Review: On Thin Ice (Juniper Falls #3) by Julie Cross

Synopsis

Brooke Parker never expected to find herself in the tiny town of Juniper Falls, Minnesota. Of course, she also never expected to lose her dad. Or for her mom to lose herself. Brooke feels like she’s losing it…until she finds Juniper Falls hockey. Juniper Falls girls’ hockey, that is.

Jake Hammond, current prince of Juniper Falls, captain of the hockey team, and player with the best chance of scoring it big, is on top of the world. Until one hazing ritual gone wrong lands him injured, sitting on the sidelines, and―shocking even to him―finding himself enjoying his “punishment” as assistant coach for the girls’ team.

As Jake and Brooke grow closer, he finds the quiet new girl is hiding a persona full of life, ideas, and experiences bigger and broader than anything he’s ever known. But to Jake, hockey’s never just been a game. It’s his whole life. And leveraging the game for a shot at their future might be more than he can give.

Each book in the Juniper Falls series is STANDALONE:
* Off the Ice
* Breaking the Ice
* On Thin Ice

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Review

I love this book so much. It is such a sweet and heartwarming story about teenagers who are trying to make the best decisions in life. They are not always right and they do silly things but ultimately they own up to their mistakes and try to make amends in any way possible. It is a story of a small town residents who are not used to having secrets. Yet, they are about to find out that even in small towns, full of nosy people, secrets do exist.

Jake is captain of the hockey team. He is the most popular guy in their school. Every girl wants to date him and every guy wants to be him. But that doesn't mean anything to him. All he wants is an opportunity to play the game he loves and graduate high school so that he may start college. He is looking forward to it. His life is simple and uncomplicated until one fateful night. Teenagers being teenagers make one little mistake and now Jake's peace of mind is gone. In this chaotic time the only person who understands him is the new girl. The girl everyone things is mute. Soo, Jake realizes that she is so much more than just a new girl in town and he find hismelf falling for her.

Brooke has been there and done that, she is not willing to go down that road again and date a popular guy. That can't end well but Jake is nothing like her ex-boyfriend. He is kind and considerate. He pays attention and he cares about the people around him. It might not be possible for her to resist his charm afterall. But life is not easy on her. She has secrets and her past still haunts her. She must find the strength to let go of the past so that she might be able to build a better future. Maybe with her new friends and people in her life she will at last learn to take chances again and live a little.

It is a very well-written story. I enjoyed it a lot and I think all YA fans will love it!
P.S. I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley.