Lakeshore U #1
Aurora & Noah
The female character in this book, Aurora, has an eating disorder and the author made such a respectful work in presenting her situation, feelings of low self-esteem, frustration, and negativity. Aurora is a beautiful girl, but she’s curvy. Subjected to a mother who used to be a model and is obsessed with beauty and youth, she was emotionally tortured with diets and pills and forced to model and face countless criticism from photographers and other young models. It is a testament to her character that in spite of being so put down, she’s still kind and sassy and friendly. Just not with hockey players!
She just arrived at Lakeshore U to room with her brother and other two hockey players because the apartment she booked suffered water damage. Her brother, Austin, is happy to have her in the house, but he’s also clueless of what her childhood was like. He didn’t get along with their mother and he fled the house as soon as he graduated high school. You can tell there is friction and untold truths they needed to discuss and sort out.
The other players are Connor, who is with Ella from Ice Burn, and Noah Holden, one of the most sought after playboys in town. Initially drab and withdrawn, she got accustomed to the guys. I loved Connor, he was more of a big brother than Austin was, always attentive to feeding her and her whereabouts, inviting her to Hot Dog Tuesday and coming up with the Halloween costume idea of Goldilocks and the three bears.
The one who wasn’t very welcoming was Noah, and Aurora resented it by being sarcastic back at him. She didn’t fall for any of his quirks and that intrigued him no end. And of course, he started to notice her!
I loved the slow burn and the attention to detail in describing Aurora’s demons. Noah also had a dark past but he kept it under lock and key, masking it with a sunny disposition, charm and jokes. At one time I was comparing Aurora to Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh because she was so gloomy all the time, but then I appreciated when she started to lighten up, acquire friends, and started to laugh and joke. She always has voices in her head that denigrate her choices but I loved that she had the will to overcome. She thought she was ugly until Noah taught her that she was beautiful.
It was initially dark but then it turned light and hopeful, two kids who were on the threshold of starting their adult life and needed each other to edge out of the darkness of their past into the light of the future. Very uplifting once you get over the gloominess!
Purchase links
https://books2read.com/breaktheiceLU
About the author
USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over forty mature young adult and new adult novels, LA COTTON is happiest writing the kind of books she loves to read: addictive stories full of teenage angst, tension, twists and turns.
Home is a small town in the middle of England where she currently juggles being a full-time writer with being a mother/referee to two little people. In her spare time (and when she’s not camped out in front of the laptop) you’ll most likely find LA immersed in a book, escaping the chaos that is life.
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