J. L. Canfield

I read the first two chapters and was going to not read any further but I hate to give up on a book or an author so I struggled through. This book has gut-wrenching feelings involved. Each person struggles with how they deal with the stages of grief and yet remain strong for each other. I think, in the end, that is the answer. By moving forward. You know tomorrow is coming and it can't be the same so you pick yourself up (or a friend picks you up) and you find something to look forward to. This is without a doubt a heavy boot read.… (more)

I have been procrastinating posting this review for a really long time because it's so critical. But I feel bad that I didn't post it, so here goes. To be very fair, "Icy Roads" is not the kind of book I enjoy. I think that maybe if someone is a fan of the Shades of Grey books, they might like this, but I found it pretty awful.

The first part of the book is dominated by sexual imagery. But erotic descriptions shouldn't make you go "eww" and these very often did. There is a lot of saliva glistening and dripping. Even the more normal descriptions were overblown, tedious, and truly questionable. Such as "his stomach twisted into a Celtic trinity knot." And worse: "Tears moved like skiers as they shushed down a hill as they followed the trail of her facial bones and the indents created by her nap." I found most of the book excruciating, frankly. I even began to wonder if I was being pranked at one point when I read "Janet thanked him and nodded her no."

The only really good part of the book in my estimation was the description of the crash. That really holds your interest and moves along quickly. The rest of the book plods along with endless minute detail, alternating with what feels like missing chunks. Not so much because any plot is missing, but after pages of introspection, overworked metaphors, and excruciating descriptions, it sometimes skips ahead like the author just got tired of the progress of the scene.

After the icky eroticism of the first part, the second half of the book is oddly full of religious sentiment, which doesn't add anything in my opinion. I will say that the plot is interesting, but honestly it is so thin that, stripped of all of the tedious description, it would be barely a short story.

So reader, beware. You could be in for a lot of eye rolling. When I finished reading "Icy Roads" I actually said out loud "Oh thank God that's over."… (more)

*I received a copy of this book from the Early Reviewers program in exchange for an unbiased review. Brief plot spoilers may follow.*

Icy Roads features perspectives from most of the major characters in the book, but our main protagonist is happily (blissfully delusional if you ask me) married Janet, whose life is gradually turned inside out throughout the course of the book. Juxtaposed against her thoughts of marital bliss are the thoughts and actions of her husband Paul, who does not share her opinion or love, with tragic results.

I requested this book some time before I actually read it, so when I finally got around to reading it, I didn't have a plot synopsis in mind. I think that ended up playing in my favor because I didn't have any expectations, no opportunities to skip ahead and spoil the book for myself (I'm impatient and often skip ahead for spoilers when I have an idea of what I'm reading) and as a result, had no choice but to enjoy the ride. And what a ride it was. lol No pun intended, of course. Now on to the book itself, the main note I had reading along was how I was growing increasingly (and irrationally, which I'll explain later) irritated with Janet's constant sense of optimism, no matter what she heard. It was almost delusionally optimistic and like the other main characters in the book, I underestimated her because of said optimism. It actually ended up being her saving grace in a lot of ways by helping her find reason and logic amongst the chaos that overcame her life, and it was that optimism that ultimately got her through.
I say that I was irrationally irritated with Janet because as a realist constantly toeing the line of pessimism (and usually hopping over it for brief moments), for me the writing was on the wall about her marriage. For me as the reader though, of course it was. That kind of colored my view on what I thought Janet should have picked up from their interactions, and when she failed to do so it bothered me. I hated that she was so blind to her husband's very obvious indifference, if not mild disgust, with her. She was so passive in even her thinking, so resistant to believe Paul was the scumbucket he really was, and after awhile I realized the irritation, while logical from one side, was also irrational from another. After all, Janet trusted the man. She'd never had anyone destroy her trust before and had the luxury to be sheltered from pain at those depths, so why wouldn't she believe him? He was her husband, she took her vows to him seriously even if he didn't, and as such was simply acting as a wife with complete trust and devotion to her husband. I can't logically be mad at her for that. I was mad at her all the same, though. LOL

What I found more interesting than the plot was what it evoked in me while reading it. I love books that, intentionally or by accident, force you to evaluate yourself in the process of reading. I was on the verge of ruining my entire experience with the book because I was so disgusted at Paul and at a level with Janet for turning what I felt was a blind cheek to it, but I'm so glad I kept reading. Janet's optimism was her true strength, and the strength of the book, actually. At least to me. It is what gave her character, what helped her process the things that had taken place in her life, and was actually the strength that everyone, including myself, had mistakenly pegged as a weakness. This proves that how you respond to things, your perception of these things, is so important to how and when you heal from them. It was integral in this case, because without spoiling too much, Janet had A LOT to process and accept and little to no time to do so. Someone with a more negative mindset could have turned this book way darker than it was, but it somehow ended with a hopeful conclusion and some much-needed healing for Janet. I appreciate that the supporting characters were just that, they didn't take away from Janet's individual journey but I was able to get a peek into how the events in the book bled over to their lives.

Overall, this was a nice read. Plot was meaty enough without being overly dragged out (a few scenes weren't really necessary but helped to show the mundane happening alongside the major, which fleshed it out a bit), the characters and their motivations were clearly understood, and I liked that the author allowed the reader to see everything from the beginning rather than finding out alongside the characters. I didn't notice plot holes or too many insignificant details. I agree with the previous reviewer though in that if religion isn't your thing, you may have a few issues as faith in God is mentioned several times. I think it's worth the read regardless but it bears a warning anyway. Thank you to the author for allowing me to review a copy of this book! I apologize it took so long to get this review up.… (more)