Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren

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Title: Cold Day in the Sun
Author: Sara Biren
Published by: Amulet Books
Release Date: March 12, 2019
Format: eARC
Pages: 324
Genres: Sports Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge, Lenoreo's 2020 HoHoHo Readathon, Lenoreo's 2020 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER Quarantine Edition
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

Holland Delviss wants to be known for her talent as a hockey player, not a hockey player who happens to be a girl. But when her school team is selected to be featured and televised as part of HockeyFest, her status as the only girl on the boys’ team makes her the lead story. Not everyone is thrilled with Holland’s new fame, but there’s one person who fiercely supports her, and it’s the last person she expects (and definitely the last person she should be falling for): her bossy team captain, Wes.

My Review:

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4 stars — I started off listening to this one, but the audio just wasn’t capturing me and holding my attention as much, so I switched to reading and it was much smoother.

I will admit it took me a bit to really connect with Holland.  It’s funny, it’s like as a character she was even a bit closed off to the reader.  She keeps her cards so close to her vest, and she’s been jaded by the hoops she has to jump through as a girl on a boy’s team, and so she comes across…not quite cold, but not warm??  I don’t know.  But I totally did end up “getting” her, and seeing how everything was affecting her, and living those tough choices with her (even if some of them were the wrong ones).  She was definitely at a crossroads, and I truly felt that she was a better her by the time the book ended.

I LOVED all the different tricky aspects the author addressed of a girl playing hockey on a boy’s team.  From unrealistic expectations of her talent, to having to walk a fine line wrt the girls team, to old school folks and the boys will be boys crowd.  I also loved that while she definitely experienced all of that, her life wasn’t mired by those things without any of the good bits.  I appreciated that she had support from teammates, her family, her coaches…even if sometimes they were a little misguided.  I especially loved Ms. Rieland, and what she brought to the table for Holland.

And then there’s Wes.  My heart broke watching how obvious he was being about his affections, while Holland clung to her ignorance (even when it became impossible).  I’m glad that he wasn’t perfect, but that he sure tried hard to be, and that he learned from his own missteps.

And wow, they were adorable together.  The crush to more was just…*swoon*  Even though their journey together was anything but smooth, I adored the bits of romance we got.

It was a bit slower to start for me, but I was really invested by the end.  A perfect balance of cute romance mixed with real life struggles.