Black Ice
by Becca Fitzpatrick
Pages: 392
Published on 4th October, 2014
by Simon & Schuster
Genres: Thriller, Suspense
Format: Paperback
Source: Netgalley
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Britt Phieffer has never been that adventurous, but that's about to change. Wanting to impress her ex-boyfriend, Britt convinces best friend, Korbie, to take a trip with her and go trekking through the Grand Teton Mountains in Wyoming.
But when a freak storm leaves the girls stranded they seek shelter in a cabin, and find two knights in shining armour, Shaun and Mason, who are also hiding out.
But all is not as it seems, and Britt quickly discovers that the guys are there for reasons other than hiking… dangerous reasons that mean they need to get off the mountain, fast. In exchange for her life, Britt is forced to guide them down, and as they set out on a harrowing journey through the cold and snow, Britt realises the only way to get out of this alive is to pretend she is on their side.
But playing nice is hard, especially when Britt is unsure whether Mason, gorgeous and sexy, is the enemy or an ally. And as she begins to lose track of who is in control it is only a matter of time before things turn deadly…
I received this book for free from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The last time I tried to pick this book up I had to stop. It made me cringe and cry with frustration… and that was only the first fifty pages. This time I picked it up expecting it to be as bad I remember, and what a blessing that turned out to be! Prepared with this knowledge I was able to avoid the shock that comes with how utterly awful the characters are and the head-banging that begs to accompany the stupid decisions they make.
The reason that I disliked this book so much could probably be summed up in one word: Britt. There is always going to be characters that don’t gel with you, that you don’t “get” and I understand that. Britt, however, was just a plain old terrible character. She had better manners than her friend Korbie, but she still acted impulsively and recklessly. She also made so many bad decisions! None of this story would have had to happen if she had just stopped, taken a deep breath and really thought about what she was doing.
I explained it a little more in my last review but not only did Britt make terrible decisions, constantly, she was a terrible friend too. She lie and manipulated her “best friend”. Their relationship was completely unhealthy. They constantly tried to one-up each other – to the point when her “best friend” makes a snide comment about her choice of car (it was not the expensive type like hers) so she continues to drive through treacherous conditions despite the car not coping with it and the fact they could get stranded and die. Oh no, she has to “prove herself” and keeps driving, making comments to purposely insult her “best friend” the whole time. This is not the sort of relationships that you should have in your life! It is not good!
Also the whole story had so many cliches and stereotyped characters, and the romance! Oh boy, it was so bad I don’t even want to comment. Instalove aplenty. Four days. It took our protagonist four days to fall in love… with the man that helped hold her hostage. Gah, even writing that makes me cringe.
Overall, this book certainly isn’t something that I would recommend. The characters made me scream with fury, and the romance was appalling and atrocious. I’ll admit that the suspense levels were good at some points in the story but still predictable and too many small plot holes. Not a good read but I look forward to her new mystery, Dangerous Lies, to see if it is an improvement.
Question of the Day: Have you read any of Becca Fitzpatrick’s books before? Thoughts or recs?
Ugh. This was recommened to me by a friend of mine and she seems to love it. I feel like I have to read this but after this review…. I REALLY DON’T WANT TO D:
Oh, I’m sorry to throw you in that moral conundrum! I’m a stickler for giving things a go though so if your friend enjoyed this and she thinks you will to, maybe give it a shot. If you end up hating it least you know you can come back and rant to me about it! 😉
Twitter: Liza
Sounds bad… I read Hush, Hush and I couldn’t get pass the second chapter of Crecendo. I was hoping that Black Ice would be better.
I haven’t read Hush, Hush yet but if Black Ice any indication of the author’s writing then I doubt this would be worth your time….
This book sounds like it suffers from the same problems as Hush, Hush – unfortunately that book makes me wary to pick up any of Becca Fitzpatrick’s books. Hope your next read will be more enjoyable!
Thanks Aentee! I hope it will be too… and I haven’t read Hush, Hush yet but I’m hearing that it DOES have the same problems so I’d recommend staying clear of it!
I honestly really loved this one… BUT I can definitely see where you’re coming from with a lot of this, especially how annoying the characters were at times. LOL I know others have agreed with you as well. I hope your next read is more enjoyable! 🙂
I’m glad you were able to enjoy it more than I was, Lisa! And I hope my next read is much better too! 😉
I have read the first three Hush Hush books by Becca Fitzpatrick and let’s just say me and these books do not get along. I just hate YA books about angels. I also tried to pick this book up once but I stopped after a chapter because I wasn’t feeling it. I don’t think I’ll ever start it again. =/
I haven’t read any Becca Fitzpatrick books before but I own the rest of her’s – both the Hush, Hush series and Dangerous Lies. I’m so not rushing into them! I’ve hear nothing but terrible things about them both… and I certainly won’t be encouraging you to give Black Ice another go!