Stand Your Ground by Kandi Steiner is live!

This is such a fantastic read! It’s entertaining and wickedly sexy, but it’s also a deeply emotional story of trauma and healing with characters that owned my heart, and a beautifully heartfelt romance. I loved it.

 

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Listen to the Kings of the Ice series in audio

 

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Blurb

I wrote up the contract myself.
Legally binding. Crystal clear. No strings. No feelings.
Just sex — and two million dollars in exchange for my time and expertise.

Carter Fabri may be Tampa Bay’s newest rising star, but off the ice, he’s all Bambi eyes and inexperience. He’s a virgin in desperate need of lessons in dominance, seduction, and everything in between.

And I happen to be just the woman to teach him.

I don’t need his money.
But I do need what it can give me.

I’m thirty-two, cut off from my family, and one bill away from drowning in student debt. The fantasy I’ve built around my lifestyle is getting harder to maintain. This pay day would secure the lifestyle I’ve worked too hard to let slip through my fingers and finally give me the chance to save for something I’ve always wanted — something I’ve never told anyone about.

So, I take Carter on as my student. I lay out every rule, every boundary, every carefully controlled term of our arrangement.

What I don’t plan for is how quickly he’d catch on — or how much I’d enjoy letting him take the reins.

This was supposed to be a lesson in power.
But somewhere along the way, I stopped being the one in charge.

I thought I could keep my heart out of it.
I thought I’d accounted for every risk.

But some consequences you can’t predict — no matter how carefully you draft the terms.

 

 

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Review

“You wanted me to stand my ground? Well here I am.”

4.5 stars

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I started this book, but wow, what a fantastic read! It’s entertaining and wickedly sexy, but it’s also a deeply emotional story of trauma and healing with characters that owned my heart, and a beautifully heartfelt romance. I loved it.

Carter and Liv are part of the friend group at the heart of this series, and over the previous books we have seen cocky Carter constantly drop corny pick up lines at Liv, who refuses to give him the time of day. Now, he’s opening up to her and asking for her help. You see, Carter is a virgin who has almost cripplingly low confidence. He wants to learn how to please a woman in all the ways, and he knows the Liv is the woman to help him do it. She is bold, glamorous and confident and completely unapologetic about who she is and what she wants, and she never ties sex to emotion. And when he offers to pay for her help in a way that will set her up for life, she agrees.

It’s a great dynamic with Liv as the glamorous older woman, and Carter the eager young golden retriever, desperate to learn anything she can teach him. The fact that he’s halfway in love with Liv just makes it even better. The surprising twist to this book is the Liv is a Domme. She craves control, and Carter is happy to go along with anything and everything she dishes out to him and this book is seriously smutty. The sex is frequent, super descriptive and on the kinky side with elements of BDSM, but it shows the absolute trust between them and is the beginning of so much more.

We hadn’t just crossed the line of our friendship, we’d bungee jumped over the damn thing.

The heart of this book is what happens when they’re not having sex. Carter and Liv become friends, they open up to each other, they show their vulnerabilities and confess their secrets, and they slowly fall for each other, and it’s so, so beautiful! Every moment with them together and talking is just gorgeous, and their ease, honesty, comfort and support of each other is so amazing to see.

“You’ve shown me all I’m capable of. You’ve made me the best version of myself. But more than anything, you’ve let me see the best version of you … And I can’t go back to just being your friend. I can’t lie to myself any longer and I refuse to lie to you … I want more. And I’m asking you to stand up to every ghost of uncertainty coming alive inside you right now and give it to me.”

They both have trauma in their past which has shaped their lives, and we get to see watch them talk about it, deal with it, heal and start to move on. The character development is so good, and so well written, and I loved their relationship, and watching the unexpected journey that these two go on.

“I promise you”, he said, leaning forward, his gaze sincere and never leaving mine. “I will not hurt you. I will not fumble this. I will cherish you the way you deserve to be cherished, and I will take whatever sordid route you need me to take to get there.” He added that last part with a laugh. “You are, and always have been, in control, Liv. All I ask is that you take me along for the ride.”

I must confess, Liv is initially kind of terrifying, but I loved getting to know and understand her. And Carter is just incredible. His vulnerability is beautifully written, and I was so impressed with his maturity, how open he was, how he was instantly there for Liv in whatever way she needed, and how willing he was to fight for what he wanted. The man is a dream, and I just love him.

The rest of the crew is a big part of the story, and continue to joke, tease and have each other’s backs without question. I love them all together! And there’s one more book to come in this series – a surprise I wasn’t expecting, but OMG, I’m here for it!

This is such a gorgeous read. It’s funny, sweet, emotional and real, with no stupid behaviour from either character. I loved it.

4.5 stars.

An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.

 

Kings of the Ice

 

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Meet Kandi

Kandi Steiner is an Amazon Top 5 bestselling author and whiskey connoisseur living in Tampa, FL. Best known for writing “emotional rollercoaster” stories, she loves bringing flawed characters to life and writing about real, raw romance — in all its forms. No two Kandi Steiner books are the same, and if you’re a lover of angsty, emotional, and inspirational reads, she’s your gal.

An alumna of the University of Central Florida, Kandi graduated with a double major in Creative Writing and Advertising/PR with a minor in Women’s Studies. She started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.”

She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic, and likes to highlight all the challenges of love as well as the triumphs.

When Kandi isn’t writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, planning her next adventure, or pole dancing (yes, you read that right). She enjoys live music, traveling, playing with her fur babies and soaking up the sweetness of life.

Connect with Kandi:

Website  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Facebook  |  Facebook Group  

Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Bookbub  |   Verve  |  TikTok  |  Pinterest

 

Kandi Steiner may be coming to a city near you! Check out her “events” tab to see all the signings she’s attending in the near future: www.kandisteiner.com/events