Icebound by Julie Rowe

This is like a psychiatry lesson and contemporary romance in one. It addresses handling grief in the face of losing a loved one, feelings of guilt, sharing the 'blame,' and surviving a traumatic childhood. In the background is the trials and tribulations of surviving a winter in Antarctica.

Emilie is the one dealing with grief. She has lost her husband and is struggling to get past his death a year later. She's a doctor with "everything needed to treat every malady except her own. Loneliness wasn't listed in the medical textbooks." She goes to Antarctica to finish her late husband's research and falls for Tom. Tom is the one trying to overcome a traumatic childhood. He knew nothing but abuse growing up and feels that he will be an abuser too. He must learn that you are not always what you are raised to be, that one can overcome a childhood full of hate. There's immediate chemistry between these two.. (too immediate, actually.. ) and their relationship goes back and forth. Tom claims he is a one night stand man (he's climbed Everestt, crossed the Gobi Desert, and looked down the barrel of a gun, but the thought of a wife and kids scares the crap out of him) and they can only be friends, yet he gives the impression they have a relationship. This was odd and disconcerting at times. Emilie is all about marriage and kids. (I would so not mention that to a man one month after meeting him! LOL)

So how is this going to work out between Tom and Emilie? One of them is going to have to change their long term plans in order to accept the other's...

I mentioned guilt and sharing of blame being another issue. Remember this takes place in Antarctica, a very rough terrain. An accident results in death and a man must deal with the fact that he possibly killed his best friend, but there may be more to the accident than they initially realize.

The medical stuff: FABULOUS. I had no idea what all hypothermia was really about or how to treat it till now. And even though this is just a contemporary romance.. not a murder mystery or anything like that, I really got a good idea of what life on Antarctica is like. There was plenty of excitement as well... downed power lines, fires, accidents... The author did a fabulous job.

Still felt the romance between Emilie and Tom sort of came up too fast and out of nowhere. I would have appreciated a bit more build up there.. so four stars.

Favorite quote: "There are all kinds of ways to die...It's living that takes guts."

I received an egalley of this through netgalley.