Release date: August 3rd 2014

Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Falling hard never felt so good.

Pair skaters Courtney and Mark have one shot left at their Olympic dream. They vow not to let anything get in their way, especially not Josh and Stephanie, the wealthy and talented brother and sister team.

The heart doesn’t always listen to reason, though...

The more time Courtney spends with sweet, shy Josh, the harder she falls for him. But they are on opposite sides of thecompetition, and their futures are headed in opposite directions. Will their friendship blossom into more or are their paths too different to cross?

I didn't delve into Crossing the Ice with particularly high expectations. I've never read anything else from the author and the premise was not exceptinally unique by far so I considered it to be a nice, light read, but nothing more.
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BOY WAS I WRONG! This was one of the best books I have ever, EVER read. It was so hilarious and excited and suspenseful and adorable and having just finished it I feel so much like...

...because the book was just...

Please give me a moment to compose myself...

Okay, so let's get down to our ~~raving~~ rating business. Or rather the review first, and just then...I may need another minute.

The story

"You were following your dream. There's nothing wrong with that."

"I could've followed it more sensibly."

Crossing the Ice embraces about a year's time, from an important competition in terms of Olympics, until a little after the afortementioned event. Throughout this span we follow Courtney's journey toward fulfilling or failing? her dream to skate in the biggest competition an athlete can ever particiapate in and also, we get to know how she tackles a relationship with the sexy, shy Josh, who is her biggest competitior, too.

I literally enjoyed every single moment of this book. The story was so very sweet and ginormously suspenseful all along, though the latter is not much a surprise as it's utterly fast-paced. It basically highlights a couple of days of the year and a half or so we spend with Courtney, the more significant ones. No filling scenes, no meaningless parts, just pure action. Okay, not that much action in fact, It's a tranquil story with no drama tainting it and when I write no drama, I mean not grim, disastrous drama. Because would the book be book without it at all? Despite the fact that it intended to be a rethorical question, I'm going to answer it. And that answer is a shocking: yes. there would be. But we would probably be bored to death. Where was I anyway? Oh, yeah drama. It mostly gathered around our FMC and Josh's relationship, however, sometimes the prior's personal life got involved as well. It was depicted completely realisticlly and unlike in a lot of YA novels, nothing was overreacted or stretch out just for the sake of the conflict.

The characters

"Yeah, because off the ice the only language Stephanie speaks is fluent bitch."

Courtney was an awesome FMC. I totally loved her attitude, her spunkiness, her guts as well as her soft, passionate, romantic side. She had her opinion and didn't mess around for a second, not with the bitchy Stephanie or her even worse mother, but wasn't scared of reciting an apology or thank a generous old woman her generous donation. All in all, I adored her and could relate her perfectly.

As for Josh....Oh, Josh, I might swoon just at the mention of his name. He's shy and quiet, but not when it comes to Courtney. Or at least not after eight years. What he is when it comes to Courtney though, is devoted and understanding aaand SO SO FRIGGIN CUTE! Not to mention his superhuman powers. No, it's not a paranormal. Just go read it and figure it out. Anyway, I may have a new book boyfriend.

The Writing Style

"There was nothing quite like the sound of ten thousand people gasping at one.

Especially when it was because my butt had just slammed into the cold, hard ice."

Admittedly, I'm a writing style snob. I'm very picky when it comes down to it and if it's not nearly perfect if not perfect, that can take away much from the experience. And from the overall rating. However, this was not the case here. Jennifer Comeaux's writing style was most definitely stellar. Not only was it eloquent but still readable - meaning she didn't weight down our minds with long, unpronouncable words to create a unique feeling-, but it had that plus to it that sends it over the roof.

Overall

Jennifer Comeaux is a tax accountant by day, writer by night. There aren’t any ice rinks near her home in south Louisiana, but she’s a diehard figure skating fan and loves to write stories of romance set in the world of competitive skating. One of her favorite pastimes is traveling to competitions, where she can experience all the glitz and drama that inspire her writing.

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And now something I have never done before...