Ice Princess by Jennifer Anderson

Rating: 4 Stars 

Title:  Ice Princess (Honey Creek Royalty Series)

Author:  Jennifer Anderson

Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press
     Cover Art: K.J. Jacobs

Genre:  Young Adult Romance

Length: 69 Pages 

Summary :  
 
Mya Newman never minded the routine or quiet that came with living in a small country town like Honey Creek, Ohio. For her senior year, she craved something exciting to happen instead of it melting into a cookie cutter routine like the previous years.

When a new girl, Audrey Moore, moves to Honey Creek, Mya finds herself caught in a triangle. She discovers hidden feelings for her best friend, Michael Graves, but he seems to have eyes for the new girl.

After Mya’s father becomes ill and eventually passes, she turns to her best friend, Michael. Never leaving her side, she can’t help but wonder if he’d rather be elsewhere. With fear of rejection and loss of friendship, Mya decides she can’t confess her recently discovered feelings.

When Michael and Mya share a dance at the Winter Formal, does she confess her true feelings for him? Or does she shy away, forever longing to be the princess who finds her prince?

Review:

 I wanted to review this book partly because of the story but also partly because it takes place in my home state of Ohio. This was a quick, albeit emotional, read that I really enjoyed. I loaded it on to my Nook and read it each night before bed while we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach. It only took me two nights and that's only because I was dead tired by bed time. 

I loved the characters of Mya and Michael in this story, or M and M, as their parents call them. They were very real and engaging - especially Michael.  Mya's internal struggle as she deals with her jealousy of Michael's relationship with the new girl, Audrey, is such a typical teenager that it hit all the angsty checkpoints and ran the gamut of angry, sad, and resigned emotions - and was entertaining all at once. Understandably, Mya is worried about destroying their friendship but her heart knows the truth before her head does and watching her figure it all out was interesting. Her attitude about Audrey was surprisingly mature for her age and watching the internal struggle to get there was interesting.

Her relationship with Michael is heartwarming and endearing and kept me rooting for them through the whole book. I loved Michael's devotion to her and how he always seemed to know when she needed him and exactly what she needed. Michael is at that age where he is getting past the most awkward phases of being a teenager and becoming a man. He knows who he is and what he wants and is prepared to be patient.  

The subplot of the illness of Mya's father is heartbreaking and very well portrayed in the space given. It was so sad and brought me to tears in a couple of places, relating to what it would feel like going through that as a teenager. 

Being from Ohio and familiar with the general area portrayed (Fayette County), I was surprised that more scenery wasn't described within the story. We just drove through that area last night and I found myself thinking about this book. Ms. Anderson could have taken more advantage of the beauty of the area. 

One note to the author - it's pop, not soda! And, yes, I am laughing as I type that. Anyone native to Ohio will understand.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be checking out future installments of the series. I recommend any teens looking for a new series or romance to read, or anyone that enjoys the Young Adult genre give this one a chance.