Black Ice

Her job in a tiny Parisian publishing house translating childrens books isn't very exciting, but before wishing for a little more sex and excitement in her life, perhaps Chloe Underwood should have rememberd that old Chinese curse about living in interesting times.... When her roommate offers her the opportunity to translate for a group of international business tycoons at a ritzy manor in the French countryside, Chloe's dubious, but can't say no. Silly girl.

Undercover agent Bastien Toussaint is as cold and ruthless as the black ice of the book's title, and when he spots the pretty young translator far over her head amongst a group of international gun runners, he's sure she's an agent. Just not a very practiced one, and therefore show more certainly soon to be a very, very dead one. And if her death will ensure his survival, well, that's just fine.

I've encountered a few of Ann Stuart's short stories in anthologies, but hadn't read any of her full length work. Not a romance for the faint of heart, there's plenty of blood, death and cruelty to go around. This is definitely an edge of your seat, up all night read. Shades of Helen McGuinnes and Mary Stewart (only with more sex). I quite enjoyed it, but was left wondering how long Chloe and Bastien's happily ever after would actually last. show less

These two...

The book had me gripping my Kindle until the very last sentence. I couldn't write a review straight away because I just had to make up my mind about it. And I still think it will be all over the place.

Going into this I expected something close to Jason Bourne books (sidenote: I loved those books. Everyone should read them).
Was I ever more wrong? What it isn't is your typical romantic suspense. It really has more thrill than romantic elements, and even those are not what I would usually go for in a romance novel. But I absolutely loved it. Why did I not read this sooner? Not sure.

What I mean is - you have this alpha hero that just ~takes what he wants, any way he wants. At the same time, he just doesn't care about Chloe in a show more way you're used to in these books, so he's not really an alpha hero (key word being hero. He is not a hero.)
Bastien is so indifferent to everything going on, so detached, so cold, he has no remorse, no second thoughts, no scruples... it's no wonder he was so efficient at what he does. I seriously can't find a kind adjective to describe him. He isn't sweet, caring, wonderful, passionate. He wasn't even possessive and controlling. He is just...he just is. At one point, I completely doubted he would even try to save her, that's what I thought about him. I expected some development on this part, like that he will suddenly realize he can't live like that and turn into this wonderful person, and all he needed was a Chloe to save him, maybe that he was just misunderstood and actually a sweet, caring person.

Don't hold your breath for it.

There were times where I downright hated him, I wanted to throw my reader but instead I would just scream "HOW IS THAT A HERO?" or "WHYYYYYY DID YOU DO THAT? WHO DOES THAT?" (scaring the bejesus out of my sister every time), and then just a few pages later, I would be head over heels for him even though he didn't do anything nice. I doubted my sanity at these times.

I also had ups and downs with Chloe. She is way too smart, but at the same time way too stupid. It was so weird, every time I expected her to be this weak, flighty girl that she seemed to be, she surprised me. And then, she does something so stupid, like walk off alone into the night even though there are tons of bad guys after her. I was thinking that she just couldn't grasp the situation she was in. And still she managed to survive. She's amazing :D.

There's nothing sweet about their story. He uses her, he doubts her intentions, he constantly threatens her, she hates him for all of it, she doesn't trust him, she fights him while he's trying to "save" her. There's definite attraction between the two, awesome chemistry, too, but I was like - what is so romantic about this? There's nothing romantic in there. And then I'd swoon. And I was rooting for them so bad. SEE? This book is crazy.

I guess it's a testament to Anne Stuart's writing. I mean, I've never encountered a character I hate so much, but love at the same time. Or read a book less romantic, but loved the romance so much. And then, she has a brilliant way with words, the story is completely un-put-downable and engaging, and the pace is perfect. It's not even that short, but I read it in one sitting, in 6 hours or so. They are constantly on the run and there's not a moment that nothing is happening. A couple of good twists, too.

There's a sex scene that is definitely blurring the lines of dubcon at first read, but later on the heroine sort of admits that it was consensual. Three sex scenes altogether, but they aren't really that graphic, although they are descriptive, so for those who care about these things it's definitely a mature read.

Do you get a HEA in the end? I'm not saying, but I'll tell you that I had my doubts until the very last sentence.

Honestly, I didn't expect this book. I just hope the rest of them are as good as this first in the series. Do I recommend it? YES. It's really, really good, especially if you are looking for something different. show less

Bastien Toussaint is an operative for the Committee, a covert anti-terrorist organization. He kills people and doesn't seem too concerned whether they're the good guys or the bad guys. The bad guys he has killed are members of an international arms cartels. And he has killed the innocent when it's expedient for the Committee to hide their activities from witnesses. He has also killed fellow Committee agents when assigned to do so as necessary to protect their organization. Kind of sounds like the CIA run amok.

Chloe Underwood is an American living in Paris working as a translator for children's books wishing for a little passion and excitement in her life. Unfortunately, she gets her wish when she gets pressured into taking a translating show more assignment at a country chateau for a group of
international importers. Fairly quickly, she realizes this group is not what she first thought. They are a dangerous bunch of illegal arms dealers squabbling over who gets to be in charge after their leader is assassinated. Bastien has infiltrated the group and is there posing as a womanizing businessman and eventually learns that Chloe is out of her league. When Chloe discovers the group members' identities one of them wants to kill her and Bastien barely manages to drag her away to safety.

The rest of the book is very fast paced and I finished it in a day. The emotional bond that develops between them is very satisfying and there are a couple of very sensual love scenes that were believable. Even though I knew it must have a HEA I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout the book wondering if Bastien was actually going to kill her or not since this idea seemed to always be present in his internal dialogue. It was absolutely gripping and I loved it. Be warned though it has a very abrupt ending. (Grade: A) show less

Wow. I'm a fan of Anne Stuart, but a fairly new one, and I'd been trying to get her backlist before reading the newer books, so the most recent book I'd read was from 1999, and it was a novella. Still, I had faith enough in her older work and in the recommendations of friends who've been raving about her to have bought Black Ice when it first came out. I could have used this book for last month's TBR challenge, too.

Chloe Underwood is a young American woman living her dream--sort of--in Paris. Her job translating children's books doesn't pay much, but it's keeping her in Paris, as long as she has a roommate, so it's enough for now.

When that roommate begs Chloe to take her place as a translator at a meeting of food industry executives show more (unknown to them both, they're actually arms dealers) at an estate in the French countryside, she's reluctant, but agrees, thinking that if nothing else, she'll get a weekend in the country out of it.

Unfortunately, things don't quite work out that way. Almost immediately, she overhears a suspicious conversation in... German, I think it was, or Russian--anyway, it wasn't French or English, and realizing it would be imprudent at the least to admit she overheard and understood, she pretends to be limited to French and English rather than the several languages she actually knows.

This backfires, however, for undercover assassin Bastien, who sees through her clumsy attempt at hiding her knowledge, so he immediately suspects she's a fellow operative. The only question is, whose side is she on?

From then on, it's nonstop tension with Bastien working on several fronts, trying to complete his mission, trying to figure out who Chloe is and what she's there for, and, to his chagrin, saving her life when the others decide she's too great a risk, at which point his goal becomes to get her out of the country and then complete his mission.

Black Ice is gritty and dark, and mostly lacking in romance genre conventions. The action scenes are reminiscent of those in the better (read: less silly) James Bond movies, and Stuart doesn't hold her punches. Bastien isn't a sweet, gentle man, kind to children and puppies, who just happens to have an unusual job. He's cold and ruthless and deadly. Since it is a romance novel, after all, Chloe does crack his hard shell, but it's not easy or typical.

Despite how harsh the story can be, or maybe because of that, there are some sweet, amusing moments. Like when Chloe, trying to shrug off her growing feelings for Bastien, tells him she has Stockholm Syndrome, and he tells her that Stockholm Syndrome is a myth.

I almost forgot Chloe. Understandable, I suppose, with such a vivid character as Bastien around. Chloe is young, and in way over her head, but she's not stupid. She realizes from the start that things are not as she was led to believe, so she does what she can to confirm her suspicions, then tries to leave. She keeps her head, for the most part, and is realistic as someone of her age and background--not perfect, but not TSTL, either. What impressed me most about Chloe is that she doesn't blindly trust Bastien, either.

The ending caps off the story perfectly. Both Chloe and Bastien have changed because of their experiences together, but they're still recognizable, still the same people.

Black Ice is not your typical romantic suspense novel. There were several places in the book that made me blink and realize just how common those romance or romantic suspense genre conventions are, because I'd fully expected the cliche and didn't get it. Which, of course, made me love it even more.

I'm not going to stop collecting Anne Stuart's backlist, but I think I'll start putting her newest books in my Barnes & Noble shopping cart, too. show less

Chloe Underwood is a naive American working as a translator in Paris when she finds herself tangled up with international arms dealers. One of them, Bastien Toussaint, is dangerously sexy--and Chloe's only hope of escaping with her life. It was entertaining. Not realistic but a fun escape. But hey, if we want realistic we should read non-fiction.

Be warned, thar be minor spoilers below.

Damn. I finished this a few days ago and I'm still not sure what to say about it.

This is one of those stories that I liked, but I'm not sure that I like that I liked it. Ya know?

So, let's start with just shoving aside how ridiculous and full of holes the premise is. Both of the characters have backgrounds that don't bear scrutiny, and I still can't get over how crazy that whole house party thing was. Just... Whatever, moving on.

Every time you turn around, someone is wanting to kill Chloe, and I don't mean that sarcastically. First it's "Bastien" (the theoretical hero), then it's the other guy, then it's that whole group of guys, then it's that other guy that's wanting to be in charge of the show more other guys, then it's Bastien's lady friend, then it's the girl that liked Bastien but didn't like him or something, then it's... Wait I got that out of order, but whatever! You get the picture, and it gets... Tiring. She's a little potato sack being drug around by Bastien for reasons he can't even explain to himself, bouncing from emergency to emergency.

And I guess that's my essential issue with this book. The writing is fine, the plot moves along at a nice pace, and the characters are ok... But there is no reason for Bastien to ever do anything he does with Chloe. He has no reason to ever rescue her from any of the situations she finds herself in (not through any real fault of her own I will add), and he has more reason not to. His whole attitude (even while he's rescuing her) is that it doesn't make sense for him to do it. He didn't just insta-love, and neither did she. There wasn't even really any insta-lust. So... Why? I still can't figure it out.

When I get to the end of a rom, and I feel like the h/h aren't going to make it more than a month before breaking up, I think a wrong turn was taken at some point. And these two have zero reason to be together.

I want to read at least one more in the series because like I said, I do like the writing. It was a fun read that I zoomed through in about a day. But damn. I hope the next one has better relationship building. show less

Something was missing for me in this story. I read it quickly, but it left me unmoved. It had elements that I usually like: initial antagonistic relationship, a morally gray character, unwillingly falling in love, etc. Very few of those elements felt like they actually worked in the story though. None of it clicked for me and I was left feeling cynical and disbelieving of the main character's ability to stay together for the long term.

Chloe's character didn't do the story any favors. She blew past naïve and ran straight into too stupid to live territory. She starts getting uncomfortable with the people she's supposed to be translating for but instead of bowing out and going back home she won't leave until she has to because of Bastien. show more This is after she tells herself that he's married, a womanizer, and that there's no way they could be together because she has personal rules against being with married men. It seemed inconsistent.

When they have sex for the first time, Chloe realizes that he used and degraded her and criticizes herself because she still wants more. I thought we'd get some deeper personal struggle with her fascination with Bastien and her willingness to be used. I was really looking forward to it! It never happened though... She just seemed to get over it and be willing to jump on him if he showed the smallest sign that he might be interested in doing it again. Everything Chloe did seemed to illustrate how idiotic she was. It did not endear her to me. After Hakim tortures her she still doesn't think she's in that much danger! It didn't seem possible that she could be so stupid. I guess I was supposed to attribute it to her age? That's rather hard to accept though. I don't think I've ever met a 23 year old that stupid before. The fact that she had lived on her own for 2 years in a foreign country makes it hard to believe that she hadn't acquired even the barest smidgen of street smarts.

Bastien had the potential to be very interesting. Unfortunately I never got more detail into his characterization. I was eager to see a character who was on the "good guy" side but who had been killing people for so long that he accepted the very real truth that in the end there's no real difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Unfortunately he was just... there. I wanted insight into what made him tick. I didn't really need an unhappy childhood with a crappy mom, but I wanted to see more of his journey down the road he chose. Does he regret what he lost? Would he do everything the same? I just wanted more of what made him who he was. Everything about him seemed to be told, not shown. We're told that Chloe fascinates him; we're told that he loves her. I didn't feel that I was shown any of that.

The whole story felt like it skimmed the surface of everything. I thought that the "bad guys" felt like caricatures. I thought Chloe would have to face some inner realization that in the end there's no real difference between Bastien and the "bad guys". She would just have to decide if it's something she can accept or not. No such thing here though. I was amused by Bastien's refusal to lie to Chloe. When she kept thinking that underneath it all he's just a good guy who doesn't really want to kill a woman and he kept telling her she was an idiot to believe that he'd only kill in self defense I had to laugh. I appreciated his cold honesty but I think that despite his repeated assurances that he could kill anyone Chloe still had a romanticized vision of him. I don't think she ever saw who he really was. That was disappointing.

Despite my problems with this book I still read it quickly. I was hooked on it even as I was deeply unhappy with the story being told. How confusing. I ended up giving it a higher grade than I originally planned because of the story's readability. show less