Black Ice (Ice, #1) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Jan 08, 2015 Beanbag Love rated it really liked it

To be honest, I almost DNF'd this one in the first third. The heroine behaves stupidly in a way that only a romance heroine can accomplish. Get this: she's at a gathering where she's supposed to be the French/English interpreter and she's full of suspicions about everyone. She's sure there's a conspiracy afoot and danger lurks everywhere. She gets a hinky vibe off everyone. So she proceeds to drink like a fish. Um. Girl? No. She does a few more dumb things after that and I really wanted to bail. To be honest, I almost DNF'd this one in the first third. The heroine behaves stupidly in a way that only a romance heroine can accomplish. Get this: she's at a gathering where she's supposed to be the French/English interpreter and she's full of suspicions about everyone. She's sure there's a conspiracy afoot and danger lurks everywhere. She gets a hinky vibe off everyone. So she proceeds to drink like a fish. Um. Girl? No. She does a few more dumb things after that and I really wanted to bail.

BUT, the hero is very compelling. Reminding me of the first of Stuart's House of Rohan books, the hero seems to have zero redeemable qualities. But he's also going through some kind of psychic crisis where he does things that are inexplicable even to himself. It makes him very interesting apart from even being a romance hero. Frankly, I'd enjoy him as the lead in a thriller just as much. I love a man who kicks himself after showing mercy but still doesn't go back to right that "mistake". It's endearing.

So I did finish it and I enjoyed it. I'll read some more in the series, but I'm still pretty unhappy with this heroine. Why do the female leads in suspense romance (most romance for that matter) have to be so stupid? It is not necessary for one or the other to become a total moron as a catalyst for Bad Things that cause the action to move forward. If you're dealing with nasty villains, they'll do all the work on that score. It's their job.

Continuing with the rant: do authors really think that giving a heroine a big boy job is enough to convince me she's smart? That's like putting Barbie in a lab coat and calling her Barbie scientist. She's still freaking Barbie! I don't care if the female lead is a checker at a grocery store, if her actions show common sense then I'm going to like her. I don't even care whether or not she graduated from high school. See? Don't try to make me believe she's "smart" because she can speak many different languages and then show her behaving like a total nitwit. I am not fooled.

Rant over. Whew! Thanks for listening.

Anyway - it's a good book. You just have to get past the vapidity of the female and concentrate on the complexity of the male.

Unfortunately: (view spoiler) ...more

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Jun 24, 2010 Mrs. Badass rated it it was ok

Shelves: nook

I am not even sure if I liked this book! It was compelling in a sinister, weird and dark sort of way, but the plot was just silly and unrealistic, and the "hero" was totally an anti-hero, which generally I don't have a problem with, but he was Cold, I mean really cold and detached. Sociopath. That is Sebastian/Bastien/Jean-Marc/Etienne. Chloe was cute in a pure and innocent way, although, seriously? She fell in love with the person who practically raped her, lied to her, punched her, manipulated ...more

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Aug 29, 2010 Jaime Rush rated it really liked it

Anne Stuart is one of those rare authors who can make a bad hero/hired killer a good hero. While I'm not so into the intrigue/international/terrorist angle, I enjoyed the book and liked the characters. ...more

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Sep 14, 2011 Jessica Wimberly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: heros-i-love, anne-stuart, assassin, book-boyfriend, tbr2, popsugar23

Chole Underwood lives in Paris and works as a American book translator. She got dupped by her roomate Sylvia to go and work as a translater for a group of importers for a week. Needing the money Chole goes and its the biggest mistake in her life. The importers turn out to be illegal arms dealers who think that she only knows English and French and when they want to talk private matters they use German not knowing that she understands them. She just want to leave and go home but one of the import ...more

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