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Nineteen-year-old Emily is new to pairs skating, but she and her partner Chris have a big dream–to be the first American team to win Olympic gold. Their young coach Sergei, who left Russia after a mysterious end to his skating career, believes they can break through and make history.
Emily and Chris are on track to be top contenders at the 2002 Winter Games. But when forbidden feelings spark between Emily and Sergei, broken trust and an unexpected enemy threaten to derail Emily’s dreams of gold.
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Emily's skating career and personal life have never been more golden. She and her partner Chris have won every competition they've entered this season, and she's found the man of her dreams in her coach Sergei. But when one of the biggest competitions of the year takes Emily and Sergei to Russia, Sergei's past explodes into the present and makes Emily doubt everything in their future.
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Author Jennifer Comeaux
Jennifer Comeaux earned a Master of Accounting from Tulane University and is a Certified Public Accountant in south Louisiana. While working in the corporate world, she sought a creative outlet and decided to put on paper a story that had played in her head for years. That story became Life On the Edge, her first published novel.
When not working or writing, she is an avid follower of the sport of figure skating, travelling to competitions around the country. Those experiences allow her to see a different side of the sport and serve as an inspiration for her writing. Jennifer is blessed with a wonderful family and many friends who have encouraged her to pursue her dream of being a published author.
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MY REVIEW:
This was a great sequel to Life on the Edge. Although Emily's actions sometimes made me want to reach into the book and shake some sense into her, I found myself really drawn into the drama surrounding Sergei and his past in Russia.
What's great about this book and its predecessor is that you can really see how much the author loves ice-skating. I've learned so much about the sport from her books. I think some of the strongest scenes in the books take place on the ice. In particular, the skate with Emily and Sergei really gave me a glimpse into the love and passion they have for one another.
Many familiar characters appear in the sequel along with a few new faces because of Emily and Sergei's trip to Russia. I liked getting to read about how Sergei grew up and his early skating career. I thought it was sweet how much Emily tries to immerse herself in Russian culture to learn more about his heritage. Sergei is also an appealing male lead and it was refreshing to read about a nice guy instead of a clichéd bad boy.
I think the author really handled the subject of being a stepparent at a young age well. I went through the same thing as Emily and I found myself relating to the emotions that she went through. It's hard to not feel like the third wheel and wonder if you should back off in order to let the family stay together. However, some of her actions were really overstepping the line and I think she should've been a little more sympathetic about Elena and Sergei's difficult situation. For instance, when Liza doesn't want to sleep with her mother, Emily lets her sleep with her. No, no, no! Of course, Elena was going to feel threatened and try to smother Liza.
I also wasn't crazy about how judgmental some of the characters came off. I had grown to like these characters in the first book and it turned me off how big of a deal they made about how Elena got pregnant at seventeen and Sergei's big "mistake." Instead of coming down on Sergei, Emily should've told her family about him being a father instead of being embarrassed when he came to her event with Liza in tow.
The conclusion was satisfying and I think the characters grew from the experience, especially Emily. I ended up rooting for her and Sergei again. I thought it was touching how much she was willing to sacrifice in order for him to have a relationship with his daughter.
Most of my issues come from my personal feelings and didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I would definitely read subsequent books from the author and I really think she should write more stories that take place in the skating world.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Thanks so much for the great review and for being part of the tour, Heather! The next book in the series will have more on-the-ice scenes as the skating will play a larger role again :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the review, the book sounds great.
ReplyDeleteKit3247(at)aol(dot)com
How great! Thanks for hosting, Heather! I've never read a book about ice-skating but these sound interesting. With a last name like Comeaux, I knew she was from Louisiana :) I think I knew a Jennifer Comeaux when I lived in South LA. How cool would it be if she's the same one? Very well-written review. WRITE ON!
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