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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “This was a very interesting read, at times I thought OMGosh I can't believe that just happened, but I had to keep reading, and I ended up really enjoying it. The hero is very different from any other hero's. Very dark, very rough around the edges, but it was great to see how he changed...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “*yawn* I was really disappointed with this book. I thought I was going to get a fantastic book with assassins and people in the wrong places and what I really got was basically erotica, I wouldn't have picked up the book had I known that. I skimmed through so much of the book and wasn't at all...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“Black Ice is the book that made me an Anne Stuart fan. As a classic author in the genre, I had heard many good things about Ms. Stuart's work from my fellow readers. Now I understand why.
Rae Lori wrote this review 4 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I would recommend Black Ice, first entry in the Ice series, to more than just romantic suspense fans. There are lots of thrills, chilling suspense and some really complex characters that don't fit within the romance genre. I loved that aspect of it. The "hero" or perhaps the anti-hero, Bastien is a cold somewhat manipulative man who would do anything (and practically anyone) to get his mission finished. I'm not even sure I'd call him tortured because he knows exactly what he wants and how to get and he has no bones about telling anyone what he wants them to hear straight in their face. The heroine, Chloe, is somewhat innocent but not a pushover by any means. She acts as any sane person would when in the company of lunatics, killers and thieves and often feels like the connection to the reader who is just an ordinary person in an extraordinary circumstance. Sometimes she acted stupidly because of her interest in Bastien which put her life on the line but thankfully such moments as these didn't show up often.
Suspense fans will get a kick out of the story unraveling but romance fans may find the story a bit cold. Stuart pushes the boundaries of the romance genre in the amount of danger, violence and darkness that covers each page. You almost think there won't be an HEA but as the story goes on, shades of Bastien's humanity and interest in Chloe begins to shine through his coldness. I loved how the characters felt real. Bastien didn't feel like a cookie cutter hero but someone who's completely lost his way in life because of the losses he's felt and the darkness he's seen. Even when he starts to get romantically interested in Chloe, he's still a highly unpredictible and lethal man. I love that he didn't change on impact but you could see the little changes and the potential for their future.
Black Ice is an amazing suspense entry that I highly recommend for suspense lovers and romantic suspense readers who want a little something more gritty and real in the genre.”
“Have you ever read a book that poses you with a moral dilemma? Where there is some aspect of the book that hits your buttons and makes you cross, but at the same time you enjoy it?
Anna C wrote this review 4 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Black Ice is certainly one of those books for me. The problem I had, was that the hero is horrible, both generally and more specifically in the way he treats the heroine. He is verbally abusive, sometimes physically abusive and generally quite cruel. So far, so turned off.
But...I enjoyed the book and the interaction between the pair. And that makes me feel slightly dirty.
This must in part be due to the good, suspenseful sub-plot Stuart created with the arms dealers. I can't say it's because she's an amazing author as there were a few quirks she had, such as repetition of words and phrases (often in the same sentence), and general plot inconsistencies (hero is 34, then 32, then 34 again).
All I can really say, before I head off for an emergency session with my analyst to ponder on my attraction to such a man; is read with caution. There are a number of scenes that are quite horrific; I've read 'gamma male' characters before, but never one quite so cruel, and so unredeemed (there is no apology for his behaviour, no blame placed on past trauma, although trauma is there. There are also no real changes in behaviour as he starts to feel for the heroine. Just I'm not very nice, deal with it). For me the authors use Stockholm syndrome didn't wok in her favour. She repeatedly brought it up, so that the reader was to see that it in actual fact WASN'T Stockholm Syndrome, but for me it only strengthened the argument that it might be)
It really is a book that you have to make your own mind up about, if I'd been given a plot synopsis, I wouldn't have read it at all, but I did enjoy it. Just not as a romance.”
“Listened to audio version 10/09 and enjoyed it more than the in print. Loved the audio version and plan on relistening to any number of times in the future.”
Lea AAR wrote this review Sunday, November 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Love love loved this book! It was like The Bourne Identity meets Mission Impossible but with more romance. The hardened enigmatic hero was dark and mysterous but showed just enough vulnerability and depth to where you could buy the lead heroine falling for him in the end. Tons of action and UST throughout the entire book. Once I finished this one I couldn't wait to run out and buy the rest in the series! Is definitely on my list of rereads as well.”
Rachel wrote this review Sunday, October 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“t’s edgy, fast-paced, heart stopping at times, and totally, utterly sexy in its delivery. The dialogue is snappy and the main characters engaging. I could tell this is going to be sure winner by the time I finished Chapter 2. Part of the reason this book work so well is the diabolical hero, or actually anti-hero, Bastien. You can’t quite make out if he’s good or evil, and because he’s killed (assassinated may be a more suitable word actually) before, you’re not quite sure if the operative he works for is pro or anti terrorists. Complete review at http://inmybooks.com/blog1/2006/07/09/anne-stuart-for-july/”
imbag wrote this review Tuesday, December 9 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Wow. I'm a fan of Anne Stuart, but a fairly new one, and I'd been trying to get her backlist before reading the newer books, so the most recent book I'd read was from 1999, and it was a novella. Still, I had faith enough in her older work and in the recommendations of friends who've been raving about her to have bought Black Ice when it first came out.
DKayeS wrote this review Tuesday, November 25 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Chloe Underwood is a young American woman living her dream--sort of--in Paris. Her job translating children's books doesn't pay much, but it's keeping her in Paris, as long as she has a roommate, so it's enough for now.
When that roommate begs Chloe to take her place as a translator at a meeting of food industry executives (unknown to them both, they're actually arms dealers) at an estate in the French countryside, she's reluctant, but agrees, thinking that if nothing else, she'll get a weekend in the country out of it.
Unfortunately, things don't quite work out that way. Almost immediately, she overhears a suspicious conversation in... German, I think it was, or Russian--anyway, it wasn't French or English, and realizing it would be imprudent at the least to admit she overheard and understood, she pretends to be limited to French and English rather than the several languages she actually knows.
This backfires, however, for undercover assassin Bastien, who sees through her clumsy attempt at hiding her knowledge, so he immediately suspects she's a fellow operative. The only question is, whose side is she on?
From then on, it's nonstop tension with Bastien working on several fronts, trying to complete his mission, trying to figure out who Chloe is and what she's there for, and, to his chagrin, saving her life when the others decide she's too great a risk, at which point his goal becomes to get her out of the country and then complete his mission.
Black Ice is gritty and dark, and mostly lacking in romance genre conventions. The action scenes are reminiscent of those in the better (read: less silly) James Bond movies, and Stuart doesn't hold her punches. Bastien isn't a sweet, gentle man, kind to children and puppies, who just happens to have an unusual job. He's cold and ruthless and deadly. Since it is a romance novel, after all, Chloe does crack his hard shell, but it's not easy or typical.
Despite how harsh the story can be, or maybe because of that, there are some sweet, amusing moments. Like when Chloe, trying to shrug off her growing feelings for Bastien, tells him she has Stockholm Syndrome, and he tells her that Stockholm Syndrome is a myth.
I almost forgot Chloe. Understandable, I suppose, with such a vivid character as Bastien around. Chloe is young, and in way over her head, but she's not stupid. She realizes from the start that things are not as she was led to believe, so she does what she can to confirm her suspicions, then tries to leave. She keeps her head, for the most part, and is realistic as someone of her age and background--not perfect, but not TSTL, either. What impressed me most about Chloe is that she doesn't blindly trust Bastien, either.
The ending caps off the story perfectly. Both Chloe and Bastien have changed because of their experiences together, but they're still recognizable, still the same people.
Black Ice is not your typical romantic suspense novel. There were several places in the book that made me blink and realize just how common those romance or romantic suspense genre conventions are, because I'd fully expected the cliche and didn't get it. Which, of course, made me love it even more.
I'm not going to stop collecting Anne Stuart's backlist, but I think I'll start putting her newest books in my Barnes & Noble shopping cart, too.”“*yawn* I was really disappointed with this book. I thought I was going to get a fantastic book with assassins and people in the wrong places and what I really got was basically erotica, I wouldn't have picked up the book had I known that. I skimmed through so much of the book and wasn't at all intrigued.
Lisa R wrote this review Sunday, November 16 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Chloe was a weaker character and everything just happened so quickly. I never got attached to her. Bastien had no redeeming qualities at the beginning and even when he was saving her life it seemed like he was more interested in getting in her pants.
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“Though I rarely read contamporaries, I picked this one up after hearing how bad ass the hero was, being some kind of hitman for the mob, and how he even tortured the heroine when he had to, and how he was basically an interesting Dom (but not in a bad sense) guy. Now that sounded right up my ally! Real conflict between the hero and heroine, and possibility of Ds (Dom/sub) relationship!
Selene wrote this review Tuesday, October 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Unfortunately, the book was actually really tame. What torture? And I wouldn't say the hero was weak, but certainly I had imagine something entirely different. I also had a hard time getting in to the characters, who felt kind of flat at times. Oh well...”
“Fantastic! A writer like Adair, Low and Howard,...
Danielle S wrote this review Thursday, October 9 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Bastien was hard, Chloe was soft,....together they have too survive,...
Chloe is innucent, Bastien is a murderer, but a 'good' one hahahahaha,....for the good thing in the world,..Chloe is on the wrong place at the wrong time,...
Will he hurt her,...or protect her?
He don't want each of them!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope to read book 2 as soon as possible!”
