I just want to send a huge thank you to not only K.A. Tucker for writing such an amazing book, but to also to Atria for sending me a review copy of this book, and also the amazing team over at InkSlinger for putting this tour together and getting all the materials and review copies sent out as well. Ya'll work so hard and really make being a blogger an great experience.

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Review & Excerpt Tour for K.A. Tucker’s SURVIVING ICE! SURVIVING ICE is a standalone romantic suspense novel and is the fourth book in K.A. Tucker’s Burying Water Series, published by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. SURVIVING ICE is releasing on Tuesday, October 27^th! Grab your copy today!

Amazon Barnes and Noble iBooks Kobo IndieBound

SURVIVING ICE – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

October 19^th

Booklovers For Life – Excerpt

Works of Fiction – Review & Excerpt

Melissa's Book Obsession – Review & Excerpt

Britt's Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Ficwishes – Review & Excerpt

October 20^th

Four Chicks Flipping Pages – Review & Excerpt

Latte Nights Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf – Review & Excerpt

Once Upon a Twilight – Review & Excerpt

October 21^st

TSK TSK What to Read – Review & Excerpt

Krista's Dust Jacket – Review & Excerpt

Milky Way of Books – Review & Excerpt

Nose Stuck In A Book – Review & Excerpt

Read, Write, Ripley – Review & Excerpt

October 22^nd

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

Bittersweet Reads – Review & Excerpt

thebookdragon – Review & Excerpt

Bookish Things & More – Review & Excerpt

October 23^rd

grownupfangirl // oh the book feels – Excerpt

Desert Divas – Review & Excerpt

Read more sleep less – Review & Excerpt

Renee Entress's Blog – Excerpt

October 24^th

Globug Needs a Book – Review & Excerpt

I Read Indie – Review & Excerpt

Love N Books – Review & Excerpt

Zili in the Sky – Review & Excerpt

October 25^th

The Consummate Reader – Review & Excerpt

Connected by Books – Review & Excerpt

Cocktails and Books – Review & Excerpt

pbc – Review & Excerpt

October 26^th

Little Read Riding Hood – Review & Excerpt

Book Bitches Blog – Review & Excerpt

Will Read for Feels – Review & Excerpt

Books BooksBooks – Review & Excerpt

October 27^th

Collector of book boyfriends – Review & Excerpt

Nerdy Soul – Review & Excerpt

Book Bite Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Short and Sassy Book Blurbs – Review & Excerpt

October 28^th

Reading is Sexy – Review & Excerpt

Book Starlets – Review & Excerpt

Feeding My Addiction Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

In Between The Pages – Review & Excerpt

October 29^th

Lost in Literature – Review & Excerpt

Chapter by Chapter – Review & Excerpt

LuLo Fangirl – Review & Excerpt

Nicely Phrased – Review & Excerpt

October 30^th

The Book Avenue – Review & Excerpt

Typical Distractions – Review & Excerpt

A Life Bound By Books – Review & Excerpt

The Cover Contessa – Excerpt

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.

OH-EM-GEE ya'll. I have to tell you this is probably by far my favorite K.A. Tucker to date. It just really brought everything you could want in a book. I loved the characters so much and really just enjoyed this story in general. I have to say though the one negative thing I have issues with is that this is the last book in the series. I NEED more!!!!!!!

But no really, I have a hard tie putting into words how I feel about books that I really like sometimes. Which I'm sure you're just like what??? but you write reviews, how can it be hard to write a positive one?

And it's really more that I get myself really jumbled up trying to explain how much I like it and repeat the same phrases at least three times and sound like a ten year old writing a review on their favorite dinosaur toy instead of a generally amazing book. So just bear with me through this one, and if I repeat the same phrases or anything crazy like raptor running through the review just shake your head and keep reading hehe.

Also this is the 2nd time writing this review after Blogger decided to have a melt down and delete a few reviews so I'm playing remember what I originally said too. Not that that will make this review bad, it just means that I'm a bit more frazzled than usual.

Ok so back to the reason I'm even writing this. SURVIVING ICE.

Like I said before my tangent. I really truly loved this one. It's faced paced and just one of those books that draws you in from the start. K.A. has a way of writing characters that you would never think of pairing together, but once you see how they fit together you can't separate them no matter how hard you may want to try.

I think one of my favorite quotes from the whole book is right at the beginning:

"Ice is beautiful and enticing:

cold and hard and uncompromising"

I think this is a good representation of things in the book, and not gonna lie here, images of the title sequence from Frozen my have popped into my head reading it ;)

See? I have a focus issue today. But I assume I always kinda have that problem when writing, and you like it, so that's why you keep reading these reviews I put out there.

Ok so I'm just going to dive into characters for a bit, and talk a little more about plot later on, before I wind up telling you I loved the book again (That makes what 4 times now? I have a problem)

Ok so I'm gonna start with Ivy.

I really really liked her. She has been one of my favorite female characters in a while that wasn't from a Rom Com type of book. She's smart and actually pretty funny, and one of those people that you just kinda bond with. You see the struggles she has and want her to be able to keep pushing on and be happy. I think something else that I like, and I'm sure I'm contradicting myself here is that she also is vulnerable. While she is a very strong female lead shes also got this thing about her that makes her want to flee. She's the kind of person that wants to be taken care of but won't admit it, and hum that sounds oddly familiar to my own personality and maybe that's why I like her so much.

Also I like the whole tattoo artist thing. I am a total sucker for that, even though it's not the main thing about her you should probably focus on.

Also I want to talk about her relationship with her uncle. While his character is a bit on the sketchy side, her relationship was quite funny and adorable. Here is this aging tattoo artist who uh is in some shady dealing? I guess that's a good way to put it. He's also the reason Ivy even meets Sebastian.

But I think the kind of light hearted teasing Ivy and Ned (The Uncle) had going on was fun. I was actually kinda sad to see that end so quickly. And yes I know it's kinda the plot of the story him falling into uh a bad situation (This is me trying not to giveaway things, even if they are pretty much in the description. I know sometimes I don't read those before starting a book and I'll try not to spoil anything for you rebels not reading the synopsis)

Pretty much I could read more about Ivy any time and truly adored her character. Even when Sebastian does show up in the story and you start to see that relationship kinda blossom. Ok blossom may not be the word I want, but it's all I got today hehe.

Her and Sebastian just go good together, and I really truly liked how Ivy's character meshed with him. She liked how he could be kinda controlling and dominating (I cannot use that word without my head going straight to the black hole that is smutty romance anymore. It is so bad haha) But she also holds her own. I like characters like that. I like the balance. I tend to get kinda preachy when a female character is too soft, and I had no problems with Ivy in this book though.

Let's move onto Sebastian now.

He really truly intrigued me. I mean I like that whole mysterious thing in general, but like Ivy he just sort of pulled me into the book. Right from the start you learn that his character is obviously fighting some nasty demons, and using his work to hide from it, he's sort of vulnerable if he let's himself but masks it well. Especially when a new job presents itself.

He was the kind of person I wanted to dissect right away. Peel back all the road blocks he puts up and really see what happened to him to make him the way he is.

My first thought when reading him was not really sympathy but maybe something close to it. But I'm also a fixer (Yes, even to fictional characters) so I was ready to try and guess a million ways to make his character whole and happy again, instead of so distant from everything and everyone.

In reality Sebastian is kind of a scary character too. All that stuff I just talked about makes him one of those calm and calculating types, and that can be dangerous. He is in a dangerous line of work in general, and when you mix those to types of dangerous it can end intensely.

But something else I really liked about him is how he was with Ivy. here we have this closed off guy who obviously avoids any sort of closeness with people, especially when a job is involved, and yet he meets her and gets to know her for the purpose of his job. But it doesn't end there.

To reference my Frozen again, #NotSorry he sort of starts to thaw. Ha I just made a joke there, but if you haven't read this book yet you won't get it I guess (His code thingy for jobs is ICE) so hew thawed like ice would. Get it huh huh? No, ok. Probably not as funny as it seemed in my head.

Moving on.

I just really liked his character and I think he may be one of favorites lately much like Ivy became.

The only kind of books I've been reading lately have been sports romances, and really intense security/military type books (Shayla Black, Maya Banks)

And while this book had a little of that feel with Sebastian's job it was kind of a refreshing thing reading something away from that writing style (Not that I don't love those other books. I've just had a real hard time reading anything outside of them, so this was a needed change to pull me out of my funk) While that whole security/military thing is what Sebastian does, it is just such a different way of using that job in this book, that I didn't have the same experience reading about it. I was more invested in Sebastian himself than why he was there and his job, even though it is the main reason for the story (Have I totally confused you yet? I think I just confused myself :/ )

But I think it comes down to is each book is written by a different author and in this case K.A. just gave me a more toned down version. And it was really something that I needed rather than those intense BDSM ones. like I said book slumps suck :(

So I told you I would come back to plot and really I only have a few things to add.

I just really think that this story brought a good level of dimension. Does that make sense? Like I think it was dynamic enough to keep you guessing what would happen, while somethings could be predicted. I liked the twists and turns it took and the development of the characters and between them. Both characters had flaws, and strengths that played well with each other. And the story flowed so well. I seriously didn't want to put it down. Sleep be danged when I get a story like this one.

I seriously think that this one was a great way to end this amazing series. I just really wish there would be more.

Based on my previous reviews for the books in this series I'm sure you can tell I love them, but I really can't explain to you how drawn in I became with this one. It was just so good, and pulled together so many things I look for in a book and I am so excited for K.A. on this release and hope that I convinced one of you to go grab a copy of this book. (You don't have to read the others in the series to read this one either. These make great stand alone's so feel free to pick it up if you haven't had the chance to read the others)

I give Surviving Ice without a doubt: *****5 Stars*****

Excerpt:

“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.

And don’t miss the previous titles in the Burying Water Series!

BURYING WATER:

Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks Kobo IndieBound

BECOMING RAIN

Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks Kobo IndieBound

CHASING RIVER

Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks Kobo IndieBound

About K.A. Tucker:
Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.