Book Review: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Series: Standalone
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
Publish: October 7th, 2014 by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Brit Pheiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants;but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

Britt is forced to guide the men off the mountain, and knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there and in uncovering this, she may become the killer's next target.

But nothing is as it seems, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

Eh. A lot of things pissed me off in this book. I'm sorry, Fitzpatrick, but just so you know, your Hush Hush saga wasn't bad. As I was reading, I took some notes on my electronic device.... And I returned the book to the library, so I'm not sure what my notes will be referring to, but I'll try to remember as I type.

The beginning is your first impression of the book, because, I mean, it is a first impression and you all know first impressions are important. Maybe they won't stand true and may falter and shatter, but my first impression of the main character was like..it stayed and my impression of her never changed. I did read a couple of reviews before jumping into reading on Goodreads, and the complaints were mostly for the stupidity of the main character. Oh, and how she's very self-centered and rude, so I prepared myself for the worst and my mind-shield was protective enough so that I was able to give this book three stars and avoid the bad things about it.

Oh, yes, can't forget. Korbie is someone...who changes mood very fast, and for some reason, I find that very unrealistic for her character.

Oh my, oh my. Too many things to point out without spoiling. All I can say is that it's not very realistic. The main character is extremely narcissistic and doesn't know how to make smart decisions although she claims that she had read many books about surviving in the wild and boasts about being reasonable and smart while with her kidnapper. Like, I mean, seriously. Just. Seriously.

And Fitzpatrick just has to kill the - maybe - most reasonable character EVER, so far in the story.

And the main character - Britt, was it? - SPOILER reads into Korbie's diary and finds a list that compares their features.

Oh - and I DELETED MY NOTES SO I CAN'T SPOIL YOU GUYS ANYMORE. AHAHAH. BE GRATEFUL.

Book Review: Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Series: Standalone
Genres: Young Adult, New Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Contemporary
Published: April 10, 2014 by Disney Hyperion
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

This is a gorgeous book. It's too good. Like seriously. Everything abut this was good. I think this novel ought to be her best work so far that I've read. I love the mystery aspect in it, very beautifully written. There was a hint of horror in it, but that's to be expected as it was a thriller and suspense novel. It was also fun to read it because of 'Mean Girls'. I've watched that movie a thousand times and this is the first time I've used it to read a novel.

"The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level..." That sentence from the summary of my copy just sparked a 'mean girl' fangirl in me and I started reading her old friends as Regina, Gretchen and Karen. Oooohhh, it was such a fun read to be able to read it like that.

I also loved the family interactions in this novel. Like we even got to know more about their parents and the actual reasons to actual problems. The only thing I didn't like was the conflict at the end. I felt like it could've been better written and more detailed, but that aside, everything was amazing. Her brother was also a protective one, which is so cute. The amnesia part was very well written and I loved how there wasn't so much of a sarcastic aspect in this novel because she is actually logical at time. Sometimes, the characters are too sarcastic in other books that I can't stand them, but this novel lets me take a nice break from it, but at the same time enjoy some funny comments.

To be honest, I'm very surprised that Armentrout actually fit all the answers to the questions in our head by the end of the story. It's a pretty short thriller novel if I were to say so myself, especially when our main character has amnesia and she was to find everything out. Ahhh, this just gives you the feels and it's too good to not read. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone if you've yet to read it!