Having daughters that played sports I can see this happening in real life. Jake has a lot on his shoulders and makes hard decisions regarding his future and the future of his teammates Brooke has a rough life at home and once again it shows a real life situation. Both their situations were handled well and realistically. The story was well paced and we see some characters from the other books.

cute!!! cute!!!! i loved this. its wholesome and sweet and very easy to read. perfect morning commute reading!!

Hockey star Jake meets new girl Brooke in this romance that also doubles as an after school special on hazing.

My synopsis is tongue in cheek, but it’s not wrong. This is a romance about two people falling in love. It’s also about the realities of high school hazing. About the perpetuation of the act by members of the group for the simple fact they do not know how to stop it. Doesn’t absolve them of their own complicity, but it does show the courage it takes to go against a well oiled tradition.

Jake was by far the more interesting character. The story worked best when it focused on Jake’s investigation into his high school’s troubled hockey team. Brooke, however, suffered for it. Her story had so many interesting elements, but she was underutilized and under developed. Brooke shined best once she joined the women’s hockey league. This book would have been a solid 4 stars if Brooke’s character development had been a bit more.

tl;dr While I enjoyed the book, it didn’t develop both of the main characters as much as I would like.

Julie Cross is a wonderful author I have read quite a few books by her and when I had the chance to grab On Thin Ice I was ready to dive into the wild ride I knew I was going to be taken on.

Brooke is a awesome character I loved her right off the bat and she instantly made me want to be her friend. She dosent put up with a lot but when she falls she falls fast and hard and it drove me a little nuts.
Jake I didn't like him all that much but he was good for Brooke and thats all I really wanted.

Overall a pretty good read!

I received this ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
On Thin Ice is a young adult sports fiction book. It follows Brooke Parker after she moves to Juniper Fall, Minnesota after losing her incarcerated dad and her mother losing herself in a break down. There she finds the Juniper Fall hockey girls league. Wanting to be invisible it doesn't happen. It doesn't happen because she ends up saving the most popular guy and hockey star during a hazing incident gone wrong. Jake (the popular hockey star) has a punishment and is assigned to assist the coach to the girl's hockey team. There he becomes closer to Brooke and together they go through sacrifices, family breakdowns and challenges. I really enjoyed this book, I also wasn't aware it was part of a series and number three of the series. It is very true to a stand alone novel.

I’ve not come back to Julie Cross’s Juniper Falls series in a while and to dive back into high school/college sports is still a change from what I’m used to.

Still, ‘On Thin Ice’ is more than what it reads from the blurb and the more I read, the more I realised that the romance is merely part of a larger storyline dealing with the culture of hazing and the coverup for fear of being called a tattle-tale.

I didn’t like Jake’s unwillingness to do the right thing, even after people got hurt (the point is, does an entire batch of freshmen have to die before something happens?) because of upholding stupid, supposed traditions that deem you either a ‘hero’ or a ‘loser’. But Cross does tackle this issue which does get resolved in the end, along with the slow-blossoming romance that gets tucked neatly into the bigger problems facing sports, making ‘On Thin Ice’ essentially, a story that quite warmly champions young adults as examples who finally choose the straight and narrow path.

I’m guessing this will probably appeal to the younger demographic more—in both characters and plot—and I’ll have to say that my rating really, is one given from my adult perspective that tends to get some eye-rolling in, along with the growing inability to connect with this genre of fiction that I so used to love. As a YA story though (more objectively speaking this time), it’s a pretty decent read.

I recently got into this series by reading Breaking the Ice first. You can read this series out of order, and I am glad I did because now I am really looking forward to reading Off the Ice sometime.

On Thin Ice was much more serious than Breaking the Ice was. This book was about Jake Hammond, the star of the hockey team. He gets into trouble with the team one night during a traditional ritual and ends up taking the fall instead of letting his whole team come crashing down.

This book had me on the edge of my seat with all of the emotions. I don’t think there was anything to have a real trigger warning for it, except for mentions of depression and cutting. But I think the author handled those issues well, as well as the main plot of the story. I even stayed up until my late bedtime during the week to find out what was happening. I simply had to know what would happen next fast. I also really liked Brooke’s character.

I liked the team unity that took place in this book and how it was there in the end of the book. This book was overall a five star read because of friendships, romance, emotions and more. I definitely recommend this to anybody that likes hockey stories with romance.

Thank you publishers and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this.

Brooke Parker never expected to find herself in the tiny town of Juniper Falls, Minnesota. Of course, she also never expected to lose her dad. Or for her mom to lose herself. Brooke feels like she’s losing it…until she finds Juniper Falls hockey. Juniper Falls girls’ hockey, that is.

Jake Hammond, current prince of Juniper Falls, captain of the hockey team, and player with the best chance of scoring it big, is on top of the world. Until one hazing ritual gone wrong lands him injured, sitting on the sidelines, and―shocking even to him―finding himself enjoying his “punishment” as assistant coach for the girls’ team.

As Jake and Brooke grow closer, he finds the quiet new girl is hiding a persona full of life, ideas, and experiences bigger and broader than anything he’s ever known. But to Jake, hockey’s never just been a game. It’s his whole life. And leveraging the game for a shot at their future might be more than he can give.

It wasn't for me.

Julie Cross once again delivers a satisfying sports romance in her latest novel, On the Ice. The main cast is caught in circumstances outside their control and must learn to stand up for their values and the truth.

Wasn't my favourite Julie Cross book ever but was still an enjoyable read. I highly reccommend it a read if you've read the other books in the series as it's a lovely ending featuring a couple of old faces!

On Thin Ice is the story of Brooke, the new girl and Jake the Hockey Star.

It’s not an instant love between these two. They go through something together, that turns their world upside down. But also Brooke decides to do something she’s never done.. play Hockey.

I’ve loved Cross’s previous books. But for some reason, I could not connect to the characters. The story is written well; it just did not grab me.

Overall, Three Boundless Stars

On Thin Ice is the third book in the Juniper Falls series.  You can easily read each book as a standalone, but I recommend reading them in order.  The third book talked about stuff that happened in the other books and there are characters that appear in each one.  



Jake is a local hockey star.  It's his senior year and he's going to be captain.  The senior boys take the freshmen boys out to a lake for their hazing.  This has been done for 100 years (or so they have been told), so it's tradition.  Jake is uncomfortable with it, but he participates in the last part of it, after having a bit to drink.  He tells the boys to run out on the partially frozen ice.  It's just a joke and he tells them to stop as they're running.  But one boy doesn't hear him.  Jake falls out of the tree and rushes to help him.  Jake's collarbone is broken and the boy is rushed to a hospital.  Jake won't turn in any of the other guys, so he gets community service helping his uncle coach the new girls hockey team.



Brooke recently moved into her grandma's house with her mom.  They lived in Austin, Texas.  Brooke's dad is in jail and her mom fell apart.  Her depression is so bad that Brooke was taking care of herself.  Brooke got into some trouble her freshmen year and wants to start over in Juniper Falls.  She really doesn't talk to anyone, but she and Jake have run into each other a few times.  Brooke decides to sign up for the hockey team even though she's never played before.   Brooke runs at night to escape and she happened across the hazing incident.  She is the one that pulled Jake out of the water and called 911.  



Brooke and Jake start spending a lot of time together.  She's dealing with her mom's depression and Jake is struggling with what happened.  They find out that the hockey coaches over the years have covered up actual crimes.  This needs to change and Jake decides to stand up to everyone, no matter what it costs.



And like the other Juniper Falls books, there is a heavy focus on the romance.  Brooke and Jake are a cute couple that supports each other through everything while falling in love.



Warnings for hazing/bullying, attempted suicide, mental illness/depression, talk of past cutting, and there is some sexual content and swearing.



I gave this book 4 stars.  Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Teen for my review copy.

This was a decent YA story but I did not enjoy how the book started and that turned me off for most of the book. The start jumped right into a depressing turn and it was hard to continue. I will get a copy for our teen section because it tackles difficult situations.

3 1/2 stars. Pretty good YA book. I really liked Jake and how the whole incident and how it was covered up really bothered him. Brooke was such a strong character. The whole story was interesting and move along nicely. My issue was that I felt like I was missing some info. I didn't read the previous 2 books, but I feel like this book should have stood on its own. Also, the ending was a bit abrupt.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review On Thin Ice by Julie Cross. which is the third book in the Juniper Falls series.

Our main characters are Brooke who has to moved to Juniper Falls to live with her grandmother and mother who has suffered a breakdown after the incarceration of her father and Hockey star and town prince Jake, they couldn't be more different but when a hazing incident goes terribly wrong it draws them together and they find that despite lifes challenges, good things can still happen.

My heart broke for Brooke! at such a young age she has had to deal with so much but she remained strong and held her head high; all she wanted to do was keep her head down and blend in at school but when you capture the attention of the most popular boy in school that definitely wasn't going to happen. Jake has been looking forward to his senior year when he can finally show his talent on the ice, but when hazing ritual goes bad, it not only nearly cost him a future in hockey but also his and another persons life.

The romance was written very well and wasn't rushed, it was realistic and without unnecessary drama.

I thoroughly enjoyed the hockey aspect and the difficulties that were faced in women's sports & starting up a team; Hockey was such an important part of the Juniper Falls community which I did like. What I felt was missing was more details about the coach; I'm not sure if more was revealed in the other books but I found that this information was lacking.

Overall, I felt On Thin Ice was written very well, it dealt with the fallout from hazing, mental health, romance and standing up or what you believe in. I'm definitely keen to read more books by Julie Cross.

Gorgeous romance, heartbreaking family stories, strong friendship and a lot of soul searching make this a wonderful read.

I enjoyed this read. It wasn't what I was expecting.... which was more of a teen sports romance. Sure the romance is there but I feel like the hazing/bullying and conflicts with how the boys team is run story line is bigger. There is also the chunk of the story that is about the girls hockey team being started which was a good add on.

I did not know that this was part of a series at first. It definitely can be read as a stand alone. I think I will go back and read the other two books in the series though. I hope they're as good as this one!

The third book in the Juniper Falls series, but it reads like a true standalone. I had no problem connecting with the characters whatsoever, and I didn’t feel like I was missing pieces, except perhaps some information about the hockey coach and its toxic influence.
What I liked about this book, it that it wasn’t just your typical YA romance where new girl meets popular boy… blah blah. Don’t get me wrong, they do meet and their romance is as sweet as it is compelling. No insta-love here, but more of a slow burn, tastefully heated. I really liked how the characters and their relationship were developed, in a very realistic way.
But what stroke me as unique was the way Julie Cross managed to wave together romance and much more mature topics. The story is not just about love, but also other thing going on in characters’s lives that gives them lots of dimension. There is some darkness here and it delves into some important issues like teenage hazing, peer pressure, mental health, fear of speaking up… It’s a story about loss and regret, but also finding your voice. It was a bit heavier than I expected, but the author handled everything really delicately. I greatly respect where she took this story, and the message it conveys.
And even if the book manages to dig deep, it will leave you feeling all happy inside, I promise, thanks to its swoon-worthy romance. This was the first book I read by Julie Cross and I will definitively be back for more.

I love Julie Cross' writing, and I loved the characters (for the most part, I didn't like how we dealt with one of the hockey players), and I just liked the world of Juniper Falls and the snow and Brooke and Jake. Brooke especially was a unique character, and I liked getting to see what the characters cared about.

I felt like we sometimes forgot about parts of what was happening, and I wished the book spent more time with the training and hockey scenes. I also don't think we spent enough time dealing with Brooke's family issues. And overall I thought the non-romance plot of the book was kind of odd, and the book almost turned into another genre at the end.

But I still really, really liked it, and I am for sure going to read more Julie Cross books.

**this series is advertised as fine to read out of order, but this book at least would have been more impactful if I had started from the beginning

This is the 3rd book in the Juniper Falls series. I haven’t read the other books in the series, but I still think this is a standalone. The other couples in the other books do show up in this one, and I liked them so much I will probably go back and read the other ones.

The book starts with a hockey hazing ritual, which goes seriously wrong. I thought Jake was a great character, with lots of dimension. Brooke was definitely harder to get to know. I was really trying to piece together her past throughout most of the book. I really liked the stuff about Brooke learning to play hockey. The story was paced really well, and writing was great throughout. There’s quite a bit about the hockey team and it’s influence on the community. I did feel like I was missing a lot more information about the hockey coach, and maybe that came up in previous books. The story ends more abruptly than I personally wanted, but I still thought it was a good ending.

Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I will definitely go back and read the previous books. If you enjoy hockey, you will probably love this one!

* ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!