Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Frozen Hearts
AUTHOR: Teegan Loy
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 pages
BLURB:
The best college hockey player in the country is hanging up his skates because he’s tired of living a lie. Five years ago, Erik Fox’s father found out about his indiscretions and forced him to change schools in the middle of the night. Erik had a boyfriend, and hockey players do not date boys.
With his college career over, Erik is determined to get his life on the right track, and that means making peace with the boy he left behind and living according to his own desires. But to do it, he must resist pressure from his father and everyone who wants to define him as nothing but a hockey player.
REVIEW:
Erik Fox has lived his life to please his family, please his team, and to please just about everyone but himself. And while he loves hockey–may even need hockey–he just can’t go on like he has been. So he decides to turn down his chance at the NHL and try his chances at being honest–with himself at least. He is gay, has always been gay, and has loved a grand total of one man his entire life: Tyce. Too bad he threw away his chance at love when he let his parents ship him off in the middle of high school. Except Tyce has never forgotten him either, and when Erik finds himself suddenly free of his responsibilities and his lies, they might just get a chance at each other once again. Granted, they could also end up killed by some random blue-car driving, homophobic asshole. But who knows what the future holds.
*Clears throat* HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry, thought it best to just get that out of the way)
I’ve been going on a bit of a hockey withdrawal as of late. Games don’t start up for another month(ish) and being stuck in sunny california waiting for the games to begin is a bit like waiting for Christmas. So that basically means I pounced on this book like it was pumpkin pie smothered in dark chocolate and whip cream.
There was quite a bit I loved about this book. The time on ice was great–a lot of the hockey books I have read of late don’t really spend any time at all on the ice, which is sad–and just the way that Erik felt when he was playing made it feel real. I do wish he didn’t run away to go skate every time his life started to implode (which was rather a lot) but I do like the idea that on the ice was the one place he was free. And the way Erik goes back and forth on his decision to leave hockey was great. He may have had all the fun in his life sucked out by his father and his expectations…but there is also a part of him that is always going to need hockey. It isn’t just a game for him, it is part of life. I love that. That desire that goes beyond a hobby or fun, that becomes part of you so deeply that giving it up will change you in some fundamental way. Or maybe I just couldn’t fathom a world without hockey.
Outside the rink, however, things are going pretty badly for Erik and Tyce. Yeah they finally found each other again, but someone clearly wants them, if not dead, than in enough pain to wish they were. Part of me really liked this aspect of the book. I was never quite sure exactly who was on what side, so it left it a bit of mystery, but it also didn’t really matter who the exact perpetrators were, but more the general feeling happening on campus. Because it was more than just the threats or the near-misses, that were screwing with Erik. It was the feeling that he was suddenly on the outside of the pack. That he was vulnerable to attack–especially from those he used to call friends.
On the other hand, Erik’s stupidity in relation to all these threats was a bit of an annoyance. I might have understood why he was reluctant to go to the cops in the beginning, but dude, after your friends have to start taking headers into gardens to escape becoming roadkill, it is probably best to put on your big-boy panties and go talk to someone who can do something. Even if that ‘something’ is just making sure that all the death threats are noted for later on.
I really enjoyed all the characters in this book, not just Tyce and Erik–though it felt like sometimes Tyce got left out in the cold, as it were, a lot. In fact, I wish there had been a little more time spent digging into what he went thru while Erik was away. Granted, since the story was from Erik’s pov, we were always going to get a closer view of him, than we were of Tyce. But other than them, yeah the secondary characters were really great. I adore Sam. And I liked Erik’s sister, even if she was a bit high-strung. But then, after having to deal with Erik for two decades, I assume anyone would feel the need–no, the obligation–to smack some sense into him.
This was a good book, with some great hockey, and some even better characters. The story was fun and sweet, but also a tad spicy. Just a great way to spend my weekend.
RATING: 
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