Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
When two strangers are trapped in a blizzard, heat rises.
Haunted by what he lost in Afghanistan, Captain Jack Turner is at a crossroads. While the last place he wants to go is the Arctic, at least the routine mission gets him out from behind his new desk. But he starts off on the wrong foot with the Canadian Ranger guiding him across the forbidding and dangerous land, and Jack would rather be anywhere than sharing a tent with Sergeant Kin Carsen.
The Arctic is in Kin’s blood, and he can’t seem to leave the tundra behind. He wishes he could live openly as a gay man, but the North isn’t as accepting as the rest of Canada. Although he’s lonely, he loves his responsibility as a Ranger, patrolling the vast land he knows so well. But he’s on unfamiliar ground with Jack, and when they’re stranded alone by a blizzard, unexpected desire begins to burn. Soon they’re in a struggle to survive, and all these strangers have is each other.
Many of the things I loved most about Arctic Fire by Keira Andrews ending up working against it as well. The location, the story line? Outstanding elements! Two complicated men, haunted by their tragic pasts now meeting in one of the most starkly beautiful and treacherous landscapes nature has to offer? A total draw for me. I couldn’t wait to dive into their story and romance only to be pulled up short, yes, short by the limited amount of pages.
One hundred pages was just not enough time to do this story and these men justice. We get just enough about Captain Jack (that name so conjuers up another Captain) when he is sent on his mission to check out a port for a possible new base. He immediately collides with the Canadian Ranger Kin Carsen, who wants whats best for the community and to preserve the precious landscape and tundra. Both men are haunted by losses which eventually pull them closer as does physcial attraction and the lack of gay men within that same community.
Andrews does her wonderful job of fleshing out both Jack and Kin, starting with their backgrounds. But there just isn’t enough “time” or length here to finish the job properly. Their relationship always feels “speeded up” as does the plot trigger towards the end of the story. That especially felt incomplete as though whole chunks were missing from that scene.
The arctic is another character here. The author does a grand job of giving the reader a feel for the awe and hold its beauty can have on the people there as well as the frightening costs of not paying attention to its cold and hidden threats that await.
All that said, I really liked this couple and their relationship. It has so much promise. Its a HFN and if ever there was a story that needs enlarging or a much longer sequel, its this one. Its got all the right elements in place. Its just the beginning. I’d so love to see more.
Cover art is perfect for the story. I’d like to see Jack a little more experienced and worn but that’s just me.
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Book Details:
Note: This gay romance features emotional repression, hurt/comfort, adventure on the tundra, and love where you least expect it.2nd, 100 pages
Published by KA Books (first published October 2014)
ISBN139781988260099
Edition LanguageEnglish
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 