Remarkable work of historical fiction. Intricate in structure, convincing and meticulous in detail, and surprisingly engrossing in character, this novel avoids typical plot, organization, and closure in favour of more challenging choices.

The modern-day frame story is of two lost souls in the high Canadian Arctic and, oddly, a historic marine chronometer. Nelson's brother (recent) and Faye's grandfather (long past) went missing in the area - but they're not there on a Dan Brown-esque mystery-thriller search for the truth. This case of missing, confused, and obfuscated identities resists such tidy progressions. Instead, the unlikely couple stumble their way into uncertain discoveries of questionable validity based on documents left behind by Nelson's apparently-missing brother. This modern day progression is interspersed with "found" documents and firsthand accounts of explorers, adventurers, and secret-history-movers of the last two centuries prodding at the edges of the unknown on journeys that range from Australia to the Arctic and very nearly everywhere in between. The dots don't connect - or maybe they do - but the real surprise is how enjoyable the ride is.

I don't usually enjoy fiction that lacks the classic rise-and-fall story arc or that evade neatly-wrapped endings, but the unconventional format of this book somehow worked for me. Strong research, a talent for authentic(-seeming) voice, and telling details bring to life far-flung locations and eras long since passed. I couldn't keep track of the location, time, character, and (potential, suggested, unconfirmed) links between the jumps for most of the book - and in fact, once I thought I'd worked out the trajectory, this book happily dumped the drawer upside down on me once more. In effect, the experience is like reading a loosely-linked series of short stories or historic records. I'm not sure if it's the inherently fraught circumstances of so many of the players, the exotically far-reaching locales, or the promise of a mystery to untangle, but this dense, interwoven narrative completely held my attention. Highly recommended read.

"A group of scientists in the Antarctic face a desperate battle for survival as they are hunted down by hostile intruders. "

I got in my head, for some reason, when I started to read this book that this would be a paranormal thriller. However, I quickly, after reading the blurb, realized that it was just a thriller. However, it was a pretty good thriller, so I'm pleased.

What I like about this book that there were never any dull moments from the start until the end. I mean why on earth would anyone want to hurt a bunch of scientists? And, would any of the scientists survive? Also, what's it in the cargo bay? I was hooked, and I came to like Berrister, Mortimer, and the rest very much and I was worried that any of them would die. Antarctica is a danger place as it is, but having people after you for some strange reason. Well, that's tough!

Andre and Max meet when they must go below the earths surface together.  Andre has samples to take, and Max is the diver who must approve of his skill.  The attraction is mutual, hot and immediate.

Max cannot show any weakness among the men he works with.  He is afraid for them to find out he is interested in men.  His interest in Andre is not easy to hide.  He wants him more than breath.

Andre is a temptation Max is not sure he is willing to take a chance on.  Andre does not want a man in the closet.  He knows he is worth more than that.  He also knows he cannot choose for him.

Such a sweet and interesting story.  The book is full of fun facts and interesting parts about Antarctica.  I learned a lot.  I loved the characters finding each other.  I give this book a 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

Dark, gritty and inventive, I was drawn to this book by it’s premise--robots and humans living together uneasily under Antarctic domes. Throw in a ruined amusement park, exploitation by “mainlanders” back in South America, and the fact that the robots are evolving and there was no way I could resist. The world-building is fantastic, but what kept me from loving this story more is the writing style. The author is known for her YA books, but for my taste she tried too hard to make this an “adult” book--though it may be that I just don’t enjoy noir fiction.There’s not a scrap of humor--no ironic self-reflection by any of the characters and no moments of comic relief--which for me gave it a sort of wooden melodramatic tone that kept me more disengaged from the characters than I would have liked.

I read an advanced review copy of this book supplied by the publisher. Review opinions are mine.

I am hot. Let's go some where much much cooler in our minds.

Icy Love: Romances set in the Arctic Circle and Antarctica

My lists are never in any particular order.

1. Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong

For Elena Michaels, being the world’s only female werewolf has its advantages, such as having her pick of the Otherworld’s most desirable males. And she couldn’t have picked a more dangerously sexy and undyingly loyal mate than Clayton Danvers. But now their bond will be put to the ultimate test. A werewolf more wolf than human and more unnatural than supernatural—a creature whose origins spring from ancient legend—is hunting human prey, and Elena and Clayton must track the predator deep into Alaska’s frozen wilderness.

But the personal stakes are even higher. Either Clayton or Elena has been chosen to become the new Pack leader, and every wolf knows that there can be only one Alpha. The couple have always been equals in everything. Now, when their survival depends more than ever on perfect teamwork, will instinct allow one of them to lead and the other to follow?

2. Adventures of an Ice Princess by Liz Maverick

Clarissa Schneckberg wasn't ready to leave her Silicon Valley job, get dumped by her boyfriend, or move back in with her parents. She's officially pathetic. And her prospects are dim. At least that's how they look from under the covers of her childhood bed.  

But just when her life seems to be heading south, Clarissa decides to head really south-to Antarctica, to be exact. After all, the male-to-female ratio at the South Pole is something like four-to-one. With her friends, Delilah and Kate, she's ready to make the trek and sign up for some equal-opportunity jobs...even though none of them has yet to live through a winter without fuzzy slippers.  

It's an amorous adventure Clarissa would be insane to pass up. But for this snow angel, sanity has outlived its usefulness.

3. The Captain's Frozen Dream by Georgie Lee

Can he salvage her reputation? 

Trapped in the Arctic ice, intrepid explorer Captain Conrad Essington was driven on by thoughts of his fiancée, Katie Vickers. Finally home, he's ready to take her in his arms and kiss away the nightmare of that devastating winter. 

Except the past eighteen months haven't been plain sailing for Katie, either. With Conrad believed dead, and her reputation in tatters, Katie has relinquished all hope of her fiancé ever returning to save her. Now he's back, can the dreams they've both put on hold at last come true?

4. Icy Passage by Ann Gimpel

Lethal cultures, bizarre illness, and political intrigue create an unlikely backdrop for love in Antarctica, the last true frontier. 

Fresh out of residency, Dr. Kayna Quan opts for a tour in Antarctica. Money is short, so she hires on as medical officer aboard a Russian research vessel headed for McMurdo Station. Primed for almost anything, she plays her paranormal ability close to the vest. Being odd man out in a world where most don’t believe in magic makes her wary and feisty. 

Brynn McMichaels has been stationed on remote South Georgia Island for two years, and he’s eager for a change. When cultures of the single-celled organism, archaea, overgrow their bins in his lab and begin shifting into another form, he worries he’s losing his mind and talks with scientists at McMurdo, but they have problems of their own—bad ones. After he hears about them, Brynn agrees to help. The weather’s too uncertain to send a plane, so he hitches a ride aboard Kayna’s ship and brings his mutant culture colonies along. 

Attraction sparks, hot and powerful, between Brynn and Kayna, but her disclosure about her magic is a tough nut to crack. It doesn’t help that her dead father is stalking her. Lethal cultures, bizarre illness, and McMurdo’s refusal to let them land force Brynn and Kayna into an uneasy alliance. Will their fragile bond be enough to thwart the powers trying to destroy Earth, and them along with it?

5. Sun at Midnight by Rosie Thomas

An epic love story and adventure set against the stunning backdrop of Antarctica.

Alice Peel is a geologist. She believes in observation and proof. But now she stands alone on the deck of a rickety Chilean ship as a stark landscape reveals itself. Instead of the familiar measurable world, everything that lies ahead of her is unknown and unpredictable.

Six weeks earlier her life was comfortably unfolding in an Oxford summer. Then, with her relationship suddenly in pieces, she accepted an invitation to join a group working at the end of the earth: Antarctica.

James Rooker is a man on the run. He's been running since his childhood in New Zealand. Now, there is nowhere further to go. He has taken a job working on the same small Antarctic research station.

Alice discovers an ice-blue and silver world, lit by sunlight. Nothing has prepared her for the beauty of it, or the claustrophobia of a tiny base shared with eight men and one other woman. The isolation wipes out everyone's past, and tension crackles in the air. But there is a jolt of recognition between Alice and Rooker that is like nothing she has ever known. And it is in Antartica that she discovers something else that will change her life forever … if she survives.

6. Whisper Of Scandal by Nicola Cornick

Lady Joanna Ware has no desire to wed again, but that doesn't stop the flurry of suitors knocking on her door. Desperate to thwart another proposal, she brazenly kisses Arctic explorer Lord Alex Grant. Unable to deny the blazing attraction that flares between them, Joanna knows she's just set the gossip mill turning.

After suffering countless infidelities during her marriage, Joanna's accustomed to scandal. But nothing prepares her for the shocking news that her deceased husband has bequeathed his illegitimate child to her and his friend Alex.

As rumours run rampant in the ton, Joanna and Alex travel to the Arctic to claim the orphan. Battling blizzards, dangerous wildlife and a treacherous plot, Alex must protect Joanna but not before he wickedly seduces her

7. Bring Me Sunshine by Janet Gover

Sometimes, you’ve just got to take the plunge … 

When marine biologist, Jenny Payne, agrees to spend Christmas working on the Cape Adare cruise ship to escape a disastrous love affair, she envisions a few weeks of sunny climes, cocktails and bronzed men … 

What she gets is an Antarctic expedition, extreme weather, and a couple of close shaves with death. And then there’s her fellow passengers; Vera, the eccentric, elderly crime writer and Lian, a young runaway in pursuit of forbidden love … 

There’s also Kit Walker; the mysterious and handsome man who is renting the most luxurious cabin on the ship, but who nobody ever sees. 

As the expedition progresses, Jenny finds herself becoming increasingly obsessed with the enigmatic Kit and the secrets he hides. Will she crack the code before the return journey or is she bound for another disappointment?

8. Damage Control by Amy J. Fetzer

Explosives expert Sebastian Fontenot has patience in spades - whether he's deactivating bombs or gritting out three days beneath a pile of rubble. But when the hard-bodied operative learns his oldest friend is in trouble, he flies into action - and ends up on the Arctic Circle, where a sexy scientist holds clues that threaten his mission - and her life...Olivia Corrigan can handle men. But Sebastian Fontenot is like no other she's encountered: hot as hell and in danger of thinking he can order her around with that delicious drawl of his. Lucky for her, the mesmerizing mercenary is on her side. And it's a good thing, too. Once they stumble onto a horrifying international cover up, it's up to Olivia and Sebastian to keep their hands off each other just long enough to keep a dangerous power from falling into the wrong hands.

9. August Ice by Dev Bentham

Antarctica is majestic. Working there is brutal. For Max it means shutting down his sexuality for six months every year, because everyone knows there’s no such thing as a gay professional diver. Max is an ex-Navy seal who drinks way too much, a tough guy enthralled by the deep blue quiet world under the ice. He’s convinced that the only way he can keep coming back to Antarctica is to nail his closest door shut. Until a sexy scientist arrives on station, splintering all his defenses. Can Max get sober, get honest and earn the love of a man like Andre?

10. Twice in a Blue Moon by Cate Masters

Can true love strike twice? 

After the death of her first love, Melanie Michaels buries her grief in the risky demands of a reality show, where her extreme stunts leave her teetering on the edge danger. That's exactly where she wants to be—until she arranges for her crew to traverse the Swedish Lapland in the dead of winter. It's the one place she shouldn't go, on the one day she should avoid—her would-be wedding anniversary. 

Instead of romantic nights spent in the Ice Hotel or under the Northern Lights, Melanie is stuck with Joe "Buck" Wright, a snarky loner tour guide who loves his sled dogs and nothing and no one else. But Buck is also trying to numb a painful past. Can two people skilled at pushing others away find warmth at the edge of the Arctic?

Do have a good book to cool off in? Let me know!

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