Ice Storm

By: Anne Stuart

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

Behind her mask is a deadly secret...

The powerful head of the covert mercenary organization The Committee, Isobel Lambert is a sleek, sophisticated professional who comes into contact with some of the most dangerous people in the world. But beneath Isobel's cool exterior a ghost exists, haunting her with memories of another life...a life that ended long ago.

But Isobel's past and present are about to collide when Serafin - mercenary, assassin, and the most dangerous man in the world - makes a deal with The Committee. Seventeen years ago Isobel shot him and left him for dead. Now it looks as if he's tracked her down for revenge. But Isobel knows all too well that looks can be deceiving...and that's what she's counting on to keep her cover in this international masquerade of murder.

©2007 Anne Stuart (P)2007 Audible, Inc.

Icy Hot

I've given this book four stars because I loved it and couldn't stop listening to it even though it had so many obvious flaws. Most difficult to ignore were the glaring deficiencies of the narrator who (I think) tried an English accent for one character and, astonishingly, a vaguely Middle Eastern one for the hero who, we're told, was raised in L.A. I still have no idea what she was thinking but the fact that I could focus on the story despite these potential distractions means it must have been a pretty good one.
For readers new to Anne Stuart, she truly excels in creating utterly miserable (but courageous/heroic) heroines who soldier bravely through much adversity before they're rewarded by their climactic release. Always the same - always satisfying. Her heros mangage to walk the line of cruelty without losing their appeal - which I always think is a nice trick. An excellent trick here. Following the principle that many fine cakes can be made of the same recipe - Stuart fans will find this book a tasty creation indeed.

Thrilling...

Good story; tight pacing; interesting, gritty characters. This is one of several related books; reading the others will give you a better feel for the characters. Anne Stuart always seems to write stories that keep you engrossed in the adventure. I could hardly stop listening at times--even though I knew I needed sleep!

Hooray for Anne Stuart in audio

It is thrilling to finally get Anne Stuart's Ice series in audio format. Black Ice is still my favorite, but the others are also great. I don't see Fire and Ice available in Audible.com, but hope it will be soon. Madame Lambert is my hero, er heroine - a perfect match for the most dangerous man in the world. Hopefully there will be more unabridged audio books by Anne Stuart available soon, hint, hint.

Riveting

Anne Stuart is a master at taking characters society labels as beyond redemption and making you care for and be attracted to them. Ice Storm is totally absorbing.

I tried...

The narrirator ruined this for me. Audible should try to pick people who can do the job.

Interesting but very slow moving story

This is an interesting story but was really painful to get through for me. It takes place over a long period of time and there is a lot of back and forth.

Madam Lambert's mysteries explained

I really like this series, that being said Ice Storm is my least favorite novel in the series. The narration was OK, I really enjoy the job Ms. Sands does in the later books and just don't enjoy the other narrators as much. This is the problem with picking a different narrator to preform different books in a series. She really had a difficult job, Killian's accent is a conglomeration of every accent ever and Isobel has an British accent except when she doesn't, like I said not an easy job.

The storyline had some minor issues with me. Going into the book I was unmotivated because I didn't feel connected to Isobel like I had with previous characters. She is complex and emotionally compartmentalized and although her background was explained in detail she didn't seem as mulch-dimensional as the other committee members had, to me. Killian also I don't feel like I really got to know, which in a weird way fits with his character. There were times in this book where it just didn't make sense to me that characters would do what they did and the motivation just didn't make sense, I had never felt this way during previous books. I did really enjoy how this plot pulled many of the other characters back into the spotlight, I really appreciated that. I would still recommend reading this book if you are following the series.

Can't decide if it was the narrator or the story..

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I gave this a try because I was looking for a new author who fit the mystery/romance genre and I like stories about covert operations. Maybe the problem is that I didn't start with the first book in the series and people who start with book one might get into it more.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Lauren Fortgang?

I'm sure Lauren Fortgang could have done great narrating other types of audiobooks, but I think her voice was too sweet and she didn't quite have the right grasp on British accents to pull this off. Frankly, I think this book might have done better with a male narrator like Steven Pacey, or a stronger native speaker like Ellen Archer.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I think this book will appeal to readers who are drawn more to the intrigue and less to the people.

Any additional comments?

To be fair, I gave up after two hours, so I don't know how the book ends...but I just couldn't connect with the characters.

Don't waste you credits on this one

One of the worst written books I've ever encountered. The main character, Isabel (can't believe I remember her name, she was that boring) is SUPPOSED to be an ice cold, hard, strong ect ect, woman. Right off the bat she is made into a romatic moron. Secret agents do not make the mistakes that ALL of these characters do. Killian got cold? She left her purse unguarded and neither thought of him excaping through the dumb waiter? Stupid.