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A review by jaynellewags
Break the Ice by L.A. Cotton
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Check your trigger warnings in regard to childhood abuse and eating disorders. These topics are discussed multiple times throughout the book.
Aurora has moved across the country and is going to the college where her older brother plays hockey at. When her dorm floods she has to move in with him and his two teammates. One of them, Noah, is the team playboy and has a thing for skinny blondes. Aurora has sworn off hockey players after her ex from High School.
In her mind, she is not the girl who gets the guy. Due to her mother treating her like she wasn't ever "pretty enough" or "skinny enough" she has a lot of trauma. Noah has a past with his dad, he left as soon as he could and he refuses to talk about anything in his past.
Thoughts:
All the "locker room" and "guy talk" was hard to read as a woman, but I know it happens. I also liked that the author showed how much of an impact it made when the females heard how they were talked about by the boys.
Rory coming to terms with herself and her growth throughout the book was well written. I could empathize with some components of her character, and everyone probably can in a sense. I think we all have parts of our physical appearance that we have strong feelings about. I did think that the author spent a little too much time on self-hate- I know that body issues are a constant thought but the same thought was repeated multiple times throughout the book and it felt repetitive. Also, how did no one ever notice that she NEVER ate....
I really liked Noah and how caring he was. He was so attentive and sweet (most of the time). He showed character growth which I think was impressive. I also would have liked to learn more about his backstory.
Both of the MCs had such difficult childhoods and I liked that the author acknowledged how difficult relationships can be due to trauma and how it doesn't just go away. I think that their shared trauma both helped and hurt their relationship.
The side characters were likable and I really loved Connor and Ella. (I would def read a book about them)
Aurora has moved across the country and is going to the college where her older brother plays hockey at. When her dorm floods she has to move in with him and his two teammates. One of them, Noah, is the team playboy and has a thing for skinny blondes. Aurora has sworn off hockey players after her ex from High School.
In her mind, she is not the girl who gets the guy. Due to her mother treating her like she wasn't ever "pretty enough" or "skinny enough" she has a lot of trauma. Noah has a past with his dad, he left as soon as he could and he refuses to talk about anything in his past.
Thoughts:
All the "locker room" and "guy talk" was hard to read as a woman, but I know it happens. I also liked that the author showed how much of an impact it made when the females heard how they were talked about by the boys.
Rory coming to terms with herself and her growth throughout the book was well written. I could empathize with some components of her character, and everyone probably can in a sense. I think we all have parts of our physical appearance that we have strong feelings about. I did think that the author spent a little too much time on self-hate- I know that body issues are a constant thought but the same thought was repeated multiple times throughout the book and it felt repetitive. Also, how did no one ever notice that she NEVER ate....
I really liked Noah and how caring he was. He was so attentive and sweet (most of the time). He showed character growth which I think was impressive. I also would have liked to learn more about his backstory.
Both of the MCs had such difficult childhoods and I liked that the author acknowledged how difficult relationships can be due to trauma and how it doesn't just go away. I think that their shared trauma both helped and hurt their relationship.
The side characters were likable and I really loved Connor and Ella. (I would def read a book about them)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse