Breaking the Ice - Premium Stainless Steel Ice Crusher for Cocktails & Smoothies | Perfect for Home Bars, Parties & Outdoor Gatherings

Let me preface this by saying I have read all of Ms. Torrest's books (RW and DTS) and I absolutely adore all the characters she has introduced us to in these books. Breaking the Ice is no exception. T Torrest has shown us yet more characters in her Norman, NJ smorgasbord of stories for us readers to actually admire and have a vested interest in. As with her other books, Ms. Torrest's writing style has once again sucked me into the story and held my page-turning interest. I do agree with other reviewers that this one was a SLOOOOOOOOW, hurry-up-and-lets-get-to-the-good-part love story, but I understand what Ms. Torrest's intention was here.The first part of Breaking the Ice was told from the point of view of Avery Brooks, where we see firsthand her immediate attraction to Mr. Zac McAllister upon their first meeting. I loved reading her story of how they grew to become friends through the years, something that seemed to be mutually agreed upon between them, although at times the attraction they both seemed to have for each other peeked out. I LOVED everything about how it all played out, especially the events of New Years Eve 1998. Something happens soon thereafter, and we don't pick up in the story until 4 years later.This is where our lovely Zac gets to start telling the story from his point of view. Once reading this part, I started sensing that this story was really not going to be the typical kind of love story us one-clickers crave. And it wasn't, and it was refreshing! Because sometimes too many sex scenes does not allow for substance and a believable story to be told. But I digress... Anyhow in this part, we got a lot of the background on Zac, and his feelings for Avery and how he dealt with the happenings in his life since he last saw her. I understand many other reviewers thought there were parts that were "boring" or "irrelevant", but I believe it was vital in order to show a real and believable transformation of Zac into the man he grew to become by the end of the story. Also during this part, we see through Zac's eyes how Avery has grown into the woman she was destined to be. And all those details some thought were inane and unnecessary? Well I honestly think they tied the story together really, really well through the span of years the events took place in. One final note about Zac's part: I loved Magnum and Zac's girl description based on her drink order. Soooo cute!All in all, I felt this was a lovely story, and yes it was slow and painful to get to the point we were all dying for, but it added much appreciated substance to this story. So calling it a love story is still valid, but its probably not the kind of love story most are looking for in this kind of genre. I think I also would've liked to read some more from Avery's point of view in the later years. Regardless, this was an excellent read and I really, really hope to read more about the other McAllister brothers (hint, hint Finn!).