Breaking the Ice
Portland Evergreens, Book 4
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Breaking the Ice
Narrated by:
Darcy Stark
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Narrated by:
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Darcy Stark
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By:
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Beth Bolden
About this listen
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.
Listeners also enjoyed...
Listener received this title free
Probably the most angsty installment of this series so far. This one follows Zack, former NHL player turned grad student & assistant coach for his former college team, and Gavin, Zack’s former college hockey coach, who also went pro but has been in self imposed exile for the last four years after the death of his wife.
Zack finds Gavin & convinces him to return to both of their roots- coaching for the Portland Evergreens. What then unfolds is a very tension filled romance story with A LOT of push-pull before Gavin comes around and realizes that him finding love again doesn’t erase the love he has for his late wife.
I really appreciated the character of Gavin’s therapist because he really held nothing back.
I also really loved how much Hayes content we got!! I cannot wait for his book now.
So much pining!
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Listener received this title free
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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Listener received this title free
I enjoyed listening to Darcy Stark narrate this story, Gavin and Zach was instantly recognisable and whilst I have read it, listening you could hear Zach's frustration, him using Hayes as a confident, and then Gavin hurting from his grief then to his longing for Zach.
It had me smiling when I instantly remembered scenes involving previous characters which I had read from their POV and then hearing those scenes from Gavin and Zach's POV, it completed the story. Zach's closeness with his best friend Hayes has got me craving for his story and whilst this series has come to an end I will be returning to it again
A relationship worth the wait
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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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Listener received this title free
There's a lot of healing and a lot of personal growth in this book, and I really did enjoy the journey!
Narration: Brilliant job as usual!
Holy smokes
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Listener received this title free
There's also more information on Finn's Dad and the player he hooked up with 5 years ago.
This is a slow burn romance but it's also a tale about Gavin coping with his grief and allowing himself to live again. I liked Zach but I couldn't quite understand his desire to be with Gavin. Gavin's constant change of heart was infuriating and I found his attitude to Zach somewhat hypocritical considering some of his thoughts and actions. I'm surprised he'd been seeing a therapist for some time considering how little progress he seemed to make.
The narrator did a great job.
Interesting for a chance to get to see the season from another perspective.
Coaches in love
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Listener received this title free
Darcy Stark did another amazing job performing this wonderful story. If you haven’t read or listened to any of the other books in this series I think this one works well as a standalone.
Breaking the Ice also gives pretty good hints for Beth’s next series and I can’t wait!
Fantastic!
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Listener received this title free
Hands down the best audiobook in the series! I felt so much sadness for Zach’s unrequited love story and cried way too many times. Emotion was a real strength in Darcy Stark’s performance. He conveyed every nuance: laughter, playfulness, embarrassment, frustration, longing, anger, sadness - even in the side characters’ voices! The softness or firmness in his voice always matched the mood, and the use of intonation and volume really brought the story to life and certainly made me even more emotional!
I especially loved Zach and Hayden’s friendship, their support for each other warmed my heart. Their mutual bonding over their difficult love lives made their connection so much stronger. I adored Zach so much, his feistiness, kindness and loyalty made him so much more relatable. I also loved Gavin, but Zach stole my heart.
Darcy Stark did use different voices for characters and they were performed well, but I couldn’t always tell who was speaking based on his interpretation alone. Zach’s voice was exactly how I imagined and fit his fiery personality - it was full of energy. I did expect Gavin’s voice to be slightly deeper, but it still fit him.
The audiobook starts with us hearing Zach Wheeler going to Gavin Blackburn (four years after his wife’s death) to try and convince him to be the coach to the Evergreens. Gavin was Zach’s coach when Zach was eighteen and Zach is now twenty-seven and has had feelings for him all this time.
It was interesting to hear a different perspective of a sports romance where they were both in the NHL (Zach playing and Gavin coaching) and both of them leaving the NHL. I really enjoyed hearing the coaching and behind the scenes work that goes into the team. I was a bit surprised by the timeline, we don’t get to the time of Finn’s book until just after 50% in.
Speaking of timelines, the slow burn almost killed me! The immediate attraction between these two is hot, the slow burn makes the tension even hotter, but then the quick to burn fire when it finally happens and combining all three together?! SMOLDERING!
I feel like this audiobook definitely had more of a spotlight on Ramsey which made me even more excited for his eventual story. I’m also really looking forward to Morgan and Hayden’s story.
🏒 Coach x assistant coach
🌈 Bi-awakening
👀 Age gap
💕 Second chance
🏫 Forced proximity
🥹 Pining
❤️🩹 Widower/ love after loss
🥵 Slow burn to woah burn
Plot: 📚📚📚📚
Character rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Feels: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Writing style: 🖊🖊🖊🖊🖊
Eye-catching cover: 🌺🌺🌺🌺
Narration by Darcy Stark: 🌕🌕🌕🌕
*And good news, the previous errors in chapters 13-14 have been fixed.
The emotion in this gave me chills!
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Listener received this title free
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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Listener received this title free
Even though he'd shut down anything physical between himself and Zach, Gavin was much more open emotionally, setting up cozy nightly phone calls and frequent meals out for the two of them to spend time together. Of course, he'd fooled himself into thinking he was just a friend enjoying another friend's company, but I saw right through that and so did Zach. When Zach finally reached a breaking point (because no one can be a patient saint forever), that served as a catalyst for Gavin to wake up and realize what he'd been about to let slip away. Though I wish it hadn't been so hard for the two of them, I was thrilled to find out that their romantic chemistry was even better than I thought it'd be. Hockey-wise, I really enjoyed seeing all of Zach and Gavin's coaching insights throughout the season, and it felt like getting a behind the scenes look at how their strategy had unfolded in the previous books. Hockey was a core part of both men's lives, and that came through in their passion for the game and their dedication to making their team the best it could be. My heart felt so full as I watched the Portland Evergreens step up to the challenge and make a play for the national championship, and it was even better knowing that Gavin and Zach had already won each other's hearts. Now all that's left is to wrangle Morgan into a relationship, and I can't wait to see what twists and turns Beth Bolden has in store for him.
Gavin and Zach!
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