Publisher: Entangled: TEEN
Release Date: February 28, 2017
Number of Pages: 320
Description from Goodreads:
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 But the guy she remembers has been replaced by a total hottie.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.
Well, well! This was actually my first time reading a book from Julie Cross, and it was probably the perfect one for me to start with! I feel like I've had Julie's books on my TBR for forever at this point, so I was extremely excited to finally read one! And now that I have, I'll definitely need to pick up her other books even sooner now because I really enjoyed OFF THE ICE, and I absolutely loved both Tate and Claire!
I'm a sucker for sports romances, and you don't see very many that aren't adult romances, so any time that I see a new one pop up, I get extremely excited, and I NEED to read it! OFF THE ICE was one of those contemporary romances that is kind of right on the cusp of young adult and new adult, and I really enjoyed that combination! Julie Cross is definitely right up there with Miranda Kenneally for some of my favourite non-adult sports romance books after this! OFF THE ICE was the PERFECT introduction to me for Julie's books. I can't wait to read more of her work, and I'm particularly excited to get to read more Juniper Falls books! Can't wait for those Tate and Claire cameos! ;)
Now onto the story itself!
I loved the characters, and I really enjoyed how Julie Cross established the town of Juniper Falls throughout the story. There was a clear sense of community and the dynamics of how everything worked. Their town is all about hockey, and it was interesting to see how that framed their community. OFF THE ICE has a lot going on. Both Claire and Tate are struggling with issues at home that add some pretty serious overtones to the story, and it kind of slowed down my reading experience a little, but I really loved that they learned to communicate better and work through all of their issues together. It was amazing to see, especially in a romance that's aimed at a young adult audience. I thought that Claire and Tate's relationship was the strongest part of the story, and I think they definitely had the kind of relationship that teens (and even adults) need to see more of...it was the kind of relationship that seriously fits the "Relationship Goals" hashtag (#relationshipgoals) in the healthiest and best possible way! They definitely disagreed, and didn't always handle their disagreements in the best way, but it was absolutely amazing to see them work through everything in a mature and honest way!
Overall, I thought that OFF THE ICE was fantastic! The main characters, Tate and Claire, were phenomenal and I loved reading from both of their perspectives! Their romance and relationship was also extremely well done, and I thought that it was the strongest part of the story. Now, I'm definitely looking forward to more of the JUNIPER FALLS series because I also definitely loved the secondary characters! I'd recommend this one to fans of any young adult or new adult contemporary, and I'd also recommend it to other sports romance fans, even if you typically only read adult!
What do you think?
Does OFF THE ICE sound like a book you'd like to read?
If you've already read it, or read some of Julie Cross's other books, what did you think?
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