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Keira Andrews
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The Next Competitor: Gay Figure Skating Romance (Love on the Ice) Kindle Edition

by Keira Andrews (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 452 ratings
If I risk my heart, can I keep my head in the game?

I’m going to win gold in figure skating. I imagine it again and again: Olympic champion Alex Grady. I train harder than my competitors. I’m in the rink morning, noon, and night. The lack of filter between my mouth and brain affects my ability to make friends, but I don’t have time for a social life anyway.

As for a boyfriend? Forget it.

So what if I’m still completely inexperienced at twenty? The Olympics are only every four years—everything else can wait.

But for some inexplicable reason, I can’t stop checking out my boring new training mate Matt Savelli. Calm, collected “Captain Cardboard” is a nice guy, but even if I had time to date, Matt’s so not my type. I don’t even know what my type is!

Until I do.

Beneath Matt’s wholesome surface, there’s a sexy, tender man who awakens a desire in me I’ve never experienced. This is the worst possible time to be tempted. The worst possible time to let someone get close to me.

This is the worst possible time to fall in love.

The Next Competitor by Keira Andrews is a gay sports romance featuring grumpy/sunshine opposites attracting, sizzling first times, and of course a happy ending.
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  1. Part of series
    Love on the Ice
  2. Print length
    256 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    December 4, 2016
  5. File size
    1.0 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 4 books in this series.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Keira Andrews knows her ice skating. The Next Competitor isn't bogged down with technical details, but the sport comes alive." ~ My Fiction Nook

"Oh, I loved this story! I am a figure skating fan, so I was really intrigued when I saw this book, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. Keira Andrews does a wonderful job with combining the skating world with a well developed, super sexy romance." ~ Joyfully Jay Gay Romance Reviews

"Alex and Matt are a beautiful couple and I cheered as Matt gradually coaxes Alex to loosen up and live a little... This was a joy to read. I highly recommend it." ~ Alpha Book Club

"This is a strongly written New Adult M/M sports romance which features elite amateur skaters... Both sweet and tender, and hot and dirty loving are on the menu, folks." ~ V's Reads

"The chemistry and hotness between Alex and Matt was off the charts. The sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. The story is well written and paced well, as are all of Keira's books I've read. It's filled with emotion, hot sex, romance and love." ~ Bayou Book Junkie

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01N5BX708
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ KA Books; 2nd edition (December 4, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 4, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 452 ratings

About the author

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Keira Andrews

Keira Andrews

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Keira aims for the perfect mix of character, plot, and heat in her M/M romances. She writes everything from swashbuckling pirates to heartwarming holiday escapism. Her fave tropes are enemies to lovers, age gaps, forced proximity, and passionate virgins. Although she loves delicious angst along the way, Keira guarantees happy endings!

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
452 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the book's engaging story and characters. They find the writing quality good and easy to read. Readers appreciate the skating details, practice routines, and politics of figure skating. The book starts off well for them, but some felt it could have been better.

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ReadabilityCharacter developmentWriting qualitySkating detailsStart date
6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They find the characters enjoyable to read about, and the story engaging. The ending feels rushed, but overall, readers praise the book as a great sports romance for fans of new adult angst and Olympic-level figure skating.

"...But that make him very entertaining and I enjoyed watching him work to improve his flaws...." Read more

"...The stress and heartaches and joy of competing. And trying to have a life besides skating. It's all here!" Read more

"Loved the story the ending felt a little rushed but aside from that it was a quick fun read! Definitely recommend." Read more

"...more there complexity as people elevates the novel and makes their love story really sing...." Read more

5 customers mention "Character development"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the characters' development. They praise the solid characters and the well-rounded cast. The story is topical and the sex scenes are enjoyable.

"...Ms. Andrews has portrayed a believable hero, one you shake your head at while rooting for him to learn that next critical lesson...." Read more

"...Hard to put it down. Characters are well developed and easy to root for." Read more

"...The characters are great, the story is topical, and the sex is Hot - in an almost dirty way :)" Read more

"I enjoyed this engaging New Adult romance about two very hardworking figure skaters...." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and easy to read.

"As always, well written, and easy to read. Hard to put it down. Characters are well developed and easy to root for." Read more

"...As always with Keira was well written, so she can't rate under 4 stars, but I don't plan on a reread, unlike Kriss & Cry , her other skating book..." Read more

"...and I will continue to work my way through them because her writing is solid and usually the books are nothing short of wonderful." Read more

"...Really well written and great characters to cheer for." Read more

3 customers mention "Skating details"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the skating details. They find the skating details interesting, especially the Olympic-level figure skating and the politics of figure skating. They also appreciate seeing inside their practice routines and what a day at the rink looks like.

"...I loved seeing inside their practice routines, what a day at the rink looks like, how they train and share space, the often catty yet supportive..." Read more

"...I did like the skating details, I love watching it on TV, specially in the Olympic season...." Read more

"...memories both good and bad, remembering the infighting and politics of figure skating. Really well written and great characters to cheer for." Read more

3 customers mention "Start date"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoyed the book's start. They found it good but not as good as Kiss and Cry.

"...Keira Andrews seemed to be a safe option. And, as I said, it started off quite well...." Read more

"...A great cast. Good stuff!" Read more

"Good, but not as good as Kiss and Cry..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • nowyat
    5.0 out of 5 stars Alex was a lot of fun to read about!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    An excellent story and very informative about a subject I knew very little about. I really like Alex for all the reasons people sometimes didn't like him. He is driven, single-minded, has no brain to mouth filter and sometimes doesn't come across the way he means to. But that make him very entertaining and I enjoyed watching him work to improve his flaws. I have read several book by Keira Andrews now and enjoyed them all, but this one is my favorite. If you liked this book you might also like The Alpha's Prey Not only figure skaters but throw in a werewolf!
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  • DaVinciKittie
    4.0 out of 5 stars A must-read gay romance for fans of New Adult angst and Olympic-level figure skating
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I've become a big fan of Keira Andrews lately, and it's because of her talent for drawing out the emotion of a story and whipping it into a peaked frenzy, before giving you (nearly) everything you didn't realize you wanted. The Next Competitor definitely follows that trend, and it showcases some lovely growing-up and maturity angst. That's also one of the things I disliked about it, but that's more my sensitivity to New Adult themes than the technicality of the writing in this story. So here's what I liked and disliked:

    LIKED:
    Excellent inside-look portrayal of figure skating at the Olympic level. Ms. Andrews clearly knows this sport, even better than I do, and I was delighted to learn new things. If those things aren't true, they're presented so well that I certainly believed they were true! This author has done some serious homework in learning the athlete-side details of the every day grind. I loved seeing inside their practice routines, what a day at the rink looks like, how they train and share space, the often catty yet supportive dynamics that underpin the events leading up to every competition, the financial stress and family sacrifice that goes into forging a world champion skater. Matt was a solid character, and he brings balance to the much more tightly-wound Alex. Their sex scenes are somewhat few, but well placed and super hot.

    DISLIKED:
    Alex. Sometimes. Sometimes not. He has moments where you can see inside his insecurities and understand why he says the not-so-kind things he does, yet there are other moments where I just thought, "man, I really don't like this guy." And I think that is where the New Adult element gets me. As humans, none of us are perfect. We make mistakes and alienate friends and enemies alike. That's part of growing up. The "today" me would never be friends with the "10 years ago" me or even the "twenty years ago" me, and you couldn't pay me to relive the stress and pain of learning all those life lessons about how to treat people. Which is basically what Alex's story arc is. He's an athlete at the very top of a crazy stressful and competitive sport, and he's not comfortable in his skin. We're riding along with his journey from a new adult to a mature adult, and that is the critical emotional element that defines the New Adult genre. And that is why it has so many haters—because angst is real and plenty when you're growing into your skin. And Alex inspires a story full of angst.

    TAKE-AWAY:
    So all that said, I went between 3.5 and 4.5 stars for this story because of Alex's bouts of rudeness. But ultimately, I'm going with 4.5 because it's real. Ms. Andrews has portrayed a believable hero, one you shake your head at while rooting for him to learn that next critical lesson. He's vulnerable in ways only the first-person present-tense viewpoint can express, so I'm glad Ms. Andrews took the chance on alienating all the haters out there and did what felt right for her story.

    The bottom line here is: If you love figure skating and you enjoy emotional, vulnerable, angsty gay romance, this is absolutely the story for you.
    One person found this helpful
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  • NicoleR.M.M.
    3.0 out of 5 stars The skating details were interesting, but the MC's lacked chemistry
    Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    More like 3,5 stars. Enjoyed it, there were some parts I loved, but the chemistry between Alex and Matt was a bit lacking and so I’m thinking 4 stars would be too many.

    It started off really good. I have become quite picky with my mm romances lately. Some time last year I fell into a book slump and decided I needed to step away from mm romance for a while, because the books I was reading couldn't hold my attention. I think that's because a lot of them start to sound similar, and a lot of authors seem to chose quantity over quality and it doesn't do good for the genre. At least, that's my opinion.
    Keira Andrews seemed to be a safe option. And, as I said, it started off quite well. I always enjoy her writing, she has written some of my favorite mm romance books.
    When I started reading this book, I thought I had a winner in my hands. But unfortunately it didn't last. The chemistry between Alex and Matt was lacking, I never really warmed up to either of them. I couldn't feel their connection, and I had a hard time feeling my own connection to them. I did like the skating details, I love watching it on TV, specially in the Olympic season.
    And I suppose that if you're interested in that, you could still enjoy this book. It's just a shame that I couldn't feel how Alex and Matt opened up to each other and started falling for one another, it didn't feel natural.
    They just didn't have the chemistry I was hoping for.
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  • Jim Hoppe
    5.0 out of 5 stars Kiera Andrews never disappoints!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    As always, well written, and easy to read. Hard to put it down. Characters are well developed and easy to root for.
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  • Molly Otto
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad not great
    Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    My problem with this book is Alex and his inability to think before he talks. I could forgive if he worked on it, but he continued to make the same mistakes. He's lucky to have Matt. I dont see many others being okay with how he's comes across.
    As always with Keira was well written, so she can't rate under 4 stars, but I don't plan on a reread, unlike Kriss & Cry , her other skating book that I absolutely adore.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Rugby8
    5.0 out of 5 stars Too much fun!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I love that Keira's book always make me laugh - and this has been the best one in that way!!!
    The characters are great, the story is topical, and the sex is Hot - in an almost dirty way :)
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  • Mrs. Readsalot
    4.0 out of 5 stars I'd actually give this 3 1/2 stars; it's an 'okay' book
    Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I liked this story 'well enough.' I didn't love it like I can say for some of the other Kiera Andrews books I have read (The Station, Kidnapped by the Pirate) but it wasn't bad. Alex is a loud, sometimes obnoxious figure skater. Matt is a pairs skater who finds himself skating singles after his partner is injured. These two didn't actually hate each other, but they keep their distance. Until they didn't.

    Alex turns out to be a lot sweeter than we would expect, but he still needs the quiet calmness that Matt brings to his life. I don't know; there just wasn't anything particularly special about the characters or the plot. It didn't grab me and I like skating. There are more books on the Kiera Andrews backlist, and I will continue to work my way through them because her writing is solid and usually the books are nothing short of wonderful.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Coming at the perfect time as the Olympics are starting in Korea. The stress and heartaches and joy of competing. And trying to have a life besides skating. It's all here!
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • readingromance
    3.0 out of 5 stars Okay
    Reviewed in Germany on June 20, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    At first I found it a bit boring then it got more interesting and then there was some drama. I didn't warm to the main characters very much. Alex was too focussed on winning the Olympics and although I liked his true self I sometimes just wanted to shake him. Sometimes the book felt rushed and sometimes there were parts that could have just been skipped. Keira Andrews has some books that are much better.
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  • Aeren Iniesta
    5.0 out of 5 stars Precioso
    Reviewed in Spain on December 14, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Como todo lo de esta mujer, una novela fabulosa, tierna, entretenida, llena de personajes que llegas a querer y en definitiva, una lectura perfecta si te gusta el M/M romance.
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  • アンブロシア
    4.0 out of 5 stars フィギュアファンは一読を
    Reviewed in Japan on December 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    オリンピックで金メダルを目指すシングルスケーターとライバルのお話です。作者には、ペアスケーターの物語も別にありますが、こちらの方がロマンチックだと思ってます。日本人のスケーターも出てきますが、弓弦のようではありません。主人公はジョニーウイアを彷彿とさせます。同じ技を何度も練習させるため、againを繰り返すタラソワ先生をモデルにしたと思われるコーチが素敵です。それにしても、少し前の話とはいえ、4回転をはじめとしたフィギュアの技術の進化には驚くばかりです。
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  • Edward Jones
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very perceptive, as usual
    Reviewed in Australia on January 28, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Keira has done it again. She takes you inside the people she creates in such a real way that you really believe you know them.
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  • Sandy N
    3.0 out of 5 stars Cute story.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Cute story about skating. I'm just not a big fan of book where the Hero is telling the story.
    Report

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