Arctic Heat: A Gay Romance
Frozen Hearts Book 3
by Annabeth Albert
A lasting connection needs more than simply surviving a winter together—they’ll have to outsmart danger, let down their defenses and open their hearts.
Owen Han has a fresh lease on life—he’s kicked cancer’s ass and is roaring through his bucket list. The former investment banker hopes to find his next challenge in Alaska, volunteering alongside park rangers and fulfilling his childhood dreams of snowy winters and rustic life. Of course, those dreams did tend to feature big strapping mountain men in vivid detail…
Ranger Quilleran Ramsey would like to be anywhere other than dealing with newbie volunteers. And really, the only thing he needs less than a green volunteer “partner” is the flirty attentions of a buff city boy who doesn’t look ready to last a week, let alone an Alaskan winter. They’re all wrong for each other, even if Quill’s traitorous body enjoys the flirting more than it should.
As the weeks pass, the two snowbound men give in to temptation. But can their seasonal romance last until spring? For them to have a future together, each will have to trust the other…while hoping that the harsh elements and omnipresent dangers don’t destroy what happiness they’ve found in the moment.
Momma Says: 2 stars⭐⭐
Arctic Heat sounds like my kind of read, at least on the surface. In reality, the story was much too slow for me. I felt like it was unnecessarily drawn out with a lot of focus on the mundane, day to day stuff. The rescues and various maintenance tasks were interesting, but I would've much rather read about the Alaskan countryside than how many times these guys made coffee. Suffice it to say that I was bored for a lot of this one.
As far as the romance goes, it was as slow-moving as the story. I can get behind a good slow burn, but this was pushing it. I get that Quill was resistant, but it grew repetitive, and by forty percent in, I really didn't care all that much if he did give in. I think part of that comes from Owen being so pushy. Quill may not have actually said the word no, but it was implied a lot. Of course, Quill comes around, or there wouldn't have been much of a romance, but I had a hard time liking Owen.
The big problem to overcome came from where I expected, and I'm not a fan of the big changing moment used here either. Both have been done and done again. Given the length of the book, I would think a little more time could've been spent on a more original problem and on an ending that didn't feel so rushed. It felt like it took forever to get there only to be pushed through to the end.
This third in the Frozen Hearts series also gave me a few problems structurally. We get both Owen and Quill's points of view in a chapter, but there was no designation to let the reader know that, and I really didn't notice a big difference in either voice. Both of those things led to confusion about who was doing what and when. I'm an adult, I can figure it out as I read, but more than once, I'd be part way through and realize the point of view had changed.
I realize that my opinion is probably not the popular one, it rarely is, but I just found this one much too easy to set aside and even harder to pick back up.
Arctic Heat sounds like my kind of read, at least on the surface. In reality, the story was much too slow for me. I felt like it was unnecessarily drawn out with a lot of focus on the mundane, day to day stuff. The rescues and various maintenance tasks were interesting, but I would've much rather read about the Alaskan countryside than how many times these guys made coffee. Suffice it to say that I was bored for a lot of this one.
As far as the romance goes, it was as slow-moving as the story. I can get behind a good slow burn, but this was pushing it. I get that Quill was resistant, but it grew repetitive, and by forty percent in, I really didn't care all that much if he did give in. I think part of that comes from Owen being so pushy. Quill may not have actually said the word no, but it was implied a lot. Of course, Quill comes around, or there wouldn't have been much of a romance, but I had a hard time liking Owen.
The big problem to overcome came from where I expected, and I'm not a fan of the big changing moment used here either. Both have been done and done again. Given the length of the book, I would think a little more time could've been spent on a more original problem and on an ending that didn't feel so rushed. It felt like it took forever to get there only to be pushed through to the end.
This third in the Frozen Hearts series also gave me a few problems structurally. We get both Owen and Quill's points of view in a chapter, but there was no designation to let the reader know that, and I really didn't notice a big difference in either voice. Both of those things led to confusion about who was doing what and when. I'm an adult, I can figure it out as I read, but more than once, I'd be part way through and realize the point of view had changed.
I realize that my opinion is probably not the popular one, it rarely is, but I just found this one much too easy to set aside and even harder to pick back up.
❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and Carina Press
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