ARC Review + Giveaway || Surviving Ice (Burying Water #4) by K.A. Tucker

Synopsis:
The USA TODAY bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths series and Burying Water—which Kirkus Reviews called “a sexy, romantic, gangster-tinged page-turner”—returns with a new novel packed with romance, plot twists, and psychological suspense.

Ivy Lee, a talented tattoo artist who spent the early part of her twenties on the move, is looking for a place to call home. She thinks she might have finally found it working in her uncle’s tattoo shop in San Francisco. But all that changes when a robbery turns deadly, compelling her to pack up her things yet again.

When they need the best, they call him. That’s why Sebastian Riker is back in California, cleaning up the mess made after a tattoo shop owner with a penchant for blackmail got himself shot. But it’s impossible to get the answers he needs from a dead body, leaving him to look elsewhere. Namely, to the twenty-something-year-old niece who believes this was a random attack. Who needs to keep believing that until Sebastian finds what he’s searching for.

Ivy has one foot out of San Francisco when a chance encounter with a stranger stalls her departure. She’s always been drawn to intense men, so it’s no wonder that she now finds a reason to stay after all, quickly intoxicated by his dark smile, his intimidating strength, and his quiet control.

That is, until Ivy discovers that their encounter was no accident—and that their attraction could be her undoing.

DON'T MISS THE PREVIOUS TITLES IN THE BURYING WATER SERIES!

BURYING WATER

BECOMING RAIN

CHASING RIVER

★★★☆☆

Ice is beautiful and enticing; cold and hard and uncompromising.

K.A. Tucker did it again. This was a beautiful, beautiful book. I'm amazed in how she does what she does. Anyway, this book focuses on Ivy, the amazing tattoo artist that is also in the other novel in this series, and Sebastian. Ivy is a tattoo artist in search of a place to call home. When she finally thinks that maybe she found it working in her uncle's tattoo shop, a robbery turns deadly compelling her to pack her things once again. Then Sebastian came along. He was a mysterious and intense man but little did she know that their encounter wasn't, at all, an accident.

I'm not a fan of "too dark" concepts but since this is K.A. Tucker we're talking about, I gave it a shot. And let me tell you, it was worth-it. I mean despite it being way-out-of-my-alley, it was a page turner. It has a gripping, intense and compelling story line that have enthralled me through and through. But like I have said, I'm not the biggest fan of the over all concept of the book.

The main characters Ivy and Sebastian was a joy to follow. They're both witty albeit stubborn and secretive. Together they make one hell of a couple. They are both independent thinkers and they are just so... kick-ass. Anyway, I struggle to not be annoyed with them somehow because of some reason I couldn't put my finger on. However they both, through out the book, developed really well, particularly Ivy. Plus, the rivers of supporting characters was doing their job exceptionally great.

Overall, I love and adored this novel so damn much. Despite my low rating (3/5 only) it was a really enjoyable read.

Did I like the ending? Hmm, not so sure.

Is it a page turner? Hell yes.

Would I re-read it again? YEAH.

          “We’re closed!” I yell, whipping my head around, my anger at myself for not locking it launched.

          

A man I’ve never seen before stands motionless in front of me, amusement in his eyes as he stares. Nothing else about him betrays his thoughts, though. His stance is still and relaxed, his angular face perfectly composed. 

          

My heart begins to race with unease. 

          

“I’d like some work done.” His voice is deep, almost gravelly, his tone even and calm. 

          

I climb to my feet, because I don’t like anyone towering over me. And because his piercing eyes unsettle me. Unlike the two-hundred-and-fifty-pound biker who just left, this guy makes me nervous. The wrench is still in my fist, and I grip it tightly now. “I’m not working today.” 

          

“Tomorrow.” 

          

“I’m not working tomorrow either.” The corner of his mouth twitches as we face off against each other. “When will you be working again, then?” 

          

He’s patient. It’s annoying. But he also seems very interested in this tattoo, which makes it less likely that he’s here to hurt me. I relax my grip on the wrench. “I won’t be. Not here, anyway. Black Rabbit is closed for good, or at least until it opens under new ownership.” 

          

He pauses, his shrewd gaze weighing so heavily on me that I finally have to look away from him. I feel like a sophomore year science class dissection—the unfortunate amphibian donated in the name of education. “That’s a shame.” 

          

Either he’s not from around here or he hasn’t read the news. Or he’s one of those sickos who gets a kick out of crime scenes. “It is.” What’s really a shame is that this guy didn’t come a few weeks ago, because I gladly would have agreed to mark his entire body with my hands then.

          

On first-glance impression, he actually reminds me of Jesse Welles, the love of my teenage life, though I’d never admit that to anyone. This guy’s eyes are lighter—a cool chocolate rather than near-black—but they have that same intensity; a similar smirk sits atop his full lips. He, too, has dark hair coating his hard, masculine jaw; it’s just sculpted to a perfect short beard. He’s taller and broader than Jesse. Harder looking, not just by a few years of age but as if by life itself. That’s a little concerning, given the kind of life that Jesse Welles has already lived. 

          

But there’s something distinctly different about this guy, too. I can’t quite place it, but I can feel it. Something slightly “off.” Or maybe it’s just this place that’s making everything in my life feel off—after all, my mind is still in a haze over Ned’s death. The last thing I should be thinking about right now is this guy or Jesse or getting laid.