Anne Stuart's Cold As Ice doesn't know what it wants to be. Does it want to be a thriller? Because I didn't find it very thrilling. Or does it want to be a romance novel? Because the characters are so unlikable that any romance between them is completely revolting.

The plot sounded OK from the back cover: Genevieve is a hot-shot lawyer, with one final task to complete before she sets out for her much-needed vacation. All she has to do is stop by billionaire Harry Van Dorn's yacht, and get him to sign some contracts. Little does she know that Harry's not the humanitarian everyone thinks he is. In fact, he's a cruel sadist, used to having whatever he wants, with a full-time staff that covers up all of his deeds. And Harry decides that Genevieve will make a perfectly acceptable "plaything" for the night.

Harry also has visions of world-domination, and a seven-step plan for getting there. He's been working on the details of this plan for years, and it's almost time to get it started. If all goes well, the world will see destruction and death beyond any imaginable scope, and Harry will benefit from all of it.

Harry relies on his personal assistant Peter, for pretty much everything. But Harry doesn't realize that Peter is not at all the man he pretends to be. In fact, he's a member of "The Committee", a top-secret organization whose main mission is to stop Harry dead in his tracks, before he can set his plans of destruction into motion. The Committee's been planning Harry's demise for years, and wouldn't you know it, tonight is supposed the night they get rid of him for good.

What a shame that Genevieve showed up and is now, officially, "in the way".

The rest of the book sees Genevieve trying to survive the night. As Peter tells her, she's "acceptable collateral damage". A man as cold-hearted as Peter can't possibly be distracted from his mission to worry about her. Plus, she knows too much. She'll simply have to be eliminated along with Harry.

That would have made for an exciting story. But Peter's a man. And Genevieve is a woman. Can you see where this is going? Naturally, they fall into bed, and the complications just pile on.

I thought the premise was OK. After all, we can certainly sympathize with a woman who finds herself in the wrong place at the very wrong time. None of this is her fault - she's just trying to do her job.

But the book itself just doesn't work for me. The minute Genevieve and Peter hopped into bed I knew I was going to hate the rest of the story. It simply made no sense, from either of their points of view, to do that. After that, the dialogue between them was completely distasteful. He tries to convince her that the encounter meant nothing, and that she was nothing special. She tries to prove that he's lying. It becomes a battle of wills, with pages and pages of trash-talk. I think they both forgot their real purposes. Peter's supposed to be going after Harry and protecting the world for crying out loud!

Peter's background is explained, but there was absolutely no character development for Harry or for Genevieve. How does a man come to believe he's entitled to whatever he desires? And how does he come to believe that bringing misery to countless others is OK, as long as he benefits? Don't bother looking for answers in the book; there are none. Genevieve's background is equally murky. Does she have family looking for her? We have no idea. Why is she such a spoiled brat, and so naïve in her dealings with men and sex? We don't know. All I can say is, for someone who's supposedly a top-notch lawyer, she's dumb as dirt when it really counts. There were so many times when she had opportunities to make decisions that could have saved her life, but she makes the wrong choice over and over again.

Did I enjoy this book? Well, it held my interest. But just barely. Really, I was only interested in finding out what happens to Harry, and whether any of his seven steps actually succeed. But I hated Peter and Genevieve, and the whole "romance" angle. I do not recommend this book



Recommended: No