She internalized her physical scars. His emotional walls keep him safe. Will a rescue mission in icy terrain melt their guarded hearts?
Brielle Ives prefers dogs to people, and who could blame her? Her sled dogs are loyal to a fault, trust her implicitly, and couldn’t care less about the scars that mar her face. The only human who’s never disappointed her is her mentor, Dr. William Hunter. When his plane goes missing in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Bree will do anything to find him... even if it means turning to a frustrating, irresponsible, and too-sexy-for-his-own-good California boy for help.
When Ellis Hunter enlisted in the Army at eighteen, he put Alaska — and his womanizing drunk of a father — in his rearview mirror. He promised himself he’d never return, but even he can’t resist Bree’s panicked plea for help. If she’s hell-bent on trekking into the bush to find his father, then he's determined to go with her. But Ellis isn’t the only one shadowing Bree’s rescue attempt…
When the search for answers leaves Ellis and Bree trapped together in the wilds of Alaska, they’ll have to put aside their differences — and an attraction hot enough to melt glaciers — to survive the elements. Because someone dangerous lurks in that icy wilderness... a killer desperate to keep Dr. William Hunter's secrets buried deep in the snow.
My Take:
This book turned out to be good. However, I almost quit in the first chapter, in the first few minutes. The language is crude swearing right after another and the situation Ellis is in does not make him a likable character. I actually stopped the audiobook and wondered why I downloaded it. After rereading the blurb I decided to give it one more chapter. It started getting better with Brie, and by the end I liked Ellis as well. I understand WHY that first chapter is there, but I wish the author had found a different way to show contrast between Brie (scarred but beautiful inside) and the women Ellis usually spends time with (beautiful but ugly inside). And personally, I didn't want to read about a man who shows up to the second day of work willing to jump into bed with a married stranger just because of her beauty.
So, for my followers who don't like strong language or sex scenes--This one is not for you.
For those who don't care about that--the mystery and suspense was really good. The story (after chapter 1) was good. There were many spots throughout the book where the author switched verb tenses. It was annoying, but not enough to decide I didn't care about the story. Brie was a great character, strong, smart, sometimes stubborn to the point of being stupid. Ellis improved over time as he recognized how amazing Brie was.
The mystery of who the bad guy was good as well. At one point I was pretty sure who it was, then the author did a great job of making me question that. Since this is a series, you have more questions at the end of this book than you do at the beginning. Be prepared for that. There is a HEA for our couple though. And, even with the language, I'm tempted to pick up book two for the mystery side. :D
The narrator did a great job. I completely forgot I was listening to a book. This is the highest compliment I can give a narrator. I don't want to be read to, I want to experience the story and I felt like I did.
I went back and forth on my book rating because I don't like reading the f-bomb over and over, and the verb tense switches could have easily been fixed with a good edit. Just personal preference, but in the end, I took that out of the equation and give the story something between a 3.5 and a 4 with a R rating.
Narration gets a 5 (I really do need a scale for them)
1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure
Movie Ratings in relation to my review:
Clean--Hallmark movies, some kissing, no nudity, no intimacy on or off "screen"
PG--Some innuendo but nothing kids don't hear every day, intimacy is all closed door
PG-13--some language (swear words not related to intimacy), more talk about intimacy, heavy petting, removal of clothing on screen, but intimacy is closed door.
PG-14—somewhere between PG-13 and R. Not erotica, but at least a paragraph of on-screen intimacy
R--swearing (F-bomb, on “screen” intimacy, sometimes feels like the whole story is about the intimacy and not the relationship or some other plot, but not always
No comments:
Post a Comment