Jennifer Comeaux

What an adorable story! This is a young adult appropriate book that I am excited to share with some of my students. There is the sweet, new romance aspect but they don't go further than kissing. Josh is an amazing book boyfriend. He is athletic, talented, and so stinking sweet. Courtney is a likable character. Sometimes teenagers in books (especially girls) can be super annoying, but Court isn't one of them. She is driven and hard working. She is a bit naive but its not annoying and it doesn't make her seem dumb. I thought that Jennifer Comeaux did a GREAT job with the competition at nationals and the Olympics. It was very realistic and believable which I was worried it wouldn't be. She has managed to not fall into the super sappy YA trap and its very refreshing!
I love ice skating so the book appealed to right away. Jennifer Comeaux kept me reading beyond just the ice skating interest. I will certainly continue with this series.… (mer)

In the tradition of the Ice and Edge series, author Jennifer Comeaux brings the reader back to Cape Cod with Gold Rush, the delightful new / young adult ice skating romance story featuring Sergei and Elena's nineteen year old competitive ice skating daughter Liza Petrov, as she prepares for the Olympics in Sochi, and finds unexpected friendship and romance with nineteen year old U Mass student Braden Patrick.

Author Jennifer Comeaux once again calls upon her passion for competitive ice skating to weave an emotionally dramatic tale of friendship, love, family drama, and competitive dreams that will steal your breath away. If you are a fan of ice skating and all the drama that goes on behind the scenes, then this book is a must read. If you are a hopeless romantic who loves the dramatic challenges and trials and tribulations that Liza and Braden face as they try to balance friendship and romance while Liza prepares to achieve Olympic gold ice skating dreams, then you are in for a treat with this sweet romantic story.

Author Jennifer Comeaux once again takes the reader on an exhilarating and emotional roller coaster ride as Liza and Braden's love story blossoms with trials and tribulations to overcome, but with a heartwarming and sigh worthy climatic conclusion that will leave you with a satisfying warm fuzzy feeling. There are not enough words to express how much I loved following Liza's journey, especially as she struggled to balance ice skating with friendship and romance, and the unfolding of her traumatic childhood past kept me captivated from beginning to end. There is just something so exciting about reading a romance story that has a wonderful mixture of romance, family drama, and the sport of competitive ice skating, it simply draws you in and leaves you breathless. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I loved catching up with all the characters from the Ice and Edge series, and being introduced to Braden and his college crew. Braden stole my heart with his wonderful disposition, and his caring and supportive ways, he is a modern day knight in shining armor, and Liza is truly one lucky girl!

With an intriguing cast of recurring and new characters; engaging dialogue and dramatic interactions; a richly detailed description of the scenic Cape Cod and Sochi settings, the world of Olympic competitive ice skating; and a riveting storyline full of drama, angst, suspense and romance; Gold Rush is an amazing lighthearted romantic story that will leave you believing in the power of friendship and love, sighing and smiling, and hoping that the author would make this delightful book into a brand new series (sigh).

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2017/01/gold-rush-by-jennifer-comeaux-...… (mer)

Taking the Ice was a lovely conclusion to an adorable series. This book takes place several years down the road and we get to see what happens with Courtney's Olympic dream and where her relationship and partnership with Josh are at, four years later. It was a pretty quick read, no angst whatsoever (except for competition jitters). Speaking of competition, I am always so amazed at the way the author captures that feeling right before they take the ice and while they're doing their programs. I feel so anxious when I'm reading these scenes, it's almost as if I'm the one competing. She truly does a great job with the figure skating aspect of the books. I also loved the fact that it was based around last year's Olympics in Sochi. As a figure skating fan who followed all the events in Sochi, it made it more realistic which was an added bonus.

Josh and Courtney have definitely matured by the third book but they are still super cute together and I was glad to see that even four years later they still haven't lost that sweetness toward one another.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*… (mer)