Customer Reviews

On Thin Ice

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Three years ago Derek and Lilly had briefly dated. The number of dates were so few, it wasn't enough to convince me that these two had anything going on between them or were eventually meant to be together . And Lilly's reaction to Derek and what she did as a result of that reaction, just left me going, huh? It was such a ludicrous thing to do that the story began to crumble around me.

The story starts out slow with a lot of back-story filler. The race itself was interesting, but getting to it was tedious. And the story never seems to recover until the very end, which was a bit over the top. But unlike stupid heroines, I welcomed implausible action.

This is not a terrible book, but considering the talent, this book could have been so much better. When I pay hard cover prices, I expect a little more than average effort on the part of an author

Cherry Adair caught my attention in KISS AND TELL; this was the first book in the 'Wright series' and I enjoyed it immensely. So, I set out on my own mission, to read the entire series. ON THIN ICE is the final installment for the family, it continues with the anti-terrorist team of warriors known as T-FLAC, but as a love story it fails miserably.

As a Canadian I understand snow, and ice, and wind, and I cannot imagine any of these elements inspiring romance. Well maybe if the couple were snug and warm inside a cabin, with a toasty fire blazing and hot toddies on the menu, but racing in the Iditarod Sled Race just doesn't stir romantic visions.

And then our couple . . .

Dr. Lily Munroe is the woman Derek Wright loves. Derek Wright is the man who dazzles Lily Munroe. Six years ago, they dated. Lily was terrified of the feelings Derek stimulated, so terrified, so overwhelmed; she decided to marry his "best" friend! WHOA, run that again. His kisses were too hot and his embraces were too powerful, so to be on the safe side, Lily wed another! Wed another and on her honeymoon, in her husband's arms, she imagined she was with the man she'd fled (pg. 166)!

O . . . K . . .

And yes it was six years (pg. 47) and (pg. 77)! Let's see - 1 week after the honeymoon, the doctor diagnosed terminal cancer; for 3 years Lily nursed the husband; then 6 months as a widow; ummm, that leaves 30 misplaced months? What she dated this lying, cheating fellow for 3 years and super T-FLAC agent Derek Wright - who prided himself in his ability to size someone up - stepped aside? Exactly how smooth, how smart, how much in love was this guy?

Alas, all I ask from an author is one basic requirement: I want to believe that the romance is truly there! I want the romance to feel real. In ON THIN ICE, Lily Munroe is just not a convincing participant. And why, oh why, Derek Wright loves her is beyond this reader. How many times can a woman insult and slam a man's feelings? Six years is a long time for a man to cling to a dream. Sorry, I don't buy it! A shame too, because I liked this family and their reunion at the end of the book was delightful!

Grade: C+

MaryGrace Meloche.

Lily was too mean to Derek to be interesting. Then. Suddenly. She could laugh at his flirting. She was too hot and cold to be a character to care about. Derek flirted so rudely that I was so totally turned off to him. I like flirting. His was dirty and creepy.

The story line was too stupid to be believable. Derek is this great spy and was totally unaware of his best friend doing bad things in front of him. How can a guy be a best friend if he had no redeeming qualities and apparently Sean didn't at any point in time.

Here Lily works and trains to do the dog race and on the first day she is so tired that she allows Derek to take of her and feed her. Dah. Take care of yourself woman. You've done this race before.

There is a sniper out there in the Alaskan wilderness. Does Lily protect herself? No, she make love in a sled and prepares dinner out in the open.

For a hard bound book I wanted something edgier, to have a well written story be worth the extra money

but I struggled getting through some parts of it. I was expecting a bit more gumption from her heroine Lily. Usually C.Adairs heroine's are kick ass type women & while Lily wasn't all that fazed by being shot at & many other hair raising things, emotionally she was a bit of a whuss. Personally I found this book was still a good read but not anywhere as good as her previous books.

I've generally liked Cherry Adair's series about the Wright family, but found myself skipping through huge chunks of this book to get to the parts with plot. Found the Iditarod backdrop interesting, but little else. Just a few things that don't make sense to me...

- In today's world, how many women are so afraid of passion that they would run off and marry some guy just to avoid his best friend, who turned her on too much?

- Is it truly likely that a hotshot secret agent, a man used to taking control and having things his way, would let the woman he obsessed over marry another man - who he knows to be a bad guy - without a fight?

- Why would the hero respect a woman more because she wasted three years of her life providing hospice care to her philandering criminal husband, rather than leaving his sorry [...]? There's nothing to be respected about a doormat.

One final thought. If ever I find myself in a situation where I, a random civilian, am having to do battle with terrorists - and I'm lucky enough to have a trained anti-terrorist agent there to help - I will do what he says. Without question, without hampering him by trying to protect him, I will do what I am told by the trained expert in the belief that he knows better than I do what will get us both out alive.

ON THIN ICE is the last in the saga of the Wright family. Derek Wright is a rancher in his spare time from the anti-terrorist organization T-FLAC. He is partner with Sean Munroe. Sean is dead leaving behind the woman Derek has been in love with for the last 6 years.

Lily Munroe is a Veterinarian, she is deeply attracted to Derek but has alot of fears about abandonment. Sean was a liar and cheated on her on their honeymoon. As she decided to divorce him he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The 6 months predicted by the doctors stretched to 3 years. Three years of hell for Lily.

Lily has trained her dogs as well as Derek's for the Ididerion Race in Alaska. She has also just discovered that Sean had been involved in serious criminal activities.

Derek is determined that he will win her love during this race. Both are entered. As a series of attempts are made on Lily's life, Derek thinks he is the intended victim. He doesn't know about Sean's criminal activities. Lily doesn't know who she can trust.

The action is fast and furious, when Derek realizes her danger, he guards her with his life. Just when you think they will make it, Derek finds out a terrorist group is planning to take out a very secret installation with a dirty bomb.

The weather will not permit them to fly in reenforcements, so Derek is the only agent close enough to reach the target. After all the incidents he is not in very good shape himself. Lily forces him to take her with him.

As with all Cherry Adair's books there is enough romance, adventure and adversaries to keep you on the edge of your seat.

I can't wait for the next one. This was one hardback book well worth the price,

Ms. Adaire's latest in the "Wright Family" series is well worth the money spent on purchasing the hardback. This read is full of action packed adventure in a great location plus a yummy hero who is both capable of being a tough guy, but sweet as well.

Derek Wright has been in love with the stubborn, sweet, and sassy Lily Munroe for the past six years. She is now a widow and he is done waiting for her. He will chase her as far as he has to in order to prove to her that he will be there for the long haul.

Lily doesn't know that Derek is a T-FLAC operative and so she is stunned when it turns out the simple "accidents" she has been having have not been accidents at all, and that they are tied to a terrorist operation that Derek has been called to work on while they are both running the Iditarod in Alaska. Now it will be up to Derek to keep them both safe, and save a small part of the world at the same time. Will Lily finally trust in her heart and allow herself to love Derek, or will she loose everything?

This was a great read and in my opinion Ms. Adair is top drawer in the romantic suspense genre. She creates great characters that tell their own story while entertaining the reader. Some people may be put off on Lily and think that she is overly stubborn or outright silly. Her past has shaped who she is when we meet her, so readers should keep this in mind. Ms. Adair is actually true to the character. Fan's of romantic suspense have a true gift in Ms. Adair. I highly recommend any of her reads!!

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

Lily was all right, and Derek was described as fabulous, handsome, wealthy, charming and all the rest and he certainly was that, but the story was borING. It just dragged, which I found very annoying.

I'm thrilled that Derek's story is finally out and it was enjoyable to read. He was a likable character and compared very well to his brother's and Jake's characters. Lily, on the other hand, could have used a little more fine tuning, but all in all, her character was developed. She had a history, had her reasons for doing what she did, and was extremely funny at times. Trade mark stuff that I've found in Adair's other books in this series.

I do have to admit that I caught myself skimming several paragraphs when things got a little boring, but finally the action started to take place and I was caught up again. Other than that, and the familiar hospital scene that had me thinking that I've read this before (Marnie & Jake's story), I thought it was a good solid read.

I like the slightly no-way-this-could-happen-in-real-life stuff that Adair writes and enjoy it for what it's worth. If you enjoyed Adair's other books in this series, I don't see why you would be disappointed. It has the far-fetched, the funny, and the action components that makes Adair's book different from other authors...and does it well.

I have read other books by Cherry Adair and enjoyed them. This one, however, was so out of the realm of reality, I couldn't get involved in story or the characters. I am totally willing to stretch the imagination in books of fiction, but this was just over the top. There were too many contradictions, too many plots that never gained the depth to hold the book together. The love story here also held no form - how the hero and the heroine's late husband became friends was totally unrealistic. Derek, the hero, has a whole family of close-knit brothers, and being a super intelligent terrorist agent, I found it hard to believe he would buy a ranch hand friend, Sean's, late father's place in Montana just "because" then allowed everyone to believe Sean's lie that Sean, not Derek, owned the ranch. Sean also told everyone Derek was hired help. Sean proceeded to marry Lily, the woman Derek "loved" (they had three dates and she ditched him because he overwhelmed her). Sean cheated with a waitress on their honeymoon and told Lily that monogamy wasn't realistic. Instead of divorcing him as she intended, she stayed with him for three years while he battled a terminal illness. Also the fact that the hero, being super intelligent with backup of all kinds of "agencies" at his disposal, was well into a year of investigation and still hadn't cracked the ring of bull sperm scammers (they owned a bull that a vile of sperm went for a million dollars???) that consisted of the ranch hands, started by the late Sean. Please! Also Lily, the heroine was so nasty and mean to Derek (for no reason other than the fact she was afraid of her attraction to him) that I was yearning for him to bury her in the snow in Alaska and resign his position at T-FLAC based on supreme lack of brains and put the book to an end in an early chapter.