Wednesday 22 October 2014

Review: Black Ice - Becca Fitzpatrick

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick, published by Simon and Schuster on 7th October 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
Britt Pfeiffer 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.

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt 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 in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?


Review:
'Black Ice' was a book of two halves.  The second part was so much better than the first but it depends if you are willing to wade your way through the opening chapters to get to that point.  I know a lot of other bloggers have read this one and had quite strong reactions to it but I always try to approach books with an open-mind.  Sadly, it isn't one that I particularly enjoyed which is a shame because when I first heard about it I thought the synopsis sounded brilliant. 

I didn't warm to the main character Britt or her best friend Korbie, who both seemed incredibly shallow and spoilt.  They are supposed to be best friends but it seemed more like a competition between them.  Because they seem so spoilt, they don't appear capable of doing anything for themselves, which made the idea of them backpacking alone through the Teton mountains almost unbelievable.  When the weather takes a turn for the worse, they end up seeking refuge in the first cabin they stumble across which happens to contain two men.  Now, I know that they are in a potentially dangerous situation, cut-off from seeking help from any other source, but surely common sense would tell you that it's more dangerous to stay in a cabin with two strange men that you don't know. 

I didn't like the way that Britt and Korbie behaved with the men either.  They flirt and compete against one another for attention, rather than thinking about the possible danger they are in.  There are so many indicators that they shouldn't trust them but they ignore all of these.

I did enjoy the survival aspect of the book and the fact that they have to find a way to stay alive in the wilderness but even that wasn't enough to get me on-board with the overall plot. 

As the pieces of the story began to click together, I began to enjoy it a little more and I thought that it was very creepy and suspenseful in places.  Unfortunately the book was just let down by extremely unlikeable characters who I couldn't find it in me to care about.

I will still be looking out for Becca Fitzpatrick's next book but sadly, this one wasn't for me.          

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