ARC Review: Breaking the Ice by Julie Cross

“a really adorable and sweet opposites attract story about young love and overcoming obstacles.”
~ Under the Covers

Shockingly, I picked up a young adult contemporary novel. I had heard such amazing things about the first book in this series and I never quite got around to reading it. So I thought this would be a good time to explore how I like the author’s writing and … the young adult contemporary thing. It’s not usually my thing, even less than new adult.

Julie Cross surprised me though. BREAKING THE ICE managed to get me to care about a heroine that I have a feeling I would’ve disliked in the first book because she just seemed the self-absorbed, popular type, that only cares about what she wants. She’s the cheer captain and town Princess, and she now finds herself repeating Civics during summer school because her grades are not so great. She’s putting all her focus on passing and of course, cheer. Haley ends up sitting in front of the smartest guy in class, and while the initial interest comes from wanting to make sure she does a project together so she can get a passing grade, feelings quickly grow into something more.

As much as I thought I wouldn’t like Haley’s character, I actually ended up finding her adorable and it was nice to see grow as a person and start to see maybe some of the things she did before, or is doing now, were not right and she had things to change. But who really stole the show for me here was Fletcher. If you are in the mood for a good nerd hero, then this is for you. I loved that he’s a unique mix that makes him not quite fit into a box. Yes, he’s book smart, and yes, he keeps himself away from the “cool” kids. But he’s got deeper reasons than most for that. What Fletcher is going through is not something I know a whole lot about, even though I’ve always felt like on the surface I could imagine. The author did a great job at making this eye opening in that regards and to really understand all the struggles and limitations associated with it. And it only made me see Fletcher as a stronger person for how he pushes through everything and still strives to be more. Even wanting to push himself harder on the ice.

Overall, this is a really adorable and sweet opposites attract story about young love and overcoming obstacles. I really enjoyed it and I will definitely be looking for more Julie Cross books in the future.

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