Narrated by Iggy Toma
Arctic Heat is the third and final book in Annabeth Albert’s Frozen Hearts trilogy, set in Alaska. I’ve enjoyed all three of them and can happily recommend the whole series. They are only loosely connected though so they each stand-alone well.
Quill Ramsey is a 40-something park ranger in Alaska. He enjoys the isolation of his job, being very introverted. His family was all drama all the time and he hates raised voices and conflict. As a child (and even as a young man), he was constantly criticised by his father for being too sensitive. He was bullied at school (his name – Quilleran – did not help and, according to him, his middle name is even worse) and his family weren’t very supportive, suggesting he ought to “man up” rather than actually protecting him themselves. Quill had a fairly traumatic experience when he came out as gay to his father and ever since he has kept very much to himself. He’s mostly closeted, only out to a couple of people very close to him and not at all to his remaining family (his father having passed away well before the story begins).
Owen Han, is a 36-year-old Chinese-American and survivor of testicular cancer. Following successful but invasive and unpleasant treatment, he left his job, cashed in his savings and is pursuing his “bucket list” because life is too short. He has spent the past year doing lots of fun things and the next thing on his list is wintering in Alaska. He has volunteered to help the park service over the winter.
Quill and Owen meet at orientation/training day. In part, Quill is getting his refresher first aid certification and in part he’s presenting some of the training, with his best friend and former ranger partner, Hattie.
There is immediate chemistry between Owen and Quill which Owen in particular is keen to explore. Owen is very much the extrovert, enjoying people and able to converse with just about anyone. He’s just about the polar opposite of Quill that way.
Another way they are opposites is that Owen comes from a very happy family and the role models he grew up with give him faith in relationships and happy-ever-afters.
Even though Owen is keen, Quill is not out to most of his colleagues or to management and he is uncomfortable about the ethics of getting involved with a volunteer. It is not made explicit in the text but I suspect Quill is demisexual. He can take or leave sex for the most part – an emotional connection is needed for him to really get his motor running.
Because reasons, Owen is paired with Quill and they share an isolated ranger station for the next few months, often going days without seeing another soul. And, when they do see others, mostly those people are tourists who are in the area only briefly.
The forced proximity, Owen’s open charm and a dodgy generator all work their magic on Quill and gradually – very gradually – they edge toward a relationship. However, for a long time, Quill believes Owen thinks of him as nothing more than a fling; another item on his bucket list.
For all of their differences, Owen and Quill work well together and both men find themselves falling inexorably into love. Owen won’t live in the closet with Quill and Quill doesn’t believe in relationships and this is the central conflict of the story, which is worked out against the backdrop of an Alaskan winter, complete with a number of ranger-rescues to keep things interesting.
Both Owen and Quill are likeable characters. I understood where each was coming from. Personally, I’m more like the introverted Quill but I was nevertheless on #TeamOwen wanting them to at least give the relationship a try rather than not taking the risk at all.
The characters are mature and not just in age. Yes, Owen has to metaphorically drag Quill into talking but he does talk and they do have grown-up conversations about things and don’t let misunderstandings get in their way.
I enjoyed the setting, both the dramatic rescues and the more banal everyday activities of park rangering in an Alaskan winter.
Because of the setting, the story is closely centred on the main characters. There are other characters in the book of course and they are more than just window-dressing, but it is mostly just Owen and Quill together which suited me just fine.
Iggy Toma again narrates and he gave his usual solid performance. There were a few (but only a few) minor issues with some of the phrasing being not quite right – where the intended flow of the sentence was lost because of the placement (or lack) of a pause, but for the most part, the emotion, tension and pacing was great.
Apart from Hattie, there are some other female characters who pop up over the course of the story and Mr. Toma does a creditable job with those voices too. As well, he differentiated clearly between Owen and Quill. Quill is slower and more deliberate in his speech and Owen more exuberant (but not the least bit childish).
Mr. Toma delivered on the emotion and connection between the main characters, as I’ve come to expect from him.
Arctic Heat was sweet and sexy and charming. I liked it very much. I think there were only three books planned in this series but I definitely wouldn’t be sad if more Alaska-set books turned up.
Kaetrin
Buy Arctic Heat by Annabeth Albert on Amazon
