Iced Romance

by Whitney Boyd

Kennedy Carter has the perfect life. It includes an engagement to an NHL celebrity all-star, a Vera Wang wedding dress, and more money than she could ever spend. But when Kennedy learns that her fiance Todd is cheating on her, she's ready to leave the glamour and glitz behind.

She escapes to Orlando, Florida with a plan to rebuild her life while staying hidden from a country obsessed with celebrity scandals. The real world however, is tougher than she expected. Suddenly Kennedy has to deal with cockroaches, creepy alarm salesmen, and waiting tables... along with David, a gorgeous new love interest.

But what happens when the past refuses to stay hidden? When the truth of Kennedy’s background catches up to her, she must finally decide who she is, what she wants and where she really belongs.

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Sports, Amazon, Fiction

285 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2012

About the author

I am the author of TANNED, TONED AND TOTALLY FAKING IT and ICED ROMANCE, both with WiDo Publishing. I enjoy running, and have participated in many races over the years, usually 10km or half marathons. I speak Spanish and love to travel and learn about other cultures. I graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. I am a wife, mother and dog owner and I love to spend time with my family. Together we camp, hike, fish and love to be outside.

Reviews

[Julie Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a past reader and even writer of the chick-lit genre, lately I’ve sort of been slowly moving on to other genres. I haven’t been interested in reading chick-lit—don’t want to write it. When Whitney asked me to read and review her novel I agreed without knowing what kind of books she writes. She emailed me the PDF and it came one evening while I was finishing up preparing supper. My daughter was still out for her run so I decided to download the galley on my iPad and maybe read the first page or two to see if I thought I was going to like the book. Did I like it? Okay, so I ended up reading the entire first chapter while standing in the kitchen. Then I couldn’t wait to get back to the story again later in the evening.

Now, I’m a fairly busy person; a single mom during the week days, a novelist myself and all that goes along with that, early-morning seminary teacher, chauffer, keeper of the lawn and garden, etc, blah, blah, blah . . . So it usually takes me a week, give or take, to complete a novel. I read this one in less than three days.

The writing is fun, witty and seamless. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. I especially enjoyed the list of possible names Kennedy made to call her ex-fiancé, Todd, when/if she saw him again. Kennedy is a girl born to parents of means and then engaged to a wealthy hockey player, so it is fun to see how naive she is to the way the rest of us live. Wearing heels to work on her first day as a waitress—rookie mistake. And David, her love interest, he is sexy, strong and compassionate—I want one ☺

But this novel isn’t all silliness and fun. The author shows Kennedy going through a great deal of growth as she struggles to separate herself from the shallow life she’s always known. As the story unfolds, Kennedy slowly begins to find her true self as she trades in her designer clothes, caviar and champagne for real friends who offer her loyalty and love.

This is a great book for teens and grown-ups alike. Anyone who wants a fun, quick read that also has a deeper meaning. That finding true happiness in life is not about the things or status of people we surround ourselves with, but the people in our lives who truly care about us.

[Don · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got as far as chapter 17, but it is too painful to continue. I have no idea why the author chose to portray Kennedy (the main character in the story) as being dumber than a box of rocks. Any dummy knows if you go to the Police where you moved to, to report that you aren't missing, that your new location will be listed in the ensuing News article! And, after starting a new relationship with a Policeman, you actually think you can LIE to him and he will be ok with that? The MAIN REASON Kennedy broke up with the Hockey Player and moved to another State was because he was dishonest with her. Also, Kennedy wants to disappear so the Hockey Player can't find her, but calls and leaves messages from a phone and mails stuff to him, all traceable! Like I said, the author, for some strange reason, decided to portray Kennedy as being a total idiot! Personally I prefer reading stories with women that are smart and intelligent, so unless you prefer them to be the opposite, I would recommend that you skip reading this book.

[Meredith Schorr · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

When her famous and self-absorbed hockey player boyfriend of 5 years cheats on her yet again, 28 year-old Kennedy Carter finally has enough and escapes to begin a new life in Florida. But starting over is not as easy as she thought it would be. First of all, Kennedy's whereabouts have become the talk of gossip magazines when her boyfriend reports her as "missing" and second of all, despite his cheating ways, Kennedy can't seem to shake her ex from her system despite the possibility of a much healthier and fulfulling relationship with a new guy.

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun read and flowed very easily. I liked the author's writing style and found myself sympathizing with Kennedy. My only issue was that I didn't understand why Kennedy had stayed with Todd for so long in the first place. If the relationship had been great at the beginning and slowly took a nose dive, I would understand the difficulty in letting go but from the way Kennedy described him, Todd was a total douchebag from the very first date and I didn't understand why the relationship even got off the ground. I just didn't get it. I was also confused as to why Kennedy's driver's license said she was 25 but a few chapters later, she was 28.

In sum, an enjoyable read and I would read more from this author but there were some things I found difficult to believe.

[Arlena · Rating 4 out of 5]

By: Whitney Boyd
Published By: WiDo Publishing
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Review:

"Iced Romance" by Whitney Boyd was one of those novels that once you pick it up it's hard to put down. The author did a wonderful job in keeping you very interested in her read. Yes, this was a good chick fit where you will find the characters very interesting, well developed and even colorful. You will be greatly entertained with some of the funny parts in the read. The heroine Kennedy was funny(at times) with all that is going on with her, but most of all seeing her grow from what all she has gone through was very exciting too. The read will keep you turning the pages to just see what was going to happen next. In the end you will be even rooting for Kennedy as she finally finds her way. I found that even though this was a good entertaining read it did also have some sadness that seemed so real. "Iced Romance" will definitely well written script showing such emotions that you will only get from picking up the good read to see for yourself.


If you enjoy sweet romances then I would recommend "Iced Romance" to you as a good read.

[Suzie Quint · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read, but nothing earth shattering. A couple of things did bother me. First, there were cutesy in-between chapter sort of things like lists the MC made, but they came through on the Kindle too small to read without a magnifying glass so I started skipping them because they were too much trouble. My other complaint is that the heroine is described early on as 5'7" and 120 pounds. fur real? You expect me to relate to this? Yeah. Not so much. And when she later complained about the cellulite on her butt? I didn't buy that at all.

[Jaime J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't want this book to end! It kept me guessing until the very last page... I wasn't sure how it would end, but I LOVED THE ENDING! There were so many hilarious moments throughout. I especially liked her lists of things... things to know when engaged to an nhl allstar. things i'd like to call Todd. It was the best romantic comedy I've read in a long time and I hope it gets made into a MOVIE!! You HAVE to read this boook!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a cute afternoon read, but I was disappointed that all the little "chapter extras" wouldn't come through on my Kindle because of formatting issues. I liked the hero, David, (totally hunky cop) and thought that Kennedy grew up over the course of the book. There were a few things that I found unrealistic, but overall, a quick light romance that I enjoyed.

[Mel Ance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it me or are most of the chick-lit books out there start with a guy breaking the main character's heart?

Anyways, this book took me by surprise. I just loved David's character and also the role that Leila played. The ending was kind of expected but it was written in such a way that I could have read it over 2 more times and still smile to myself.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is a great book to read

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and at Times heartwarming.
Getting over a cheating fiancee is a bummer, but Kennedy took us Along for a fun ride!!

[Amber Douglas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible writing with just about every stereotype known to man interjected. The "heroine" was pathetic. It was painful to read, but I kept thinking it would get better. And it never did.

[Suzanne Ayers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read but entertaining.

[Robin Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could, this is one of those books that I would probably give 3.5 stars. I picked it up on Amazon, because the reviews were pretty good, and all seemed to agree that it was a fun, light romance, which sounded perfect for what I was wanting in the moment. I will have to agree, that is a light romance, and a fairly quick read. I enjoyed the premise of Kennedy, a (formerly) wealthy young woman who escapes to Florida to start over after her famous hockey player fiancé is exposed in an infidelity scandal. I felt like the growing pains Kennedy experiences as she strikes out on her own in a new place with a new job and a new apartment grabbed my attention and made me sympathetic to what she was going though. I don't know how realistic it is for her to get the second job she applies for (with no work experience), the first apartment she looks at (and moves in the same day), and finds all the furniture she needs at the first store she comes to, but I suppose these things COULD happen. I also really enjoyed David, Kennedy's new Florida love interest. He is a hunky cop who invites her out on a date after eating at the diner where she waitresses. He is sweet, caring, and considerate, and all I could think about when I was reading about him was, how come this guy is still single? Finally, I really enjoyed some of the supporting characters, including Jesica and Carlos, Kennedy's neighbors in the apartment complex. Some things I was not so crazy about were Kennedy's indecision about her loser ex-fiance. She left him, should she have stayed? She's moved on to David, she still has feelings for her ex. She's falling in love with David, should she marry her ex tomorrow (seriously)? The way the relationship is described is not really abusive, but the way that Kennedy relates to her ex is almost what you see with battered women, who constantly make excuses for the poor choices of their significant others. I mean come on, the guy cheated on you with eight or nine different women, and you are considering taking him back just because you had a fight with your new boyfriend, and your ex thinks you should get back together? Maybe I am biased against weaker heroines, but I like my heroines to have at least some self-respect. At the same time, I was a bit frustrated with David's reaction to Kennedy's big reveal about her past. Yes, one could reasonably expect that someone who is in a relationship with you is focusing only on you. However, when you have only been dating for a few weeks, and when the other person has just gotten out of a multiple year engagement, it seems unrealistic to expect that person to be so seriously involved with you so quickly. All in all, it was an enjoyable read. Not one hundred percent realistic, but we don't usually read these books for realism, do we? If you are looking for a light romance with likable characters and don't care too much about realism, this is the book for you.

[Connie N. · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a relief to get this one off my list. I started it, put it down, and then couldn't bring myself to pick it up again until this morning so I could finish it up. The biggest problem with this book was the heroine, definitely a member of the TSTL club. Kennedy was together with her boyfriend, a professional hockey player, for 5 years, long before he became famous. With his fame came arrogance, and he was notorious for cheating on her. But with her lack of confidence, she continued to stay with him. Until one day she had enough and left, with no notice, no goodbye, no closure. She even steals his "lucky" framed signed shirt and sends it back to him in pieces. She headed to Florida simply because the fare was cheapest, and she ended up in Kissimmee. Miraculously she finds a safe apartment and a job on her first day there. One of the waitresses becomes her best friend, and her first customer ends up asking her out. But she continues to dream of Todd. This woman can't make up her mind about anything. Todd, of course, looks for her, so her face is often in the newspapers but no one seems to recognize her. She never gives anything of herself--she keeps secrets from her supposed friends, she harps on her "awful" life with Todd but then she fondly remembers the good times, she complains about everything he did to her, but she often drops designer names of the clothes he bought her and is annoyed with the crummy uniform she has to wear as a waitress. She's a prima donna who is supposedly stooping low to be a waitress, but she apparently has no skills since all she's ever done is hang around mooching off Todd. The story might have been good except the main character's annoyance factor was way too high, and I couldn't enjoy the book at all. I'll raise the rating to 1.5 stars because of the format, which included cute little inserts, such as a newspaper clipping, or a list of things to do, or something else related to the previous chapter. The unfortunate part of reading this in the Kindle version was that the inserts were scanned too small, so it was very difficult to read and enjoy them.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read about Kennedy, whose sportsman fiancé has literally been caught with his pants down, a la Tiger Woods, and who then decides to walk out on him and start a new life, incognito, in Florida. It is an OK read about her trying to make a new life for herself but somehow it just does not ring true, mainly because of some of the decisions she makes. However, for me, I just didn't like Kennedy - she is vain, spoilt, dizzy, impulsive and, to be honest, most of the time just comes across as plain stupid. I just couldn't understand why, when she had left Todd with a load of cash stashed in her case, she would then rent out the very first apartment she saw, and accept the very first, crummy, job that she was offered. She wasn't in that desperate a situation and could afford to take her time.

We follow her starting her new life and the beginnings of a new relationship - this at a time when her picture is splashed all over the newspapers because of her ex fiancés carryings on, and it just seemed a bit weird that her new boyfriend never recognised her from her photograph - especially as he was a policeman!

The writing itself is pretty good, as the story is told from Kennedy's viewpoint we get to see exactly what is going on in her mind, some of which is very witty. It moves along at a decent pace and we get to see her adjust her values and grow as a person as she learns to stand on her own two Gucci clad feet for the first time in her life.

Each chapter in the book is separated by jpeg images, either of lists she has made, recipes or newspaper reports - a nice idea, but unfortunately these just cannot be read on the normal everyday Kindle.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been so much better except, well, Kennedy just came across as an idiot.

I get it can be hard to get over a bad breakup...but when the guy cheats on you consistently, I don't get reminiscing about the old days when he was just a nice guy and you were happy together. Once, sure. You get drunk, you cry for what you once had, you get pissed, and you think of ways to not make the same mistake. Honestly, crap happens when people become famous. All of a sudden they get the opposite sex throwing themselves at them, and if their character is strong and they truly loved you, that sh!t wouldn't fly. The fact that he cheated and still acted like it wasn't a big deal should have been enough to make her not only walk, but not look back. I would have better understood her being distrustful of men, but NOT considering taking him back because she still loved him. Really? Cheating once, maybe I can forgive and forget because I love you and want things to work out...especially if he is remorseful. Cheating more than once and it is completely public news? Nope, no way, no how would that @$$ be given another chance to break my heart.

Was I upset with David? Not at all. He was right and she should have been up front with him. If she wasn't ready for a relationship, say so, and no, I cannot blame a guy for not wanting to share head space with your cheating ex. All in all, Kennedy had potential, but she came off as so bloody clueless that it just pissed me off on behalf of all womankind.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kennedy Carter is sick of being used and treated like trash by her sports star fiance Todd , after five years of relationship and he having countless affairs. She decides once and for all - that, that is it. She is out of there. And, so the story begins with Kennedy packing up her belongings, cashing in her engagement ring and leaving her cards, cheques etc -anything she can be traced by behind. It's no looking back for Kennedy. Needing a fresh start, she lands herself in a small-town called Kissimire in Orlando, Florida. Far from her comfort zone, Kennedy starts to waitress at a small dinner called Maxie's and soon finds herself into a lovely routine. She even finds herself making new and true friends and finds a good date with David - a Detective. Her life seems to be on the up, that is until news reports her as "missing" and her ex-fiance Todd hires a PI to locate her , as nobody walks out on Todd. As the story goes along , we watch as Kennedy has to struggle to pull herself away from the toxic relationship with Todd and can she stand up to him , once and for all and say enough is enough and leave his cheating butt behind ? Find out in this twisty last few chapters to see what Kennedy is really made of and whether she goes back to her first love of Todd or her new love David in Whitney Boyd's book "Iced Romance"

[Jennifer Ricks · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won a free copy online a while back and finally got around to reading it. I wish the author would have put her energies into a better story. It just didn't seem realistic, especially David. A lot of the dialogue was super lame. Then there were a few trashy things here and there too. It was an interesting idea, but turned out to be mostly a waste of time.

I won my copy knowing that she was an LDS author. I feel like she was trying to write mainstream without knowing how. I was expecting LDS standards, and definitely didn't find them. Maybe I'm just bitter, but I feel like she was trying hard to throw in some language and sketchiness to fit in with mainstream fiction, which is just stupid to me. I know I'm picky, but I really think that books can be good, modern, and clean. Those are the ones I respect the most.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pleasant enough.

Kennedy finds out her boyfriend, top NFL player Todd has cheated on her, a lot.

Humiliated she runs away and ends up in Florida where she finds herself living in poverty-line accommodation and working in a hole-in-the-wall diner.

But things aren't all bad, she makes friends with the woman next door and her little boy as well as the senior waitress at the diner. Then a gorgeous guy walks in and sits at one of her tables.

Is Kennedy over Todd or will she pick the nice guy David? What do you think?

My biggest feeling with this book was - so what? Was it meant to be a bildungsroman? Because I didn't really feel that Kennedy grew all that much. It wasn't really a romance because that was a bit low key. And David was a bit of a douche at one point. And what was Todd's motivation?

[⚜️XAR the Bookwyrm · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an engaging read, and yet childish at the same time. I think it might be a New Adult romance read, and while I was able to sink right into it and pass the evening away easily enough, there's not much I can say to recommend it. The heroine did nothing but run from her problems throughout the book whenever something went truly wrong. Her new love interest seemed to throw a tantrum when he learned that she was still recovering from a bad break up, rather than be supportive. Granted, the heroine should not have thrown herself into a relationship that quickly, but if she hadn't, this wouldn't be a romance novel! I did like how she finally grew up a bit and that saved this from a 1 star rating, but this is not one I will be keeping.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I felt this book was quite interesting in terms of character development but wasn't really that original. Admittedly, I hadn't read similar plot-lined books for a while, but the ending was expected and I would have loved it if the author had bothered to put a twist in, for example with the restaurant or something. I don’t know, maybe it all just felt too easy to believe – it’s not that easy in the real world to transform your life and pick up a job! Also, if she had thought it through more, it was a bit careless in some situations for the paparazzi and her ex to come along and take her back. Oh well, I didn’t mind reading this and I can go back to in it the future as I have the free copy on my kindle 

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weird book about a trophy fiance of an NHL hockey player who leaves Colorado and her life with him after other women have come forward to report that he's had affairs with them while he's been engaged.

She packs up her life and moves to Kissimmee, Florida. While this is supposed to be a romantic comedy, I found it kind of sad that this chick would give up her life to follow this guy around the country for his hockey career... and then we learn that she had a crappy family.

This was less of a romance and more of a finding yourself kind of book with a couple of dates with the same guy thrown in.

[Tamm Frederick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Takes place over the course of about three, four weeks... Girl runs away from boy after boy screws up... starts life over in another state, gets herself situated in like five seconds, finds a man, says yes she'll go out on a date with him while ignoring emails from ex and a prissy fellow token arm candy gal... discovers the ex has listed her as missing, goes to report herself NOT missing, papz find her, ex finds her, she decides to give him a second chance only for him to again screw up then she finally wakes up... meh...

[Charissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was written well, and has some funny parts that made me smile, but the characters weren't my favorites. Kennedy is pretty dumb, shallow and naive. She definitely grew in this story, so that was good, but I wished she’d been pushed to grow more backbone and common sense than she did. Still, it was a fast read that doesn’t bore and has its redeeming graces in the Florida setting and the peek into a celebrity NHL hockey star player’s life (and that of his fiancée), and the funny inserts between chapters.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the worst book but not the best. The heroine is too flighty and not exactly stable emotionally. She's engaged for five years and she knows he's been cheating on her but stays in the relationship. This is not a strong women. This story is more of a cautionary tale of what happens when one doesn't learn to be self-reliant, a contributing member of society and to know oneself so that relationships aren't based on neediness. But that's just me. I prefer reading about women who are self-sufficient, self-reliant, determined as opposed to shrinking violets.

[Deborah Sastroredjo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't bad at all, don't get me wrong with this two star rating, but I would've liked a little less fashion updates (I read the color of her uniform the first six times, I get it, it's fugly) and some more "meat on the bones" of this book. But all in all, it was a pleasant read. Who of us haven't been through a bad break up right?

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a very good book, the story is okay but not very well written and probably could have been written in 25 pages. I don't know why I read the whole thing other than I am stubborn. There are newspaper clippings and notes written on paper, these did not show up very well on my kindle so I ended up reading some of this book on my phone where I could enlarge the screen.

[Carol and Gary Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot believe the heroine in this story! While she was badly mistreated by by the hockey player, I'm sure no one is quite as naive as she is portrayed. After a while I couldn't laugh at her antics.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. A young woman leaves her hockey star fiancee and moves across the country to Florida. She gets a job as a waitress, even though she doesn't know how to waitress. Her fiancee finds her. There is swearing in it. I read the Kindle Fire version.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frustrated. Why would she go back to Todd? WHYYYYY? Ugh. I lost my patience sometimes with Kennedy. Though I get she had to find herself & be true with herself before she was able to move on...but with that said it was a bit annoying. All in all I read it in a few hours & I enjoyed it.