~Blurb~
Twenty-one-year-old professional snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes. In fact, Z’s rash behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his emotional suffering with physical pain.
Ophelia Richardson isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans, she’s no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen, godforsaken Park City. But after nearly dying in the same drag-racing accident that killed her boyfriend, she needs a place to heal, both physically and emotionally. The last thing Ophelia wants right now is a boyfriend—especially one as rich and reckless as Z. But Ophelia soon discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more damaged than she is.
Feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But their tormented pasts pull them in every direction, forcing their relationship into a downhill slide before it even begins—unless they can find the strength in each other to trust, grow, and love again.
I never thought I would get into this book honestly, It's not my typical type of read. I received this as an ARC from the publisher, so my review is based on the unedited version.
I SO ENJOYED THIS BOOK!!! Our lead characters were really great! I was immediately pulled into the story of Ophelia and Z. Both have suffered unimaginable loss and are dealing with it by Ophelia, running from it and Z, having a death wish... and there lies the trouble.
Z, is a hot shot snowboarder with amazing talent, he lives fast and hard, women, drugs, booze and pushing the limits. He is living to forget and burying his pain anyway he can. Which usually means flying off the side of a mountain.
Ophelia, born and bread in New Orleans, the last place she ever imagined herself was in freezing Park City. But she had to leave NO she had to escape the constant reminders of the death of her boyfriend and the crash that almost killed her. She is one tough cookie. She has no time for games and the advances of these spoiled rich people. Working at her Aunt and Uncles ski resort, she meets Z and promptly dumps coffee into his arrogant lap.
The banter between these two is so great! Ophelia doesn't let Z get away with anything. constantly call him on his inflated ego and attempts to use his cheesy lines on her.
Z ordering coffee from Ohelia...
"What can I get you?"
"I like just about anything," I finally tell her.
"Yeah, I've heard that about you," she answers dryly, sounding less than impressed.
"Oh, really? And what exactly have your heard-" I glance down at the black-and silver name tag pinned to her shirt"-Ophelia?"
She rolls her eyes." I think you've got a pretty good idea what people say about you, Z. Now are you going to stand there all night batting your eyes at me or are you actually going to order something for your harem?"
"My harem?"
"I barely know those girls."
"Like that's suppose to impress me?"
"I don't know." It's the most honest thing I have said all day. "What would impress you?"
She eyes me disdainfully. "Way more than what you've got to offer."
This back and forth goes on and it is really great to read. It's fun to see how they respond to each other. The more she smarts off to him ,the more he wants to MAKE her smart off.
Z is a great leading man, even if he is a mess. His need to keep those around him safe is really beautifully written. He puts himself last and beats himself up daily. Just living day to day is painful for him... the guilt he feels is crushing him.
Things happen that bring Ophelia and Z together and both are starting to see each other in a new light. His need to protect her and her need to get inside his head are really wonderfully played out.
I will say the best part of this book for me, was the supporting cast. Many times authors just skim the surface of the non-leads. But each character has or does play a very important roll in Ophelia and Z's story. You really get to know each one of them and that makes for a very happy Dawn! I am excited to read the next book in this series and I love that the author has me wanting more!
The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the amount of time it took to finally get to the root of Z's torment. It was skated over alot and left me saying "will you just tell her, lord!" But other than that I really enjoyed this story.
I am giving Shredded 4.5
Review based on unproofed ARC
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