Off the Ice

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 But the guy she remembers has been replaced by a total hottie.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.

My Review

Usually, I have to be in the mood to read a Young Adult Contemporary story, but Julie Cross’s Off the Ice was something that caught my attention, when I was reading the synopsis. The cover also caught my eye as well. It didn’t take me long to read Off the Ice, especially due to the storyline that Julie wrote for the characters.

Yes, I’m in my 30s, but I’ve enjoyed Young Adult books since I was a teenager and nothing will stop me from reading them. I’ll be in my 50s still reading all genre of books. 🙂 Plus, I tend to read YA to see if my girls will want to read them eventually too. I have a pre-teen that tends to read, when she has time and know she would enjoy Off the Ice. (but only when she’s a little older will I let her read Off the Ice since it does have some romance in the story that she would tend to shy away from)

One thing I really enjoyed about Off the Ice was actually the beginning of the story, when the characters are first introduced. Claire O’Connor ends up in a situation, where she handles it pretty well with a guy that she thought would be totally different. She also helps out the other main character Tate Tanley, when he gets in a sticky situation as well. Both of these characters are battling separate issues in the story and both issues touched my heart and made me feel for both of them.

Tate with his infatuation with Claire in the story, especially when she comes back from college temporarily. He wants to win her over and help her out with what she’s going through. Claire did help Tate over a year ago with his situation with his father.

Claire is going through so much in the story that I definitely wish I could’ve given her a hug. She’s back in town due to taking care of her father and the family business. Her focus is with her family and she put everything else in hold because her family needs her.

Tate + Claire = adorable  together. These two went through so much in the story, and when they finally gave in to their feelings I was beyond happy for them both.

There is family drama in the story, especially with Tate and his dad (I didn’t like Tate’s dad at all). I did like Tate’s stepfather who was there for Tate.

I really liked being Juniper Falls and also reading a story that involved the sport hockey and also a couple of characters that needed each other a lot.

Julie Cross is a New-to-Me Author and I look forward to checking out the other books she has written and also checking out the next book in the Juniper Falls series.

I give this book 4 stars and highly recommend it to YA contemporary readers out there. If you are looking for a YA contemporary that has an adorable hockey player and a girl who loves her family then you’ll enjoy this story.

• Author
• Recent Posts

FranJessca

Owner/Reviewer at A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog

I guess I should type a bio here. I'm FranJessca, or Fran for short. I'm the owner/reviewer behind A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog. I've been reading and reviewing books on my blog since leaving the Navy in 2011, and I will keep doing it as long as possible. My favorite genres will always be Romance & Fantasy, and I read every subgenre underneath those two genres. (Sorry, not a fan of nonfiction, so don't try to convince me to read it.)
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)

Latest posts by FranJessca (see all)

• Happy Release Day + Giveaway: ‘Bracing The Storm’ by J.C. Reed - May 27, 2025
• ARC Review: ‘Restless Hawke’ by Gwyn McNamee - May 26, 2025
• ARC Review: ‘From Drummer to Gamer’ by Emberlynn Raine - May 25, 2025