Whiteout by Adriana Anders

Category: Romantic Suspense
Publication date: 01/28/2020
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: Kinda

Holy crap, y’all...this one’s good...

via GIPHY

Plot overview: On the run in Antarctica, with a killer after them, Angel and Ford are forced to fight for their lives...and it might just turn out that the weather is a bigger threat to them than the killer. ​

This book is so tense. The stakes are crazy high, and if it wasn’t a romance novel, I would’ve been SURE that this couple wasn’t going to survive. And yet, somehow, in the midst of all the crazy high-stakes action, the author managed to write a beautiful, believable love story between Ford and Angel that I was totally onboard for. If I hadn’t read this book myself, I wouldn’t have believed a story like this was possible.

So often in romantic suspense, the romance comes across as secondary to the action—almost like an afterthought that the author had to throw in to satisfy the romance reading crowd (which is a billion dollar industry). That wasn’t the case with Whiteout. I not only believed that Ford and Angel loved each other, but also that their love would survive after they were rescued and their lives returned to something resembling normal. That is so incredibly rare in a romantic suspense read that I have to applaud the author. I am in awe of your talent, lady.

via GIPHY

I saw some reviewers complain that the second half of the book (where most of the actual physical  romance happened) got a little cheesy. I didn’t see it that way. What I saw was two people who’d come to really care for each other taking a much-needed break from the non-stop action and trauma of the first part of the book. 

Now, for the part above where I mentioned a “kinda” cliffhanger. Angel and Ford get a believable HFN, in my opinion.  But the epilogue is basically a set up for the next book in the series, which is cliffhanger-y. It didn’t bother me, because not EVERY character in a romance is expected to have a HEA or a HFN, just the hero and heroine—and they got theirs. But I can see where some readers might not be entirely happy with the way that ended.  

But, long-story-short, if you’re in the mood for edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense with descriptions so good you can practically feel the chill of Arctic wind on your face, you’ll want to check out Whiteout.      

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s so far from stigma-y that it’s crazy!