Test the Ice by S.J. Sylvis Summary: Fake Engagement Romance
TL;DR: The Quick Brief
A twenty-year-old single mother driving late-night Uber shifts across Chicago is not looking for a professional hockey player.
When Reese Moreno’s wealthy ex-boyfriend threatens a custody battle to force her back into a relationship, she tells him she is engaged to Malaki Young — the star defenseman for the Chicago Blue Devils.
Test the Ice by S.J. Sylvis follows what happens after that single, desperate lie, tracing how a fake engagement built for legal protection reshapes the daily lives of Reese, her infant daughter Charleigh, and the man who agrees to play her fiancé.
- The setup: A broke single mother lies about being engaged to protect her daughter from a manipulative ex.
- The deal: Malaki moves Reese, her baby, and her sister into his Oak Street house and buys a ring to make the story convincing.
- The turn: Shared mornings, baby gates, and a courtroom appearance push both of them past the terms of the arrangement.
- The stakes: Benedict fights for custody using lawyers and money; Malaki counters with a private investigator.
- The themes: Found family, maternal sacrifice, financial power, and rebuilding trust after emotional abuse.
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Characters in This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Reese Moreno | Twenty-year-old single mother to Charleigh who works Uber shifts and odd jobs to support her family. |
| Malaki Young | Star defenseman #5 for the Chicago Blue Devils who agrees to a fake engagement with Reese. |
| Charleigh Moreno | Reese’s infant daughter, aged eight to thirteen months across the story. |
| Benedict Whitney | Reese’s wealthy ex-boyfriend and Charleigh’s biological father, who files custody motions to force Reese into a relationship. |
| Zoe Moreno | Reese’s younger sister, a college freshman who lives with her and helps care for Charleigh. |
| Daisy | Reese’s best friend and the Blue Devils mascot performer, in a relationship with Kane. |
| Kane | Malaki’s teammate and former roommate. |
| Rhodes (Volkova) | Veteran defenseman on the Blue Devils who acts as an older brother figure to Malaki. |
| Emory Olson | Blue Devils star goalie who previously entered a fake marriage of his own. |
| Lars | Australian teammate who provides comic relief. |
| Mark Poole | Private investigator hired by Malaki who uncovers the emails exposing Benedict’s retaliation. |
| Judge Ramirez | Family court judge who presides over Benedict’s emergency custody hearing. |
| Nathan | Uber passenger and hockey fan who gets an autograph on a nursing pad. |
| Jackson & Ellie | Young fans who meet Malaki at team charity events. |
Test the Ice Summary: The Full Story
Spoilers ahead. This section covers the plot from beginning to end, including the ending.
Reese Moreno is twenty years old and raising her eight-month-old daughter, Charleigh, in a rundown south side Chicago apartment.
She shares the space with her younger sister Zoe, a college freshman, and keeps the lights on through late-night Uber shifts and odd jobs.
Her ex-boyfriend, Benedict Whitney, is a wealthy businessman who once demanded she end the pregnancy. He resurfaces after learning she kept the baby, stalking her and pressuring her to move in with him.
Malaki Young plays defense for the Chicago Blue Devils and carries a reputation for speed on the ice and an easy grin off it. He meets Reese one night when she drives Daisy, the team mascot, home from a casino pickup.
Reese’s sharp tongue and complete indifference to his fame catch his attention. He leaves an enormous tip and starts requesting her as his driver.
After a night at a club, Benedict ambushes Reese outside her car and hurls insults at her while threatening legal action. Cornered, she blurts out that Malaki is her fiancé, and Benedict sneers that she has no ring to prove it.
Malaki follows Reese home and discovers that “Charlie” is a baby, not a secret boyfriend. Once he understands the scope of Benedict’s threats, he proposes they keep the engagement public so a judge sees a stable, united front.
He moves Reese, Zoe, and Charleigh into his house on Oak Street, buys a diamond ring, installs a car seat and crib, and hires Reese as his paid house assistant. The job gives her a legitimate income, and she stops driving nights.
Reese insists on keeping the arrangement transactional, and Malaki ignores that boundary with quiet stubbornness. When he learns she has been sleeping on a pile of blankets on the floor, he orders bedroom sets for her and Zoe and makes her take his bed in the meantime.
Weeks pass, and he bonds with Charleigh, installing baby gates and coaxing her into calling him “Dada.” At a team charity gala, Benedict texts Reese threats, and Malaki kisses her in public to end the harassment.
Phone calls during road games turn into something neither of them planned, and the physical distance between them collapses once he returns home. Reese recognizes she is falling for him and hates how much that frightens her.
Benedict escalates by serving her with a formal court mediation notice. In mediation, he alters text messages, weaponizes her poverty and her estranged father, and paints her as an unfit gold digger.
Reese nearly capitulates to keep her daughter, but Zoe and Malaki push her to fight. The author has Malaki compile a list of top family attorneys and quietly hire a private investigator named Mark Poole.
Benedict then exploits a household accident — Charleigh bumping her head on the stairs and needing stitches — to file an emergency motion for temporary custody.
At the emergency hearing, Reese represents herself against Benedict’s expensive lawyer, who presents the stitches as proof of neglect. Malaki walks into the courtroom and offers to take temporary custody of Charleigh himself.
As Judge Ramirez weighs the claims, Mark Poole arrives with subpoenaed internal emails from Benedict’s personal assistant. The emails state plainly that the custody motion was filed as retaliation to force Reese back into a relationship.
Judge Ramirez dismisses the motion, reprimands Benedict, and commends Reese and Malaki for the home they provide. Outside the courthouse, Reese admits she loves Malaki and says she wants the engagement to be real.
He tells her it was never fake for him. Five months later the family is settled in his home, Benedict is gone from their lives, and Reese and Malaki plan a real wedding with Zoe as maid of honor and Charleigh as flower girl.
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Quotes from Test the Ice
“Thanks for the first date. It was fun, Dimples.”
“We stay engaged. We fool him and everyone else. Either he’ll give up on getting you back, or he’ll follow through and take you to court, where we’ll prove to the judge that every delusion he’s created to tear you down turns out to be just that: a delusion.”
“You look perfect,” I admit. “I just meant you need to wear my jersey because you’re mine.”
“Well, I’m nothing like Benedict, Reese. I can assure you that I’d love every single part of your body.”
“Hanging up the phone before I can say it back doesn’t negate the fact that I love you too.”
“I don’t want this engagement to be fake anymore.”
Is Test the Ice Right for You?
The novel suits readers of contemporary and new adult romance who prefer a single-mother heroine and a protective athlete lead. The fake engagement premise drives most of the early conflict, while the custody dispute supplies the external stakes.
Pacing is fast and linear, told in alternating first-person chapters from Reese and Malaki. The tone mixes banter and humor with heavier material involving emotional abuse, stalking, and a courtroom fight.
Readers who want the sports element kept in the foreground will find hockey present through games, road trips, locker room scenes, and team events, though the central thread remains the relationship and the custody case.
Those sensitive to depictions of manipulation and coercive behavior should note that the antagonist’s tactics are shown in detail.
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Books Like Test the Ice
Weak Side by S.J. Sylvis — Set in the same author’s Bexley U universe, with sports romance, sharp banter, and a protective hockey lead.
Mile High by Liz Tomforde — A contemporary hockey romance where a professional athlete falls hard for a strong-willed heroine and the dynamic turns into a slow-burn push and pull.
Puck Block / Rush the Edge by S.J. Sylvis — Companion books in the Chicago Blue Devils series that share the same team, locker room camaraderie, and romance tropes.
Consider Me by Becka Mack — Centers on a star hockey player who becomes devoted to a heroine who resists his charm, blending humor with emotional depth.
Pucked by Helena Hunting — A hockey romance built on comedic banter and an athlete-heroine relationship that moves from casual to committed.
The Deal by Elle Kennedy — New adult college hockey romance with a persistent athlete lead, emotional backstory, and a heroine carrying past trauma.
Book Snapshot
- Genre & Subgenre: Contemporary Romance / Hockey Sports Romance / New Adult Romance
- Core Narrative Tropes: Fake engagement, single mother, protective hero, forced proximity, he falls first, rich hero and struggling heroine
- Tone & Atmosphere: Banter-heavy, playful, romantic, and emotionally grounded
- Primary Conflict: Benedict’s custody threats and legal harassment, paired with Reese’s fear of vulnerability and dependence
- Pacing Style: Fast, linear, alternating first-person point of view between Reese and Malaki
- Book Structure: 50 chapters plus an epilogue
- Publisher: Sj Sylvis Books LLC
- Publication Date: October 23, 2025
- Pages: 348
- ISBN-13: 979-8990125759
- Series: Blue Devils Hockey, Book 4 of 4
- Author Background: S.J. Sylvis writes contemporary and new adult sports romance, including the Bexley U series and the Chicago Blue Devils series.
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