Wino Wednesday is back again! For this mid-week day of drinking and reading, I bring to you the sweet and smooth flavors of Paradise Peak Sweet Chardonnay and the delicious and thrilling Shredded by Tracy Wolff.
This Washington wine gives off aromas of sweet apple pie and baking spices with toasted oak notes and flavors of dried apricots. As you sip this sumptuous wine, you will taste a hint of Greek honey that will slide so smoothly over your tongue. The sweetness is balanced beautifully with acidity giving you an experience of pure bliss with each sip just as you will experience with each turn of the page in Wolff’s Shredded.
Snowboarding is not only a sport for bad boy professional snowboarder Z Michaels, but it is his life. Having gone through a tragic loss at a young age, Z has yet to recover and uses snowboarding and sex to cope. His affinity for adrenaline makes him take unnecessary risks on the slopes that land him as a top snowboarder in the world. With his focus solely on his sport and avoiding his past, he never saw the sexy Southern belle Ophelia Richardson coming. To recover from a drag racing accident Ophelia heads to the mountains of Utah to get away from adrenaline junkies and make a quiet life for herself. The last thing she needs is a man in her life, let alone a man who has no regard for his own life. Sparks fly when Z makes a move on Ophelia and she shuns him even though he makes her knees weak and her heart want what she shouldn’t have.
Grab a glass of Paradise Peak Sweet Chardonnay and join the sexy Z Michaels on the slopes in Shredded and your hump day will be so much better! Trust me, you will be thanking me later…you’re welcome!
Happy reading and happy drinking, my friends! ❤
Click on the images below for more information on how you can get a bottle of Paradise Peak Sweet Chardonnay or a copy of Shredded.
In the mountains of Park City, Utah, pro-snowboarder and adrenaline junkie Z Michaels lives the life of the rich and beautiful with his three best friends and any snowbunny he can convince to drop her panties for him. Having experienced a horrendous tragedy at a young age, Z finds himself doing anything and everything he can to forget his past, including snowboarding tricks that he can barely survive making him one of the top snowboarders in the world. With his mind on the slopes and his friends, he never thought anything could make him pause until he met the feisty and uninterested Ophelia Richardson.
After being the only survivor in a drag racing accident, Ophelia finds herself in Utah trying to put her past behind her and move forward into the future a changed person. The last thing she wants or needs is a man who has no regard for the value of his own life. As she attempts to remain aloof among the sexy snowboarders she encounters at the mountaintop café she works at, she is stunned and not too please to find herself breathless and weak in the presence of hot shot Z Michaels. With sparks flying, Ophelia tries to avoid her attraction for Z, whose soul intent is to get into her pants. As things begin to heat up, will Z be able to melt Ophelia’s resolve or will she remain as untouchable as she appears?
Review
Shredded is Tracy’s Wolff’s first book in her New Adult Extreme Risk series. Each book follows a snowboarder in a group of friends consisting of Z, Ash, Cam, and Luc. Shredded follows Z Michaels as he struggles to keep his past in the past just as Ophelia Richardson tries to do by leaving New Orleans and settling into Park City. Their damaged pasts bring them to an understanding of the other that they never thought would be possible. Wolff’s knowledge of snowboarding and flawless characterizations make Shredded a wonderful action packed book.
Let me just say, I loved Z Michaels! He’s hot, complex, and a fantastic snowboarder. What’s not to love? Tracy Wolff’s characterization of Z is superbly executed as she gives us both Ophelia’s and Z’s perspectives throughout the book. Seeing Ophelia observe the nuances of Z’s expressions as well as hearing his own thoughts really brings his character to life. His reaction to hearing about Ophelia’s accident is so raw and heartfelt that I felt like I was experiencing his potent feelings of rage and relief right along with him.
The more I read the more I acknowledge that I prefer books with two perspectives – one from the female point of view and one from the male. I feel like having these two perspectives allows for a rounder character that develops not only through his or her own thoughts and actions but also through the observations of the person who is falling for him or her.
I can definitely see how some readers would feel that Z and Ophelia are self-centered individuals that have one-track minds. This could be seen as they both constantly reiterate in words and thoughts their unwillingness to get close to someone as they become lost in their own world of guilt. However, I believe their introspection shows how personal tragedy can prompt a person to shield him/herself emotionally from the possibility of more loss and heartache. As they eventually bond over their shared losses, they grow so much closer and see things in each other that no one else could ever understand before. I found their connection and heartache poignant and bittersweet.
As I was reading Shredded, I couldn’t help but be fascinated by all the different nuances of snowboarding even though it was all a foreign language to me. I suggest having a computer/smart phone near you to look up some of the snowboarding terminology, especially the different tricks (1440, 1260, YOLO, rodeo, etc.). Check out the videos I found below. After watching those videos, I have a much better appreciation for the skill and stamina that is involved in snowboarding. I have come to the conclusion that you have to be pretty damn ballsy to flip and spin in the air like that. I am really impressed by Wolff’s extensive knowledge on the sport. She definitely did her research!
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an exhilarating snowboard centered story with tragedy, heartache, and a love that will blow you away. I’m not one fore extreme sports, but after reading Shredded I am dying to give snowbaording a try…Ok, I’ll be honest, when I say give snowboarding a try I really mean I just want to see sexy ripped snowboarders doing mind boggling tricks. Yum.
I received this book for review purposes via NetGalley.
Romance Bound 