Richard Castle

Frozen Heat Thaws... into a Puddle!

I had a really hard time finishing this book. I had to make myself sit down and read the last thirty pages, just so that I could move on to another book. I am a big fan of the TV series, "Castle," and I've read the three previous books in the Nikki Heat series. The one before this, "Heat Rises," was definitely a favorite, so I was looking forward to "Frozen Heat."

The pace of the story was confusing. Sometimes it seemed like a mini-version of the TV series, show more "24." At other times, there wasn't enough going on to keep my attention. Part of this may have been the number of characters who weren't well-developed. It's difficult to connect with a story when you can't connect with any of the characters. Other than Heat and Rook, we learn little of the backstories of the supporting characters. The series focuses mainly on Nikki Heat, who comes across as emotionally undeveloped and with a serious superiority complex. She's not entirely unlikable, but the unwavering loyalty and admiration she seems to command from both her squad and Rook is often questionable. (And irritating to the reader).

In the first two books, I had a problem with how condescending and downright mean Nikki was to Rook, and just why Rook was so willing to take the abuse. (This is a problem for me with the actual TV series, as well). One of the reasons I enjoyed the third book so much more was that it seemed like Nikki had finally loosened up a bit and wasn't so critical of and quick to blame Jameson Rook for every little thing that happened, whether his fault or not.

In "Frozen Heat," I once again found myself wandering why Nikki felt like it was okay to give Rook such a hard time. If Rook ever said any of the things Nikki says to him, even in jest, their relationship would be over in a flash. And even though Nikki often hides her derisive comments behind the cloak of "just kidding," this just serves to highlight her passive-aggressiveness. A man who made the kind of comments Heat does to Rook (or, for that matter, Beckett does to Castle) would be strung up as a misogynist.

Since this series is authored by a ghost-writer, it's impossible to tell if one author wrote the entire series. This book made me wonder if it was authored by a different ghost writer than the first three. However, all that said, I have enjoyed the rest of the Nikki Heat series enough to pre-order the next book. Hopefully, they'll go back to using the writer who authored the first three books - or, if it is just one author penning all five books - he will focus more time on developing relatable characters who interact with each other in an authentic manner, and less time on overblown and unrealistic action scenes. show less

I read this book after watching the TV series Castle. The book version definitely captures the show, but in a more ridiculously funny way. This had a feel of being the comic relief of the show. Rook (the Castle character) came across as a bumbling puppy following Nikki Heat around (Kate Beckett). He tried to prove his love for her by mostly getting in the way and almost getting himself killed. I spent more time laughing than I did biting my fingernails from the mystery. Having said that, it show more was a fun, light read. Not a super high-quality mystery, but I enjoyed the story from start to finish. I was entertained and will probably read more in the series if for no other reason than to enjoy the cheese factor. show less

The latest tie-in novel for the Castle television show is pretty much exactly what you expect a tie-in to be. Therein lies my growing complaint.

While the stories and writing are pretty good, and this plot is (ultimately) one of the best so far, I am tiring of the Mary-Sue of it all. The 'real' Rick Castle would never write this book. In retrospect, he would have never written any of the Nikki Heat books. They are too on-the-nose reflections of his (fictional) life. These are books about show more Castle, rather than by (Richard) Castle.

The first two-thirds of the book moved pretty slow for me. Either it's chock full of too many introductions and traveling about, or I was just impatient. Either way, it seemed like it took forever to get through. But then things picked up and I liked how they wrapped things up.

Summary: Almost 4-stars for overall writing and plot. Marks off for some boring bits and for Mary-Sue (Ricky-Sue?). show less

"It's all the same - only the names will change."

This book is basically if you took the first episode of the first season of Castle, had it gone the way Castle would have like it. Right down to the writer character, Rook (the rook piece in chess is a castle - geddit? har dee har har) who has some conveniently high-placed poker buddies and a overdramatic actress mother who lives with him, and the buddy-cop duo of Ryan and Espisito - oops, I mean Railey and Ochoa. I listened to the audiobook show more and the narrator even made Railey and Ochoa's vocal inflections similar to those of Ryan and Espisito on the show.

That being said, this was really enjoyable. It was like a special bonus episode in an alternate universe Castle. My only thought is this: These are the books Castle writes as a result of hanging out with Becket & crew. Becket reads Castle's novels and is a fan. All of the main characters are CLEARLY based on Becket, Castle, Ryan & Espisito. So... HOW COULD SHE NOT IMMEDIATELY SEE THAT CASTLE IS SO IN LOVE WITH HER AFTER READING THIS BOOK?!

Also, I expected much more steamy sex.

Now I'm going to go read/listen to the next book in the series, Naked Heat. :) show less