Arctic Sun

3.25 stars. Albert leaves behind her hunky Out of Uniform military MCs (start with [b:Off Base 31950854 Off Base (Out of Uniform, #1) Annabeth Albert https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476543505s/31950854.jpg 52611374]) for a series set in the breathtaking wilds of Alaska. Loner Griffin meets former superstar model River, and the two men discover a surprising attraction as well as shared recovery issues (Griffin from alcohol and River from an eating disorder), but both have insecurities that keep them from believing that they can have a long-term relationship and from fully opening up to each other. I've been a big Annabeth Albert fan since the first Gaymers book, [b:Status Update 26162169 Status Update (#gaymers, #1) Annabeth Albert https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444257447s/26162169.jpg 46121871], but something about Arctic Sun didn't fully grab me. I'll admit that neither wilderness men nor models are my cup of tea, and the descriptions of the Alaskan scenery were lost on someone who focuses on dialogue and action, so it was a hard sell to start with. I liked the way Griffin went from assuming River would be an empty-headed diva to reluctantly liking him and being attracted to him, and then taking himself out of his comfort zone to be with him. I also liked the way the sex scenes were very much illustrative of how the relationship was developing between the men and not just added in for titillation purposes. Several of the scenes were more sweet than sexy, which was fine with me.But for some reason it was too easy to put the book down and I didn't feel the urgency of the love story. I also missed the camaraderie of the Out of Uniform series; Griffin had acquaintances (one of whom will be the next book's MC) but no true friends, and River's friendships were admittedly toxic. I liked but didn't love Griffin and River together. Maybe [b:Arctic Wild 43263021 Arctic Wild (Frozen Hearts #2) Annabeth Albert https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1549648970s/43263021.jpg 67141842] will do a better job of selling me on this series.

I think this is a 3.5.

After having read and enjoyed multiple series by Annabeth Albert, it was exciting to get into her new series with a very different location this time. I think I went into this one with not many expectations and that definitely worked in my favor.

The thing that stands out for me in this book is the setting - Alaska. As Griffin is a tour guide and River is a tourist/ travel author, we get to see this beautiful place through their eyes and it was an amazing experience. The author does a wonderful job describing the beauty of Alaska, the wilderness, their hiking, camping and flying experiences and all of this added a very soothing ambiance to the story. While Griff is a retired Air Force pilot and recovering alcoholic, River is a former model and now author who still has to deal with the remnants of his eating disorder - this makes for a very angsty, push and pull kinda dynamic between them while I really enjoyed most times, but also got frustrated in parts. They both still have a lot to deal with in their own lives, which leads to the usual miscommunication / separation that we see in so many books. However, at times it really felt like they were each other's safe space and they could be open and vulnerable and share all their issues with each other, which was wonderful. I also thought that the author's idea of giving importance to more intimacy than just sex, was perfect for the two characters.

This is a sometimes sweet, sometimes emotional angsty love story which is great for a one time read. And you'll definitely fall in love with Alaska and want to visit it immediately. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.