Off the Ice (Juniper Falls #1) by Julie Cross is a YA contemporary sports romance that its completely heart-felt and emotional. Reading Ms. Cross' novel for me was like watching a mixed episode of One Tree Hill and Dawson's Creek.

Tate Tanley and Claire O'Connor, have known each other through childhood. On the eve before Claire leaves for college on a music scholarship they share a moment together. A year passes when Claire returns home to Juniper Falls to take care of her father and to help out in running her family's bar. Upon her return, she realizes the boy she left behind is no longer the same. Attraction flares between them as a romance and love begins to bloom amidst family dramas, small-town drama, and of course, hockey.

I really enjoyed Off the Ice. It was a little slow to start when Tate and Claire are reunited after a year, and I didn’t really like the drama with Haley too much at first (Tate’s ex-girlfriend), but neither lessened my overall enjoyment, especially once the story began to pick up.

Tate and Claire were strong main characters with endearing personalities. They both had their dreams, their own struggles to deal with and I loved when they each supported the other and both didn't hold back from going for their dreams in the end. I also liked the supporting characters like Tate's stepfather, Roger, and Claire's parents, as well as, Tate's friends like Leo, Jamie, and Mike. All brought life to the story and helped add a little bit more emotion or humor.

Overall, Off the Ice by Julie Cross was an enjoyable novel that kept me interested from start to finish. I very much recommend and can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review.)

Unfortunately the book was not for me, no review was publicly posted on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads or Twitter etc, so no ratings were affected in relation to it.

Off the Ice is a sweet young adult, sports romance about Claire, who has always been associated with the weird drama kids because she wants to sing, and Tate, who is the hockey playing brother of Claire’s best friend.

When Claire’s father is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor that they choose to operate on, she leaves university to help out with her family and an almost all-consuming guilt makes her decide to stay to help with the tavern while her father convalesces.

Tate loves hockey. His abusive father is Juniper Falls’ hockey darling so while Tate loves the sport, he also feels conflicted because people, especially his teammates, don’t know who is father really is.

For years Tate has crushed on Claire, but because she was a little older she was crushing on someone else. When they come together, it’s very sweet and they have a genuine rapport, which leads me to add that this is probably a young adult novel for the more adult part of the young adult crowd as there is a tastefully executed sex scene (tasteful, but passionate).

While there is considerable drama (cancer and abuse will do that for you), I never felt like it went to melodrama or real “angsty” moments. The drama felt legitimate with teenage confusion not being over just “romance” but more important issues like trust and responsibility and friendship and basically doing what’s right.

And, for the second time lately I’ve read a hockey novel (the other one was here Playing the Game (I forgot to put it under book reviews so it’s a chance you could have missed it and it too was really good)). I may be hooked on hockey books.

The writing was really good; it grabbed my interest and held on so that I wasn’t thinking about the mechanics of writing, which doesn’t happen as often as you might think.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 Stars

3.75 Stars? I know it's a strange rating, but I couldn't decide between a 3.5 and a 4.

Off the Ice is a mature YA romance. It deals with some extremely hard subjects and those subjects play a very large part. The romance was a little lacking, but the kissing was good. I found the characters actions and reactions to be believable. The author could have gone the dramatic route with the ex-girlfriend, but she didn't and I appreciated the realness of it. The secondary characters were surprisingly developed. I already see some characters that I hope get their own books in the Juniper Falls series (I'm looking at you Leo!)

I debated on reading this because I don't generally read hockey romances. I live in Texas, and it's hot here, there is no ice and football is king. Hockey is foreign to me. BUT I read my 1st Julie Cross book last year and absolutely fell for her writing. I'm glad I tried this one. I think it's a solid start to a series and I hope to see more books in it soon.

3 “Hockey & Family” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Entangled Teen.

First thing I’ll say about this book is, if you love Hockey books, you’ll probably love this one because a lot of the story revolved around this sport. The two themes here were definitely hockey and family.

We started the book in Tate’s POV with a prologue set a year before the story was supposed to start. Tate is attending a farewell party to Claire, his sister’s friend who’s leaving Juniper Falls to go to college and pursue her music/theater dreams. From moment on we already get little hints (and then bigger ones) that Tate had always had a crush on Claire, but she only sees him as her friend’s little brother. Then something big happen with Tate and his father and that gives him the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation with Claire, who’d just had her heart broken by some hockey player jerk. In that conversation, Claire asks Tate not to change—she wants him to continue to be this sweet, innocent guy.

Yeah… that’s not gonna happen.

One year later, Claire is back in town to take care of her sick father and help her struggling family with their business. And Tate… well, Tate has managed to change while still staying the same. He’s no longer someone’s little brother. He’s his own person and he’s tall, strong and handsome. Tate is also the new hockey team’s star goalie, and Claire can’t seem to not notice him whatever he goes. That works fine for Tate, who’s single and very much interested, since he’s never gotten over his crush for his sister’s friend.

It seems like the right time for these two to get together, right? Wrong. Claire’s life is a disaster, and Tate’s isn’t that much better.

This is where the two elements I mentioned earlier come into play.

Claire’s biggest arc involves her family and her dreams for her future. With her father sick and her family drowning in debts, Claire has to focus all her attention on helping them and making sure her family doesn’t fall apart. That leaves little time for romance and her own dreams. I really connected with this storyline. Watching Claire feel guilty for wanting to be happy when her parents were struggling made me like her immediately. She came across as a responsible young lady who loved her family very much and was willing to sacrifice a lot for them. And that’s exactly what she needed to show in order to make her arc believable.

Tate, on the other hand, was dealing with his own problems that mostly involved his passion for hockey and his relationship with his father. Let’s just say his father makes it extremely easy to hate him. The man was just obnoxious and evil—maybe a little bit too evil, since I didn’t get why he was acting the way he did. I’m guessing greed and pride had a lot to do with it, besides the alcohol he was a fan of, but I still would’ve liked to know more. Anyway, now that he’s the star goalie, Tate is thrust into the spotlight and he doesn’t really know what to do with it. Tate’s struggle to fit in, do his best and earn his place is interesting to watch, especially when he’s been pressured by his dad to do things that don’t feel right to him.

With both of them so preoccupied with all that was happening in their lives, Claire and Tate’s romance suffered a bit. Despite enjoying how those problems made them complex as characters, I would’ve been a little happier if the story had had more swoon-worthy, sweet moments between them. At times it felt a lot heavier than it needed—or than I expected.

I also think the story could’ve benefited from less side characters. Hailey got a lot of screen time, but her storyline didn’t really go anywhere for me. Maybe she’ll be the star of the next book? I don’t really know, but while I thought she was an interesting character, the whole drama involving her pursue of popularity and her manipulation of Tate felt undeveloped. Same goes for the star goalie before Tate, who also had a promising storyline. As side characters go, I liked Leo and also think he deserves his own story.

Another issue I had was with the voices and POVs. I really couldn’t tell Tate and Claire apart based solely on their voices. There were more than a few opportunities where I had to go back and check the chapter title to see who this was supposed to be. That surprised me a lot since I read another book by Julie Cross last year and thought she’d done a great job with that main character’s voice.

My experience with this book was mostly positive, though. I enjoyed the theme and how well-developed the characters were, and while I wish the romance had been sweeter, it still had some pretty cute moments (and some hot ones, too, since this would fall better in the upper-YA category). If you’re looking for a sports romance with a more serious tone, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

*Amazon Review will be posted on Feb 28th*

When it comes to contemporaries, I am a sucker for sports, and romance. In this case, this book had both. Cross is no stranger to writing gritty, realistic contemporaries. She doesn't sugar coat what her characters are going through, or what they are dealing with. There's heartbreak, bittersweet moments, moments that will leave you sighing, some will make you mad, and at all other times you'll be left cheering on these characters are they try and navigate their lives the best way they know how. It's messy, at times complicated, and sometimes it's just getting by, and living in the moment of the here and now.

Claire and Tate are interesting. I felt no connection to them what so ever at all. Normally when that happens, I can't stand the book. But there was something about them I was intrigued with. These two have a long history together. Cross gives readers their backstory at the beginning of the book, and then jumps a year later. That year has changed both of them, and it was interesting to see how much things have changed with the two of them, and how they fit into each other's lives now. They both have a lot on their plates, and are in situations that are difficult, and have put a lot of pressure and strain on them. Watching them try to work through their own problems, as well as try to help each other out was at times complicated, and other times it was sweet.

There is a large cast of characters of family and friends in this book. They each add something to Claire and Tate's story. Like the main characters, each of the characters has a natural progression, that adds something to the story. There's a lot of background to the characters, which adds a lot depth to the over all story. It's definitely a character driven story with a lot of showing, vs telling.

I felt like Cross captures the small town feel perfectly. There's a lot that this emcompases, and she does a great job with showing readers this through both Claire and Tate's points of views. Having said that, there was a bit too much drama for my liking. It got some of it, but other times it felt like a filler that didn't need to be in the book. Same with the language. I got some of it, and it fit with the setting, and the characters, but I felt like it was over kill with all the f-bombs.

I'm torn on how I feel about this book. Part of me liked it, and the other part of me got too annoyed with the things I didn't like about it, to like it as much as I was excepting to. Thankfully Claire and Tate kept me reading. I had to know how their story ends. Overall, this is a gritty, realistic, YA contemporary that has sports (ice hockey my favorite), romance, and realistic character journeys. It's a story about living in the moment. The here, and now, and enjoying the moments that make you happy. I'd recommend to older YA readers and NA readers. The characters are older, some are seniors in high school and some are freshmen in college.

There is language, quite a few uses of the f-word, sensual scenes, sex, under age drinking, and mentions of abuse.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and through netgalley.

Off the Ice was a pleasant surprise for me. I thought it would just be a high school love story revolving around hockey, but it was so much more. The issues with Claire's father's tumor and Tate's dad were pretty intense. Then there was the stress of picking a college, sex, teen pregnancy, and just growing up. I loved Tate and Claire. I hope there is more of Roger in the next book because he ended up being a favorite of mine with the little he was in the book. I would love more about Tate's friends and sister, too. There was a lot to like and it was a great start to a new series.

This is one of those moments where the teacher in me wants to say, "I know the grade is low, but I actually think you are on to something great here." I doubt my students believe me, but I'm usually telling the truth. Potential is exciting. The potential I see here is actually a shift in the New Adult genre. While this book calls itself YA, this is actually NA - there's one sex scene that's too explicit for YA, and I would definitely recommend this novel for older teens. In my opinion, the NA genre has had a hard time finding a good balance of young adult and adult content and have more often than not missed the mark. The tendency is to make topics adult by having characters curse a lot while having hate sex with complete assholes. Oh he just calls you a bitch and makes your life a living hell because he's damaged inside. It's okay to love him anyway. Just check out how many of these books have the word "bully" in the title. I hate these story lines. Not only are they poorly written but they provide terrible examples for the teen audience.

Off the Ice, however, finds the right balance. The story is still a normal teen romance with characters who are actually nice, but there are a couple instances with more adult sex scenes and language. I thought the sex was actually handled really well. I really hope we start seeing more NA books like this.

So why only 2 stars? Well, frankly, it just isn't very well written. The pacing of the story is off and the characters are hard to connect to. They have a lot of reactions that don't make sense. There was also more focus on hockey than I would prefer, and I found those parts boring.

Again, there's a lot of potential here for both Cross and the New Adult genre. I'd like to see some of Cross's future work.

Love love loved this! Julie has done it again!

Claire and Tate are great friends. Claire even helps him out when Tate breaks him arm and they promised each other to not change. But then Tate stayed behind, while Claire got the hell outta Juniper Falls. But things came up which lead Claire to put one semester off to come home. She is only staying
long enough to help her dad get better and to help run the bar.

Then you have Tate just sitting on the side line of the Hockey game, and then he's thrown into the game and needs to get his act together if they plan to win this game. They end up winning the game and Tate goes out with some of the guys. They all end up going to the bar for some food and then Tate notices Claire.

Soon they can't resist each other. Even though Claire swore off hockey players, there's just no denying it. Despite Tate looking look a total hottie, the old him is still in there and Claire can't help but want him. Tate also notices the differences with Claire and he also can't deny whats there. It may take a little time, but at the end it was all worth it.

I can't wait for the next book in the series!!

you guys, this book gave me so many feels. welcome to juniper falls, mn, where you live and breathe hockey given that there are few opportunities to enjoy anything else. off the ice, is more than a sports romance though. it's an emotional coming-of-age story set in a small town with many secrets. the story opens at claire o'connors goodbye party. she's leaving juniper falls to pursue her dream of singing on the stage, starting at an advance studies musical theater program at northwestern. she's had a crush on luke pratt since forever and for the first time ever he's paying attention to her and she wants this to go somewhere.

except it doesn't go anywhere good. in the meantime, tate tanley, claire's best friend's little brother sees what's happening while dealing with problems of his own. his father is a hockey hero, revered in the town, but behind closed doors his behavior is less than honorable. he's a mean drunk, and while tate is trying to keep the keys away from his dad so he doesn't drive things get heated. claire tries to intervene, but the situation escalates so quickly and tate ends up with an arm broken in two places. when they go to the emergency room, they come up with a cover story and swear to never talk about the events of that night again.

but a year later claire is back in town. her father is recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor, and claire is trying to help keep the family afloat by working at her parents' bar and restaurant and staying on top of the bills. college seems like an expense that should be cut away, not splurged on. her initial intention is to take a semester off, but as things get even more dire with her family and their finances a year seems like a more realistic option. and that's if she can even continue at northwestern. there are cheaper schools out there.

when tate sees that claire is back, he finds himself drawn to her. she was always more that just his big sister's friend. but he never expected her to see him in a different light. but that night in the back alley changed them both. for the first time, they really saw each other. and tate, for one, is so relieved to know that there is someone else who sees him--flaws and all. he's not just the hockey hero's son following in daddy's footsteps. he's someone who has the ability to fix and repair things. he's someone you can count on when you need him. he's honorable. he's holding the weight of the world on his shoulders and claire knows it.

other people suspect it, like tate's stepfather and his best friends. but claire is the only one he trusts with all of his truths. and as both tate's and claire's worlds are rocked with tragedy and misunderstandings, the connection they forge and how they help each other rise above the madness is both emotionally draining and utterly satisfying. things come to a head, as they do, and it's totally chaotic and tense and terrifying, but even as things implode around claire and tate you don't doubt the depth of their feelings for each other. they walk through fire for one another, even when they aren't speaking, it's clear that there is so much love there. it wouldn't hurt so bad if they didn't care so deeply.

i just loved everything about this novel. the characters, the setting, the romance, the stakes--it all worked for me. and i honestly am so excited to know that there will be more stories set in juniper falls, it seems to me like it's a town worth knowing.

Julie Cross turned me into a fan of her books with her baseball YA, Whatever Life Throws At You. It was a refreshing and totally made me fall in love with her writing. When I saw the announcement for Off the Ice, I was very excited because it was another sports romance, this time hockey, and I was sure it would be a hit. While I loved the writing, and parts of the romance, I thought there was too much going on in the story, which left me feeling disconnected as a whole.

Claire and Tate were very likeable characters and their honesty and genuineness immediately made me like them. They are both dealing with a lot of personal issues, and it's sort of heartbreaking to watch two people so young dealing with so much in their lives. I wholeheartedly sympathized with them, but part of me felt like their backstories were too much, like the author tried to cram as much as possible - there's abuse, sick parents, mounting pressure, asshole teammates and more. Ultimately, that led to the book not being as strong as it could have been. I also sometimes struggled to differentiate between Claire and Tate's voices. All the chapters have headers, but whenever I'd skip them, I had to go back and check who it was.

The romance between Claire and Tate worked for me for the most part. They had great chemistry, and their maturity levels helped them click well emotionally. I liked that they were a couple that was comfortable talking with each other. There was so much potential between them though and I didn't feel like we got to see them together as much as I would have liked. One thing is for sure, Julie Cross knows her way around a steamy kissing scene and she is definitely talented at writing solid romances. I also liked some of the relationships that Tate had with his friends and teammates. Hockey was definitely a part of this book, but again, I would have liked more focus on it than on some of the angstier storylines.

Off the Ice wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I was hoping for more romance and more hockey, and less of the other side stories. I'm still going to read the next book in the series, but now I know what to expect so hopefully it will be more enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this one! A great YA read dealing with life in a small town and the pressures teens face when family life has issues. He has an abusive father but has never let anyone know how bad it is. She has a loving family but her father's sudden illness throws her life off kilter. Together Claire and Tate help each other through the tough stuff and grow close as their hearts become involved. Loved the story and of course the writing was great. Definitely a book I would recommend to everyone.

4.5 stars -- I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

Wow, this book had so much depth and heart. I think I get used to the Entangled Crush line of books, and I forgot this wasn't one of those. This book has two characters dealing with some pretty heavy stuff, and I really loved how the author took us through that and the reactions and actions all made sense to me. It was just really well done. It made me feel for both of them, and I was intrigued with how they were dealing with it and how their relationship with each other would either benefit or hinder them. So it was kind of a coming of age story too...not super overt, but you do see these characters grow and come into their own more.

Before I go into more of what I enjoyed about each character, I will say that the ages in this book were kind of confusing. At the very beginning Tate says that Claire is only a year older than him, but she's his sister's best friend, so I'm going to assume they are around the same age. But for the majority of the book Tate is in his Junior year of high school, while his sister is in her first year of University. So isn't that like 2 years? And so I never really understand Claire's year at Northwestern. Had she graduated high school a year early and gone to University? Or was she at some special program that was neither high school nor University? It's not like it's a big deal I guess, but it was just something that nagged at me throughout the book.

Claire's situation was just freaking heartbreaking. And the author did such a fantastic job of showing the many day to day struggles that a family would undertake in such a situation. I could totally empathize with what Claire was going through, and how she was feeling about her future, and how torn she was. Seriously, it was just so spot on.

And Tate gave me all the feels too!! Seriously, I could totally understand how he was feeling, and why he dealt with things the way he did. I couldn't imagine what that must have been like, especially in that town. And can I just say that he was seriously swoony? Like kind of a beta boy...or if not beta, omega? Is that a thing? He was just so sweet and there was so much there there.

And Claire and Tate together definitely had interesting chemistry. Normally there on again off again thing would have bothered me more, but it kind of fit for what they were both struggling through in their lives. I was sometimes a bit disappointed in the time jumps though, b/c I kept wondering what happened in the interim: were they hanging out? What was the development?

And all the side stuff!! You guys! Normally I don't like a book to be too cluttered up, but it all just fit nicely for me! I loved the stuff with Mike. I loved the little bits we saw of Leo and Jamie. I'm very excited to see if the next books in the series will be books about these other hockey boys. I even enjoyed the way the Haley thing played out. It was so much more real, and not over dramatic. Where it could have devolved into familiar tropes, I ended up being pleasantly surprised.

And the PARENTS!! I love it when parents play a role in YA stories. And there are good role models! I mean, yes, bad stuff too, but just some great stuff there! Especially with Rodger. Big thumbs up.

Honestly, the only reason I'm rounding down is because of the mood I'm in. I didn't get that 5 star feel at the end, and I think I'm just a bit distracted in my reading right now. Oh, and the time jumps I guess. But I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to more in this world.

3.5 stars

I had really enjoyed the other sports book that Julie had written, so I was pretty excited about this.

I liked Claire and Tate well enough. They're both good people in difficult situations and they both handle it as well as they can. When they finally get to supporting each other, it was fantastic.

There was a lot of background story and a lot of characters. It was a bit more drama filled than I was expecting and I wish we would have gotten a bit more of an epilogue, but I'm just being greedy.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I'm intrigued to see who the next book will be about.

**Huge thanks to Entangled Teen for providing the arc free of charge**

There is so much to love about this book. Well-developed characters that jump off the page - check. Characters that don't act like spoiled twelve-year-olds all the time - check. Intriguing story - check. Swoony romance - check. Storyline and plot points that aren't overused - check. A good writing style - check.
I seriously enjoyed this book. Lovers of YA and romance will love this book.

It was alright, hard to really get into this book since there were so many side stories going on and they seemed to be filled with stress or had some type of stressful relationships going on. Hard to really focus on what was going on with Claire and Tate.

This is a refreshing story between a high school hockey goalie and the daughter who happens to be running the family business which is a hockey sports bar.. Normally the books we tend to read always present us with the hero being confident and great in whatever sport he's in.. Well this is a totally different story..
In this story, Ms. Cross presents us with Tate, a hero who happens to be an insecure backup goalie thrown into the spotlight when the number 1 goalie is thrown out of the team by the coach.. Tate also happens to be dealing with a lot of pressure considering his father was the town hero back in the day, said father is abusive and is pressuring Tate to recruit 2 of his top teammates so as to get further his career and is trying to remove himself from the clutches of his ex girlfriend..
Then we have Claire, forced to put her studies on hold so she can help out her family run the bar. Her father had a tumour removed from his brain and they have been struggling to pay the mounting medical bills..At the same time, Claire has to deal with small town gossip and is fighting her attraction to Tate..
The romance in this book is not rushed.. It builds slowly, letting us get to know both Tate and Claire, their feelings for each other and how they deal with all the pressures hitting them all at once.. Being a Canadian and loving the sport, I know the pressure a player has to go through to be the best he can be when playing in a team and this book definitely captures the pressure and what it's like to live in a town that eats and breathes hockey...

ARC provided by NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, LLC and Ms. Julie Cross

I couldn't connect with the characters or story.. too many stories happening at once

Julie Cross gives us a wonderful romance that will draw readers in from the very first page. This is not your typical YA book, full of fluff and hearts and stars. There are some controversial subjects brought up in the book, including: teen pregnancy; underage drinking; physical and emotional abuse; cancer; sexuality; and sex. They are brought up in such a way that they blend seamlessly into the story. There is no "shock and awe" intended. There is no conscious effort to "gotcha" the reader. The book manages to still be an enjoyable read despite the sometimes heavy subject matter. Readers will be drawn into the story and become invested in the character's lives. Definitely recommend!

Rating: 3.75 stars

Claire decided to take a semester off from college and return home to help with the family business during her father's illness. Her world was put in a state of flux, as she struggled with the bills, her father's health issues, and her prolonged absence from university. Right when she thought she was hitting rock bottom, her best friend's little brother, Tate, came back into her life, and unexpectedly gave her a lifeline and more.
"When and how did you become..." I wave a hand dramatically in front of him. "This?"
"What?" He glances down and tugs not he front of his hunter-green thermal beneath his unzipped jacket. "Someone who wears earth tones?"
"No! Th-that," I sputter, blowing hair off my face, "tall and ...not skinny..And the voice.."



I am always up for a good sports romance, and I liked this small town setting, as small towns bring a certain element to the story on their own. As expected, Juniper Falls gave me what I expected from the setting: the gossip, the backlash, the familiarity, the neighborliness, the history, and family ties to the town. I especially liked the hockey family dynasty aspects and how far back the characters went with each other.
These guys don't have the right to suddenly take notice of Claire when I've seen her, admired her for years.

Both Claire and Tate were dealing with a lot of personal issues. Claire had the responsibility of her family's entire existence and her uncertain future weighing her down, while Tate was grappling with his new position as starting goalie and the damaging secrets he was trying to keep hidden. These two sort of broken people were able to lift each other up. They supported each other, they gave of themselves to each other, and I was pretty sold on this romance. This was a healthy romance. These two were honest with each other, they had open conversations, they knew when to push and when to back off, and they never asked the other one to sacrifice something they loved for the sake of the other. And the history! I love when there is history between characters, and these went a loooooong ways back.
What is this thing that Claire and I are doing? It's painful and messy but also exhilarating, like seeing colors for the first time.

But do you know what I loved even more than Tate and Clair together? Tate, Jamie, and Leo together. The relationship between them was pretty brotastic, and I really enjoyed seeing male characters sharing their feelings. There are definitely more stories to tell in this town, and I care enough about these auxiliary characters to want them.
This bridge between Tate and me somehow emerged in the midst of everything falling apart.

Overall: a heartwarming sports romance, which has left me wanting more Juniper Falls stories.