**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: http://bookbriefs.net** 

Center Ice is the first book in the Corrigan Falls Raiders series, a new young adult (possibly new adult in future books) contemporary romance series about a Major-minor league hockey team. It is told in dual narrative between Tyler and Karen. I really enjoyed that because I have been reading more paranormal books lately and I have to say I have missed my dual narrative contemporary romances. And I didn't even realize that I missed them until I started reading Center Ice.

One of the great things about Center Ice...other than the Hockey players...is that the characters are so completely read. You are going to see the good, the bad and the ugly from Karen and even Tyler. They are both great, but Karen especially found herself in a less than desirable situation, and she is a 16 year old girl. So she sometimes had a tendency to let her snarky and bratty side show. Not that I really blamed her though. I think having to go live with the father you never knew- after the death of your mother- and to find out that he has a whole family and he was cheating on his pregnant wife, which resulted in knocking Karen's mother up with her. Yes, that is not the typical situation and it is bound to be more than a little awkward. Yes, the kids are going to resent you and the mother has every right to be a total witch. And the oldest daughter was a total witch, but the mom really surprised me. I kind of wish Karen had been a little nicer to her initially because she was surprisingly great about the whole thing. I kind of loved that even though she had every right to be cold and distant towards Karen, she wasn't mean at all. It was refreshing.

Karen is only 16, so she does have some growing up to do, but this is such a tough time for her that you have to cut her some slack. And then there is Tyler. Tyler is so worthy of being a hometown hero. I just loved him. I felt so bad for him. In some ways I felt worse for him than for Karen. I know that sounds strange because Karen lost her mom, but Tyler has parents alive, but not there for him. They don't seem to care about what he wants, only what they want for him. It was tough for me to read some of the scenes with Tyler and his dad, but I lived for the scenes between Tyler and Karen. I just loved the two of them together. And I loved that Karen wasn't that into hockey. The scene were she found out Tyler was a hockey player cracked me up.

Overall, Center Ice is a great book. It is funny, sweet, heartbreaking, and an all around wonderful read. I loved getting to know all of the characters, and I loved that Cate Cameron wasn't afraid to show some ugly sides to them. This is how they were and this is how you were going to see them. No punches barred. If you are a fan of young adult/new adult contemporary that is realistic and not falsely fluffed up, I would strongly reccomend Center Ice. I can't wait for the next book in the Corrigan Falls Raiders series.

 This review was originally posted on Book Briefs