Mini Reviews: Black Ice & American Queen

Book: Black Ice
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Published: October 7, 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Number of Pages: 392
Format:Hardcover
Source: Library
Rating: 5 Stars
Tags: YA, Romance, Scary, Five Star, Library Book, Romance


Goodreads/Amazon

Synopsis: 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…

MY REVIEW

Let me just start off by saying that I went into this one with low expectations. I read the first three books in the Hush Hush (also written by Fitzpatrick) series, but I never actually finished the series because I just didn't like them. But this book really surprised me.

I saw that a lot of people were upset about the characters in their reviews, but I really liked them! They were flawed, and made mistakes. You have to think about it, what would you do in their situation? Because I know that I would fuck up, and I wouldn't know who to trust. Every one was scared, and it caused them to make mistakes. To me, this made our two main characters very human.

This book just kept me flipping through the pages; I had to know what was going to happen! Fitzpatrick did a really good job at casting doubt towards different characters. Even though I knew who I thought was good and who wasn't, I couldn't help but be weary of everyone. 

So overall I loved this book! I thought that it had very realistic characters, great twists, and a surprisingly good mystery. If the author writes another thriller/mystery I'll probably read it, but it's safe to say that I'm done with her fantasy works.

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Book: American Queen (New Camelot Trilogy #1)
Author: Sierra Simone
Published: October 24, 2016
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Number of Pages: 393
Format: ebook
Source: Bought
Rating:  2 Stars 
Tags: LGBTQ+, Adult, Cover Buy, Romance, Two Stars

Goodreads/Amazon

Synopsis: It starts with a stolen kiss under an English sky, and it ends with a walk down the aisle. It starts with the President sending his best friend to woo me on his behalf, and it ends with my heart split in two. It starts with buried secrets and dangerous desires…and ends with the three of us bound together with a hateful love sharper than any barbed wire.

My name is Greer Galloway, and I serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States.

This is the story of an American Queen.

MY REVIEW

I have a confession: this was totally a cover buy. I saw this cover, with the beautiful dress and hair, and knew that I had to have it. The only things that I knew going into American Queen was that it had a gorgeous cover, and that it was going to have politics. Which I don't mind. I've been been really interested in the politics of different books recently. But, what I didn't know was that this was a erotica. Whoops?

And that's were the low star rating starts to come in for me; I don't like erotica. This book just wasn't for me. I need plot in books for me to enjoy it, and this book was just filled with a bunch of sex scenes. And the tiny bit of plot that was introduced at the very end of the book (I'm literally talking last chapter people) ended in a cliff hanger. Which, you know, really fucking sucks. 

While I didn't particularly love the book in general, there were some parts that really pleased me. I loved how the main characters never assumed anyone's sexuality. I find it to be a common theme in books (and the world) that we always just assume that everyone is attracted to the opposite gender. So, it was a breath of fresh air to my little bisexual heart that peoples' sexuality wasn't assumed. And, while the political scenes were very scarce, I did enjoy reading about the inner workings of the White House administration. I just wish, you know, that people weren't having sex during them.

So overall this was an okay book for me. While I thought that there were a couple good parts, my dislike for explicit erotica and the lack of plot made this just an okay book for me. Though, if you like erotica, I would highly suggest that you pick this one up for the characters, and the surprising twists and turns.    

~Anna

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