Oct 6, 2014

Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Black Ice
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 10.7.2014
Pages: 400
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller, Mystery
Series: No
Source: ARC from BEA

Rating: 3 ½ Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):
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? 

Review:
BLACK ICE is a tense, thrilling ride with a lot of danger, gasp-worthy moments and head-spinning twists and turns. It’s the kind of book that deserves to be read alone, at night, with a warm cup of tea/coffee to maximize dramatic effect.

Becca Fitzpatrick does a splendid job of hurtling her readers into the frigid wilderness with Britt. I legit felt cold reading this in the middle of summer, sun blazing outside. She’s that good at transporting the reader into the middle of the action. The desperation is palpable throughout the majority of the book.

I know what you’re thinking—Then why the 3 ½ star review, Hannah?

Sadly BLACK ICE is a book that didn’t know when to quit. This is the type of book I wanted to end with a BANG and then be wrapped up in a chapter or two towards the end. But this book limped along at the end. The last 50 or so pages were full of unnecessary drama that made the overall plot seem cartoonish and ridiculous.


This book was phenomenal for the first ¾ of the novel. But then it seriously derailed to the point where I could only sigh and shake my head. It’s definitely worth a read, just proceed with caution.

7 comments:

  1. What a shame! I've been meaning to read something by Becca Fitzpatrick since she will be at YALLFest this year, but maybe I'll just stick with Hush, Hush!

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  2. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, I have been intrigued. I love the cover art. Seems I have been reading quite a few lately that have at one point or another done this and I will keep plugging. I have added to my wishlist TBR, but it might take me a while to pick up this one. :)

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  3. oh I hate that! When it shoudl be the ending and you're like why is there a million pages left wtf? and it goes on and on. It sounds like aside from that it was a fun ride, though! I just got this one on audio so I'm excited to give it a try it will be my first book by this author !Glad for the warning about the ending though!

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  4. *high five* Once the spotlight came on I was ready to wrap it up but nope... grrm
    - meghann

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  5. I hate when a book is really suspenseful and then kind of limps toward the ending. I'm reading this now and am REALLY into it but I'll definitely adjust my expectations heading into the home stretch. Still glad you mostly enjoyed it! Lovely review :-)

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  6. Yeah, the end really did limp along, didn't it. And I wasn't a fan of the romance. The suspense, though, was great. Wish she'd focused more on writing a fantastic suspense rather than the weird romance angle.

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  7. I had high hopes for this one, maybe the suspense will be good enough to keep me hooked. I'm not sure about it, I read Hush, Hush and liked it, but I couldn't even read past the second chapter on Crescendo.

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