Book Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Black Ice
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Publishing Date: October 7th 2014
Length: 384 pages
Keywords: YA, thriller, romance, Teton Range, hiking
Source: Publisher

Britt Pfeiffer has never been that adventurous, but that's about to change. Wanting to impress her ex-boyfriend, Britt convinces best friend, Korbie, to take a trekking trip with her. But when a freak storm leaves the girls stranded they seek shelter in a cabin, where they find two knights in shining armour. Or so they think.

Britt quickly realises that the girls need to get off the mountain, fast. In exchange for her life, she is forced to guide the boys down, and as they set out on a harrowing journey through the cold and snow, Britt realises the only way to escape with her life is to pretend she is on their side. But is gorgeous, sexy Mason an enemy or an ally? Tension mounts, and it's only a matter of time before things turn deadly . . .

Summary by Goodreads

 

I'm very glad Becca Fitzpatrick tried something different after her HUSH HUSH series and wrote BLACK ICE. I'll be reading her next YA thriller SAPPHIRE SKIES for sure.

In BLACK ICE a trip to the Teton Range doesn't turn out the way it should have. Brit and her friend Korbie were supposed to meet Brit's ex-boyfriend Calvin, who is also Korbie's brother, in a cabin. A snow storm forces them to find shelter in a remote cabin, where also two criminals have taken refuge. Hunted by the police, they now need Brit to get them off the mountain and to a safe escape.

The fact that Britt is held hostage by two potential killers was so unbelievable, I expected the whole scenario to feel constructed and fake at some point. One or two times towards the end things indeed felt like they were a bit over the top. Nevertheless, most of Becca Fitzpatrick's BLACK ICE was very authentic. Sometimes this book even made me feel isolated and robbed of breath. Her writing transported me into the snowy hell Britt finds herself caught in and I often shuddered imagining to live the nightmare Britt and Korbie do.

My favourite part of Becca Fitzpatrick's writing in her newest novel is the icy setting of the Wyoming mountainside she conjured. It is a very extreme setting with the power to set an avalanche of reading adrenaline loose. It's not only a human who is endangering Britt's life, but the extreme conditions of nature in the mountains themselves. It is bitter cold and snow storms are no uncommon occurrence in this novel.

Witnessing a love story emerge and bloom in a surrounding this inhospitable and cold, was a new reading experience for me. Of course Brit revises her relationship with her ex-boyfriend Calvin, but she also questions her very recent feelings for one of her kidnappers. Stockholm syndrome or is there something real about her feelings for Mason? I grew very fond of Mason despite his withdrawn character and all the secrets he carries with him. And secrets are definitely a big part of BLACK ICE!

4/5 **** BLACK ICE - One of the most spine-chilling YA thrillers I've read!

The dangerous icy terrain on which BLACK ICE is set had me in a vise-like grip. The romance warmed my heart like a crackling fire. And the murder and abduction part chilled me to my bones. If you are into YA thrillers you can't get past Becca Fitzpatrick's newest book without missing out!

"She screamed, over and over inside herself. She screamed while the pressure built, sweeping her toward the edge of death. He didn't want photographs. He wanted to kill her.

She would not let this horrible place to be her last memory.

Closing her eyes, she went away, into the darkness." ― p.8

BLACK ICE you might want to pick up LITTLE WHITE LIES by Katie Dale, FRACTURE by Megan Miranda and HUNTING LILA by Sarah Alderson. Three YA thrillers I really enjoyed.

* Becca's next novel, SAPPHIRE SKIES, will be coming out this fall.

* Here are some BLACK ICE sneak peeks.

* Click here to listen to the BLACK ICE playlist.

* For more information about Becca and her books visit www.beccafitzpatrick.com.

* Thanks to Simon & Schuster UK for sending me a proof copy of BLACK ICE for review!