On Thin Ice by Carrie Aarons Pages: 250
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Also by this author: Hitting to Win, Blind Landing
Goodreads
Nathan Rush is a small town man who has never dreamed of a bigger life.
Until, that is, the only surviving heiress of America's richest family lands on his doorstep. Nathan is the groundskeeper at Hollis House, the Valon family's upstate New York mansion just outside of Harlin Falls, the quiet, sleepy town he was raised in. He's an honest, hard-working man who wants nothing more than a beer and a hockey game on TV at the end of the night. Except, when the ice princess starts to melt, Nathan pictures his future in a way he never has before.
Camille Valon's life has taken place in the spotlight.
Until, that is, her parents are murdered in a mysterious Christmas Day fire. Now all she wants is to flee the prying news cameras and slow-moving investigation. She's an upper crust ice princess who is good at keeping everyone at arm's length. Grief-stricken and still fearing for her life, Camille arrives at her family's safe haven estate with secrets and a chip on her shoulder. What she didn't count on was the kind, ridiculously attractive man who caters to her every need.
As the months go by, and an impending threat grows closer to discovering Camille's location, the line between employer and employee becomes dangerously blurred. Nathan and Camille could be each other's saving graces, if only they'd put aside their visions of a perfect life and take the chance fate has put right in front of them.
On Thin Ice is a romantic suspense that weaves a fairly intricate plot at first blush. Camille is returning to a home that she hasn’t seen in many, many years. The groundskeeper (who seems more like a home manager) has maintained the house for years without residence and is a bit unsure of Camille’s return. Camille is famous and has just survived a tragedy. She is hiding out in the Hollis House residence.
So, let me discuss the romance first. Nathan is a very nice guy who is content to live his normal life in his tiny town. Camille is the daughter of VERY wealthy parents, is a famous figure skater, and just lost her entire family. There were these flickers of interest that Camille would express that didn’t seem believable to me. Her world totally exploded on her, and she is thinking about the groundskeeper? Dubious. Ok, I can overlook that and try to buy into the rest of the story. Nathan was perfect! He really went into their relationship as a friend. He wanted to try and make life better for her. His intentions and motives were pure and honorable. I think Nathan’s devotion made me dislike Camille more. There were times when I didn’t think she was worthy of someone so amazing!
The mystery is a ‘whodunit’ type. There are notes left as clues and they are kind of creepy! I don’t know what it is, but a killer who leaves notes that rhyme seems creepier than one who just leaves a message. I can’t explain why the rhyming is disturbing except that maybe it shows a great deal of premeditation? It is just plain freaky! I wish that the suspense plot line would have been more dominate in the book. But, thats really more a personal preference thing really! I was not a fan of the end however. After the mystery is solved, the romance part took a turn that I ABHOR as a plot line. It was just an immature character move.
Overall, On Thin Ice is well written and engaging! I think that it will appeal to lots of readers who like contemporary romance and even those who like the added bit of suspense.
- POV: Dual 1st
- Tears: no
- Trope: on the run, mortal peril
- Triggers: View Spoiler »
- Series/Standalone: stand alone
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
Out of Love by RC Boldt, Dark Corners by AM Madden, All the Ways You Saved Me by Jamie Howard, The Strongest Steel by Scarlett Cole…then you will probably like On Thin Ice!
On Thin Ice
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