This was my first book by this author and overall I had a good time. I love this narrator usually, and she did a good job here. I think there was just something that didn’t quite click for me personally in the main romance and the background plot stuff just never quite grabbed me the way i wanted it too. That said, it was still an enjoyable listen! ( )

I liked this a very surprisingly a lot. It starts in Florida in a bar made out of ice. The bartender is Ani. She's in a self-exile in Key West from Alaska. She misses home, but we slowly have revealed why she can't go back. Or she feels like she can't go back.

We then meet Lisa, who was a character who is a new waitress at the bar and is quite the character too.

I don't want to put too too much of the plot here because to me that was part of the fun of the novel that I really liked. The reveals that happened.

It was mostly a typical lesbian fiction romance, but, it had enough differences that I was kept guessing a lot. So, while it may have been a typical sort of lesbian fiction romance, it was definitely not unoriginal.

And, even more than the plot, I loved the characters. From Ani and Lisa to Tan (one of my very favorites) to Eve. I even really liked how Monica was written too.

Ooh, and then there was even some thriller/mystery at the end of the book too, which was very very awesome. An all around fun and amazing book. ( )

I'm not normally a Kallmaker fan, but I really enjoyed this book. The plotting is entirely predictable, and I knew where it was all headed about 1/4 of the way into the book. But the characters and story telling are so much fun, and settings are so refreshing, that I honestly just didn't care. This book takes you on a tour of Alaska that reminded me of my 50th birthday present to myself - which was a trip to Alaska with a helicopter ride to the top of a glacier. If you've never been to Alaska, you should definitely read this book to get an idea of what you are missing. And if you've been there, you should read it to remember the spectacular experience.

As is often the case, the characters in this book and their own miscommunications are their own worst enemies. There is one true villian in the book, and I wasn't personally satisified at the resolution of that part ot the story line - she didn't get all that was coming to her.

But I'd re-read the book anyway, because the trip was well worth the time invested. Kallmaker is far more restrained in this book than in the others of hers that I've read, and it was a dramatic improvement over her typical writing. I know there are a lot of huge Kallmaker fans out there, but I've found her a bit over the top in the past. Not so in this book. It is by far the best of hers that I've ever read, and I would recommend it despite its shortcomings. Her depictions of Alaska make you feel as if you are there. Well worth a read. ( )