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Verdict: The best-reviewed book in this site’s sports romance coverage — a slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine pairing between two Olympic-caliber winter athletes that critics and everyday readers agree actually earns its ending.
Best for: Readers who want a genuinely well-researched Olympic sports romance, a slow-burn “ice queen” thaw, and heat that goes further on the page than most of the site’s other sports romance coverage.
Heat level: ★★★★☆ (4.4/5 — I Heart SapphFic classifies it “Hot & Steamy,” with full, graphic descriptions; no romance.io entry was located to cross-check that call)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.1/5 — Goodreads shows a strong 4.21 average across 1,916 ratings and 213 reviews, adjusted down slightly for a mild, recurring note across several reviews that the pacing runs a touch long)
Tropes: Enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, forced training partnership, Olympic sports romance, standalone.
Edge of Glory is a 2017 standalone from Bywater Books, pairing boardercross champion Corey LaCroix with injured alpine skier Elise Brandeis as both chase one last shot at the Winter Olympics. It’s a backlist title by this site’s standards, and it shows in the best way: a 4.21 average across 1,916 Goodreads ratings and 213 written reviews is a genuinely large, settled discourse trail, and the book was a Golden Crown Literary Society Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award finalist in 2018.
Five separate outlets reviewed this book for this research — Lambda Literary, Out in Print, Smart Bitches Trashy Books, Queer Media Review, and Jude in the Stars — and every one of them is positive, ranging from 4/5 to a flat 5/5 to unscored raves. That’s the most consistent critical reception found anywhere in this site’s sports romance coverage so far.
What Is Edge of Glory About?
Corey LaCroix is boardercross royalty facing a career in decline, and when she partners with Elise Brandeis — a technically gifted alpine skier working her way back from injury to reclaim her spot on the Olympic team — the arrangement starts as pure function. Corey knows how to compete under pressure; Elise needs to relearn how. I Heart SapphFic classifies the pairing’s archetype as Athlete/Coach, which captures Corey’s role helping Elise train back to form, though it’s worth being precise: both remain competing Olympic-level athletes rather than one holding formal coaching authority over the other.
The sport is more than scenery — the whole conflict runs through it. Corey’s in-the-moment, instinctive competitive style sits directly against Elise’s meticulous, controlled planning, and reviewers across the board single out how convincingly Spangler renders both the training grind and the competition itself, down to the schedules, the dietary restrictions, and the physical toll of elite winter sport.
What Makes This Sapphic Sports Romance Work
- A genuinely earned slow burn: multiple reviewers single out how gradually and believably the attraction develops — one describes watching Elise “fall in love without being aware of it,” and another credits the book with delaying the central romantic conflict “until nearly the last minute,” against genre convention.
- Research that reviewers keep singling out by name: the training schedules, injury recovery, and the mechanics of boardercross and alpine skiing all read as authentic rather than researched-on-the-fly, and it’s the detail three separate reviews reach for first.
- Body representation reviewers call out specifically: both Lambda Literary and Smart Bitches Trashy Books flag the rare depiction of muscular, elite-athlete female bodies — “thick thighs, rippling abs,” “chiselled abs and prominent thighs” — as standing out in a genre that doesn’t always show this.
- A grumpy/sunshine dynamic that reviewers say actually balances: Elise’s “ice queen” thaw against Corey’s goofball-but-elite energy is praised specifically for feeling complementary rather than one-note.
- Neither lead is the designated wrong one: Out in Print specifically credits the book for building real tension between two characters who are “neither entirely right nor entirely wrong” — a harder trick than it sounds for a forced-partnership setup.
Book Synopsis
Corey LaCroix has spent her career defined by boardercross — fast, instinctive, physical, the kind of racing where you commit to a line and don’t second-guess it. But her results have been sliding, and with the Winter Olympics approaching, the federation pairs her with someone whose whole approach to the sport is the opposite of everything that’s made Corey good at it.
Elise Brandeis is a technically precise alpine skier working her way back from an injury that nearly cost her an Olympic spot entirely. She doesn’t need a training partner who treats competition as instinct — she needs discipline, structure, and someone who can push her back into form without letting her hide behind caution. Corey is not obviously that person, and Elise is not obviously anyone Corey would choose to spend a season with.
What neither of them expects is how well the friction actually works — on the slopes and off them. Training together forces both women to confront what the other does better, and the closer the Olympics gets, the harder it becomes to keep the partnership purely professional. By the time both are fighting for their own spot on the team, they’re also fighting a pull neither one signed up for, with a shot at gold and a shot at each other both on the line at once.
My Review
This is, by a real margin, the most consistently praised book in this site’s sports romance coverage. Five separate outlets reviewed it and every one is positive — no split verdicts, no “great premise, uneven execution” hedge. That kind of unanimity is rare enough to be worth taking seriously on its own, and reading through what each outlet actually praises, the reasons converge: the athletic detail is authentic rather than gestured at, the slow burn is paced deliberately rather than rushed, and the two leads are written as genuinely complementary rather than one carrying the other.
The specific strength reviewers keep returning to is Elise’s arc. More than one outlet frames it as an “ice queen” thaw, and what makes it land, according to Smart Bitches Trashy Books, is that Spangler shows the change rather than announcing it — Elise’s guardedness erodes through specific scenes rather than a stated turning point. Corey gets equal, different treatment: multiple reviews describe her as a goofball who is simultaneously highly trained and intelligent, avoiding the trap of making the instinctive athlete the less serious one.
Criticism is genuinely thin here, and what exists is narrow rather than structural. One Smart Bitches commenter found a specific late-book conflict “seemed very unrealistic” against the book’s otherwise grounded approach. A separate reader found the detailed ski-run and boardercross-race descriptions excessive for their taste — notable mainly because other reviewers list that same technical detail as a strength, which tells you it’s a matter of individual appetite rather than a craft problem. A few reviews mention the pacing running a touch long across the book’s 330 pages, the one note with enough repetition to register as a real, if mild, pattern rather than a single voice.
Representation is a genuine strength worth naming on its own: I Heart SapphFic lists the protagonist as Jewish, and both leads are written with the kind of muscular, elite-athlete bodies — “thick thighs, rippling abs” in one reviewer’s words — that this genre doesn’t always make room for.
My honest note: a 4.21 average across nearly 2,000 Goodreads ratings, five unanimous outside reviews, and a GCLS award nomination all point the same direction. If you want an Olympic sports romance that treats both the sport and the slow burn seriously, this is close to the strongest evidence base this site has found for any book in the category.
| Element | In Edge of Glory |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Corey LaCroix & Elise Brandeis — a boardercross champion in career decline and an injured alpine skier, paired as Olympic training partners |
| Core tropes | Enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, forced training partnership, found family |
| Setting | Contemporary Olympic winter-sport circuit — boardercross and alpine skiing training and competition |
| Heat level | Hot & Steamy (I Heart SapphFic) — full, graphic descriptions; no romance.io entry found to cross-check |
| Series | Standalone — no series designation on the publisher’s own listing |
| Content notes | Career-ending injury pressure and competitive-sport stress are central themes; no structured content-warning list was located for this backlist title in this research |
How Spicy Is Edge of Glory?
I Heart SapphFic — a database built specifically around sapphic fiction — classifies this one “Hot & Steamy,” its top heat tier, describing full, graphic descriptions of sexual acts that may include crude language. No romance.io entry was located for this title to independently cross-check that classification, which is itself informative: romance.io’s coverage skews toward higher-visibility and more recently published titles, and a 2017 backlist book from a small press falling outside that isn’t surprising.
This is a notably hotter classification than most of the other titles in this site’s sports romance coverage, several of which land at “Medium” or closed-door. No reviewer located in this research flags a specific consent question or kink worth naming beyond the general “graphic” classification. For other explicit-heat sapphic sports romance on this site, see the Sports Romance category.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a slow-burn grumpy/sunshine pairing built on genuinely authentic athletic detail, you’re looking for heat that goes further on the page than most sapphic sports romance on this site, and you don’t mind a longer, more deliberately paced 330-page read.
You may want to skip it if: you want a tighter, faster-paced book, extensive technical detail about ski runs and boardercross races isn’t your thing, or you’d prefer closed-door heat.
In short: the most consistently and highly reviewed book in this site’s sports romance coverage, and the pacing critique is the only real crack in an otherwise near-unanimous positive record.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
This book has the largest, most settled discourse trail this site has found in its sports romance coverage: 1,916 Goodreads ratings, 213 written reviews, five separate outside outlets reviewed and read for this piece, and a 2018 Golden Crown Literary Society award nomination. Unlike most titles covered here, there’s nothing quiet about this one’s reception — it’s a genuinely well-known book within sapphic romance circles.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The athletic authenticity comes up in every single review located for this piece — the training detail, the injury recovery, the specifics of boardercross and alpine competition all read as researched rather than assumed. The slow-burn romance gets equally consistent praise, especially Elise’s “ice queen” thaw and Corey’s goofball-but-elite characterization. More than one reviewer specifically calls out the muscular, authentic athletic-body representation as something this genre doesn’t do often enough.
What readers argue about and complain about: There’s remarkably little here. A few reviews mention the 330-page length running a touch long in the pacing, which is the one note with enough repetition to call a real, if mild, pattern. Narrower still: one Smart Bitches commenter found a specific late-book conflict beat unrealistic against the book’s otherwise grounded approach, and a separate reader’s personal taste ran against the amount of technical ski-run detail that most other reviewers list as a strength.
No Libro.fm audiobook listing was located for this title in this research — the Audible edition (narrated by Ann Etter) appears to be a 2021 independently produced audio release rather than a title picked up by a traditional audiobook distributor, which is consistent with this site’s general pattern of smaller-press and independently produced audio being less likely to appear on Libro.fm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Edge of Glory end on a cliffhanger?
No. It’s a standalone with no series attached, and while one reader found a specific late-book conflict beat unrealistic, no reviewer located in this research describes the ending itself as unresolved.
How spicy is Edge of Glory?
Hot and steamy. I Heart SapphFic classifies it at its top heat tier, with full, graphic descriptions — notably hotter than most other titles in this site’s sports romance coverage.
What is Edge of Glory’s Goodreads rating?
4.21 out of 5 across 1,916 ratings and 213 written reviews — the strongest and most settled rating this site has found for any book in its sports romance coverage.
Is there an audiobook of Edge of Glory?
Yes, on Audible, narrated by Ann Etter. No Libro.fm listing was located in this research, consistent with this being an independently produced 2021 audio release rather than a traditional-distributor title.
Is Edge of Glory part of a series?
No. It’s confirmed standalone on the publisher’s own listing, with no series designation.
What representation does Edge of Glory include?
I Heart SapphFic lists the protagonist as Jewish, and multiple reviewers specifically praise the book’s depiction of muscular, elite-athlete female bodies as representation this genre doesn’t always make room for.
If You Loved Edge of Glory, Read These Next
For another forced-training-partnership dynamic built on real athletic stakes, browse the full Sapphic Sports Romance guide. For more grumpy/sunshine and opposites-attract pairings specifically, the Enemies-to-Lovers category has the rest of what this site has covered, and the full Book Reviews archive covers everything else.
The Bottom Line
Edge of Glory is the most consistently and highly reviewed book in this site’s sports romance coverage — a slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine pairing between two Olympic-caliber winter athletes, built on genuinely authentic training and competition detail, with heat that runs hotter than most of what this site has covered in the category. Five separate outside reviews are unanimously positive, the Goodreads average sits at a strong 4.21 across nearly 2,000 ratings, and the only real, repeated criticism is a mild note about pacing running long across 330 pages. If an Olympic-stakes slow burn with real heat is what you’re after, this is the strongest evidence base this site has found for any book in the category — Check Edge of Glory on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Edge of Glory ranks as the standout of this site’s sapphic sports romance coverage — a genuinely earned slow burn between two well-drawn, complementary athletes, authentic Olympic-level sport detail, and hotter-than-average heat, held back only by a mild, recurring note that the pacing runs a touch long.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 4.1/5
- ✓ 4.21 average, 1,916 Goodreads ratings, 213 reviews
- ✓ Five outside reviews, unanimously positive
- ✓ 2018 GCLS Ann Bannon Award finalist
- ✓ Mild, recurring note on pacing length
Romance ★★★★☆ 4.3/5
- ✓ Slow burn praised as genuinely earned
- ✓ Central conflict delayed until near the end
- ✓ Grumpy/sunshine dynamic called complementary
- ✓ Neither lead framed as simply wrong
Characters ★★★★☆ 4.3/5
- ✓ Elise’s “ice queen” thaw shown, not announced
- ✓ Corey written as goofball and elite athlete both
- ✓ Jewish protagonist representation noted
- ✓ Muscular athletic-body representation praised twice
Writing ★★★★☆ 4.1/5
- ✓ Training and injury detail called authentic
- ✓ Action sequences called tight and suspenseful
- ✓ One reader found ski-run detail excessive
- ✓ Several reviews note pacing runs long
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 4.2/5
- ✓ Called “competence porn” for training realism
- ✓ Chemistry described as long-lasting on the reader
- ✓ Heartwarming payoff without losing tension
- ✓ No reviewer flags emotional beats as unearned
Heat Level ★★★★☆ 4.4/5
- ✓ I Heart SapphFic’s top tier, “Hot & Steamy”
- ✓ Full, graphic descriptions per that classification
- ✓ No romance.io entry to cross-check it
- ✓ Hotter than most other site sports romance entries
Ending ★★★★☆ 4.0/5
- ✓ Standalone, confirmed no cliffhanger
- ✓ One commenter calls a late conflict unrealistic
- ✓ No reviewer criticizes the resolution itself
- ✓ GCLS nomination reflects strong overall reception
Re-read Value ★★★★☆ 4.0/5
- ✓ Named a reviewer’s favorite book of its year
- ✓ Award-nominated backlist title with lasting reputation
- ✓ Chemistry described as sticking with readers
- ✓ Longer length may weigh against a quick reread
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