Rock star Chad Evans rescues lunch lady/romance writer Beth Donovan from an attacker and sparks fly. Soon after, Chad starts to receive death threats.
Trapped Under Ice is a novel about a three time platinum record-producing band whose lead singer, Chad Evans, is haunted by his past. Growing up in an abusive home, then being left alone at the age of thirteen to raise his kid brother, Chad still fights the pain he felt as a child, and the anger it causes, despite being a wildly successful rock star. “Chad [tries] to play his heart out on the stage; but he [can] never quite seem to leave it there.”
Beth Donovan, lunch lady/writer, is thrilled to be enjoying a Trapped Under Ice concert with her daughter, Cassie. Even though it has been three years since her husband, Paul’s, death, sorrow still shadows her life, so the distraction of seeing her favorite group is a welcome one. However, when the concert is over, Beth and her daughter are followed and attacked by two men in one of the stadium’s bathrooms. When Chad and his bodyguard, Pete, come to their aid, an attraction sparks immediately between Beth and the tall singer.
Though the pair is drawn to each other, the relationship goes through numerous trials centered on Chad’s unresolved anger, and Beth’s fear of opening herself up again. Just when it seems the two are able to work through their problems, they must face being separated forever by someone who is sending Chad death threats. Trapped Under Ice is the story of a love-affair fraught with difficulties from without, (ex-girlfriends who resurface, crazed fans who don’t want to take “no” for an answer…), as well as difficulties from within, (jealousy, anger, fear…). Will Chad and Beth be able to rise above these trials and tribulations? Or will they remain trapped under ice?
Excerpt
Beth noticed that the waitress appeared to be studying the pair as she handed them the menus.
“My name’s Stacy,” she said, drawing her words out. “Can I get a drink for you?”
She smiled. “I’ll have an amaretto sour, please.”
“Do you have Bud Light on tap?”
“Yes, sir, we do,” the waitress replied in that same slow, contemplative way.
“That’s what I’ll have, please.” He exchanged a glance with Beth.
The woman seemed to come out of her stupor. “I’ll be right back.”
Beth giggled. “You must get that a lot.”
“Ahh, I don’t know,” he returned, seeming a little self-conscious. “Most people wouldn’t recognize me dressed like this.”
When he hung up their coats earlier, Beth saw he was wearing a lightweight black sweater with the tan pants, and although it was quite a different look from his usual black t-shirt and ripped jeans, she was sure she would recognize him anywhere. The rocker’s sweater fit him well and accentuated his muscular chest, and once again she found herself asking how she came to be sitting across the dinner table from Chad Evans.
They looked at the menus and made small talk until the waitress returned with drinks and took their dinner order. In her wake, she left an awkward silence. For the first time, the pair was alone with no ready subject for conversation. They both took a sip of their drinks to stall for time.
“Your drink all right?”
“Good, good.” She nodded.
“Good,” he repeated, seeming at a loss as to where to go next. He exhaled with a laugh. “You know, I don’t know anything about you, other than your name is Beth, you have a daughter named Cassie, and you’re one hell of a singer.”
“Ah…well...” Again she was unnerved by the praise.
“You’re staying at this hotel, so you’re not from here. Where do you live?”
“Bloomington, Illinois.” When he stared at her blankly, she added, “It’s about halfway between here and Chicago.”
He nodded. “What’s it like?”
“Well…it’s a college town. In fact, we have the little known distinction of being the only city with a university at either end of the same street,” she threw in, remembering seeing that in a paper Cassie did for social studies.
“I see,” he replied, bemused. “And what do you do in this fair city? I mean,” he back-pedaled, “do you work outside of the home?”
“Ah, so politically correct. Yes, as a matter of fact, I’m a lunch lady.”
The singer looked for a minute like he was going to spit out his drink, but he swallowed hurriedly and laughed.
“What?” Beth retorted, pretending to be hurt. “You’ve got something against lunch ladies, I suppose?”
“No, no,” he insisted. “It’s just…you don’t look like any lunch lady I ever had.”
She took a long drink and considered his words. Was there a compliment in there somewhere?
“So how did you land this lunch lady gig?”
Now it was Beth’s turn to laugh at his choice of the word “gig.” “Well, in truth it wasn’t all that difficult. I just showed up for the interview, they told me what the hours were, how much it paid, and what it entailed, then asked me if I wanted the job. So, hearing what glamorous duties I was to have and what a fabulous paycheck I would be bringing home, I, of course, took it.” He laughed. “No, really, I love my job. I love working with kids. I can come home and take a nap every afternoon before Cas gets home from school. What’s not to like?”
“Well, when you put it that way...”
“Not to mention, sometimes I get to bring home leftover sloppy joe meat.”
“It gets better and better. Sign me up.”
“Oh yeah. ‘Cause this whole rock star thing can’t compare to the wonderful benefits I just described. Tell me the truth, it was the sloppy joe meat that really sold you, wasn’t it?”
Professional Reviews
More than a Fangirl's Dream Come True
M.J. Schiller's Trapped Under Ice is a fantastic escape into the life of a favored fan rescued by the rockstar she's lusted over for years. But beyond every female fan's dream is a story about learning to love again after heartache and a mystery sure enough to keep the reader guessing until the end. It's sexy, riveting and heartwarming all wrapped into one beautiful story.
What Many of us Dream Of...
Trapped Under Ice is the story of what many of us dream of - having a famous person fall in love with us and living a fantasy that happens only to a very lucky few. MJ Schiller plays out this very fantasy for Beth Donovan, a woman who not only finds the famous man of her dreams but also realizes that he's more than she bargained for. Sure, the fireworks fly with celebrity rock star Chad Evans at first - but lust or love at first sight isn't going to be enough to keep these two together. Past haunts and heartbreaks, crazed fans and internal demons will interfere, testing Beth and Chad in ways they're not prepared to handle. In the end, the reader is treated to a story that shows what real love is, and it isn't about the trappings that come with the limelight. It's about what comes from inside.
A sexy, heart wrenching romance that lets us know even the famous are human.
Schiller does a magnificent job in creating Chad as a hot, untouchable rock star. She also has a fantastic way of creating him as a human being with a history that haunts him and issues that eat at him like his inability to keep a simple fan from invading his mind and his heart. Beth is, of course, enamored with him...she'd be a fool not to be...but she's smart and keeps her priorities intact. The colorful dance between desire, misunderstanding and a need for a normal life twine these two together in the most comforting, sexy story. Way to go, Schiller!
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