Twenty-one-year-old professional snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes. In fact, Z’s reckless behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his emotional suffering with physical pain.
Ophelia Richardson isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans high society, she’s no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen, godforsaken Park City. But laying low is her only option after her ex, a rich boy who couldn’t take no for an answer, nearly killed her in a jealous rage. Following that terrifying encounter, the last thing Ophelia needs is a boyfriend—especially one as rich and arrogant as Z. But Ophelia soon discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more damaged than she is.
Tormented by their pasts and feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But with Ophelia hiding the details of her life in Louisiana and Z’s death wish reaching terrifying new heights, their relationship seems to be going downhill before it even begins—unless they can find the strength in each other to trust, grow, and love again.
Series: Extreme Risk #1
Release Date: 02/04/2014
Publisher: Flirt
Source: Publisher
Reviewer: Candace
Rating:
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Reviewer’s Thoughts
I have to say that I found it surprising that I haven’t really seen anyone dive into snowboarding in the New Adult genre. Tracy Wolff not only dove in to the snowboarding world in Shredded but she nailed it with a YOLO flip! I couldn’t put this book down.
Z Michaels is a top snowboarder, trust fund baby and severely scarred individual. He uses his time on his board to physically push himself to the point of pain to dull out the demons rattling around in his head. He doesn’t find any comfort in his day to day life and barely gets. His best friends from childhood and fellow snowboarders (Cam, Luc and Ash) are the only solid thing he seems to have in his life. They are his voice of reason and are constantly bringing him back from hitting the self destruct button.
Ophelia has recently left her home in New Orleans to come to Park City. She too is running from her past. He is broken, battered and mentally in a terrible place as well. She is hoping to start fresh and getting involved with Z is not something she wants or needs. At least that is what she thinks. She has heard the rumors about Z: the womanizing, the drinking, partying. She wants know part of it but as she gets to know Z, she realizes he is wearing a mask every day just as she does. They wear masks to get through the day and make sure everyone around them doesn’t see what is really rattling around in their heads. They both have been through extremely painful ordeals and instead of dealing with it, they both chose to block out the pain in their own ways.
I love that Z’s back story isn’t revealed until very close to the end. From the first chapter, you want answers about both Z and Ophelia’s past. Tracy does a fantastic job at revealing small snippets of each all the way through. Watching the two characters open up to each other was heartwrenching. They both clearly need someone to understand and care and thankfully they get their HEA. The cliffhanger at the end was unexpected and I wish I could pick up book 2 now! I can’t wait to see what is in store for the rest of the gang in the series!
