“A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them.” — Lemony Snicket
Rating: 8.5/10"Slamming my opponents into the boards? Nobody ever called that 'sick.' When I did it right, the crowd stood up and cheered. The world is cracked. It really is." "You do not sound entirely sensible right now, my dear. I'm doing to hang up now, and perhaps we can talk later, when you're feeling more relaxed." "Old age has a way of stripping away the distractions, and making you see the big picture of your life." "I don't plan... But I do hope." "Until you've dragged your mom to three lectures a day, you haven't lived." "He doesn't give a damn what people think. That's a real man right there." | I'm surprised I liked this story. Although I guess I shouldn't have been. I typically don't go for books with characters I don't have much in common with. I'm the type of reader that likes to relate to the storyline and the characters. But even though this story had none of that in it, I don't think I care to much now because it was HOT. Like seriously. Those scenes between Graham and Rikker? I had to fan myself. But in all seriousness, it was a great story. You don't get many with a point of view from two guys falling in love. Seeing Graham struggle and Rikker having to deal with all that was thrust upon him was interesting to read about. I love getting into their minds about the situation, and I'm a sucker for a good hockey/sports book. Plus I've read all the other Ivy Years stories and liked all of them, so it was great seeing familiar characters as well. But I can't go the whole review without talking about Gran. She' a hoot! Seriously that lady is hilarious. From her deadpanning to her humor toward things, I couldn't get enough of it. So I was very upset when she had her stroke but even more relieved that she looked like she'd make a full recovery. Another thing I realized I really do like is how I can piece together the characters in other books and line them up on a timeline in my head. It's kind of like an interesting puzzle trying to figure out when certain things are taking place and what's happening where. Realizing things like Graham was the injured player Bridger took over for in The Year We Hid Away is a little extra something this series gives you that others lack. Normally series aren't as good and we all know sequels typically aren't as good as the originals, but this works. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the story and was so happy to see Graham able to workout all this internal issues and everything turn out the way it was supposed to in the end. |