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Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

January 31, 2015June 3, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Sometimes danger is hard to see… until it’s too late.

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn’t prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there… and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

BLACK ICE is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick’s riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous…

4 Drink Me Potions

I wasn’t sure for the longest time what I would end up rating this book as. The first approximate half of the book dragged out a little longer than I would’ve liked, with our protagonist Britt and her bestie Korbie being dragged into a hostile situation with two men in the middle of a huge snowstorm. That’s basically what the synopsis already says, right? So I was waiting to see the action come in rather impatiently.

That being said, Black Ice really surprised me after reaching a certain point. I know a lot of other reviewers were anguished with the apparent Stockholm syndrome developing between Britt and one of her captors, Mason. However, I never really felt that Becca Fitzpatrick depicted him as a clear-cut “bad guy”.

Whatever the situation may have been, even when it got downright scary and menacing for the girls, Mason was always surprised with what his partner was willing to do or say to get what he wanted. It was like he didn’t want any of this to happen, but was helpless in stopping it. He was a puzzle to be solved because he clearly wasn’t simply a straightforward criminal. He hadn’t even wanted the girls to get kidnapped in the first place.

So, Stockholm syndrome? It might still be a little bit, on Britt’s part. But as the story progressed, she had many chances to get away. Mason wasn’t really holding her captive anymore. She had the choice. Can I really say that their ensuing chemistry bothered me? No, not really. It went as any fast-paced and intense romance went. Some chick-lit books have even faster whirlwind romances. Boy meets girl, BAM. Instant love.

Their attraction, I felt, was realistically played out, especially when it came to the conclusion of the story. I can’t say much more than that without giving away too much, but I really think Black Ice has a lot more to offer than the initial thought of “Eww, why does she have to fall for one of the kidnappers?”.

Britt is also the kind of girl who has always depended on the men in her life to help her with things. She has a protective father and older brother who baby her. She just felt that if it came to trouble, they would be there for her. Now, I liked that she was able to grow a backbone and figure out through this horrible situation that she could be strong on her own, and even be relied on by a male. Mason helped her do that, so how can I possibly dislike him? He’s sweeter than any other character in the story, including Britt’s somewhat deranged best friend Korbie.

Why do I call Korbie deranged? She keeps a list in her diary comparing her and Britt’s achievements or owned accessories. Then she gives out points between them, like 10+ points for having a more luxurious car than Britt’s old Wrangler. Like, come on! What kind of best friend would do that? Honestly, Britt needs to find better people in her life. Don’t get me started on Calvin.

The plot “twist” was rather predictable, or at least I saw it from 100+ pages away. Don’t let that deter you. Fitzpatrick still makes it interesting as you follow along and see how Britt can possibly get off this mountain alive.

Overall Recommendation:
Black Ice deserves more than its label as being a rather creepy romance delving into Stockholm syndrome. Mason was never a clear-cut “bad guy” that we were meant to hate immediately upon reading about him. There was a whole lot more to his story than what the situation may have made him seem. Sure, Britt may have started to fall for him while she was still under his “captivity” but she was even knowledgeable about what Stockholm syndrome was, and she knew there was a mystery to be solved around his presence in the mountain.

The intensity of the story picks up in the latter half, but I’d say that living through the slow pace of the first half was worth it for what happens later. With loose ends being tied up, and the ever constant nagging thought that a murderer is among them on the mountain, Black Ice may be quite the entertaining read.

Review: Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols

January 26, 2015June 3, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Superlatives #1

Tia and Will’s lives get flipped upside down when they’re voted Yearbook’s Biggest Flirts in this sassy novel from the author of Endless Summer and The One That I Want.

Tia just wants to have fun. She’s worked hard to earn her reputation as the life of the party, and she’s ready for a carefree senior year of hanging out with friends and hooking up with cute boys. And her first order of business? New guy Will. She can’t get enough of his Midwestern accent and laidback swagger.

As the sparks start to fly, Will wants to get serious. Tia’s seen how caring too much has left her sisters heartbroken, and she isn’t interested in commitment. But pushing Will away drives him into the arms of another girl. Tia tells herself it’s no big deal…until the yearbook elections are announced. Getting voted Biggest Flirts with Will is, well, awkward. They may just be friends, but their chemistry is beginning to jeopardize Will’s new relationship—and causing Tia to reconsider her true feelings. What started as a lighthearted fling is about to get very complicated…

2.5 Drink Me Potions

Biggest Flirts had such a huge potential for me to love it. I love stories where the least likeliest people find out that they can be more than what their surface selves are like, and see that they’re meant for each other.

Tia had just met Will, the New Guy. Now, Tia is a rather strong protagonist. She is very open with boys and looks forward to hook ups rather than relationships. She absolutely gets terrified of any position of authority and tries her best to weasel out of them. She’s smart, but only lets it come out when she’s upset and wants to “put things in order”. Like on a multiple choice test. Or cleaning out her house. It’s a different look for a main character that isn’t seen so often, plus she actually has a vivid personality that isn’t necessarily reminiscent of someone else. I didn’t have a problem with that.

Now, what I did have a problem with was the way she would string Will along. She knew he wasn’t the type of guy that only wanted meaningless hook ups. He wanted a relationship, one with her in fact, and he would do anything to chase her for a date.

Their cute flirting in the first week of school made sense, since Tia had secret feelings for him too. But NO! It didn’t matter that she herself knew she felt something…more for Will. No boyfriend. Period.

And to make things worse, when she saw him with another girl, she wasn’t making it easy on him to find someone else. Yes, Will was also at fault for still carrying feelings for her, but she turned him down. Repeatedly. A guy can only handle so much rejection, right? Apparently not Will.

So for most of the story, I’m waiting for her to admit that he’s the exception she should make in her no-boyfriend rule. It was torturous though! It was obvious that Will loved her, but love is a scary concept for Tia Cruz.

Just when it was getting good (finally!), the story just ends. ENDS. I’m so upset at that! I feel like I didn’t have enough of the two of them, together. The flirting between them was the only highlight for me in this story. I sat in suspense for 300+ pages to find that the story stopped way too soon.

All I can say is, I hope the next book, Perfect Couple will be less torturous for me. This was a disappointment, and I literally skimmed the last bits of the book to see if my eyes were REALLY deceiving me at the way it ended.

Overall Recommendations:
What could’ve been a really good romantic story of a girl who won’t let anyone close to her heart, and a sweet new guy who had such good chemistry with her, it turned out to be a major disappointment.

Tia was a flawed and realistic girl, wonderfully made, but she literally led Will on for the longest time. Although she said no with her mouth, her body language clearly showed she wanted to say yes. Ughh, it was torturous to wait out for her decision about him, but the ending wasn’t worth that wait. It cut off the story too soon, just as it was finally getting exciting.

Biggest Flirts may just be my most disappointing read so far. Don’t carry too many expectations at the beginning and it may be somewhat decent.

Review: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

January 24, 2015June 3, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Does life go on when your heart is broken?

Since her mother’s sudden death, Emma has existed in a fog of grief, unable to let go, unable to move forward—because her mother is, in a way, still there. She’s being kept alive on machines for the sake of the baby growing inside her.

Estranged from her stepfather and letting go of things that no longer seem important—grades, crushes, college plans—Emma has only her best friend to remind her to breathe. Until she meets a boy with a bad reputation who sparks something in her—Caleb Harrison, whose anger and loss might just match Emma’s own. Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death—and maybe, for love?

2.5 Drink Me Potions

I haven’t read an Elizabeth Scott book in a long while, and just so happened to pick this one up randomly the other day. I didn’t know what to expect, but I do recall my huge love-hate relationship with her novel The Unwritten Rule.

Heartbeat is pretty much what you would expect from just reading the synopsis. Emma’s mother is dead and she feels horrible about that. But it gets worse because her mother’s gone, yet her body is being preserved to keep the baby alive inside of her. Now, that kind of thing doesn’t happen very often where the mother dies but the fetus manages to survive until hospital care arrives. For the most part, I wasn’t sure who I was more annoyed with: Emma or her stepfather Dan.

Emma is torn with grief and anger. Particularly anger and hate. She’s mad at Dan, mad at the baby, and mad at herself. Nothing seems to matter anymore. I’m still not sure if I like her all that much. She was just so full of bitterness for most of the book. Then along comes some guy who seems to totally understand this sense of loss and bitterness at the world. A car stealing and former druggie is the only person in her life that seemingly gets it. I just wasn’t feeling the romance as much as I’d like.

As for Dan, I understood he cared for the baby a lot, yet I was pissed that he did seem to completely forget Emma needed him too at this time. I don’t know if I disliked him more because we also see him in Emma’s POV which wasn’t all that objective.

The storyline is predictable and so was the ending. If you go into this book not expecting anything grand or hugely touching, then it can be a somewhat pleasant read. As long as you don’t wanna punch one of the characters occasionally for what they say.

Elizabeth Scott herself said she wasn’t a huge fan of “message” books. For someone who doesn’t really care if you get a moral or lesson learned at the end of the story, this one sure seemed like the opposite of that. Ah well, either way, our protagonists learn something as predicted, and yada yada yada.

I don’t know what else to say about Heartbeat. If you’re bored and want a somewhat emotional story with grief-ridden characters, then this is an option. The biggest feeling I can sum up from this book is meh. There could’ve been more to the plot which would’ve boosted it a little for me as the story is rather short.

Overall Recommendations:
Heartbeat is nothing special, but one of those average stories of characters dealing with loss. It doesn’t stick out from the pack of similar storylines, but it still has its moments here and there that drew out an emotional pause from me. If you’re bored, well go for it and it may be enjoyable.