Arctic Sun by Annabeth Albert
Review by Lauren
Source: copy from Netgalley; all opinions are my own
Official Summary (add to Goodreads): Ex-military mountain man Griffin Barrett likes his solitude. It keeps him from falling back into old habits. Bad habits. He’s fought too hard for his sobriety to lose control now. However, his gig as a wildlife guide presents a new kind of temptation in superhot supermodel River Vale. Nothing the Alaskan wilderness has to offer has ever called to Griffin so badly. And that can only lead to trouble…
River has his own methods for coping. Chasing adventure means always moving forward. Nobody’s ever made him want to stand still—until Griffin. The rugged bush pilot is the very best kind of distraction, but the emotions he stirs up in River feel anything but casual, and he’s in no position to stay put.
With temptation lurking in close quarters, keeping even a shred of distance is a challenge neither’s willing to meet. And the closer Griffin gets to River, the easier it is to ignore every last reason he should run.
Review: Arctic Sun is the first book in a new series by Annabeth Albert called Frozen Hearts. I’m a huge fan of this author and I’ve read most of her books, though not all (yet!) However, I have to say that I didn’t truly love Arctic Sun. Don’t get me wrong – it has a nice premise, and I really liked Griff and River and I wanted them to be together. I just wish some of their respective pasts were explored more. Both of them have demons, if you will, and while these are something they finally learn to focus on more and deal with better, it doesn’t really happen until near the end of the book. I would have loved more focus on that. I’m a big character person, so it just would have been nice for that to have been delved into more, so I could really connect with the characters. Regardless, I did enjoy this one and I give it three stars. I’m excited for the next book in the series!!
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Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
Review by Lauren
Source: copy from Netgalley; all opinions are my own
Official Summary (add to Goodreads): Pro hockey star Shane Hollander isn’t just crazy talented, he’s got a spotless reputation. Hockey is his life. Now that he’s captain of the Montreal Voyageurs, he won’t let anything jeopardize that, especially the sexy Russian whose hard body keeps him awake at night.
Boston Bears captain Ilya Rozanov is everything Shane’s not. The self-proclaimed king of the ice, he’s as cocky as he is talented. No one can beat him—except Shane. They’ve made a career on their legendary rivalry, but when the skates come off, the heat between them is undeniable. When Ilya realizes he wants more than a few secret hookups, he knows he must walk away. The risk is too great.
As their attraction intensifies, they struggle to keep their relationship out of the public eye. If the truth comes out, it could ruin them both. But when their need for each other rivals their ambition on the ice, secrecy is no longer an option…
Review: Heated Rivalry is the second book in the Game Changers series, the first being Game Changer. I really loved Game Changer so I was excited to check out Heated Rivalry. This book covers a range of years, but it overlaps with the first book (though the characters in Game Changer are just mentioned, not actually “shown”). For this review, I thought I’d do a bit of a pro and con list!
Pros–
- Ice hockey, which I love to read about
- Shane and Ilya – I really was rooting for them
- Shane’s parents – they are always there for him and super supportive
- Shane’s best friend – he’s on Shane’s hockey team and he’s just really funny!
- The emotion- I really enjoyed getting to know more about these respective men; Ilya’s background is especially heartbreaking
Cons–
- Shane and Ilya carry on a secret tryst for years – so I kind of missed more of them just hanging out and being together. You get some at the end, but not as much throughout
- The end was a bit bittersweet. I wouldn’t say it’s a big con, as it’s realistic, but it’s still vastly different from Game Changer
All in all, I did enjoy this one! I’m curious if there will be a third book in the series. I’m not sure who it would focus on though – as Ilya was a character mentioned in Game Changer, and I can’t think of anyone in Heated Rivalry who might have their story told.
Heated Rivalry is not really my thing — but I do like that it’s about hockey! Arctic Sun sounds interesting, but it gives me pause that you wanted their pasts explored more.
Great reviews!
I am curious about Heated Rivalry. I love hockey romances.
I have read similar reviews about the characters. The overall premise and storyline sound good, it just seems more fleshing out of the characters and relationships is needed to get the feels and connection.
I agree with the comment “big character person” 🙂 I love a book with characters with depth and doesn’t wait for the end before the reader gets to know them.
I just started the best book last night and so my reading list is goign to be full for a bit since there are sequels. Love when I find a good book with that!
I’m the same Lauren, I love books that explore a character’s past early in the narrative, it really gives you much more of a sense of who they are and helps form that connection as a reader. Heated Rivalry sounds more my style even though being Australian I have no clue about ice hockey. I love when romances include families, so many authors tend to forget that even as adults, the impact our loved ones have on our lives. Wonderful reviews Lauren, so glad you enjoyed them overall.
I haven’t read Arctic Sun yet. I usually read her stuff right away but it didn’t really grab me. Not sure the 2nd book would be either.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
Sorry you didn’t love it, but at least it didn’t sour you for the rest of the series. Hope that the next is better for you.
That’s frustrating that there wasn’t a lot of character development in the first book until the end. Will the same characters be in the second book? Maybe the backstories will be explored more!
I am sorry a go to author let you down. I hope your next outing is better.
Of these books the first sounds a lot more appealing to me, but it could be because it’s set in the wilderness. That said, it’s disappointing that there wasn’t more character development; I’m sure I would want to know about the sobriety in particular. Thanks for sharing, and hope you are having a great week, my sweet!
I love hockey stories too! Sorry these didn’t hit the top mark for you, but sounds like you did at least enjoy them. Great reviews!
Hmm, I haven’t heard of these, but I don’t think they’d be a good fit for me! I haven’t read a lot of hockey stories, but Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren was amazing!
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? ?
Yours is the third review I’ve read about underdeveloped characters in the Arctic Sun book.
I’m intrigued by your Heated Rivalry and its first book. New to me and I love hockey romances.
Sorry to hear Arctic Sun wasn’t a better read for you. Glad the second book worked out better!
I guess every book can’t blow us away, but it’s good if you can still enjoy a book 🙂 I can understand wanting some more in-depth exploration of characters and their backgrounds though. And it sounds like you liked more than you disliked about the second one! Bittersweet endings can be tricky. I generally don’t mind them, but they don’t give you that same warm, fuzzy feeling as a wholly happy ending.
[…] Arctic Sun by Annabeth Albert (adult book) […]
Well, never heard of this series before but it sounds rather interesting, so will be giving it a try.
[…] read the first book in this trilogy (all are companion novels), Arctic Sun, and I liked it okay. It wasn’t my most favorite book by Albert, but it wasn’t bad. I […]