A Taste of Ice by Hanna Martine
Series: The Elementals #2
Published by Berkley
Published on: December 31, 2012
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
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There is an untapped world of magic that any man would covet...
Five years ago, Xavier escaped from the Ofarian Plant. Today he calls a Colorado mountain town home. It’s there he buries himself in his work, swearing off magic and relationships—until a woman threatens every promise he’s made to himself.
Cat has always known she is different. Water speaks to her on an uncanny level, and she channels this gift into beautiful painted waterscapes. Now, a gallery is debuting her work in Colorado—and it’ll reveal far more about her than she imagined.
The spark between Cat and Xavier is enough to throw both of them off balance. Every tantalizing moment sends them dangerously close to a rising flood of desire. Dangerous because Xavier comes to suspect that Cat is an Ofarian—his people’s enemy. But they’re both about to discover a far greater, more malicious power at play...
A Taste of Ice is everything you could hope for in paranormal lit that doesn’t include werewolves. The romance, a little illogical, is intimate and charged. Xavier, a man of damaged goods, and Cat, a woman of water paintings, have a couple ghosts in the room. Then about halfway a large kick of action, intrigue, and madness (mad men and women) is introduced. Along with the action-packed kick come increasingly more and more exotic and high temperature locales.
Based on the cover and a certain summer blockbuster, I suppose Vin Diesel would be cast as Xavier and given surgical implants of surfer hair, which the cover mysteriously lacks. Cat (although this is starting to look more and more like a movie about cars) would be played by Carey Mulligan. Her uncompromisingly virginal look and inability to develop as a character would work perfectly.
Now no paranormal text would be complete without an excess of other species with interesting abilities and personalities. To not spoil anything, I will just have to say that this point is delivered upon and promisingly enough that I look forward to additions to the series (seriously, there had better be). The risks that were taken with the first book, dealing with elementals and do-goody politics and being significantly long-winded, pay off here in droves.
One disappointment I can cozy up to is the absence of further origin myths. We do not learn too much more beyond each of the main player’s past whereas the first entry very much had its gaze set on the cosmic level. I would expect this to be alleviated soon but hope that like this entry the characters from before are not forgotten. Although we are played with for awhile as to whether there will be a reappearance of those who before got their HEA, we are not being played with to no end.
Did I mention that the villains were psychologically complex and nearly all have the potential of starring in another book? This is very much a plus. One always likes to see how the other half may eventually move past their demented schemes and find love. All in all, the gods (and goddesses) of paranormal lit are satisfied. Imagination, hope, and fulfillment are all toyed with.
| Books in this series: | |
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  My Review |
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| Recommended: | Because everything that could go wrong, did go wrong |
| Like this, like that: | The Immortal Heat series by Britt Bury and the Circle of Seven series by Coreene Callahan |
I’ll have to check this series out, I like a sprinkling of “other paranormals” in my usual vampire or werewolf paranormal romances! 🙂
Yeah, there were some cool ones on display here. I will intentionally refrain from giving any details so as to maximize the freshness when you get around to it.
Thanks Josh, now I am totally unsure if I want to read the first book. I think it is on my shelves already.
Inarguably the series is a commitment. And with the first book being as inconsistent as is…I’m not really sure if this decision can be made any easier. I’ll stop now.