Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

All Britt wanted to do was have a great spring break hiking in the mountains with her best friend Korbie and forget about her break-up with Calvin. When she learns that Calvin is going on the trip as a chaperone - since he’s Korbie’s older brother - she’s torn between making him pay for breaking her heart and considering a reconciliation. Before they make it to their cabin in the mountains, however, they are hit by a massive blizzard and forced to abandon their car on the side of the road. Britt and Korbie manage to find shelter with two hikers, but it’s not the salvation they’d been hoping for. Shaun and Mason need to get off the mountain, and Britt is the one to help them. She knows that they’re hiding something, and she slowly begins to realize that they might be connected to the disappearances and deaths of three women in these mountains. Now all she cares about is her own survival and the hope that resourceful Calvin would come to her rescue. It doesn’t help her situation when one of her kidnappers turns out to be the opposite of what she things. Can she trust him or not?

This novel is a romantic suspense novel. Given the whole hostage situation, that makes it a little bit of a Stockholm Syndrome novel, although I think that there is some degree of truth behind her feelings for one of the kidnappers. He does genuinely help her throughout the novel and extreme situations do tend to lead to extreme feelings (at least that’s what seems to happen in novels). Whether or not a relationship between them would work in the real world, it makes for entertaining fiction. In terms of the suspense, I figured it out halfway through the novel, but I’ve been accused of thinking too much when I read, so maybe the big reveal will be more surprising for another reader. Even knowing what was going to happen, the novel was still enjoyable. There are enough turns in their journey to keep things interesting and the reader wondering how they’ll get out of this situation.

Overall, this was a satisfying novel. There’s enough to keep you going to the end as you hope everything works out for these characters and justice is served.

MMK

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

This novel, while lyrical in its imagery and metaphors, failed to keep my attention. In fact, I felt as much of a hostage in this book as the main character.

Gemma is writing a letter to her kidnapper, recounting their time together when he kidnapped her in the Bangkok airport. Ty - her kidnapper - took her to a remote area in the Australian Outback where he hopes to keep her forever. She fights him as you would expect and tries to escape despite the fact that they are in the middle of nowhere. He never hurts her but she still fears at different times he's going to kill her. At one point they catch a camel which is (as I read in another review and agree with) a metaphor for how Gemma is caught and held as a hostage. Ty tries to win Gemma over and she tries to fight the situation until the land which she's falling in love with bites her in the foot and shifts the story.

When I picked up this book, I expected there to be more too it. Initally I thought there would be more meat - like sex trade or abuse - but really it's just a book about a girl who was kidnapped. I felt like nothing happened - at least nothing of consequence. Believe it or not, I wanted him to beat her or do something extreme just so I could experience some sort of emotional respone to the book. The escapes held a bit of fun and the camel capture was okay but the most exciting part was when she got bit by the snake but even that dragged on too long. This book seriously lacked the hook to keep me coming back. From what I read in other reviews, this book tries to be poetic with metaphors and imagery - WAY too much time was spent on the land. However, I think few readers pick up books looking for that. I think the vast majority - including myself - read to be entertained without much thought. I don't always pick up on the deeper meanings and hidden metaphors because I'm reading a story, that's all. I want things happening in a steady flow with excitement that keeps me coming back - this book did not have it and I think it will lose a lot of readers before they even make it halfway through for that very reason. (I, sadly, have a condition where it's nearly impossible for me to give up on books and forced myself to finish this book with a lot of complaining along the way). One thing that irked me about the book - besides its lack of anything really interesting going on - was how easy it was for Stockholm Syndrome to take effect. One minute she hates him, the next their snuggling in the sand. COME ON!!! I did like how the story was written as a letter. I found the style interesting and I did come to sympathize with Ty but I needed more out of the book.

If you like books with beautiful imagery and deeper meanings, pick up this book. If you want an interesting story that's going to keep you coming back for more, skip this book.
MMK