Ice Blue by Anne Stuart

 Museum curator Summer Hawthorne considered the exquisite ice-blue ceramic bowl given to her by her beloved Japanese nanny a treasure of sentimental value--until somebody tried to kill her for it. The priceless relic is about to ignite a global power struggle that must be stopped at all costs.

It's a desperate situation, and international operative Takashi O'Brien has received his directive: everybody is expendable. "Everybody." Especially the woman who is getting dangerously under his skin as the lethal game crosses the Pacific to the remote and beautiful mountains of Japan, where the truth can be as seductive as it is deadly....

*****

Ice Blue is the third book in Anne Stuart’s popular Ice series, and another exciting, sexy story. This time we're taken on wild ride as The Committee seeks to thwart a crazy villain’s attempt to “cleanse the world” with fire.

Well, I gotta tell you, there’s something wildly addictive about these books – in a twisted kind of way. The villains are always very ambitious in their evil plans for world domination, or as is the case in Ice Blue, True Ascension. In a note from the author, Ms. Stuart gives us a little background to this story:

The True Realization Fellowship and its leader, the Shirosama, is very loosely inspired by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan and their charismatic leader, Shoko Asahara. Most people remember the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subways twelve years ago, when terrorist attacks were less common, and there's something about cults, Jonestown and the like, that are macabre and fascinating. Believe it or not, the real characters were just as badly behaved as my fictional ones—sometimes more so. I simply used Aum as a jumping-off point to create my own delusional madman.

And what a madman he is! Knowing there are really people out there who believe they are "chosen" to cleanse the world added an element of evil to the story that was chilling.

I still can’t believe that I fall so in love with these “heroes” who are willing to do whatever they have to do to complete their mission, and I do mean “whatever” they have to do. This includes sacrificing the heroine to the bad guys, or as the case may be, in order to make sure the bad guys can’t get their hands on her, killing her himself! Luckily, Fate always steps in just in the nick of time and creates a diversion that allows the hero to put off the inevitable… until the inevitable is no longer, and he realizes that he’s screwed. Because that’s what falling in love is. Screwed.

Okay, so I’m speaking in generalizations here, this is true, but so far every hero in this series is amazing and I love them for the same reasons I hate them. They’re sexy and they know it. They’re smart and they know it. They’re without heart and conscience and they know it… and they use all of these things to their advantage. So do you see why I have the Love/Hate relationship with these men that I do?

Thankfully the heroines are not TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) though from time to time they do walk the edge. They’re strong, independent, compassionate, wise and insightful. And they have to be all of these things to bring their men out of the dark world they exist in, and into the light. But don’t worry, these gamma males never lose their edge, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I absolutely adore Takashi and Summer. They’re a perfect match in every way, even more than I could have imagined. Apart they are amazing, but their strengths and their weaknesses complement one another and together they make a perfect, complete whole.

I'm so looking forward to reading more of this series!

Ice Storm by Anne Stuart

 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.

*****

 
If you’ve been following my reviews of Anne Stuart’s Ice series, you know I’ve been saying basically the same thing throughout. Well, fasten your seat belts and get ready for more ranting and raving.

This is the fourth installment of the series, and it's awesome. Fast paced, edgy, intriguing, sexy... it's a great romantic suspense novel.

Killian, AKA Serafin - he’s a user, a player, an asshat and a cold blooded killer. He does whatever he has to do to get the job done, including killing women and ‘children’ if necessary. And he makes no apologies, whatsoever. He’s all of these things as well as heartless and without conscious, and he’s also amazing!

Yep, I can hear you now… “Blithely,” you’re saying, “what the hell is wrong with you? Have you completely lost it?” And my answer is yes. Yes, I have. Just trust me on this, because I have lost my heart to the men of this series, time and time again. I’d read one book and think it can’t get any better than this, until I read the next and I fall even harder for that hero. Bastien, Peter, Taka… I adore them all, but no one holds a candle to Killian.

And Madame Lambert… Isobel. What a fantastic heroine! I went into this book totally skeptical about being able to care for her. She’s cold. Frigid. Unfeeling. Uncaring. Just get in, get out, get the job done, take no prisoners. But in this story, it all comes together making her a heroine I can cheer for. A true force to be reckoned with. She's the perfect woman for an imperfect man and together they are phenomenal.

I can say, without a doubt, that Ice Storm is my favorite of the series so far, but Reno’s story is next and ho-ly hell, It’s going to be something else. I just know it!

Cold As Ice by Anne Stuart

The job was supposed to be dead easy--hand-deliver some legal papers to billionaire philanthropist Harry Van Dorn's extravagant yacht, get his signature and be done. But Manhattan lawyer Genevieve Spenser soon realizes she's in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that the publicly benevolent playboy has a sick, vicious side. As he tries to make her his plaything for the evening, eager to use and abuse her until he discards her with the rest of his victims, Genevieve must keep her wits if she intends to survive the night. But there's someone else on the ship who knows the true depths of Van Dorn's evil.

Peter Jensen is far more than the unassuming personal assistant he pretends to be--he's a secret operative who will stop at nothing to ensure Harry's deadly Rule of Seven terror campaign dies with him. But Genevieve's presence has thrown a wrench into his plans, and now he must decide whether to risk his mission to keep her alive, or allow her to become collateral damage....

*******

Cold As Ice is the second book in Anne Stuart's Ice series, and once again she gives us a hero who's arrogant, annoying, an ass without conscience or heart, too sexy to resist and, in a word, perfect! It's a fast paced story, one that, from the first page to the last, I couldn't put down.

I have to say, I'm a huge fan of hot, alpha males, but I wasn't sure I could get on-board with these hot gamma males, the kind that let nothing stop them from accomplishing their goal, even if it means offering up the heroine as a sacrifice to do so. But whatever it is about Anne Stuart's stories, I love these guys even as I'm hating them. I want them to die, even as I'm afraid they will. My emotions are always in a state of chaos while reading these books because the very things I do want to happen, I also don't want to see happen. See? Chaos!

I won't recap the book blurb, but I will say it's an exciting story. And pretty damned funny, too. There were times I was fanning myself, times I wanted to cry, but there were also times I was laughing and that humor caught me off guard, popping up when I was least expecting it. It helped lighten the mood of the story at times when it was needed, making the villain look like a fool and I loved that!

We met Peter Jensen in Black Ice and though we didn't see much of him, what little we were given had me wanting to get his story. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. As I said, he's arrogant. He's an ass. He's heartless, ruthless and annoying as all get out - and I adore him!

Genevieve Spenser is equally annoying in a mouthy sort of way, but if you were stuck with Peter for any length of time, you'd get mouthy, too! She's strong, independent, and a totally awesome woman!

So yeah, another terrific installment to the Ice series, and I am soooooo glad I decided to take these books from the shelf, dust 'em off and dig in!

4.5/5 stars because as with the first book, the ending is a bit abrupt.