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jade_leigh94's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
charlottenw1's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this book with a wow. The writing was just amazing, hot and steamy and really kept me intrigued throughout the whole of the book. The characters are so captivating and the conflict is so well written within the story. I love the whole book and where it's going to go.
things_i_read_lately's review against another edition
4.0
Having Ivy continue the series was a pretty big departure from the previous books, but I still enjoyed it. It got off to a slower start for me, but was still and enjoyable quick read. The steam and chemistry was ramped up from the previous books, which was a nice change. I’m left feeling like I still want more from the series, maybe Dakota’s story? A wedding?
jaimejustreadsromance's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes authors keep writing book after book in a series and it just gets really old. Sometimes a series comes to an end way before I'm ready to say good-bye. This is a series that falls in the second category.
I can't figure out how K.A. Tucker manages to write these super-serious, sometimes gut-wrenching stories while somehow maintaining a light-hearted, romantic tone with the characters and all that they are going through. I get the warm fuzzies AND the chills while reading her books. It's a strange, yet awesome combination.
Ivy is fierce and fantastic and just when she thinks she's found a place to put down roots, her life is turned on it's head. Cue the sexy, mysterious Sebastian who manages to sneak past her walls while hiding secrets that could literally be the death of her. Their chemistry is palpable but their walls are built pretty high. Will they be able to let down their guards long enough to open their hearts?
This story was dramatic and tense but broken up beautifully with sweet, tender moments between Ivy and Sebastian as they explore an ever-growing attraction. There is humor in moments spent with Dakota and her revolving door of misfits dinner guests. Moments full of sexual tension turned explosive heat. There's guns and fights, blood and betrayal. Basically this story is everything that makes a book great. Even though I'm sad to see it come to end, there couldn't have been a better way to wrap up this series.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I can't figure out how K.A. Tucker manages to write these super-serious, sometimes gut-wrenching stories while somehow maintaining a light-hearted, romantic tone with the characters and all that they are going through. I get the warm fuzzies AND the chills while reading her books. It's a strange, yet awesome combination.
Ivy is fierce and fantastic and just when she thinks she's found a place to put down roots, her life is turned on it's head. Cue the sexy, mysterious Sebastian who manages to sneak past her walls while hiding secrets that could literally be the death of her. Their chemistry is palpable but their walls are built pretty high. Will they be able to let down their guards long enough to open their hearts?
This story was dramatic and tense but broken up beautifully with sweet, tender moments between Ivy and Sebastian as they explore an ever-growing attraction. There is humor in moments spent with Dakota and her revolving door of misfits dinner guests. Moments full of sexual tension turned explosive heat. There's guns and fights, blood and betrayal. Basically this story is everything that makes a book great. Even though I'm sad to see it come to end, there couldn't have been a better way to wrap up this series.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
joyousreads132's review against another edition
4.0
I changed my mind. River isn’t the hottest man in this series. , Mr. International Man of Mystery himself, Sebastian Riker. I don’t particularly swoon over male characters (not often, anyway), but man, Sebastian is one cool customer. I’ve always been a sucker for secret agents, assassins, Marines and NAVY SEALs and since Sebastian was all of those, he was an instant hit. I read this book in one shot. As usual, this instalment was predictably, ho-hum addictive. I sincerely hope this is not the last one, because there’s not a lot of books in this genre that I enjoy.
Surviving Ice takes us to San Francisco, where vagabond, Ivy Lee (bad-ass, kick-ass tattoo artist extraordinaire) decided to plant roots, albeit temporarily, with the man who inspired her to become a tattoo artist. Her uncle has always been more of a father figure for her. Even more so than the one who sired her. When she becomes the lone witness for her uncle’s murder, she also becomes the target of a very dangerous organization. Enter Ice (a.k.a Sebastian), the man who was supposed to find the incriminating evidence his employer was being blackmailed for; and disposed of the person who may or may not know its whereabouts.
Sebastian has always been precise and efficient with his assignments. But after meeting Ivy, unexpected complications stalled him temporarily. Ivy, for her inability to form connections with other human beings, has never felt more tempted to solve the puzzle that is, Sebastian. But that would require her letting someone in her life. I like the inherent chemistry between the two. It felt so natural. The instant connection was so realistic and not at all forced.
One of the best things about Ms. Tucker’s writing is that it flows so effortlessly. She mixes the right amount of heat, adrenaline, and emotions without being superfluous with her plot and characters. It is what makes her stories so easy to read, so much fun and so addictive.
Surviving Ice takes us to San Francisco, where vagabond, Ivy Lee (bad-ass, kick-ass tattoo artist extraordinaire) decided to plant roots, albeit temporarily, with the man who inspired her to become a tattoo artist. Her uncle has always been more of a father figure for her. Even more so than the one who sired her. When she becomes the lone witness for her uncle’s murder, she also becomes the target of a very dangerous organization. Enter Ice (a.k.a Sebastian), the man who was supposed to find the incriminating evidence his employer was being blackmailed for; and disposed of the person who may or may not know its whereabouts.
Sebastian has always been precise and efficient with his assignments. But after meeting Ivy, unexpected complications stalled him temporarily. Ivy, for her inability to form connections with other human beings, has never felt more tempted to solve the puzzle that is, Sebastian. But that would require her letting someone in her life. I like the inherent chemistry between the two. It felt so natural. The instant connection was so realistic and not at all forced.
One of the best things about Ms. Tucker’s writing is that it flows so effortlessly. She mixes the right amount of heat, adrenaline, and emotions without being superfluous with her plot and characters. It is what makes her stories so easy to read, so much fun and so addictive.
lcmarie19's review against another edition
4.0
**This book was given to me in exchange for my honest review**
Another action-packed, emotional, drama filled read from Tucker. For the longest time, if you've been following my reviews for Tucker's books, I've been feeling a bit unfulfilled with her books. Specifically when it came to the endings. While I can say that I enjoyed this book more than most, I enjoyed it a tad less than BURYING WATER #3.
This story follows young tattoo artist and her journey with trying to stay alive after she witnesses a heinous crime against her uncle. Through an encounter with a certain mysterious man (Ice or Sebastian), she aims to figure out who committed the crime, while trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. But this mysterious man throws her a bit of wrench in her plans.
As I mentioned, I had a really great time with this story. I liked Ivy and I liked the supporting characters. I enjoyed Sebastian, as well. The characters worked well together. The dynamic was very strong and there was an extremely strong plot to go along with the strength of the characters. If there is one thing that I will say that K.A. Tucker does well, it's that she is able to make the reader interested in something other than the romance between the characters. I actually found myself worried for certain characters throughout the book. I wanted to know more about them and how they were going to get out of various situations.
But, of course, because I am a hopeless romantic, I still was all about the chemistry between our main characters, Ivy and Sebastian. And I liked it. I thought their story was fairly believable -- for the most part. It didn't feel too rush and I did roll my eyes at any point. If I did roll my eyes, it was due to some of the secret keeping and the decision making on the part of certain characters.
The plot progressed in a way that allowed me to relax enough to trust that Tucker wouldn't throw a curve ball at me at anytime throughout the book. I think the plot, though very interesting, was also quite predictable. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. I liked actually being able to pretty much determine what was going to happen before it happened.
Overall, I was pretty happy with the story. While it didn't wow me as much as the book before this -- I was SO emotionally invested in that story -- I really feel that with each book that Tucker comes out with and that I read, I begin to like what she's doing more and more. And I look forward to more from her.
Another action-packed, emotional, drama filled read from Tucker. For the longest time, if you've been following my reviews for Tucker's books, I've been feeling a bit unfulfilled with her books. Specifically when it came to the endings. While I can say that I enjoyed this book more than most, I enjoyed it a tad less than BURYING WATER #3.
This story follows young tattoo artist and her journey with trying to stay alive after she witnesses a heinous crime against her uncle. Through an encounter with a certain mysterious man (Ice or Sebastian), she aims to figure out who committed the crime, while trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. But this mysterious man throws her a bit of wrench in her plans.
As I mentioned, I had a really great time with this story. I liked Ivy and I liked the supporting characters. I enjoyed Sebastian, as well. The characters worked well together. The dynamic was very strong and there was an extremely strong plot to go along with the strength of the characters. If there is one thing that I will say that K.A. Tucker does well, it's that she is able to make the reader interested in something other than the romance between the characters. I actually found myself worried for certain characters throughout the book. I wanted to know more about them and how they were going to get out of various situations.
But, of course, because I am a hopeless romantic, I still was all about the chemistry between our main characters, Ivy and Sebastian. And I liked it. I thought their story was fairly believable -- for the most part. It didn't feel too rush and I did roll my eyes at any point. If I did roll my eyes, it was due to some of the secret keeping and the decision making on the part of certain characters.
The plot progressed in a way that allowed me to relax enough to trust that Tucker wouldn't throw a curve ball at me at anytime throughout the book. I think the plot, though very interesting, was also quite predictable. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. I liked actually being able to pretty much determine what was going to happen before it happened.
Overall, I was pretty happy with the story. While it didn't wow me as much as the book before this -- I was SO emotionally invested in that story -- I really feel that with each book that Tucker comes out with and that I read, I begin to like what she's doing more and more. And I look forward to more from her.
photogcourt's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this more than I did. The idea of Ivy was a good one, after seeing her character in past books. I was hoping though, that she would stick around Dublin. This storyline seemed to be reaching a bit, and I wasn't overly impressed. Her issues seemed very stereotypical and cliche. Definitely thought this could have been a better conclusion to this series.
jessicasilfenroy's review against another edition
4.0
Another wonderful KA Tucker series completed. I loved the romantic suspense combo and the characters introduced along the way. Each book has some type of crime organization and mystery associated with it-think Russian Mob, IRA and secret security company- so they are a bit darker reads but still so good!
kalarosereads's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars for Surviving Ice! I am so sad that this series is over but what a way to end it! K.A. Tucker just keeps demonstrating how multi-talented she really is at writing all different types of books. In Surviving Ice we continue with Ivy's story and get a closer look at this very unique character, who has felt misunderstood her whole life. I was super excited to get a closer look at Ivy as we have had peaks of her throughout the series but to see her heart of gold under her tough exterior was so exciting to read.
We also meet Sebastian, who is assigned to find an important piece of information from Ivy's Uncle, who was recently murdered. Sebastian himself has dealt with being misjudged, and is currently feeling very lost and in where he is in life. He has ghosts from his past that he is running from and it isn't until he meets Ivy that he learns his true worth and finds forgiveness for himself.
I really enjoyed how this story let the two character's relationship grow and bloom in such an organic way, you could feel the sparks right from the beginning but it was never forced upon the reader. Like the rest of the books in this series, the readers are presented with yet another moral dilemma and have to decide, as do the characters, what is really "right" and "wrong" in a very gray area. The characters in this book continue to prove to not judge a book by its cover, as just because people look a certain way, it doesn't mean you can just put them in one box forever.
This book keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time, it has just enough twists and turns without becoming redundant and by having a dual POV, we get both Ivy's and Sebastian's thoughts as they navigate their new relationship together, with Sebastian hiding the truth from Ivy. This would be a really fun book to go back and re-read to try and pick up on little nuances that were missed the first time.
The only reason this book is not a 5 star for me is because the ending was wrapped up way too quickly for my liking. I did enjoy how the ending happened, but I do wish it was drawn out in more detail.
Overall this series was absolutely incredible and addictive and I highly recommend giving it a read!!
We also meet Sebastian, who is assigned to find an important piece of information from Ivy's Uncle, who was recently murdered. Sebastian himself has dealt with being misjudged, and is currently feeling very lost and in where he is in life. He has ghosts from his past that he is running from and it isn't until he meets Ivy that he learns his true worth and finds forgiveness for himself.
I really enjoyed how this story let the two character's relationship grow and bloom in such an organic way, you could feel the sparks right from the beginning but it was never forced upon the reader. Like the rest of the books in this series, the readers are presented with yet another moral dilemma and have to decide, as do the characters, what is really "right" and "wrong" in a very gray area. The characters in this book continue to prove to not judge a book by its cover, as just because people look a certain way, it doesn't mean you can just put them in one box forever.
This book keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time, it has just enough twists and turns without becoming redundant and by having a dual POV, we get both Ivy's and Sebastian's thoughts as they navigate their new relationship together, with Sebastian hiding the truth from Ivy. This would be a really fun book to go back and re-read to try and pick up on little nuances that were missed the first time.
The only reason this book is not a 5 star for me is because the ending was wrapped up way too quickly for my liking. I did enjoy how the ending happened, but I do wish it was drawn out in more detail.
Overall this series was absolutely incredible and addictive and I highly recommend giving it a read!!