Breaking the Ice
Portland Evergreens, Book 4
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Breaking the Ice
Narrated by:
Darcy Stark
Buy Now for £16.03
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Narrated by:
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Darcy Stark
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By:
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Beth Bolden
Coach Gavin Blackburn has been through hell.
Three years ago, he was on top of the world, courted by the best teams in the NHL to coach their players.
His wife’s unexpected death destroyed him, and sent him running from hockey. He thought he’d left the sport behind forever, but when his ex-player shows up at his remote cabin, begging him to return to Portland University to coach the Evergreens again, he agrees.
The last thing Gavin expected was their mentor-student relationship to turn into something entirely different now that Zach is grown up. He certainly never expected to feel attraction again, or to feel it for a man. For Zach.
Or for Zach to want him back, with a passion Gavin couldn’t deny even if he wanted to.
He’s too old, too washed up, too destroyed by grief, and has no intention of dating ever again, but maybe it’s own assumptions that need to be broken and re-made.
Maybe it’s Zach who needs to be the one who break him down and make him into something new. Give him something new: a wild, unexpected and unprecedented love affair.
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Wonderful performance by Darcy Stark!
I loved Coach and Zach’s story.
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Zach Wheeler, former NHL star and now assistant coach of the Portland Evergreens, approaches his former coach, Gavin Blackburn, to ask him to come to Portland. Gavin dropped off the radar four years earlier after his wife died, and all the approaches that have been made by other teams hoping to tempt him back to hockey have failed. Gavin refuses the offer – so Zach is incredibly surprised when Gavin calls him a week later to accept the job.
Breaking the Ice is the slowest of slow burn romances, but I am so HERE for all the pining and the yearning and the sexual tension stretched to breaking point and so thick you could cut it with a knife. Zach had a massive crush on Gavin when he was in college which he thought had died for good when Gavin wasn’t his coach any more, but seeing him again makes him realise that he’s as far gone for him as he ever was – perhaps even moreso.
Zach is almost sure the attraction is mutual, but Gavin insists that friendship is all that’s ever going to be on the table, whereas in reality, Gavin is struggling to squash his growing attraction to Zach. He knows he’s giving out mixed messages, but he can’t bring himself to cut out the shared meals and late-night calls, not when Zach – kind, endearing, loveable Zach – is everything Gavin didn’t know he wanted.
It’s heartbreaking to listen to Zach’s hopes being raised and then dashed – and I can’t deny that I sometimes got frustrated with Gavin, because he knew how Zach felt about him. But I also understood his reluctance; he’s scared of being hurt again and is torn between loyalty to his lost love and the undeniable thrill of finding a new one. The author does a great job of realising all the messy, complicated emotions underpinning their relationship, as well as with the many moments of harmony and quiet companionship they share.
Darcy Stark is a terrific voice actor and he once again delivers an excellent performance all round. There’s a fairly large secondary cast here with most of the main characters from the previous books making appearances, and as far as I can recall, they’re voiced consistently so they sound pretty much the same as they did in their own stories. The vocal characterisations and character differentiation are superb throughout, and the portrayal of the two leads is fabulous. Zach’s even-tempered good-humour and warmth come through very strongly, and the moments, later in the book, where he reaches his breaking point are extremely well done and may even bring a tear to the eye. Gavin’s dialogue is deeper in pitch so there’s a good contrast between the two in their many scenes together, and the strong emotions he’s wrestling with are frequently evident in his voice.
Breaking the Ice brings the Portland Evergreens series to a very satisfying conclusion with an emotional story about love, loss and the journey back to life and happiness – all wrapped up in a delicious slow-burn romance.
Lovely slow-burn romance
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Listener received this title free
Gavin was married and straight.
Time has passed and Gavin is Zach's coach.
His wife died and he's dealing with lots of guilt and grief.
Zach thought his crush was gone but it's still as strong as ever.
Gavin had a lot of work to do on himself in order to get to a place where he could be happy, in love again and with a man.
The road ro their HEA was hard fought but absolutely worth it.
Darcy Stark did an amazing job narrating and bringing these characters to life.
Age gap, hurt/comfort, forced proximity
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Coach/assistant coach
Gavin is widowed (5 years but his wife was his only partner since age 15)
Depression and isolation at start of book
Age gap (10 years)
Gavin is bi but only been with his wife and nobody knows.
Hurt/comfort
Slow burn
Angst
So much mutual pining/push and pull
Starting over
Note: there was a mix up on the book order but it has since been resolved so disregard if someone mentions it in their reviews.
I loved both of the MCs. They had amazing chemistry. This is a slow burn with alot of pining for both MCs and a lot of push and pull on Gavins part. This is probably going to annoy some readers and in the past I've been there where you just want them to get on with it and it's frustrating but as a widow u can relate to this story so much. The depression and guilt and being scared to open up again. I think that even readers who aren't widowed should be able to understand, this guy had only 1 partner since he was 15. His whole world imploded. To say he should be over it after 5 years would be crazy. I love how Zack ultimately dealt with the situation and how Gavin made it up to him. This book had me from start to finish.
This book was a very slow burn and angsty but once things changed, the pacing sped up and the relationship development and steam came fast. It was well worth the wait and so I wasn't disappointed in the lack of steam upfront. The timing fit perfectly with the storyline and the spice level in the end will leave most people happy. Their relationship does move faster than normal but when one MC has been crushing most his life and the other MC has a Demi heart, it totally felt like spontaneous combustion wasn't that surprising. I definitely recommend this heartfelt story. Now I just got to find out what happened to Finns dad. Will be anxiously waiting for Breakaway goals coming in Aug.
I loved this world and side characters that the author created. It's a little sad to see them go but hopefully we still get more cross overs. This can be read as a standalone but much more better enjoyed in order, although this book seems to be written in the same timing as the 3rd book. I think that is great for anyone who picks this book up first, it won't spoil how book 3 ended.
Darcy did a great job with the narration. He had a pleasant reading voice. I did speed it up alot but I enjoyed the easy flow of the narrator. He expressed all the emotions wonderfully and brought the story to life. He gave all the characters including the side characters distinct voices that suited them perfectly and it made it easy to follow the story and a pleasure to listen to.
Well worth the wait
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I loved that their story filled in so many gaps in the getting together of the other three couples in the series. You can see what was happening from a different perspective.
Their longing was palpable and I felt for Zach (and feel for Hayes) throughout.
Zach and Hayes' friendship was perfectly weaved into the story and added the perfect sounding board, reality check or moment of snark the story needed. The hints to Hayes' story have me itching for his book with Morgan.
A great final book in this series with a team I don't want to leave behind!
A heartfelt (and long time coming) conclusion!
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