Overall Take:
Slow read, but you will feel like you’re experiencing this story with the character, which is creepy. I recommend borrowing this one, or buying it because the cover is awesome.
Star Rating:
4 stars
Genre:
Historical Fiction, Gothic Horror
Synopsis:
William Day should be an acclaimed Artic explorer, but after a failed expedition where only a few of his men survived by eating their dead comrades, he’s disgraced.
Now thirteen years later, his second in command has gone missing in the same frozen waters William explored. As William sets off to restore his tarnished reputation by bringing him home, the mission takes a turn and cuts a little close to the original mission.
Thoughts:
The first thing that comes to mind when describing this read is how immersive it was. I don’t think that I have ever felt the need to get under all the blankets in my house quite like I did while listening to this one! I was so chilly, despite my house being a warm 72 degrees, the writing is just that atmospheric and eerie.
This book is the ultimate slow burn. I listened to this one and it is almost 16 hours, for a 400-page novel. That’s quite the commitment! I enjoyed the narrator, but I did feel that his pacing was off at times. and I had to adjust my speed which becomes frustrating at times. Towards the end of the book, the writing picked up and the pieces started coming together and the patience paid off and I was glad that I stuck this one out.
I enjoyed reading about the inner struggles that Captain Day faced, it was entertaining and held my interest. As I listened to this one, I couldn’t help but have an overwhelming sense of dread washing over me, this is not a happy, cheerful story. I empathized with him and the struggles that he faced, it just felt so real and that is so important that a story feels that way to me. So, in that regard this book delivered in spades. I would love for this book to be made into a movie; it has all the makings for the big screen.
This is one of those books with writing so good, that it will stick with me a while.
Thanks for my copy to:
Thank you so much to Simon Audio @simon.audio for the audio copy of this one and Book Club Favorites @bookclubfavorites for the gorgeous print version
Publication Date:
December 5, 2023
Page Length:
400 Pages
Publisher
Atria, Emily Bestier Books
Link to buy
Affiliate link
https://amzn.to/3tb4FXE
