#FridayFiveChallenge ~ Ice by Kevin Tinto #Thriller @rosieamber1

Rosie Amber’s Friday Five Challenge, involves taking only five minutes to choose a book cover which appeals instantly. So take a few minutes, grab yourself a coffee…..and have a browse.

This fun feature is a mini workshop. We look at book covers just from their thumbnail pictures at online selling book sites and make quick fire buying decisions. We look from a READERS Point of View and this exercise is very EYE OPENING.

From the book cover we will browse the book description, price and some of the reviews BUT we only have 5 MINUTES.

WE PLAY POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS

Join in and see where it leads.

Grab a coffee and spend 5 Minutes on this exercise.

Here’s the challenge

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book,

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

(then write a little analysis about your decision) blog about it, tweet it with #FridayFiveChallenge @rosieamber1 and I’ll help share.

It’s so cold at the moment without any of the perks; no winter sun or crisp, frosty mornings – just an icy wind that cuts right through numerous layers. So with that in mind I put Ice into the search and found this….

Buy links ~ Amazon UK Amazon US

The book description reads…

Archaeologist Leah Andrews stumbles upon something inexplicable in southwestern New Mexico: inside a dark cavern lies an undiscovered, Native American cliff dwelling abandoned for 800 years. While twisting through one of the narrow underground passageways, Leah’s flashlight illuminates the remains of a violent massacre.  

Ancient human remains—all slaughtered in a long-ago massacre—cover the cavern floor, along with a number of brilliantly colored, granite crystals. The rare crystals are native to only one place on earth: a frozen mountain range in central Antarctica. 

Could Native Americans have traveled to the frozen continent of Antarctica 800 years prior to the first known human exploration? If so how? And why? 

There’s only one person who can get Leah to those mountains in Antarctica: her estranged husband and climbing guide Jack Hobson.  

At their destination they make a stunning discovery that will change history and science forever. But Leah’s team is far from the only interested party. 

As her secret makes its way to the highest levels of government, a race to seize the Russian-claimed Antarctic territory brings the world to the brink of nuclear conflict.

There’s no mistaking the cover, I feel extremely cold just looking at it. The blurb is intriguing, an amazing archaeological find and an incredible historical question. The book was released in September 2015 and is quite long at 417 pages. Kindle price £1.99/$2.93. There’s just one review on Amazon UK – a 5* which states…. Properly good, and no, I’m not his mum or best mate!

There are thirty-four reviews on Amazon US with an average of 4.9* – 88% are 5*. 

This is an example of a 5* review from TFLReader, a top 500 reviewer… I am a huge fan of historical adventures that may add in some unconventional elements to make an intriguing story. Some of my favorite authors in this genre are Preston & Child, James Rollins, and Clive Cussler. I was thrilled to find author Kevin Tinto’s debut novel, “ICE”, that also pulls these elements together masterfully and it was a fantastic read. The story of Leah, an archaeologist, and her estranged husband, Jack, who set off on an adventure to Antarctica after a discovery in New Mexico. There is mystery here, danger, and a wonderful fast-paced adventure that kept me highly engaged. I loved the two main characters and their intense relationship and am excited to see that this will be a continuing series. Very well done. (This is an unbiased book review and the opinions given here are 100% my own.)

 The only negatives mentioned by the four 4* reviewers are a slight lack of polish, too much language (by which I presume they mean bad) and a not too believable character. I couldn’t find any other references to these points. The few reviews I checked, out of thirty 5* reviews, seemed genuine and to come from bona fide reviewers. 

I had a peek at the ‘Look Inside’ feature and read the short prologue. That sealed the deal. So, will I BUY or PASS? I’ll BUY. And it’s book 1 in a series. I’m finding so many books with this challenge, my reading list has a life of it’s own!

If you’d like to enter next week’s challenge, and the more the merrier, check out Rosie’s blog to read about the Friday Five Challenge.

More Friday Five Challenge choices.

Rosie chose a travel book on Utah

Liz searched for magic

Shelley looked at new releases and found romance

Barb chose Urban Fantasy in London