Wish Finn had been given a better story. ( )

On Thin Ice
4 Stars

Finn MacGowan has been held captive in South America for the last three years. On the night that he finally has an opportunity to escape, his captors arrive with a new hostage, heiress Elizabeth Pennington. Now Finn finds himself on the run with the beautiful blond and an obnoxious teen. Can the three make it back to safety with the ruthless rebels and a host of secret operatives on their tail?

The final installment in Stuart’s Ice series has all the traits of the earlier books - a steamy romance between an innocent heroine and a world weary hero, vicious villains capable of horrific crimes and government agents with secret agendas. Nonetheless, there are also numerous differences that become apparent early on.

Although Finn is dangerous and sexy like his counterparts, his humanity shines through from the beginning and takes the edge off of his ruthlessness. Likewise, Beth is not as naive as the heroines in earlier books. She faces reality head on and is fully aware of the darker side of human nature and the evil it is capable of.

Finn and Beth’s romance is not of the “lets have sex although I may kill you at any time” variety as with the other relationships. Instead, their physical and emotional bond grows as they work together to stay alive and thus, their inevitable HEA is both believable and satisfying.

The “on the run” plot is is tense and exciting although much of the violence and action takes place off page, which is also different in tone to the rest of the series.

All in all, this is one of the better books in the series and it is wonderful that it ends on a high note. ( )

This style of romantic suspense is not for every one but it works for me. If you don't like rougher dialogue (lots of f-bombs) and (some) violence then you won't like it. The heroes tend to be anti-heroish but ultimately good guys, of course. This hero is not quite as scary as the other heroes in the series, but that was good. ( )

This book made me fall in love with this series all over again. It had everything Stuart fans could hope for -- dangerous men, strong heroines, sassy dialogue and palpable chemistry between leads, all wrapped up in adventure and suspense. I definitely had a hard time putting this down. ( )

Still coming down from the high that was this book. Finn MacGowan in South America, I wanted to read about you ever since you went missing in Ice Storm! I just knew you'd be a treat. Brilliant.

It stands out from other ICE books simply because the hero is different in so many ways than the other heroes of this series, and it's missing that "how about we kill all innocents that get in our way, and while we're at it, I like you but I'd kill you, too!" element.

Finn is resourceful, intelligent, and yeah, all those Committee operative skills and more. He has an awesome capable sense about him that would make even me willingly put my life into his hands. I loved his easy wit and the way he just keeps going. I loved that instead of constantly trying to figure out a way to get rid of Beth, he takes care of her so subtly you'd miss it if you weren't in his head.
I think I was just at my limits with these ruthless heroes and Finn came at the perfect time. Add to that the fact he's a sexy Irishman with a hot Irish accent, and he's definitely my second favorite of the series. I wish I could say he beats Bastien because I really really liked Finn, but no, I love that sick heartless bastard.
But when I think hero of ICE series, I definitely think of Finn, because he was a true romantic hero.

Beth, on the other hand, is definitely my favorite heroine of all the six we meet. She's a poor little rich girl, except not. She's incredibly sweet and caring and her wealth doesn't define her for even a second. I liked that she instinctively trusted Finn despite him trying to bully her into submission (for her sake, of course :D), and that ultimately she was a proactive heroine rather than wait for someone else to decide her fate. She could definitely hold her own against Finn.

In terms of romance, this one is best yet! Finn admits right away to her being someone he could fall in love with, and when he does, he acknowledges it (even though it wouldn't be romance if he didn't have commitment issues and fight it, right? Wrong. It bothered me because he just didn't seem that kind of guy, but whatever.) These two had amazing chemistry and the sexual tension was just about unbearable. Insta-love works, what with everything they went through together. I really loved the uncomplicated ending.

The writing is just a teensy bit different than the other books, it had some hilarious, laugh out loud moments, the thrill and suspense were awesome and have you holding onto your reader/book for dear life. Beth and Finn's back-and-forth made me smile, and I loved that they took Dylan with them - he was such a great character.
You get to see Peter again, and witness his super-cute relationship with Mahmoud, check up on Killian and Isobel, and you even get a phone call or two from Bastien which made my day (obviously). Taka and Reno play a good part, too.
As per usual, it contains graphic sex scenes. There is a pretend-rape scene (it feels awful acknowledging it like this), that had me cringe a bit but I think the author handled it right and it definitely made sense with what was happening. I don't know why I was bothered by it so much.

The epilogue makes me think this may be the last book of the series :(. Well, there's never been an epilogue before, so I guess that's it. I don't want it to end! I should have read these books slower, but they are so engaging you can't help but read them in one sitting. It was a nice conclusion for the series but so help me if I don't wish she could write about these people forever.

Overall, I loved this book. It's a tie between Black Ice and On Thin Ice for being my favorite. I'd reread both books in a heartbeat (and I probably will), but if you're looking for the most romantic book of this series, it's definitely this one. It has just the right amount of thrill, romance and a smart heiress and a sexy Irishman with incredible survival skills to keep you interested. ( )