Picture The Thing where the alien is actually a diabolical elderly woman and there’s lots of sexual tension and hot make out sessions. You’ve got it? Perfect. That’s Whiteout by Adriana Anders.
Blurb: Angel Smith is ready to leave Antarctica for a second chance at life. But on what was meant to be her final day, the research station is attacked. Hunted and scared, she and glaciologist Ford Cooper barely make it out with their lives…only to realize that in a place this remote, there's nowhere left to run.
Isolated in the middle of a long, frozen winter with a madman at their heels, they must fight to survive in the most inhospitable—and beautiful—place on earth. But the outside world depends on what Ford and Angel know and, as their pursuers close in and their new partnership burns bright and hot, they will stop at nothing to make it out of the cold alive.
Review: Ford Cooper is a raspy-voiced grump (yes, please). He’s the perfect hero for those romance readers who like their men challenging to work with because it’s all the more satisfying when the heroine finally convinces him to indulge his desires. I wanted to wrap Ford in a hug and tell him, “It’s okay to feel emotion!” A hot loner who prefers well-below freezing temperatures and nothing but snow over being forced to talk to someone he doesn’t want to talk to—can’t we all relate? Angel Smith, Ford’s complete opposite, was an ‘every woman’ sort of heroine. The woman we all are AND the woman we all want to be. Kind, witty, smart, brave, and, most importantly, understanding of her man’s quirks. The two of them shouldn’t have worked together, but they ended up being such a brilliant match for one another.
The best part was watching them fight their attraction for one another (I mean, running away from murderers and trying to survive a landscape bent on killing you is not the ideal time for some nooky), but eventually succumbing to their desires. Whiteout isn’t going to give you sex every three pages, if that’s your thing. It’s more about bringing you to the edge constantly only to pull you back before you finally tip over the precipice into hot, survival sex. But when Anders finally gives us that moment it’s like water to a man lost in the desert... everything. Every second of the torture is 100% worth it.
This plot was so fascinating! I mean, how many romantic suspense novels take place in the frigid emptiness of Antarctica. And damn Anders for tossing in the whole ‘21 days until safety, 6 days of food’ headings at the top of each chapter because I was hyperventilating as I wondered how they could possibly survive this trip, not to mention the murderers chasing them down! Whiteout starts with a bang and ends with an even bigger bang. With four thousand bangs in the middle. Everything is trying to kill our hero and heroine: the murderers, the government, the storms, the snow, the random crevasses that lead to the center of the Earth...this is one novel that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what could possibly happen next. Giving me a heart attack every darn page.
I loved the setting so much that I feel I need to comment on what an amazing reading experience it was to be set down in the middle of the barren wasteland of such an unfamiliar territory. I was enamored with every little detail of the land, the station, the constant danger. Quite a new adventure. And this is a lead up to what is sure to be an amazing cast of characters. Secret organization of hot men and woman vs. evil? Sign me up for everything Adriana Anders has to offer.
This book isn't out until January 2020, but trust me, you're going to want to pre-order this baby.