Thin Ice by Irene Hannon | RE:View

In this second book to the Men of Valor series, Irene Hannon creates an interesting, plot-twisting read following the second oldest McGregor brother, Lance.

Christy Reed is a former Olympic athlete and Lance McGregor joins the FBI after being a Delta Force operator. Talk about two high-octane people meeting over the surprise of Chrisy's sister "coming back to life" after supposedly dying in a fire. True to Irene Hannon form, Lance and Christy realize early on that there's more than just attraction there, but the roadblock of the case is enough to (mostly) keep them apart for the majority of the book.

I think my favorite part of the book was the McGregor brothers! This is totally a personal thing, but I always tend to enjoy reading (and writing) from the male POV more than the female (most of the time). I feel like Irene did a great job of capturing them. What will happen with Finn???

I also feel like Irene included just the right amount of faith elements to show where Christy and Lance were in regards to what they believed and were struggling about, but not to "preach" about where they should be. What was shared, I liked, and felt it was very natural to the story.

One issue I had at the very beginning was the fact that freshly minted Agent Lance McGregor immediately fights an instant attraction of Christy Reed. I just...*sigh*. I understand a guy noticing that a girl is attractive but he was checking her out while on his very first assignment as an FBI agent. It just rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know, maybe that does happen, but it seemed completely unfounded (aside from physical attraction which happens--I get that) and a little premature.

@createexploreread

The other issue I had (without going into spoiler-details) is something that happens with regards to one of the secondary characters. The character makes a choice that just didn't sit well with me. It was really hard for me to get past it and see it as a "good" plot choice because of what I think it implies. This is, obviously, personal on my part, but I will say that it could be difficult to read for some.
***If you're interested to know why, see my comments at the bottom of this post. Note:  They do spoil the plot a little.

All in all, a good read. I really liked the quick pace of the ending as well. I'd recommend it to fans of Irene's work--same style as Buried Secrets etc.--and those who enjoy romantic suspense with more romance that knuckle-whitening thrills. I am interested in the last book in the series, mainly because I want to see where Finn comes in and what his story will be!

My rating: 3.8*
Purchase: Thin Ice (Men of Valor book 2)
Buried Secrets (Men of Valor book 1)

Book Description
(from Amazon)

After losing her parents in a car accident and her sister to a house fire, Christy Reed has been mired in grief. Life is finally starting to feel normal again when an envelope arrives in the mail--addressed in her sister's handwriting. And the note inside claims she is still alive.

FBI Special Agent Lance McGregor, a former Delta Force operator, is assigned to reopen the case, but he's coming up with more questions than answers. If Ginny Reed is still alive--who is the woman buried in her grave? Where is Ginny? And is Christy a pawn in a twisted cat-and-mouse game--or the target of a sinister plot? As he digs deeper, one thing becomes clear: whoever is behind the bizarre ruse has a deadly agenda.

Bestselling author and two-time Christy Award finalist Irene Hannon warms readers' hearts as they root for a romance between Lance and Christy, but she pulls out all the stops as this high-stakes thriller chills to the bone in a race to the finish.

***Spoiler Alert***

Just a note here: A secondary character makes a choice to take her own life (which helps to further the plot). It's not graphically depicted or anything like that, but the issue I take with it is the fact that the character was agonizing over the decision (a good thing) and focusing on her prayer book (also a good thing) but then does it anyway. It just...didn't sit well with me. It's one thing for her to have made the choice, one that was for the good of the main character at the end, but (to be bluntly honest) I just didn't like it. I feel like I saw ways around it and that it speaks a confusing message. Suicide isn't okay and is, in and of itself, a selfish act. In this case the woman was in a quandary and felt like she had no other means of escape, therefore making her "sacrifice" understandable but even in that situation I don't feel as if the Lord would condone taking your own life, no matter how dire the situation is. I guess we could look at other acts of sacrifice, like going into a battle where you were assured you would die, as a type of "suicide" but I see that as differently I guess.  

For those of you that have read it I'd be interested to know what you thought. Did it bother anyone else? 

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I received a free copy of this book for review purposes, but was under no obligation to read the book or post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.