Sunday, April 06, 2008

Thin Ice by Liana Laverentz


This is a contemporary romance about a doctor and a hockey player.  Liana contacted me via the Lori Foster Weekend group and asked me to review it.  I've never been asked personally by an author to do this and I felt hesitant but finally agreed.  Boy am I glad.  

This is one of the most powerful and heartwarming books I've read, ever.  Both Eric and Emily had serious emotional hang-ups which directly impacted on the other's weaknesses.  There were moments when my heart was pumping furiously because the drama of the scene was so well written I really felt what the characters were feeling.  There were also some moments that made me laugh out loud they were so amusingly spot on.  I suspect Liana is a hockey fan and if she's not, she knows someone really well who is.  She captured some scenes during a couple of hockey games so well that I could see it happening.

I hesitate giving a recap of the story because it's important to discover the layers of Eric and Emily as they reveal them to each other. This is about a developing relationship.  There were many times when either Eric or Emily would choose not to discuss the situation with the other and make a decision that wasn't really in their best interest.  Just as I would be ready to throw the book against the wall and scream "NO", the reason given for the decision made so much sense I would just sigh and go with it.  Plus Eric and Emily are beautifully drawn, three-dimensional characters about whom I came to care a great deal.  

This is a story about the impact of abuse - physical, mental and emotional.  But it is also a signal lesson on the importance of communication.  Every time there's a misunderstanding it's because they kept secrets and didn't talk with one another.  I know this is a standard in romance, but for some reason it felt like a major influence in Thin Ice.  

Well, I'm off to buy her other book, Jake's Return.  Liana Laverentz has a new fan girl.  Oh, and Thin Ice was 2008 Eppie winner for Best Contemporary Romance.

4 comments:

  1. Well, Linda, you won't be disappointed by Jake's Return. It is every bit as good as Thin Ice, I promise.

    A found Liana's humour balanced the sensitive issues beautifully. I'm a firm fan!

    Sheryl w/a Charlotte Chalmers

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  2. Linda, I'm glad you enjoyed Thin Ice. It's a great book and you'll enjoy Jake's Return just as much. It's fun finding new authors, isn't it?

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  3. A new author worthy of fangirl-itis? Woohoo! I look forward to reading this one.

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  4. Hi, Linda,

    I just stumbled across this for the first time today. Thank you so much for this wonderful review. I'm so glad you enjoyed Emily and Eric's story. It's a very special story to me as well. Happy New Year!

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Have you read it? What do you think?

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