Black Ice

By: Anne Stuart

Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Living paycheck to paycheck in Paris, American book translator Chloe Underwood would give anything for some excitement and passion - even a little danger. So when she's offered a lucrative weekend gig translating at a business conference in a remote château, she jumps at the chance to shake things up.

Then by chance Chloe discovers her employers are anything but the entrepreneurs they appear, and suddenly she knows far too much. Her clients are illegal arms dealers, and one of them is ordered to kill her. But instead, Bastien Toussaint drags Chloe away, and the next thing she knows she's on the run with the most terrifying and seductive man she's ever met. What were his motives - and would she live long enough to find out?

©2005 Anne Stuart (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This taut romantic suspense novel from RITA Award-winner Stuart delivers deliciously evil baddies and the type of disturbing male protagonist that only she can transform into a convincing love interest....Brilliant characterizations and a suitably moody ambience drive this dark tale of unlikely love." (Publishers Weekly)

Pick An Accent & Stick With It

I own a copy of the physical book and have read it a few times. I like the book. I'm not much one for audiobooks and this reminded me why. The story is good, so are the inflections, but I wish the narrator was better. The book clearly states where the different characters are from but she'll put on a hideous French accent for most of them (when they're not French) or change to a Slavic sounding accent for the French characters. I think I was most annoyed at her giving most of the characters French accents when they shouldn't have had them and switching halfway through a sentence. It threw me off more than once.

Awesome!

I am a big fan of Anne Stuart's "House of Rohan" series, so I was eager to give this "Ice" series a try. If the rest of the books are as good as this one, I will be estatic! Anne Stuart stories aren't your usual romantic "fluff." They are gritty, raw, and often a little dark. I think the previous reviewer hit the nail right on the head when she compared this to a 007 movie where James Bond actually falls for the woman he is protecting. And the female lead was no wilting violet, either. The storyline, character development and dialogue all came together to created a fantistic story, probably one of the few that I will actually listen to again!

Didn't expect to love it like I did!

Any additional comments?

Despite the fact the book started off with one massive info-dump after another I hung in there and waited it out. About 1/4 to 1/2 way through BAM...this book got so good. It was such a different romance. I know that flawed hero's are the "thing" right now, but this guy is more than flawed---he's completely wicked, but somehow the author managed to make me empathize with his life. He's the worst and best hero ever, and even though I have absolutely no knowledge of international arms trafficking or European organized crime rings, I felt like everything that happened was so realistic. The Heroine (Chloe) reacted just as you'd expect (most of the time). Sure, she might not be thinking of sex after she'd just been tortured, but it is a romance book---so you have to expect some of that type of thing. My only objection is that it ended too soon. I SOOOO wanted an epilogue. We deserved to know what happened after the final page! :)

Great story

Where does Black Ice rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Black Ice by Anne Stuart ranks in the top 10 great reads of my list.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Choi Was my favored. She was so Innocent when it came to her character she Played it very well.

What three words best describe Jennifer Van Dyck’s performance?

Dull Monotype plain. there was no change in her tone of reading

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Sex and Violence Is all she wanted. Be careful what you wish for little one....

Any additional comments?

This was a great book to the start of an amazing series. I cant wait to start the next book

Really? Very boring.

Very mundane. I couldn't wait for it to be over. I'm not sure why I didn't give up on this sooner. It was so predictable this story drove me crazy. Sure glad it wasn't longer.
Sorry.....don't bother.

Darkly Fantastic

I loved this. The story wasn't the usual romance I listen to and enjoy, it was more like 007's love life, if he totally fell for one of the innocent women standing at the craps tables with him. The story was well crafted, intriguing and capturing. I stayed up 'til the wee hours and found myself hoping for breaks at work to continue listening to find out what would happen next. Sebastian is not your typical hero, but he is oh so hot.

Worth the listen

Good story, likable characters. Reader was very good but thought the voice was a little to old sounding for the age of Chole. But she was still very good.

Enjoyable plot; lots of foul language

I started the first two chapters three times to make sense of all the characters introduced. After that, the story did flow and was enjoyable. The narrator did an excellent job on all the characters except the heroine. Chloe was a 23 year old with a forty-year old voice. I did enjoy the sarcasm of the hero. However, I probably won't buy another Anne Stuart novel because of the over-use of the "F" word. Seems to cheapen the relationship between the two main characters.

So good!

I've put off listening to these due to reviews about how 'dark' they are, afraid the men were just jerks... in which case I had no interest. But I LOVE a good action/adventure with an awesome male AND strong female lead. These books are incredible. And the love story is so sweet- this is the second one I teared up. The whole book is good... keeps you on your toes in addition to the developing relationship between the leads.
The narrator was good- but you could hear audible swallows she took as well as her breathing at times. But I don't think detracted from the story too much. And she did a good job with the different characters.

Enjoyable, well written romance

This book is typically what you expect for a Harlequin Romance novel. You have the H/h at odds and fighting attraction; plot twist he is an assassin who is drawn to the unconventional innocent American thrust into a situation she could not handle. he saves her, they run, fight danger, and live to love happily ever after. This story is a tad predictable, but perfect for a romance weekend listen .... and I used a credit to purchase and was satisfied. I did not care for the male voice of the narrator which is why I marked the performance to 3 star. Since it was a bit predictable albeit well written I stand behind my four star review. Sale worthy for certain ... credit worthy if this is your kind of listen.