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Book Review of Black Ice (Ice, Bk 1)

Black Ice (Ice, Bk 1)
reviewed on + 160 more book reviews


I used to love novels of romantic suspense when I was in high school. Things have really changed a lot since then! This story, set in France, is about a translator (young American damsel-in-distress) who is roped into translating at a mysterious business conference in a French chateau for the weekend. Things are not what they seem, and the group is really a group of international arms dealers who are ruthless killers and assassins. The hero, mysterious Bastien Toussaint, is also a paid hit-man for a rival group ("the Committee"). Once our heroine, Chloe, discovers what's afoot, she becomes the target of many assassins. Bastien, in between steamy sex scenes, tries to rescue Chloe from these ruthless caricatures of characters. The plot makes no sense. Why is everyone determined to kill Chloe? She really has no knowledge of what is going on. Why is Bastien, Mr. Ruthless macho-man heartless assassin, so willing to risk everything to keep Chloe safe? The plot is ludicrous, the sex super-steamy, but it's all totally unconvincing, in my opinion. This is the first in a series of 5 formulaic novels of "romantic suspense."