Stealing for Keeps
– Rebecca Jenshak –
Frost Lake High #1
Bloom Books
Published 31 December 2024
♥♥♥♥
Yay for YA sport fiction. I do love a good sport fiction novel and it can be really hard to find for young adult readers. Stealing For Keeps is the first book in a new sport fiction romance series. It delivers an awesome romance and just enough sport action.
For Claire, figure skating used to be her life, her everything. Until an injury sees the end of her career and direction. Literally bumping into the new guy at school and showering him in glitter might not have been the best meeting but their seriously searing kiss thanks to a dare from one of his teammates promises a little more. But it’s complicated. She’s got her future to figure out and Austin’s whole family has sacrificed everything to move to Frost Lake and give him the change to play soccer with his dream team and coach. He’s not sure he should risk it all, including angering his teammate and Claire’s ex, for a chance to see what might develop between them.
This book really brings the romance. The friendship is also fantastic. Claire’s best friend Lacey is an epic addition to the story for her unwavering support and wise words (plus glitter and threats). Austin and the friendship he builds with his teammates is also a key part of the story. There are threads of family dynamics and relationships woven into the plot that give it a nice depth.
I would have loved a bit more sport action, whether getting to see some of Claire’s training sessions, either in flashback or in her new-found sport. She was an elite athlete and it feels like that is brushed over, with the focus on this being in her past, and the bit of sport action we do get to see is all centred around Austin and his soccer.
But overall a great story and a book I’ll definitely be adding to my school library’s YA sport section.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
More information
Category: Young Adult Fiction
Genres: Sport Fiction, Romance
Themes: Sport, soccer, sport injuries, romance, friendship, dares, family.
Age guide: 16 and up
Content Advisory: Fade to black sex scene with some details, sexual references. Frequent coarse language, f*** (34), sh** (37), bit** (3), as***** (4), pi** (20).
Published: 31 December 2024 by Bloom Books
Format: Paperback, ebook. 400 pages.
ISBN: 9781464230615