Narrated by Darcy Stark

Breaking the Ice is the fourth and final book in Beth Bolden’s Portland Evergreens series, and delivers the long-awaited answer to the question posed in earlier books – “what’s going on between Zach and Coach?”

Zach Wheeler had been playing in the NHL for six years before realising that he disliked pretty much everything about the lifestyle – the media intrusion, the pressure, the trades, the corporate bullshit – and decided to retire. Having spent the few years since working out what he wanted to do and realising he doesn’t want to walk away from hockey completely, he’s just taken the position of assistant coach to the Portland U team, the Evergreens, and is hoping he can persuade his former coach, Gavin Blackburn, to sign on as head coach. The problem is that Gavin dropped off the radar four years ago after his wife, Noelle, died, and all the approaches that have been made by other teams hoping to tempt him back to hockey have failed. When the book begins, Ryan has driven to Gavin’s remote cabin in Michigan – and is sitting in his car wondering why the hell he thinks he can succeed where everyone else has failed. Still… he’s here now, so he might as well give it a shot.

Gavin almost doesn’t recognise Zach when he gets out of the car. The Zach he remembers had been a gangly kid of nineteen, but this Zach – this man – is someone else entirely; tall and bulked-up, his face chiselled and so handsome it’s like a punch to the gut. Gavin knows why Zach has come – but even though he has no intention of agreeing to whatever offer he’s going to make, something stops him from turning Zach away and he invites him in.

The two men spend the afternoon and evening talking and reconnecting, and Gavin listens to Zach talk passionately about the players on the team and how they need someone like Gavin, someone willing to be unorthodox when necessary, to work with them to help them reach their full potential. Zach’s obvious enthusiasm, his energy and his belief in his players makes Gavin, for the first time in four years, start to wish that things were different, that he was different, and that he could actually go back to that life. But he can’t. And he tells Zach no.

So the last thing Zach expects is for Gavin to call him six days later to tell him he wants to take the job.

Breaking the Ice is the slowest of slow burn romances, but I am so HERE for all the pining and the yearning and the sexual tension stretched to breaking point and so thick you could cut it with a knife. Zach had a massive crush on Gavin when he was in college which he thought had died for good when Gavin wasn’t his coach any more, but that afternoon at the cabin shows him it didn’t die, it just atrophied without Gavin’s presence to feed it and he’s as far gone for him as he ever was – perhaps even moreso. He’s sure the attraction is mutual, and given there’s no conflict of interest (Zach doesn’t report directly to Gavin) there should be nothing to stop them getting together if they both want it. But Gavin says he doesn’t and insists that friendship is all that’s ever going to be on the table. Zach can’t help being disappointed, but isn’t going to force the issue. He and Gavin have a fantastic working relationship and the Evergreens are going from strength to strength under their combined direction; the two of them have very quickly become great friends, spending almost all their waking hours together and having long phone calls last thing at night. They’re dating – minus the sex – in everything but name, and the mixed messages Gavin is sending out make it difficult for Zach to really believe that Gavin really isn’t interested in having anything more with him.

From the moment Zach appeared on his doorstep, Gavin found himself ruthlessly squashing a frisson of… something… swirling deep in his belly. He’s always known he’s attracted to men as well as women although falling in love and marrying young means he’s never had the chance to do more than look when it comes to men – not that he wanted to; he loved Noelle deeply and his marriage was a happy one. He’s certainly never thought of Zach that way and doesn’t want to now, but he just can’t bring himself to cut out the shared meals and late-night calls and to put their relationship back on a solely professional footing, not when Zach – kind, endearing, loveable Zach – is everything Gavin didn’t know he wanted.

It’s heartbreaking to listen to Zach’s hopes being raised and then dashed – and I can’t deny that I sometimes got frustrated with Gavin for being so hurtful, because he knew how Zach felt about him. But I also understood his reluctance; he’s scared of being hurt again and is torn between loyalty to his lost love and the undeniable thrill of finding a new one. The author does a great job of realising all the messy, complicated emotions underpinning their relationship, as well as with the many moments of harmony and quiet companionship they share, and I really appreciated the inclusion of a few scenes between Gavin and the therapist he’s been seeing since Noelle’s death to help him come to terms with all the changes in his life. So often we’re told a character is in therapy, but we don’t always get to see them putting in the work and I liked getting an insight into Gavin’s thought processes and listening to him work through stuff. It helped me understand (to an extent) why he was being so stubborn about Zach!

Breaking the Ice spans the entire hockey season, so we get to see some of the events from the previous books in the series from a different perspective, to witness the conversations leading to some of the coaching decisions and a bit more of Ramsey’s behind-the-scenes machinations. (Is he getting a book at some point?) We also see more of Zach’s friendship with NHL star Montgomery Hayes, who, like Zach, is dealing with a long-term unrequited crush for someone he can’t have.

Darcy Stark is a terrific voice actor and he once again delivers an excellent performance all round. There’s a fairly large secondary cast here with most of the main characters from the previous books making appearances, and as far as I can recall, they’re voiced consistently so they sound pretty much the same as they did in their own stories. The vocal characterisations and character differentiation are superb throughout, and the portrayal of the two leads is fabulous. Zach’s even-tempered good-humour and warmth come through very strongly, and the moments, later in the book, where he reaches his breaking point are extremely well done and may even bring a tear to the eye. Gavin’s dialogue is deeper in pitch so there’s a good contrast between the two in their many scenes together, and the strong emotions he’s wrestling with are frequently evident in his voice.

Breaking the Ice brings the Portland Evergreens series to a very satisfying conclusion with an emotional story about love, loss and the journey back to life and happiness – all wrapped up in a delicious slow-burn romance.

Breakdown of Grade:  Narration – A; Story – A-

Running time: 13 hours 16 minutes