Mary‘s review of Icebreaker
Attorney Sinead O’Brien’s new client is Adam Perry, the star of the New York Blades. It’s a good thing she doesn’t date clients, especially jocks. Charged with assault on another player, the private, no-nonsense Adam knows this is his last shot at Stanley Cup glory. Sinead quickly discovers that there’s a wounded man under that helmet, and she’s falling for him-hard. Can they play on their feelings without penalties?
There’s something to be said for hot hockey players, especially those with all their teeth. Seriously though, athletes are hot, and Adam Perry is no exception. The captain of the New York Blades and a hard-core, hard-hitting player, he’s determined to take his team all the way, despite a charge of assault hanging over his head. Sinead O’Brien is the top lawyer hired to defend Adam.
The first time Sinead meets Adam, she thinks he’s just another brain-dead jock, especially since he’s sitting there at the conference table, not saying a word in his defense. Adam’s impressions of Sinead are no better—he sees an uptight, workaholic lawyer.
Though Sinead doesn’t know much about hockey or the hot team captain, she does her best to find out more about him. This proves to be incredibly difficult, considering Adam’s a very tough nut to crack. But he’s kind of into her so he plays her game. However, he isn’t willing to give Sinead any information about himself unless she does the same for him. And, it turns out, they have more in common that they first think.
Both Sinead and Adam take turns at being sympathetic and frustrating to both each other and the reader (well, me). Sinead has a great connection with her family but she’s pushed her sister away because of a new baby and her fear that kids don’t like her (she’s a little jealous, too). She’s so uptight about everything—if I knew this girl in real life, I’d take her out and get her drunk, just so she would relax a bit. But she’s passionate about what she does, she’s a good friend, and a great lawyer. Then there’s Adam. He’s so taciturn, so closed off from everyone, I can understand why Sinead sees him as a dumb jock at first. Really, he’s an introvert who shines on the ice. There’s a lot more to him than meets the eye, some of it good and some not.
This romance felt very real—the relationship developed at a good pace, but not so fast as to be unrealistic. They had their battles and, though I did feel they were a little too willing to walk away from each other at times, they worked out their differences in a true-to-life way. When the romance heated up and headed into the bedroom, they weren’t the hottest couple, pretty plain vanilla in fact, but they burned strong and true. But, you know, there’s something to be said for plain vanilla. I felt it dragged a little bit when they were having their various break-ups and make-ups (Hey, I haven’t read a straight-up, contemporary novel in quite a while—I’m usually all about the urban fantasy/paranormal with lots of action) but it wasn’t anything that made me want to give up on the story.
I really like the secondary characters, especially Anthony and Oliver. Anthony (who is from another book in the NY Blades series, JUST A TASTE, I believe. Definitely going to have to read that one—he was great!) is the one who talks sense into Adam when he’s acting like a jerk, which he does sometimes, spouting off his antiquated ideas about women. Then there’s Oliver, Sinead’s hard-drinking, over-the-top, horny lawyer friend. He is, by far, my favorite character and just what Sinead needs when she’s the one being stupid. I can see him as a great leading man, one who needs a strong woman to help him get his head on straight.
It’s a tough thing to write a strong romance between two such stubborn, closed-off workaholics but Deirdre Martin manages to do just that in this novel.
Rated 3.5/5.0
The series:
This book is available from Berkley Sensation. You can buy it here
Have been waiting to read this book.
Who won it a little while ago?
Man, I think I’d want to read this book, just because of the cover, without reading anything about it.