Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Hills of Shivers and Shadows

My jaw is still on the floor. This book is absolutely delicious and completely depraved. I think my molars are going to crack from the amount of stress clenching I did while reading it. I feel like my review will never be good enough to do it justice.

Frankie loves her posh life. She's a nurse, but works only because she loves her job. Her rich husband Monty made it clear to her that she would never have to work if she didn't want to. After a fight over a life changing event, Monty goes to his office and Frankie is captured, drugged and smuggled to the remote Alaskan wilderness.

Denver is not a good or kind man. He lives in the wilderness on his "compound" with his 3 adult sons. There have been women before Frankie and all have met their demise. Entering into this world that Denver has built always left me with an uneasy feeling when he was on page. It should have.

After Frankie realizes that she is not getting away from these 4 men, she begins to navigate her life with them, finding out some terrible and disgusting secrets. Every time I thought what I thought wasn't possible, well...

Frankie's feelings grow for Denver's sons and they learn from one another, but it's not all butterflies and rainbows. In fact, it's darkness and death and secrets and starvation and predators and long winters. My heart broke multiple times.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, so be prepared. Finally CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. If you are even REMOTELY unsure, check them.

I can't wait for book 2.

Content Warnings

persistentlynerdish's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Amazing incredible book!! It gripped me so strongly that I could barely put it down, barely sleep, and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about this story.

The writing: the book is set in an icy tundra, and Pam does such an amazing job of describing it that I could actually feel the cold, the ice, and the snow - even though it’s summer where I live and I’ve never seen snow in my life before. The writing is amazing: it’s sharp and pointed, soft and beautiful, tense and suspenseful, cozy and comforting all in the right moments.

The plot: It is such a great example of what a dark romance should be. It’s transgressive and dark, but the romance in it shows such a beautiful and pure love even with all the darkness surrounding it. And coupled with the romance is a mystery so compelling that you can’t help but wonder about it alongside the characters too. The pacing is perfect, and it hits all the right emotional marks.

The characters: my favourite part of the book is are the characters! Every single one is so vivid, three-dimensional, and complex. Each one has a strong and unique voice. The FMC is both soft AND strong, which I love. The MMCs… well I won’t spoil it for you, but they’re gorgeous both inside and out. The characters and the plot have a great dialectical relationship where they both push and influence each other.

The spice: it’s a bit of a slow burn with the full spice, but the sexual tension is there from the very beginning, and there are spicy moments sprinkled throughout the whole story so I didn’t feel like I was missing out on any spice at all. And when it does finally hit… oh boy, it hits alright.

Please check with TWs and if they’re ok for you, then absolutely read this book!

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