Black Ice

I am always a little cautious whenever I begin a new author, but WOW! I could not believe that I barely discovered Anne Stuart. The book begins with Chloe Underwoods side of the book, her history and job description and suddenly, she is given a great opportunity to translate for some people while they are at a business conference meeting. There, she meets the mysterious and sexy Bastian Toussaint who is more than willing to bring her to his bed. She begins to read between the lines during the discussions and then Hakin, her boss and a ruthless and cruel killer, decides he does not want her to live. by this time, Bastian has seduced her enough and the story unfolds from there. Once i finished the book I had to go back to re-read the very sizzling scenes Start writes. WOW!!! I am looking forward to reading her work again. Great plot, lots of action, passion, lust, murder and even love is thrown in the mix. Great book.

This is my first book by Anne Stuart and I keep wondering what took me so long to discover her! I'm a sucker for bad boys and it seems Ms Stuart is the queen of bad boy anti-heroes. Yes, there is much here that seems unrealistic but if you're willing to suspend belief on some things, there is also a really enjoyable story here. Chloe is a young, fairly naive translator living in Paris to escape her wealthy family and their expectations back home in North Carolina. When her ditzy, gold digging roommate arranges for Chloe to take her place translating for a business conference, she finds herself in an isolated, fortified chateau wondering what the heck she's gotten herself into. Then she meets a mysterious and very sexy man and just knows that she is in serious danger. And she is. Bastien Toussaint is a covert agent for a shadowy organization trying to infiltrate an illegal arms dealing cartel. Supposedly he works for the good guys but lately he's been wondering about that. Bastien is not exactly a nice guy and he does whatever it takes to complete his mission. If that means killing someone, so be it. If it takes sleeping with a woman to get info, no problem. When he meets Chloe he wonders if she is truly what she seems or something more dangerous. She's either really good at what she does or pathetically inept! He decides to get close to her to find out and so they have an encounter that shakes them both. He decides she truly is what she appears - an innocent young woman in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Normally he'd leave her to her fate, but there is something about Chloe and he finds himself her self-appointed bodyguard as they go on the run from the cartel. Now if he can just get her back to the States and out of his life they'll both be better off. Okay, yes at 23 she is a bit young and yes I agree no criminal cartel would let an outsider translate for them. Matter of fact, once she got there they seemed to have little need of her anyway, so that aspect was pretty thin and unbelievable. And she fights Bastien a bit too much given that he's trying to protect her. Also, be aware that there is quite a bit of violence here with a pretty high body count. But my biggest peeve is that it ended too abruptly - I really needed and wanted an epilogue! I know that I'm being generous with 5 stars but all I can say in my defense is that, when I finished it, I just wanted to read it all over again! Looking forward to reading more from Ms Stuart!

Chloe Underwood is in Paris working as a children's book translator, to escape the pressure from her family to go to medical school. At 24 she knows she wants nothing to do with blood and gore. Her whole family, mother, father, sisters and brothers are in the medical field and pushing her to study in it also. But stubborn determined Chloe is satisfied just to live in Paris and share an apartment with her friend Sylvia who is a translator of mysteries and thrillers. Sylvia is looking for a rich old man who needs her special touch. Bastian Toussaint is an agent for an ultra secret agency, The Committee, he has sold his soul to them and has not had a heart for most of his life. He is an assassin, murderer, con man, interrigator, whatever it takes to get the job done. He is Cold to the bone and has reached the edge where he waits for the wrong move to end his miserable existance. There is no one or thing he cares about, even himself. Just the job. Sylvia has a translating job for a group of marketing people. When her latest millionaire asks her to go on a trip, she convinces Chloe to take her place. Unfortunately, they are really arms dealers. Bastian is undercover to take out (kill) two of the dealers. Chloe speaks 5 or 6 languages and not just French and English. She shortly realizes who and what these people are. Trying to quickly get away she is caught and tortured by Hakim, one of the dealers. Bastian doesn't think anything about betraying her and letting Hakim kill her. He thought he might have to do it himself. However, as time goes by he thinks she is already dead, But at last something forces him to go search for her. When he finds them he is surprised to find that she is alive, although she has been tortured by Hakim and has cuts and burns all over her body. He kills Hakim just as Hakim leans over to slit her throat. Grabbing her some clothes he forces her up and gets her out of the mansion. He doesn't even know why he is risking his life and mission for one stupid, niave, girl, but for some reason he decides to be sure she gets home to America. He is a fool. He should have let her die. Now not only must he protect them from the arms dealers but from his Agency too. This is a wild ride, I loved it, couldn't put it down. The pace makes you breathe fast and the action is excellent. This is one of Anne Stuart's best. Do not miss it.

Chloe Underwood comes from a family of doctors. Mother, father, siblings. They wish to pressure her into going to medical school, but at twenty-three, Chloe knows this is not the life for her - especially since she faints at the sight of blood. This is a theme common to Stuart's writings, apparent if you are a long time fan - which I happen to be. That feeling out of sync with one's family heroine is generally at the core of all Stuart's females. They drum to their own drumbeat, which makes the perfect target for the perfect Stuart badder-than-bad-boy, Gamma rogue, anti-hero hero. A pure case of opposites attracts to the power of ten. In this Stuart tale, Chloe is an American in Paris. She is living on her shoestring salary of translating children's books, refusing to ask for money from her parents to get by. The parents refuse to accept one of their blood cannot be a doctor so they are keep the purse string tight hoping to bring Chloe to heel. Chloe's roommate wants to dash off with her latest boyfriend for the weekend. Only problem, she has accept a job to be translator for a group of businessmen for the weekend. She hits on the idea of sending Chloe in her place. We quickly learn this was a bad idea. That is the one sticking point of the whole tale. Chloe is spirited to a secluded Chateau, and upon arrival the man hosting it want to send Chloe back. Chloe is getting bad vibes about the whole situation, but instead of accepting him sending her back she convinces him to let her stay. We are told Chloe can use the money and that she is restless looking for something to jazz up her life. Still, those reasons seem just a tad week when she is having misgivings about this set up. These feelings of qualms continue to increase as she is introduced to the rest of the group, and they break into Italian. Supposedly Chloe speaks only English and French, but actually she speaks nearly a dozen languages. She thinks she covers well, listening to them discuss her and wanting her sent back to town. Okies. I would be out of there! But since this is the Resident Genius of Dark Romantic Suspense, I let Stuart run with the tale. Chloe is immediately attracted to the sexy bad boy in the group. Bastien Toussaint is pure Stuart Gamma Rogue to the teeth. Sexy, dangerous as sticking your fingers in a fan, and just a bit weary of life in general. He's been so deep undercover for a mysterious group called The Committee, and figures he will have to kill or be killed before the weekend is over. Bastien is not thrilled to see Chloe, a lamb thrown in amongst the wolves. And with good reasons. These are illegal arms dealers. Murder and Mayhem is their stock in trade. It didn't take him two minutes to figure out Chloe understood everything being said - in every language. Worse, that talent will cost Chloe her life as one of them is ordered to kill her because they fear she now knows too much. The next thing Chloe knows, she is off, running

"Black Ice" is a wonderful *treat* of a book for readers who love Anne Stuart and her "bad boy" heroes. It is a page-turner that I could barely put down with a dark, compelling hero and sympathetic heroine. Chloe Underwood is an American in Paris, living in a tiny apartment and making a living by translating children's books into French. One day, while translating a book about a ferret in a tutu, she ironically observes that she does not have enough sex and violence in her life....and (boy, oh, boy!) she *should* have been careful what she wished for! Almost immediately, she is convinced by her flighty roommate to take her place as translator for a group of businessmen at a weekend conference outside of Paris. Chloe needs the money, and she will get to wear her roommate's chic clothes, so she agrees. Arriving at the remote chateau for the conference, Chloe is introduced to the participants, including the dangerously attractive and seductive Bastien Toussaint. Unfortunately for Chloe, she is much sharper and more observant than her roommate, and it does not take her very long to figure out that the "entrepreneurs" are really illegal arms dealers. A little bit of unwise snooping around, and Chloe has gotten herself into some *serious* trouble and finds herself on the run with Bastien from people who want her dead. Chloe is an engaging heroine--young, confused by Bastien's attentions (and particularly by her own reactions to him), disastrously inquisitive, brave and fairly resourceful. She does some really stupid things, but she is a likable and believable heroine. Bastien is one of Anne Stuart's deliciously dangerous bad boy heroes. A cross between the hero of her own book "Moonrise" and Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne, Bastien is a marvelously complex hero--a sexy chameleon and efficient killer who has come to detest the type of work that he does and realize that there is not much difference between the sides working for good and evil in this type of conflict. The plot is face-paced and exciting and the sexual tension is excellently done. The attraction between Chloe and Bastien is very believable and the sex scenes are smokin' hot. My only complaint with the book was that it seemed to end rather abruptly (I actually turned the page looking for the next chapter, but that was it!) In summary, this is an excellent romantic thriller with lots of action and a complex, attractive but morally ambiguous hero. Fans of Anne Stuart will be delighted by "Black Ice". I know that I enjoyed every minute of it! Highly recommended!