One Foot Onto The Ice by Kiki Archer

Susan Quinn is a teacher at the exclusive, private all girls school, St Wilfred’s. The same school she had attended as a girl.

Jenna James is a Club Ski instructor in the French Alps. Jenna had also attended St Wilfred’s as a girl.

When the girls from St Wilfred’s arrive in Morzine, in the French Alps for their skiing trip, Susan, the lead teacher on the trip and Jenna, their guide, meet again for the first time in years. Although they were never friends at school, they find themselves drawn to one another. But, are their lives too different for them to pursue a romance? Especially when Susan isn’t even sure she’s a lesbian. Will the past come back to haunt the present?

Another well written page turning romance from Kiki Archer. Although this book could be perceived to be fluffy chick lit, it goes a little deeper than that. Kiki has taken the bull by the horns and written of a character that is one of the most obnoxious I’ve come across in a light romance book. I absolutely detested  Professor Marcus Ramsbottom. I’m not putting in any spoilers in this review, so I’ll just say that Kiki has excelled herself and shown her excellent penmanship in the portrayal of this lower than life person. To evoke such off the chart emotions in me, she’s done her job exceedingly well.

As much as I hated Marcus, I loved the multidimensional characters of Jenna and Susan. Although Jenna comes across as a player and a ‘love them and leave them’ girl, there is a depth to her as yet to shine, if you look beneath the surface. One of the things I really like about Jenna is, she has many faults, but she readily owns up to them. Susan is a bit of a shy introvert, it comes as quite a revelation to her to actually think she’s worthy of someone’s love, this is a first for Susan. There appears to be a lot more about her that is ready to come to the surface. Jenna and Susan are bolstered by some wonderfully written secondary characters throughout the book. Characters that I’m hoping will show up in the sequel to One Foot Onto The Ice. Champagne and Priggy certainly livened up the trip. My favorite out of all the girls is little Daisy Button. She’s adorable.

The story and a simmering romance are entwined together in a beautifully described scenic setting in the French Alps. My best friend Google showed me just how well the description was written. Another plus for Kiki Archer.

One of the really great things about this book is the laugh out loud humor throughout. I’m only too pleased I read this book indoors. It’s hilarious in places. I would defy anyone to read the scene with Susan and Jenna in the bathroom without laughing. This is a brilliantly written scene as it shows Jenna in a really different light. So, there is a whole range of emotions across the board to be experienced between the pages.

One of the things I’ve taken away from this story is, once you’ve met your soul mate, you know it and the bond is there. You just have to put that one foot onto the ice, have faith and trust and take a chance.

I have been assured that there will definitely be a sequel sometime in 2014. Hopefully not too far away now. I’m looking forward to it already.