Sunday 1 June 2014

Review: Blue Ice (Ice #1) by Carolina Soto

BOOK: Blue Ice
SERIES: Ice #1
AUTHOR: Carolina Soto
RELEASED: October 29th 2013

BLURB
Everyone tells little girls to be themselves around boys, but let’s face it, that’s simply the worst piece of advice ever. What if “yourself” is not exactly an appealing woman? Katherine Bianchi was raised to be herself, a smart, posh, stylish girl from New York City; the problem is that “herself” also included eating like a truck driver and cursing like a sailor, with a genetic inability to take bullshit from anyone. Not necessarily an appealing description in her pretentious environment.

That’s why, at 25, she was predestined to live a crazy cat lady life, or to be the overachiever workaholic she had become since college. But her perfect life plans got messed up when she met Dylan Berkeley, a handsome billionaire, owner of BKY Enterprises, who never learned the meaning of the word NO. With a Ben & Jerry’s lifestyle (lots of options, exciting flavors, and never repeating a scoop), Berkeley wasn’t intimidated by Katherine’s “ice heart bitch” reputation; the challenge of having her became a personal task he couldn’t forget. How to avoid a NO from a girl who has never said YES for an answer?

Warning: 18+ Contains sex scenes and lots of unnecessary profanities.



REVIEW
Foxy Rating = Four Stars
*Copy provided by the author in exchange for my honest review

This is the debut novel for Carolina Soto and the first book in the Ice series. The cover (shoes!) and blurb were winners for me and enticed me in to read.

I must admit the first couple of chapters were hard going but this was getting to know the writing style of this new author and also the characters who were two headstrong individuals that at first were not portraying the warmth that is needed to grab the reader’s emotion. However, after a while I clicked into the psyche of Katherine and Dylan and it was all systems go!

Katherine Bianchi is a society ‘princess’ used to getting what she wants and controlling her life from an early age. She doesn’t let many people into her inner circle besides her best friends Michelle and Kevin, who is also her housemate. Katherine doesn’t date and keeps men at an arm’s length, after all falling for somebody gave them control over her emotions and nobody took control of Ms Bianchi. She swears like a trouper, eats junk food like a big man and is a lover of trash TV, but being by herself at the weekend she can do what she wants.

Dylan Berkeley, the blue eyed, sexy Forbes billionaire is an arrogant CEO of his empire. He doesn’t apologise for who or what he is and when he wants something he gets it, now questions asked or needed. Like Katherine he is hiding behind his own ice cover and nobody has ever been able to thaw it that is until a certain society beauty throws him off his feet.

Kathryn agreed to go on a shopping trip outside of New York with Michelle and it is here they meet Mark and Spence with their friend/boss Dylan. Michelle and Mark hit it off straight away, whereas for Katherine and Dylan, he immediately wants her but she immediately hates him and his arrogance.

The story then progresses with Dylan and Katherine ‘one step forward and two steps back’ dance of a relationship, however this is not a love story, they are not dating as they keep telling each other. Dylan’s intent is purely to own, Katherine’s is to purely deflect against this. The reader is taken along on this crazy journey but is privy to see from an outsider’s advantage of the ice from each side thawing.

I totally loved both characters and I absolutely ‘got’ Katherine. I could see lots of my own traits in her that it was scary! It was brilliantly depicted in her standoffish ways, her controlling stance in everything she did. I could understand why people tried to avoid her! But those closest to her could see what a wonderful person she was and accepted her ways without question. Although Michelle did get frustrated of her reluctance to commit to any man. Dylan was an absolute dream of an alpha billionaire who at first seemed an over the top stalker that he seemed a little disconcerting. Some people would have had him incarcerated without a doubt! However he drew the reader in to his boorish ways and his twinkling eyes as underneath it all he was a hurting boy who missed his doting Mom and Dad and had never gotten over their deaths from when he was an impressionable teen. To see how he had changed in adulthood gave the reader a great insight.

The ending was a bit of a shocker, as there I was on the road to happy endings when with a boom a corner was crash bang walloped straight between my eyes! So glad the next book is already out so I can whip right on to find out what will happen after that.

A fabulous debut by Ms Soto who has produced a wonderful read. Four stars!

BUY LINKS

AMAZON - UK | US


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