Release Day Review: Breaking the Ice (Portland Evergreens #4) by Beth Bolden

Reviewed by Mal

TITLE: Breaking the Ice

SERIES: Portland Evergreens #4

AUTHOR: Beth Bolden

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 417 Pages

RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2025

BLURB:

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.

REVIEW:

I have been looking forward to Zach and Gavin’s story throughout this brilliant series and it was everything I anticipated and more. I am in love with the way Beth Bolden crafts her characters and navigates their story. There is so much depth of emotion with the way this one starts off, a tactile experience of Zach driving down to meet the reclusive Gavin, who torn apart by grief is hiding out. Something stops Gavin from turning Zach away like he has everyone else, mostly because Zach just isn’t anyone he is someone where there is a tenuous bond that’s just aching to grow stronger and sharper.

As these two coach together Gavin has a lot of things he needs to resolve before he can face what Zach has come to mean to him. Zach who has been low key crushing on him since he was 18.. I swear the pining and sexual tension in this book is sublime. So is honestly the swoon and omg the dynamic with a dash of kink is extremely HOT!

I loved the found family and the inside jokes and ribbing, o loved seeing the relationships come together again but honestly Hayes broke my heart, I need his and Morgan’s story so much, Hayes needs to be happy!

This was a phenomenal story, I can’t believe the series is over, if you haven’t read it they are all fantastic it’s impossible to choose a favourite! Can’t recommend them enough.

RATING:

BUY LINK:

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Release Day Review: Breaking the Ice (Portland Evergreens #4) by Beth Bolden

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