Ice

Amazon preorder,Amazon received

I never like to give a negative review on a Linda Howard novel. But, this one was released in hardcover, with the price as much as other hardcovers. I wouldn't have purchased this one new for myself since it was so short, but it was given to me for Christmas. The story is alright if you just want a little escape on your lunch break. It shouldn't take you much more than an hour to read it. This certainly not one of Linda Howard's best efforts. I think it should have been released in paperback by Harlequin or something. Consider it a "quickie" and don't pay full price for it. Overall a C-/D+ ( )

This is another of those books I hesitated to read due to poor reviews on Goodreads and Amazon; I should have taken those reviews with a grain of salt. This was a quick read, but just as exciting as all the others, but man it packed the punch. It contains Linda's signature style & writing process, her stories all have strong female characters, sexy strong men (generally military or former military) which I love because I'm such a suit slut. Yeah I admit it, a tall sexy man in Marine dress whites is just so....*blinks looks around guiltily and gets back to the point* as I was saying Marines in uniform ...hmmmm *drools just thinking about it* ah hem I mean Navy, or Army men.. let's just say if the pilot looks like Tom Cruise from Top Gun then yeah I might ... yeah now you know why I'm gunning to work on a base as a nurse..LOL .

Ok NOW on to the real review: in this book this time one of the main characters is actually mother nature. Ice not only refers to the huge storm that centers the story, but also to the junkie's drug of choice (learnt that from Dog the Bounty Hunter.. I only watched because of Leland, oh what a sexy sexy man; there is an episode where Beth, who by the way is kick ass despite looking like a real live Barbie, she taunted a bail jumper 'nannani ice head" because apparently in Hawaii they call Meth "ice"). Anyway, the main character here is on her way home and getting ready for a really bad storm that is predicted for their town. While on her way home she picks up some unsavoury characters who need money for their habit. In comes a hero in the form of the sheriff's son who is sent by his dad to check on her, and there in comes the adventure. I liked that the lead had spunk and wasn't just waiting to be rescued, that the villains although idiots didn't just give up and that the storm made it all that much worse. It moved quickly, had great scenes and you could see the relationship forming between them. All in all it was a good book, short but good. One that I enjoyed reading. It may not be a burn rubber to get book, but it's a definite read when you have a chance.

I hope you will enjoy it as well.
Happy Reading ( )

Lolly Helton returns to her hometown to prepare her parent’s house for sale, when a couple of drug using drifters invade the house and hold her hostage. Gabriel McQueen, who grew up at odds with Lolly, drops by at his father’s request to make sure she is prepared for the coming storm. Together they attempt to outwit and evade both the druggies and the storm of the century.

Linda Howard keeps the reader turning pages in this quick read, perhaps made scarier because in today’s world, home invasion is a reality. Thoroughly enjoyable read. ( )

I generally enjoy reading works by this author but this was not as good as I hoped. The storyline is okay but the action is formulaic at best and expected. There simply aren't any surprises. It reads more like a serial romance book than one I've come to expect from Ms. Howard. Not worth the time IMHO. ( )