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“Review of 1st Reread completed May 18th, 2013 on Kindle Version

I have finally gotten the time to start my reread of Ice Storm. It’s taking me forever to get through this Ice series reread, but I am enjoying it immensely. It’s nice to be able to savor the writing of my favorite author...”

“Review of 1st Reread completed May 18th, 2013 on Kindle Version

I have finally gotten the time to start my reread of Ice Storm. It’s taking me forever to get through this Ice series reread, but I am enjoying it immensely. It’s nice to be able to savor the writing of my favorite author this way. I usually read books faster than I would like the first time, and you miss the nuances when you do that.

I loved how I was kept guessing on Killian. Is he really the cold-hearted murderer his reputation suggests? Then why the acts of unselfish chivalry when he thinks no one is paying attention?

Once again, it struck me how much Killian truly loved Isobel. He was a man on a mission and he had to complete it, and his love for her was inconvenient and unadvised, but he couldn’t make that go away. Even though he did leave her life, she never left his heart, and for someone who apparently could care less about Isobel, he sure did keep track of her over the following eighteen years.

There is something about a hero who is so lethal and capable like Killian. Gives me happy shivers. I liked that Isobel knew her stuff as well. She was realistic for a woman who had been an intelligence operative for many of her adult years. Yet I also liked that it troubled her, what she had to do in her job as a Committee operative. While Killian seems to wear his heart on his sleeve less, he too is an honorable man in an elemental way. Not afraid to get his hands dirty to do his part to make the world a better place. I think that out of the Ice series so far, they are the most perfect match. Two soulmates, even if they don’t believe in the concept. For a dark concept, this book is rather blissfully romantic. Although don't expect the overt heart and flowers. That ain't Stuart's style and I'm glad she doesn't write that way and does it so well. I know when I read one of her books, she wills surprise me with a romance that challenges the norm but truly gives me what I want in a romance novel.

I enjoyed catching up with the other Committee operatives: Bastien, Peter (who has an extended POV), and of course, my darling Reno. Happy to see these lethal men blissfully conquered by love, and waiting to see Reno get his own Cupid's Arrow to the heart, although there are signs already. The excitement level is rising to finally reread Reno’s book after something like four years. And of course, Mahmoud was both hilarious and a source of organic pathos, a child who is the symptom of a flawed, war and turmoil damaged world. How fitting that his surrogate parents would be two world-weary, dangerous spies. I cherish this book and this series.


Suggested Casting

Killian is a Saber. A sharp, deadly weapon made for efficient use.



Guy Pearce as Killian



Ruth Wilson as Isobel Lambert





***Original Review Below****

Anne Stuart does not disappoint. This book has all the things I love about Anne's books. And it has more. The characters are heroes on the edge, both the hero and the heroine. They live in the black heart of night, but fight for good the best way they know how. As much as I love Anne's heroes, Killian really sunk into me. His battle to do what must be done, and the fact that he never really got over Isobel in eighteen years. Isobel is convincing as a cool, competent leader for a covert organization. She suffers when she sends men out to their death, but she does it because it's the right thing to do. You want these two people to find peace. You want them to be together. In the hands of a master like Anne Stuart, you get what you want and more. ”

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Danielle The Book Huntress reviewed a book.

“
The Hunt for Atlantis is rip-roaring treasure hunting adventure that keeps the fans of this genre on their toes. Andy McDermott doesn't bother trying to be 'literary'. He just writes a fun book here. When a reader goes into this book, they should keep that in mind. McDermott also keeps...”

“
The Hunt for Atlantis is rip-roaring treasure hunting adventure that keeps the fans of this genre on their toes. Andy McDermott doesn't bother trying to be 'literary'. He just writes a fun book here. When a reader goes into this book, they should keep that in mind. McDermott also keeps the narrative and plot in service of his goal of providing an exciting adventure. While he doesn't take himself too seriously, I think that the history and archaeology aspects were realistic, and the science seemed solid.

The characters keep you guessing. I loved the way he sets up the first meet between Nina and Eddie. Eddie is the guy you didn't expect to be Nina's future bodyguard. Eddie breaks the stereotypes of the action hero right down the middle. And I loved him for that. He's such a character, always cracking jokes and not afraid to look silly in the process. I liked that he does use levity to get through some tough situations. But at the end of the day, he can kick butt like nobody's business.

Nina is definitely an egg-head and she's in over her head, but you see her growth as the novel goes along. She realizes that discovering Atlantis has greater implications than she might have thought, and it puts her obsession (one that was also her parents') into perspective. For someone who was never around actual physical danger, she does quite well, and no one can doubt her courage. I liked the chemistry between them. It develops naturally for two people who spend so much time together and go through so much.

Kari Frost was an interesting character. I didn't like her that much at first. She was too everything: too rich, too beautiful, too physically perfect. That doesn't really change, but you come to realize that she is much like Galatea. She has become what her father created her to be. It makes you sad, because you realize how much wasted potential was there. While McDermott doesn't spend a lot of time on character development, you have plenty of pages to get to know these people through the story unfolding.

I was suspicious of the Frosts from the beginning. I think it's because I've become cynical. I couldn't help wondering what their endgoal was. Also, I admit the unlimited resources struck me as being kind of sinister. You have to keep reading to see where the author is going here, and in some ways that was surprising. It sort of takes us full circle.

I liked how McDermott continually flips things around with our perceptions of the characters' motivations. I was surprised at how the loyalties and shift, but it was naturalistic.

One thing I didn't like was (view spoiler)

As far as the adventure, that was very well done. This book is almost non-stop adventure, but in a good way. While McDermott doesn't hit the Matthew Reilly level of awesomeness to me, he is a good choice when I want to read for another series with lots of action and treasure hunting, fun characters, and well-integrated tidbits about ancient civilizations. The violence does get bloody at times, but not excessively gory, which is an issue for this reader.

Summing up, I didn't have high expectations for this book initially. I'm glad that I gave it a chance, but I found it quite enjoyable. I think Eddie is a standout character. McDermott takes some chances with him, and veers away from the stereotype of an action hero in a very enjoyable way. The chemistry between Eddie and Nina was good and it adds to the fun of the novel. McDermott throws plenty of twists and turns in the novel and keeps it from being too predictable. While some fussy readers would consider The Hunt for Atlantis low brow, I enjoyed it. It delivers on action, thrills, has some very funny dialogue and scenes, and gave me some main characters to root for. I'd recommend it to fans of action/adventure and those of us who wanted to be Indiana Jones when we grew up.
”

Danielle The Book Huntress reviewed a book.

“I was excited to read Shadow and Bone because the story seemed to have some Russian elements, and I love just about anything Russian. While the story does not take place in Russia, but in a fictional world, it does have prominent Russian cultural elements, which I enjoyed. The folklore seems to...”

“I was excited to read Shadow and Bone because the story seemed to have some Russian elements, and I love just about anything Russian. While the story does not take place in Russia, but in a fictional world, it does have prominent Russian cultural elements, which I enjoyed. The folklore seems to be a distinctive one envisioned by the author, and not recognizable as Russian in my inexpert opinion.

At first, it took a while for this book to engage my interest. I was a bit bored initially. I had to get a feel for the vernacular and the world, and not much seemed to be happening. I wasn’t sure I felt the connection between Alina and Mal. I understood they grew up together, but I didn’t understand why Alina was so fixated on him and Mal didn’t seem to feel the same way.

While I appreciated the world-building and the concept of the Grisha, I think that it needed more texture. I felt like the narrative scratched the surface and was rather vague. It also took a while to get invested in Alina’s character. I liked the concept of her power and how suppressing it had affected her body detrimentally. I loved seeing her gain a sense of confidence and for her self-esteem to grow. I appreciated The Darkling’s character. I was always waiting for him to show it. Sadly he was more developed in some ways than Mal was. I found the resolution with him predictable. I would have liked to see it go in a different direction. Maybe he didn’t have to live up to everyone’s bad opinions of him. As for Mal, even at the end, I can’t say I grew to like him that much. I wanted to like him because Alina loves him so much. I just didn’t. I liked Alina’s character, but I wanted to feel for her more and know her on a deeper level.

At first I was going to give this four stars, because I liked the Russian elements so much and it’s an interesting idea, but I realized the execution wasn’t quite as good, and I had to adjust my rating accordingly. I feel that the writing needed to do a better job of drawing me in and conveying intensity and I think the descriptions of the places, specifically the concept of the Fold, could have been more fleshed out. With this kind of idea and subject, this story really could have had more impact than it did. In the end, it was a diverting, interesting read, but it didn’t set me on fire or get to my heart like I would have liked. If my library gets the rest of the series, I will definitely check it out, because I’d like to follow Alina’s story.

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.”

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