About the Book:Title: Off the Ice (Juniper Falls #1)
Author: Julie Cross
Pub. Date: February 28, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 320
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Synopsis:
All is fair in love and hockey…
Claire O’Connor is back in Juniper Falls, but that doesn’t mean she wants to be. One semester off, that’s what she promised herself. Just long enough to take care of her father and keep the family business—a hockey bar beside the ice rink—afloat. After that, she’s getting the hell out. Again.
Enter Tate Tanley. What happened between them the night before she left town resurfaces the second they lay eyes on each other. But the guy she remembers has been replaced by a total hottie. When Tate is unexpectedly called in to take over for the hockey team’s star goalie, suddenly he’s in the spotlight and on his way to becoming just another egotistical varsity hockey player. And Claire’s sworn off Juniper Falls hockey players for good.
It’s the absolute worst time to fall in love.
For Tate and Claire, hockey isn’t just a game. And they both might not survive a body check to the heart.
Claire O’Connor is back in Juniper Falls, but that doesn’t mean she wants to be. One semester off, that’s what she promised herself. Just long enough to take care of her father and keep the family business—a hockey bar beside the ice rink—afloat. After that, she’s getting the hell out. Again.
Enter Tate Tanley. What happened between them the night before she left town resurfaces the second they lay eyes on each other. But the guy she remembers has been replaced by a total hottie. When Tate is unexpectedly called in to take over for the hockey team’s star goalie, suddenly he’s in the spotlight and on his way to becoming just another egotistical varsity hockey player. And Claire’s sworn off Juniper Falls hockey players for good.
It’s the absolute worst time to fall in love.
For Tate and Claire, hockey isn’t just a game. And they both might not survive a body check to the heart.
Review:
Romance mixed with hockey? I'm definitely down for that!! This was a great new story from Julie Cross and I can't wait for the rest of the series. I have been a fan of Julie Cross since picking up The Tempest, and this book was a good start to the new Juniper Falls series. With complex characters and the perfect balance of sports and romance, this is a definite must read for any contemporary romance/NA fan. There were a couple things that made me lower my rating, but all in all this was the perfect rainy day read.
The story follows Tate and Claire who were both very well-developed right from the start. I truly connected with each one of the characters and it made me love the story even more. Both characters were easy to relate to and both had some secrets that only the other one knew. The story was very gritty and real at times, and it definitely wasn't what I had initially expected from the novel. But it was a nice change. There is some tough subject matter featured, but Julie Cross does an excellent job at portraying everything in a realistic light. There are many scenes that are, at their core, raw and stripped to the bone. Ms. Cross handles the horrors that Tate faces to the sadness that Claire deals with every day with the perfect writing hand and delivers an emotional and gripping story.
I was rooting for Claire and Tate from the very beginning and I loved watching their relationship progress. However, there were many times their relationship got down right frustrating to me. There was a little too much back and forth between them. They kept building their walls higher and higher and not letting the other in, and even when both Tate and Claire are fighting for the other, it was almost as if no progress was being made. Obviously, this slowed the plot down significantly...especially in the first part of the book. If I were rating this book based on the first part, I would have probably give it 2.5 stars due to the pacing. It was incredibly slow and tedious, and it made me enjoy the book less. Honestly, I felt like you could cut out a large portion of the first part of this book and it wouldn't have made a difference plot-wise. What it would have done though is sped the book up and allowed the reader to get to the heart of the story much faster.
I will say though, after the first half of this book, the story was very different. So don't give up based on that first half because you will wind up missing out on an excellent story. The second half of this book is fast-paced and wonderfully written. I do think that perhaps the reason the first part was slow is because there needed to be some set up down, but still, once you get past that first half, you will find yourself enjoying the book much more.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series, and I'm interested to see who it will be about. There are many side characters that I loved and would be excited to read more about, so we will have to wait and see! Add this to your TBR pile now!
The story follows Tate and Claire who were both very well-developed right from the start. I truly connected with each one of the characters and it made me love the story even more. Both characters were easy to relate to and both had some secrets that only the other one knew. The story was very gritty and real at times, and it definitely wasn't what I had initially expected from the novel. But it was a nice change. There is some tough subject matter featured, but Julie Cross does an excellent job at portraying everything in a realistic light. There are many scenes that are, at their core, raw and stripped to the bone. Ms. Cross handles the horrors that Tate faces to the sadness that Claire deals with every day with the perfect writing hand and delivers an emotional and gripping story.
I was rooting for Claire and Tate from the very beginning and I loved watching their relationship progress. However, there were many times their relationship got down right frustrating to me. There was a little too much back and forth between them. They kept building their walls higher and higher and not letting the other in, and even when both Tate and Claire are fighting for the other, it was almost as if no progress was being made. Obviously, this slowed the plot down significantly...especially in the first part of the book. If I were rating this book based on the first part, I would have probably give it 2.5 stars due to the pacing. It was incredibly slow and tedious, and it made me enjoy the book less. Honestly, I felt like you could cut out a large portion of the first part of this book and it wouldn't have made a difference plot-wise. What it would have done though is sped the book up and allowed the reader to get to the heart of the story much faster.
I will say though, after the first half of this book, the story was very different. So don't give up based on that first half because you will wind up missing out on an excellent story. The second half of this book is fast-paced and wonderfully written. I do think that perhaps the reason the first part was slow is because there needed to be some set up down, but still, once you get past that first half, you will find yourself enjoying the book much more.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series, and I'm interested to see who it will be about. There are many side characters that I loved and would be excited to read more about, so we will have to wait and see! Add this to your TBR pile now!
Happy reading :)
~Cassie
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