Review of Sliced Ice by Lee Winter
This is a collection of ten short stories by Lee Winter, all based on different characters from her books. Ms. Winter is an expert in writing ice queens and there’s always one present in her books, hence the title. Some of these works have been published before in compilations or as part of this author’s newsletter gifts but for Ms. Winter’s fans it’s nice to have them all together in one book.
Five Times Felicity Met Elena, features Felicity Simmons, a talented lawyer with no future in her current firm, as she meets media mogul Elena Bartell (from The Brutal Truth). This is an intriguing prequel to The Awkward Truth, which is going to be released in November 2021, and takes place during the last half of The Brutal Truth.
In Aliens if New York, Australian journalist and blogger Maddie Grey is presenting a book with a collection of her homesick blog posts. Will her secret lover and media mogul Elena Bartell attend the event? Sequel to The Brutal Truth.
The Brutal Lie (also a sequel to The Brutal Truth) shows sexy times between Maddie and Elena interrupted by the media smear campaign of Emmanuelle Lecoq, who’s planning revenge on
Elena. But Emmanuelle should know better than provoke the wrath of Elena…
Skye Storm’s Invite Absolutely Everyone Ultimate Pool Party features a crazy party thrown by Summer Hayes’s parents (from Lee Winter’s Breaking Character) and what happens when closeted lovers Summer and Elizabeth attend it together.
The Friend is the most atypical story of this compilation which was originally released in Ylva Publishing’s Language of Love – A Flirty, Festive Anthology. It features store manager Dani and her secret lover having to endure an uncomfortable Christmas party with Dani’s intimidating Great-Aunt Jean. Great story about conflicting family dynamics focusing on an Australian Christmas summer celebration inspired by English traditions.
In Number Five, Hotel Queens fans are in for a surprise! Monique Carson – a secondary character from Hotel Queens – finds that pleasing a very unexpected client is more than what she bargained for…
Flashbang (Red Files # 1.5) picks up a few weeks after The Red Files finishes and catches up with the lives of Lauren and Catherine at an LA celebrity party. Very hot and sexy.
When DC met Iowa is set in The Red Files universe and tells the story of how Iowa airplane mechanic Suze and DC economy journalist Cynthia meet during Lauren and Catherine’s wedding party. Lee Winter’s sarcasm at its best.
First Class Villains show an accidental meeting between cellist Natalya Tsvetnenko (Requiem for Immortals), British actress Grace Christie-Oberon (Breaking Character), former fashion magazine editor Emmanuelle Lecoq (The Brutal Truth), and the enigmatic Michelle Hastings (The Red Files) in a first-class lounge at Heathrow Airport. They all get into a heated discussion on who’s the worst villain of them all.
Love is not nothing (Requiem # 1.5) is the sequel to Requiem for Immortals and explores how the relationship between Natalya and Alison develops five years after their initial meeting. Sexy and with an unexpected twist.
As in any compilation, some stories are better than others but, despite that, they all show Ms. Winter’s talent and sharp wit. Some are sexy, others romantic, others funny, and others contemplative. There’s a story for everyone here. Ms. Winter’s fans won’t be disappointed. However, I wouldn’t recommend reading this if you haven’t read at least a couple of Ms. Winter’s works as you are going to miss a lot without the context. 4 stars.
