Hot Ice is not one of Nora Roberts better novels. I would recommend skipping it unless you feel like you need to read everything she's ever written. Every one of the one and two star reviews here are absolutely true.Whitney and Doug are so annoying, like other reviewers I wished Dimitri and goons would catch them to put us out of our misery. Whitney is like every rich spoiled princess you can possibly imagine. I could go on for hours about how spoiled, shallow, vain, annoying, etc she is, but to sum up I bet Paris Hilton would be more tolerable to spend time with than Whitney. Doug (Douglas to Whitney all the way thru the novel so annoying) is slightly better, but not much.I'll give you just one example of many throughout the book of how Whitney and Doug are self-centered jerks. In Madagascar, Doug steals some clothing and a pig from a local family. The family definitely missed the items because we are told they were making a big fuss about it. Keep in mind this is a country where the average earnings in 2007 - 2011 were under $1.25 a day; that pig Doug stole was probably meant to be the family's main source of food for many days and without it that family could starve to death. Whitney is forced by Doug to wear one of the stolen garments and all she does the entire time is complain about how it is so passe, makes her hot, looks so unfashionable and how it covers up her perfect hair; they end up handing off the pig to a hotel owner who's going to keep it as a pet. Doug didn't leave any money for the family even through they still had plenty of cash, nor did they seem to care or even give a second thought that they stole from a family who probably lives in extreme poverty. Even when there was opportunity later after the danger was over, they never at any point showed any remorse or made any effort to repay the family. We get reminded on nearly every page about how rich Whitney is (as if we could forget; actually Whitney's family is rich, like a typical heiress she just funds her lifestyle with their money) and how every dollar Doug ever had in his life, he had stolen from someone else (he didn't even grow up poor, he became a thief because he thought it sounded more fun than going to college). We also get beat over the head with how smart these characters supposedly are on nearly every page. News flash, if you have to remind us constantly how smart the characters are, they aren't too bright. Whitney and Doug like to pretend they're so smart and always a couple of steps ahead of the bad guys, but at best they're maybe a quarter of a step ahead and sometimes the bad guys were actually ahead of them because (shocker) people are able to track you when you use your own personal passport and credit card to pay for your travel (who would have guessed?).As others have said, this book was basically Romancing the Stone. I'm pretty positive the author has never been anywhere near Madagascar as her descriptions of it seemed far more like a wealthy Central American country than a poor African country back in the 80's but this is a minor complaint compared to how pathetically bad the Hero/Heroine are. Overall the story is somewhat interesting although completely predictable, but what gives this book a one star for me is what have to be two of the worst romance novel Hero/Heroine characters I have ever come across. I don't know if I've ever come across a H/H before that I actually was feeling hate and disgust for; pretty rare in a romance novel. As far as I could tell, neither one of them had one single redeeming quality at all.
Well, I gave this book 3 stars because 5 means- this book is great!! 2 or 1 stars means- this book sucks major _____!!!But 3 stars means- dafuq did I just read???? I don't know if it's good, but it's not bad either, because hello? Nora Roberts wrote this.Seriously though, the book is soooooo unreal that I was just like stopping every few chapters and be like 'Dafuq is the heroine doing??!!"Things that are so wrong about this book:1) When someone get into your car, ask you to drive and threatening you with a gun, you(doesn't matter a male or female) will freak out a little, try to search for help, drive them to the police station or whatsoever. You don't, I repeat, DON'T, drive them to your freakin' house and ask them to lift your bags for you.Like, WUTTT??2)If the guy claims that he's a thief, and still is(was?), you don't say that the 'job' or whatever Roberts entitled the 'activity' was, as something normal, or acceptable or natural or something needed. Like what dafuq??? People get killed, get injured, even traumatized by robbery or snatch thief or whatever. Even if he doesn't injure someone during the process, it doesn't mean that it's okay, because you know what Nora Roberts?IT'S NOT!I was so mad when the heroine claimed that it's okay that the guy was a thief, like it kind of makes the cycle of the world, whatever bullshit you say, it's not okay. Plus if the jewelry or whatever the guy stole was a descendant thing, the victim would not enjoy one bit of the whole process. Like someone stolen my grandmother's ring from me once. I wept for the whole week, like thinking how precious the ring was, how it had been worn through a lot of historical events.3) If you've just stolen like a bunch of jewelry from someone who has been dead 200 years ago, you don't just go and take just one ring, then give the museum the rest. Like, won't you feel like guilty after 20 years or so? What would the character say to her kids? Like, oh, your dad and I stolen this so we kinda own it now.????4)You don't just go and say yes to a guy who propose to you using a stolen-not-yours-or-his ring. Like. How even. I can't even.Oh before I forget...5) You don't just eat a mango, like just grab it and bite into it. Like, I think 70% of this book both characters just eat mangoes. Nora, you actually have to PEEL the mango first, like, no one eats the skin. Plus both characters have like knives and whatsoever, it wouldn't hurt if once in a while you actually SAY that they're peeling the mangoes, but no...Not even one 'mango scenes' did you just say that they peel it. Like why Nora Roberts? WHY???There's so much more, like the guy still haven't repented yet actually. He claimed he's 'retired' but that doesn't mean he's adapting good moral values now. He's still the same, thief like person. I'm okay if someone was once a thief, then he repented, realize he was wrong...But this book, he didn't even like realize anything. He's just like, haha, I was a thief, and I'm proud of it. Doesn't the heroine care about her children then? Like, what if one day the guy just pass down the 'thief education' to her kids and like... What?I give up, okay?So Nora, you... I don't even know what you're trying to achieve from this. It's the most ridiculous book you've ever write(that I've ever read?)I'm so dissappointed that I actually bought the book, like I didn't download it illegally or something(like I always do), because it was not worth my 10 dollars.Ugh
What do You think about Hot Ice (1987)?
On the run in Manhatten and the target of hit men, Douglas Lord jumps into a nearby car and orders the driver to "step on it". Heiress Whitney MacAllister doesn't like being ordered around, but flying bullets make her move fast. With killers on their heels, Doug and Whitney come to an agreement. He has information that will lead them to a treasure and will split it with Whitney if she bankrolls the expedition. Soon they are on their way to Paris, then Madagascar, in search of a priceless treasure.This is a good on-the-run story with witty dialogue. I first read this book years ago and enjoyed it. This time around I listened to the audiobook narrated by Anna Fields. I absolutely loved her excellent narration. My rating: 4 Stars.
—Robin
The beautiful and very wealthy Whitney MacAllister who is used to having it all her own way is driving back from the airport after a two weeks trip in Paris. As she stops for a red light the passenger door of her car suddenly opens and a man gets in supposedly pointing a gun at her with his hand in his pocket and demands her to drive as three men are after him in a car behind them and they mean business. Douglas Lord is a professional burglar and the men after him work for someone named Dimitri. Dimitri hired Lord to steal some papers that lead to a hidden fortune of famous jewels and Lord has decided that he wants to find the treasure for himself. Unfortunately, Dimitri and his thugs are relentless and are hot on Lord's path. Although Lord always works along, he soon discovers who Whitney is and that she has unlimited funds that Lord needs to get to his buried treasure, so Whitney is now indispensable to him. The chase begins in Manhattan all the way to Madagascar and along their journey they both find they have a surge of electricity between them while on the run from ruthless killers.
—Carol MacInnis
This book had some big turn-offs for me: 1) There is no way getting around the fact that the "hero" is a crook. I'm as willing as the next person to make room for some moral ambiguity in fiction, but this guy, charming as he was, really stretched the limits for me. 2) The "heroine" isn't that appealing either. She's is vain, self-centered and full of herself. 3) I am completely turned off when the main characters smoke. Let me blunt: smoking is a disgusting, filthy addiction. Contrary to the way it is described in some of Nora Roberts' earlier books, it is not sexy. It is a complete turnoff for me in real life and it carries over into fiction. Not to mention, you're a pathetic idiot if your first thought, when running for your life, is to drop everything and reach for a cigarette. I have really enjoyed most of Roberts' books, especially the books in the "In Death" series. But "Hot Ice" and similar earlier works don't cut it for me.
—Vicky
