Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

TITLE: Black Ice

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Genre: Thriller (YA)

Why did I read the book: Once I was done with the Hush, Hush series by the same author, I had to grab her other book i.e Black Ice.
How did I get the book: Goodreads recommendation. Got the kindle from Amazon.com  ,

Watch the trailer here: Black Ice Trailer

BLURB:

Black Ice is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick’s riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous…

Sometimes danger is hard to see… until it’s too late. 

Britt Pheiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

Britt is forced to guide the men off the mountain, and knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there…and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

REVIEW:( Spoiler alert)

Black Ice is one of those thrillers that you go into only knowing the bare bones of the story, just enough to intrigue you with its hints of a suspense and romance, yet the ever-increasing tension and dark twists completely ensnare you in their grasp. I was taken by surprise by how much this story captivated me.

"I blinked my eyes dry, sniffling until I felt composed. I had to be smart. My best tool now was my brain. I had to use this time to evaluate my situation."

Chance meetings can be just that, meeting someone at a point of time and never seeing them again. Yet there are also encounters that bring fast friendships, or even danger.

In Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick, Lauren Huntsman has a chance encounter that changes her life. No one knows where she has gone, and her family is horrified. Yet she is not the only young woman to have gone missing.

Britt Pfeiffer is not worried about some random disappearances. As her class decides to take its break in Hawaii, Britt talks her friend Korbie into backpacking with her in the Teton Range instead. Korbie’s brother Calvin was Britt’s boyfriend, but he suddenly dropped her with no explanation. Korbie doesn’t know what happened, but when she agrees to the trek, Calvin also decides he wants to tag along. Calvin is very experienced in the outdoors, while Britt has only done more rudimentary training. Unsure of how they feel about this unexpected situation, Britt and Korbie agree to meet him at their destination.

Wondering if she can figure out what happened and determined to rekindle their relationship, Britt sees her plans go awry when she and Korbie get stuck on their way up the mountain. Knowing that Calvin is on his way, they are not so much afraid of being on their own, as that they might freeze before he reaches them. Just as they are beginning to lose heart, they stumble on a cabin, where two young men agree to help them. The men seem nice and it doesn’t hurt that they are good-looking. That is until the gun comes out. Suddenly the girls understand the dangers of the mountain in a new way.

Britt knows that Calvin is on his way and will save them. But stumbling upon a body in a hidden trunk, she begins to understand that she and Korbie are in way over their heads. The description of one of the missing girls’ clothing matches the clothes on the corpse. Can they survive long enough for Calvin to find them? 

Becca has given us characters that seem quite real, and the mistakes they make on the way, while a bit sophomoric, seems to fit in with the character and age of the girls. On the surface Calvin seems like the knight in shining armor, but there is something wrong that you can sense from the beginning. Yet Britt has stars in her eyes and misses the strangeness noticeable to the reader.

The beauty of the wilderness shows through as well as the dangers of the weather and the terrain. That they trust, in such a setting, in someone unknown only shows how desperate and afraid the young women were on their own. Letting down their guard in the most inappropriate situation has put them in danger.

“If you have a weakness, you have to work hard to defend it. You can’t be lazy about it.” 

This work takes you into the darkness of a killer’s mind, but the red herrings have you guessing and wondering what is really happening. There is a chilling secret that slowly peels away, revealing the truth about who can be trusted.

 If you enjoy mystery, suspense, and romance you will find this a great read. The danger and beauty create a haunting mystery that even as the truth is revealed stays with you long after the book is done.

My POVs:

Black Ice is the toughest books I've had to review till dates. While I enjoyed the plot, and though parts of it were completely unpredictable and suspenseful, I absolutely loathed the characters, especially our MC, Britt. I kept on reading till the end because I just had to know how it finished, but still I couldn't feel anything except disgust for Britt. Although, I’m starting to wonder if maybe that’s how the author intended it. Let me explain.

Britt is everything you don’t expect a YA heroine to be. She’s highly dependent on the men in her life, previously her boyfriend (now ex) Calvin, who happened to be her best friend’s brother. We see flashbacks of their relationships every now and then, and while there’s no actual abuse, Calvin certainly doesn't treat her very nicely. He cheats on her, he pretends she means nothing to him, and so on. Even though they broke up and it’s been months since she heard from him, all Britt can think about when she talks about her camping trip with her bet friend, is…you guessed it, Calvin. Even though he gives an entirely new meaning to the word ‘jackass’, she’s still infatuated with him and thinks of him as some freaking saint.

Then there’s her BFF, Korbie, who is even dumber than Britt, and even more dependent. Korbie flirts with every boy she sees – not even recognizing if one of them is potentially dangerous. She’s a whiny brat with zero survival skills or survival instinct. But heck, I would've been able to look past that if she was a supportive friend who had Britt’s back. Guess what? She’s not. She puts Britt down at every chance she gets, she didn't even tell her that Calvin cheated on her, and so on. Friend? I think not.

Anyway, the two girls head up to a mountain for a camping trip, which they’re going to spend in a cabin belonging to Korbie’s parents. Calvin will be there too, to keep an eye out for them. But when the girls drive to the cabin, they get hit by an unexpected snow storm and their car breaks down. They stumble to the nearest cabin which is inhabited by two strange young men. They’re hot, so of course the girls immediately call dibs on each one, although by now the “these are bad people with bad intentions” vibe is so high any sane person would've run out of there screaming. But of course they have to wait until Shawn, one of these guys, decides to reveal his utter evilness by pointing a gun in their direction before they decide maybe trying to hook up with them wasn't such a good idea after all.

Let’s jump forward in the story, to the moment where Britt and Mason (the buddy of gun man) are travelling down the mountain, and Britt…falls head over heels for him. 

“There was something about almost dying that made me desperate to feel alive - and Jude’s touch was the only thing that made me feel alive right now.” 

Because one semi-abusive relationship wasn't enough, now she’ll hang out with someone who threatened to kill her as well. Yeah….And then that entire romance/kidnapping/Stockholm Syndrome story is connected to a bunch of unexplained murders taking place on the mountain during the last few years, which was easily the most intriguing part of the book.

All in all…meh. I liked the plot, the whole kidnapping part, the murders, definitely had some suspense. But the characters were so awful I couldn't enjoy reading about them. I want to smack some sense into Britt, and please for the love of all that is holy, I want her to stand up for herself for once. Make a decision on her own. Anything that shows she’s not entirely dependent on any man that crosses her way. 

Set against the harsh backdrop of the Grand Tetons of Wyoming during an unsuspected snow storm,  Britt Pfeiffer and her best friend Korbie are forced to seek refuge from their back-packing trip in a remote cabin, its occupants two handsome, but very secretive guys who have their own dark agendas and Britt has just walked into a situation that is much more dangerous and life-threatening than the raging blizzard outside.

What I loved about this book is that it unexpected in every way. The thriller part of the description is completely true. From the moment that we met the two men, Mason and Shaun, I’m terrified. These kinds of things…they are more true to life than any fantasy or science fiction that I read. Girls get kidnapped, assaulted, raped, all sorts of things all the time so it was terrifying, especially after the initial encounter we have with one of the boys earlier in the novel. It was incredibly surprising. I finished it so quickly because I had no idea what was going to happen next, what twists and turns it would make, and where I would end up. It was incredibly gripping and it kept me turning the pages, easily. In the middle of a book slump, as well. Well done, Becca, for taking me out of that, finally!

While reading I felt Mason's words completely.....
"Go to hell." 
"Sorry, love, but we're already there.”

......this book kinda took me on its way to hell with its fast-forwarding and non-stop suspense facets. 

I also loved the romance! 

“They say that when you're about to die, your life flashes before your eyes. They never tell you that when you watch someone you once loved dying, hovering between this life and the next, it's twice as painful, because you're reliving two lives that traveled one road together.” 

It came from such a random spot and the ending that it took was just…so random. But I loved it. The whole novel I wasn't quite sure who to root for, who the good guy was or who the bad guy was. It was so confusing and made scenes with different boys seems so incredibly complicated. Another reason for me to keep reading. I had to know what was going to happen next, how it was going to end. Its a complete page turner. That always seems to be a mark of a good book, the ability to keep you addicted the entire time, where you keep turning the pages, just one more chapter, just one more chapter, because you can’t stand not knowing what is going to happen next. That is completely accomplished in that novel.

My Favorite Parts: ( Scene between Britt and Mason Jude)

“When you bluff, your left eyebrow twitches. It hasn’t twitched all night. Besides, I already told you I’m going to get you there safely. No need for games now."
I pulled back indignantly. "My left eyebrow does not twitch."
Jude studied me with an idle smile, as if calculating the wisdom of saying more. "When you’re amused, your mouth takes on a mischievous curl." he went on, as if proving his point. "When you’re angry, you press your lips together and three tiny lines jump out between your eyebrows."
I rolled onto my knees and planted my hands squarely on my hips. "Anything else?" I asked hotly. 
He thumbed his nose, struggling not to grin. "When you kiss, you make a purring noise deep in your throat. It’s so faint, I have to be touching you to hear it."
Now I turned bright red. 
"We should kiss again and see what other observations I make," he suggested.” 

“Fat chance after you insulted me!”

And..

Then the confusions in Britt's mind about Calvin: an unforgettable ex/first love and Mason: only person she can take a chance to trust though he's quite intimidating. 

I tossed my head back haughtily. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to cut him down because you're-you're jealous of him!" 
"You're damn right I'm jealous,” he growled. "When I kiss a girl, I like to know she's thinking about me, not the fool who gave her up.” 

VERDICT:

I loved getting sucked into this story, as back-packing, ex-boyfriends, flirting and fun turn into something darker, dangerous and scary. Britt's character goes from being a slightly thrill-seeker with a knack of digging herself into trouble, one who is often pulled out of danger just in time by her sweet, but over indulgent dad or the other men in her life, to someone who realizes she has to take charge-there's no one else to save her this time around. There's a pivotal moment in the book, when she literally realizes she could die, and at the moment the author Becca Fitzpatrick brilliantly begins twisting the story tighter and tighter, dropping clues, upping the tension and danger, all the while Britt is faced with the challenge of saving herself. I couldn't read fast enough to see how this resilient heroine was going to handle herself, but she does and it is awesome.

I can't talk about the story without mentioning the romance of course, one that carefully shadows the suspensefulness of the mystery. The story takes on a edgy note as Britt is held hostage, her captors needing her help to get off the mountain. I was writing down clues, and holding my breath as an undeniable attraction, one that began before she set foot in that cabin, was present. The boundaries kept shifting, and all I could do was follow along with Britt as secret after secret were revealed and feelings exposed. I kept asking myself, just who really is the bad guy, while reading Black Ice and I loved how Becca Fitzpatrick kept me guessing for so long, and then it still doesn't matter because survival is still not assured.

Black Ice is a taunt thriller with a seductive edge, a bridge between dark suspense and romance. A cat and mouse game that kept me on glued until the last page.

Rating: My rating for Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

My Next Read: I'm really eager to read the Stark trilogy by J. Kenner. Though haven't yet decided on my next read. But Samantha Young's Hero is on my list for next review. Until then, read and love books. Wish you all a happy Weekend.