for and she snuck out of his hotel room without a goodbye. She was ready to put the night behind her, until she walked into her father’s office and saw Zach, a recently traded player, sitting there, and he’s ready to claim Isabelle for his own.
Triggers
Triggers found in Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly include:
- Sexually explicit scenes
- Mention of neglectful parents and divorce
My Thoughts
For the first time in Isabelle’s life she finally has a group of girlfriends and she’s ready to take on meeting her forever person. But after a couple of disastrous past relationships, she’s decided that hockey players are off-limits.
Additionally, Meghan – her bff – suggested that she have one hot night with a random man met on a dating app before she dives back into the dating world. And that’s how this story starts.
Zach is a sweetheart, new to the area, and ready to start over after living and playing overseas. When he meets Isabelle he’s immediately enamored with the woman, except after their perfect night together, she takes off, deletes her dating profile, and he has no way to contact her.
That is until they bump into each other in her father’s – his new coach’s – office. She’s off-limits, but he’s willing to take all of the chance’s for her. He’ll take it slow, build something more, and keep showing up for her until she’s ready to take that leap with him.
“Perfect, let’s go.” Then Dad looks past me, down the hallway. “Zachary – you free for lunch? Want to join Isabelle and myself?” Please say no. Please say no. Please say no. “I’d love to.” Forking hell. – Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly
We get great spice early on in the book, and a whole lot of honesty between the characters. Isabelle is straight forward about her lack of experience due to bad relationships before, and Zach is more than willing to make sure this experience is a good one for her.
“Don’t worry, Baby.” His smirk tells me that he’s using that endearment just to rile me up. “I have no intention of telling my coach just how fucking tasty and dirty his pretty daughter is. I know full well that that wouldn’t be good for my health.” – Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly
Even though we get initial spice early in the book, we don’t get spice again until much later, so it’s a quick burn with a slow relationship building burn later. There is loads of tension between these characters throughout the book so don’t let the quick burn fool you into thinking the good flirting is done, because we get a whole lot of swoon moments.
Isabelle didn’t strike me as the strong independent type in the beginning of the book, but as you get to know her you realize that she knows how to handle her own. That mixed with her fierce protection of the people she cares about and you’ll quickly fall for this complete sweetheart.
Zach’s life wasn’t easy either. Absent and neglectful parents and with friends located all over the world, he’s never felt the close bond of a family. A family he desperately wants even if he seems fine without one.
While I love that we got a lot from Meghan – who’s the leading lady in the next book – for me the stand out side character was Coach Thorpe. His love for his daughter, and who he is as a coach and a father brought tears to my eyes. We love to see a strong, protective, but kind father in this house.
“That little fucking man-boy is not putting his tiny hands on you. Ever. Again.” – Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly
The overall vibes of the book are protective mmc with strangers to lovers and a bit of a professionally forbidden romance.
Who Would Like Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly?
Tropes in Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly include:
- Found Family
- Coach’s daughter
- Insta-lust
- Protective MMC
Make sure you check out all my recommendations for the Sleet series below:
If you liked Fighting for Number 57 by Eden Knox, Flawless by Elsie Silver, or Taste by Melanie Harlow you will likely love Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly.
Have you read Sleet Sugar by SJ Tilly, or have you added it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments. I love interacting with other readers over books I loved.