On Thin Ice by Julie Cross

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.

Book 3
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Entangled Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Lee’Anne – ☆☆☆☆☆
I was completely obsessed with this book from page one. I read book one in this series and felt that the middle dragged out a bit, that was 100% not the case with this book. I couldn’t put it down – I’m already excited to read the next book in the series.

Brooke has had her life completely flipped upside down – her father is arrested, her and her mother, who is a drug zombie most days, have had to move from their Texas home to live with her grandmother in Michigan, also meaning that she has had to start over at a new high school. Oh, and her entire life has revolved around dancing and her new school doesn’t have that either. All-in-all, Brooke is a super quiet girl who is just trying to get through life.

Jake Hammond is literally the town prince, star hockey player, and all-around popular dude. Until a hazing ritual that he didn’t even want to participate in goes terribly wrong and Jake ends up not only taking the blame but also with a broken collarbone. Now Jake is unable to play hockey, the town has taken his prince title, and his father is mad at him for not blaming the other players of his team for the hazing. Brooke quite literally saved Jake’s life and that combined with Jake coaching the girl’s hockey team Brooke joined means the two wind up spending a ton of time together and forming an unbreakable bond.

I really love that though the situations that happen to the kids in this book suck, they’re realistic and the author does a fantastic job bringing this story to life. This has definitely been my favorite book in the series so far. I’m really looking forward to seeing who the next book will be about!


Erica – ☆☆☆☆☆
On Thin Ice is the third installment of the Juniper Falls series. This is a standalone series, meaning the books can be read out of series order with no confusion felt by the reader.

I'm a big fan of Julie Cross's writing style and the way she creates young adults who are believable and lifelike, their quirkiness a breath of fresh air rather than over-done or over-the-top. At the same time, Cross always manages to have me clicking the pages at a rapid rate, needing to know what happens next.

Brooke's numbness resonated with me. Her father is in prison and her mother has checked out, leaving Brooke to move in with her grandmother. But she doesn't adjust well, closing herself off instead of experiencing the chaotic emotions that would tear her apart.

Brooke doesn't believe she needs anyone, but she received unlikely support and attention from the most popular boy in school, Jake. Their connection is strong and realistic. Believable. She opens up and learns to trust again.

After a hazing gone wrong, Jake is thrust into Brooke's path. This is obviously a hockey romance, but it isn't pushed to the wayside like many novels do. Hockey is a supportive character in the novel, having its own voice. I actually didn't know anything about the sport, and I learned a bunch without it coming off as textbook or too much information. The delivery was perfect, an entertaining way to teach.

I highly recommend this novel, the series, and the author to fans of young adult, as Julie Cross is on my must-read list.

Young Adult age-range: 14+ disclaimer on hazing rituals gone wrong.

Julie Cross is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult and Young Adult fiction, including the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy which includes Tempest, Vortex, Timestorm (St. Martin's Press). She's also the author of Letters to Nowhere series, Whatever Life Throws at You, Third Degree, Halfway Perfect, Chasing Truth, Off the Ice and many more to come! Julie Cross was a longtime resident of central Illinois but has recently moved her entire family across the country to continue her academic studies at Stanford University.

Connect with Julie

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of On Thin Ice (Juniper Falls #3) by Julie Cross to read and review.

Off the Ice by Julie Cross

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.

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo
Entangled Publishing

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Lee’Anne – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 Stars

This was an okay read, I feel like the story just dragged a bit in the middle. It was really slow at parts, but I will say the writing is good and the parts that weren’t slow are great!

Tate is a goalie for his high school’s hockey team, which in his tiny town is a huge deal. Since he was a kid, he’s had a crush on this older sister’s best friend, Claire, and right before she heads off to college she witnesses his father’s drunken abuse and the two have an unbreakable connection. When Claire goes away to college Tate lets his feelings go, but when Claire comes home to help care for her very sick father, old feelings come back to the surface. Tate is fighting to earn his place on his team, get a spot on an NHL team, and battle his father’s strong-arming him and his friends. While Claire is fighting to keep her parents’ business afloat, earn enough money to pay for college and keep her dreams alive. The two have a lot going on and have to really fight at a relationship.

My favorite aspect of this book was that Tate has a long-time girlfriend, Haley, who is perfect – gorgeous, smart, cheerleader, etc. Only, she’s kind of awesome, and I found that refreshing. Usually that character is written as catty and mean, but Haley is awesome and I honestly think I wound up liking her mother then Claire (like I really hope she gets her own book – *hint, hint* LOL). This is a book that really covers it all and though I think a few of the details could have been cut out to make this a more fast-paced read, I did enjoy the author’s wide variety of characters.


Jordan – ☆☆☆☆
This was my first time reading any of Julie Cross' books and Off the Ice (Juniper Falls #1) was a nice introduction. The story flowed well and the characters were developed. I will definitely be looking to see what's in store next for Juniper Falls!

Claire O' Connor takes time off from college to return to her small hometown of Juniper Falls and help take care of the family's hockey bar while her father begins to recover. She has zero intentions of sticking around, but running into to Tate Tanley has her questioning everything.

I never knew I was such a fan of hockey until after reading Off the Ice. Cross does a lovely job of weaving hockey and romance. I often times forgot I was even reading a young adult book because this one seemed to straddle the line between young adult and new adult. Off the Ice was a solid 4-star read for me.

New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author of Halfway Perfect, Whatever Life Throws at You, Tempest, optioned by Summit Entertainment, Letters to Nowhere, and Third Degree. Julie lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three children.

Connect with Julie

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Off the Ice (Juniper Falls #1) by Julie Cross to read and review.