I have just recently discovered Tracy Wolff and I do enjoy her writing. This book received three stars from me for the simple reason of loathing the main character's love interest. Usually, disliking a character wouldn't warrant such a large ding in the star department but since so much of our hero's development and redemption involved his lady love- I couldn't bring myself to give a higher rating.
Shredded is set in Park City, Utah where Z Michaels is in the middle of training for 2 major upcoming snowboarding events. Well, his 3 best friends are training; Z is pretty much a kamikaze/I don't care if I die boarder who does not give any credence or care to winning competitions. His only motivation for keeping up with sponsors and going to events is to keep his childhood friends happy. They live off their sport and count on it to survive whereas Z is independently wealthy after coming into his trust fund and living in a large house given to him by a cold and absent father.
Immediately into the first few pages, we sense that something is weighing Z down; he's haunted and deeply scarred. We know that he has(d) a sister named April and that something awful happened to her and their mother. It takes almost to the end of the book to get any specifics as to what precisely happens to them. And the details are devastating and though we always had the sense of what happened due to the hints periodically dropped and the barely there conversations between Z's friends- I feel a strong ache in my chest and shed a tear once his past trauma is confirmed by Z's own words.
Shredded, to me, was all about Z and his friends. Those characters and their respective arcs or potential arcs are what I clung to and wanted to read more about. They had a beautiful friendship which has spanned their entire lives and there is such a strong and unwavering sense of loyalty between the four of them that it becomes the center of this book for me.
Z's troubled past is what motivates his every move and is the substance he uses to create a wall between himself and everyone else- a wall so massive that even his friends find themselves on the other side from time to time. Cue Ophelia. She's the new girl behind the counter at one of the group's frequent hangouts. He approaches her for their first meeting and she reacts in the most unflattering manner. Cue my dislike for her. The words that repeatedly ran through my mind were- judgmental, presumptuous, rude, bitter, wretched. She was confrontational right from the get-go. And I had to put the damn iPad down and walk away to keep myself from hurling it at my poor husband next to me. From that point on, it became difficult for me to empathize or rally for Ophelia and I tried. As her painful past was revealed, I felt nothing. She was self-absorbed and cruel; acknowledging that she pushed Z even though she knew that he too, was broken. Z's reaction was to give into her and avoid making her feel badly about their situation. It was irritating. Their chemistry was lacking and I was hoping that Z would somehow figure out a way to make it work with his friend, Cam. I thought their connection ran deeper and stronger. But at this rate, I may only be saying that because I felt no love for Ophelia.
I was totally hoping Ophelia would live up to her namesake.
My Wrap-Up: I liked the overall storyline- there's something intriguing and very heartfelt about stories of redemption and overcoming insurmountable odds. I enjoyed the interactions between Z, Cam, Luc, and Ash- I would like to pick-up the next book to read more about them. I enjoyed the snowboarding aspect, the training and the competitions. But I unfortunately could not get past Ophelia. Oh well! That's how it goes sometimes, ya can't like them all! I'll still pick-up the next installment; the SL of that one was hinted at in a major way at the end of Shredded.
This ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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