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A review by mehsi
Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick
3.0
I saw this book in the library (yes, one of the rare English YA books they have) and just thought I would try out. On the one hand I am disappointed, on the other hand the book had its good moments.
I am wondering though why this book had Paranormal/Fantasy as a genre... there was nothing paranormal about it.
So this book went from a 5 to a 4 to a 3 to a wtf should I rate this. Seriously, there were times that it was good, which was mostly the first 1/3 of the book. Then the 2/3 part was unbelievable, boring and dragged and the last part was unbelievable, HA I knew it and a bit lame.
At least one star reduction for the Stockholm Syndrome our main character clearly had. From the book: "More like he kidnapped me, held me hostage, forced me to guide him through the mountains in a blizzard, then saved my life, then I saved his life, we made out, and somewhere along the way I fell in love with him." Um... wait what? That is not a good thing girl, that is pretty bad. I really was rolling my eyes the whole time. And during some parts I was shaking my head or just wondering what brain freeze the girl. Seriously, you are surviving, you are kidnapped and you are drooling over your captor. There is something very wrong here with both of you.
I really don't like this and I was/kept hoping that it wouldn't be true or would just be a joke, but sadly it was all true. :(
And really, there are better times to make out (no, I am still not approving of the whole hostage/captor romance), but I still want to address it. Doing it while in a storm/blizzard + a stalking grizzly bear is just stupidity to the max. But then again, by that point I didn't even take anything seriously and this was just another thing to add to the pile.
Britt was an interesting character, though I didn't always like her. Her attitude and how she treated her friend were at times just shitty. I know, I know her best friend is also shitty and a bitch, but that is still no reason to treat her as shitty too. Just quit being her friend, tell her to stop doing her stuff, but don't do the same things to her (that you hate) as she does to you.
Her survival thing was great and I loved her in that part. She was smart and kept her wits even when things turned pretty nasty and scary. I loved that she kept trying to find a way out, kept holding on to things.
However, there was another thing that I didn't like. Her obsession/fascination with her ex. Seriously, he dumped you. In a not so nice way. He treated your relationship for a big part as something that needs to be hidden (Hint, that isn't good). During most of the horrific events she kept going back to her memories of the oh so glorious Calvin (though I already didn't trust him there, more later on that). It was quite annoying, we would have a great part (something exciting/scary happened or was revealed) and she would be dreaming off to wonderland with Calvin. I really don't see why she kept pining for him. Sorry girl, but he dumped you. It is over, don't you see?
Mason, I am still not sure what to think of his character. He is quite an interesting character, especially given what we learn later, but I don't know. I found him a bit too good for things. He seemingly had no flaws and he was so perfectly shaped. It felt like the author just made a perfect character so the main character could have a romance/fall in love with him. It was just all too convenient.
Calvin was a creepy and horrendous character, and I had my suspicions about him from the get-go. There are enough hints and things said that point a certain direction. I won't spoil anything, so you better read it and see what I mean.
I will just say this, he is a dick and he deserved what he had coming. I didn't like him at all. He was possessive, scary and thought he was so much better than females. Yay, to dads and indoctrination/abuse so your kid's mind will get warped. *shakes head*
The story was pretty interesting, 2 girls on the way to celebrate vacation get stuck in a storm and hike to cabin and get kidnapped/taken hostage. However, like I said before it got pretty boring and I think that the book could have been at least 100 to 150 pages shorter. A big chunk of the survival and stuff like that could have been cut out and the book would have been faster paced. It is a shame, it really had the potential to become a great story, full with twists and turns and revelations, but it wasn't meant to be. There were so many hints to what happened en by who and it was (at times) just so cheesy.
There is one little thing that I just realized... what happened to Korbie's boyfriend? Where is he? Where was he? Why is he only mentioned in the beginning parts and then forgotten. It was a bit of a shame. I had expected Calvin, but I also expected Bear to search for the girls. I was kind of curious as to who Bear was and why he meant so little to Korbie (yes, she apparently didn't care about him, given the fact that she met another man and said something along the lines of: "Well Bear isn't here and Shaun is."
The ending was decent, though I think it would have better if we didn't have the "One year Later" thing. I can imagine why the author added it, but I don't approve of it. Also all the stuff that happens at the last part was quite unbelievable and at times a bit silly.
All in all, I am not entirely sure what to rate this. I will stick to a 3 star for now. I am also not sure if I would recommend it.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I am wondering though why this book had Paranormal/Fantasy as a genre... there was nothing paranormal about it.
So this book went from a 5 to a 4 to a 3 to a wtf should I rate this. Seriously, there were times that it was good, which was mostly the first 1/3 of the book. Then the 2/3 part was unbelievable, boring and dragged and the last part was unbelievable, HA I knew it and a bit lame.
At least one star reduction for the Stockholm Syndrome our main character clearly had. From the book: "More like he kidnapped me, held me hostage, forced me to guide him through the mountains in a blizzard, then saved my life, then I saved his life, we made out, and somewhere along the way I fell in love with him." Um... wait what? That is not a good thing girl, that is pretty bad. I really was rolling my eyes the whole time. And during some parts I was shaking my head or just wondering what brain freeze the girl. Seriously, you are surviving, you are kidnapped and you are drooling over your captor. There is something very wrong here with both of you.
I really don't like this and I was/kept hoping that it wouldn't be true or would just be a joke, but sadly it was all true. :(
And really, there are better times to make out (no, I am still not approving of the whole hostage/captor romance), but I still want to address it. Doing it while in a storm/blizzard + a stalking grizzly bear is just stupidity to the max. But then again, by that point I didn't even take anything seriously and this was just another thing to add to the pile.
Britt was an interesting character, though I didn't always like her. Her attitude and how she treated her friend were at times just shitty. I know, I know her best friend is also shitty and a bitch, but that is still no reason to treat her as shitty too. Just quit being her friend, tell her to stop doing her stuff, but don't do the same things to her (that you hate) as she does to you.
Her survival thing was great and I loved her in that part. She was smart and kept her wits even when things turned pretty nasty and scary. I loved that she kept trying to find a way out, kept holding on to things.
However, there was another thing that I didn't like. Her obsession/fascination with her ex. Seriously, he dumped you. In a not so nice way. He treated your relationship for a big part as something that needs to be hidden (Hint, that isn't good). During most of the horrific events she kept going back to her memories of the oh so glorious Calvin (though I already didn't trust him there, more later on that). It was quite annoying, we would have a great part (something exciting/scary happened or was revealed) and she would be dreaming off to wonderland with Calvin. I really don't see why she kept pining for him. Sorry girl, but he dumped you. It is over, don't you see?
Mason, I am still not sure what to think of his character. He is quite an interesting character, especially given what we learn later, but I don't know. I found him a bit too good for things. He seemingly had no flaws and he was so perfectly shaped. It felt like the author just made a perfect character so the main character could have a romance/fall in love with him. It was just all too convenient.
Calvin was a creepy and horrendous character, and I had my suspicions about him from the get-go. There are enough hints and things said that point a certain direction. I won't spoil anything, so you better read it and see what I mean.
I will just say this, he is a dick and he deserved what he had coming. I didn't like him at all. He was possessive, scary and thought he was so much better than females. Yay, to dads and indoctrination/abuse so your kid's mind will get warped. *shakes head*
The story was pretty interesting, 2 girls on the way to celebrate vacation get stuck in a storm and hike to cabin and get kidnapped/taken hostage. However, like I said before it got pretty boring and I think that the book could have been at least 100 to 150 pages shorter. A big chunk of the survival and stuff like that could have been cut out and the book would have been faster paced. It is a shame, it really had the potential to become a great story, full with twists and turns and revelations, but it wasn't meant to be. There were so many hints to what happened en by who and it was (at times) just so cheesy.
There is one little thing that I just realized... what happened to Korbie's boyfriend? Where is he? Where was he? Why is he only mentioned in the beginning parts and then forgotten. It was a bit of a shame. I had expected Calvin, but I also expected Bear to search for the girls. I was kind of curious as to who Bear was and why he meant so little to Korbie (yes, she apparently didn't care about him, given the fact that she met another man and said something along the lines of: "Well Bear isn't here and Shaun is."
The ending was decent, though I think it would have better if we didn't have the "One year Later" thing. I can imagine why the author added it, but I don't approve of it. Also all the stuff that happens at the last part was quite unbelievable and at times a bit silly.
All in all, I am not entirely sure what to rate this. I will stick to a 3 star for now. I am also not sure if I would recommend it.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/