Narrated by Iggy Toma

This second book in Annabeth Albert’s Frozen Hearts series is an opposites-attract, May/December romance in which the protagonists find themselves making a major reassessment of their lives and goals in the wake of a life-threatening accident. It’s no secret I’m a big fan of this author and narrator, so I had high hopes – and I’m pleased to report that Arctic Wild more than lived up to my expectations.

Corporate lawyer Reuben Graham and a couple
of friends are due to fly to Alaska for an exclusive one-week wilderness
experience when a last minute change sees him heading off on his own. He’d
honestly prefer to have cancelled, but when his friend implies that Reuben
isn’t the outdoorsy type (he isn’t) and might not cope easily with the
challenges the trip is likely to present, Reuben finds he dislikes the
insinuation and decides to prove him wrong. As he heads to catch his flight, he
just hopes that his tour guide is a grizzled – and most importantly, taciturn – mountain man-type who is
likely to leave him mostly alone and won’t notice or worry if Reuben spends a
lot of the trip buried in the work he’s brought along.

Toby Kooly – who appeared briefly in Arctic Sun – is Reuben’s pilot and guide,
and he’s very good at his job. Friendly, fun, entertaining and informative,
he’s genuinely concerned to make sure that his clients have the best time
possible, especially as for most of them, the trip is a once-in-a-lifetime
experience. But when he meets his new client, Toby immediately senses that the
man is going to be a tough nut to crack; he seems to not want to be there and
is resistant to enjoying himself. It’s too bad Toby can think of other ways
Reuben could enjoy himself; he isn’t normally attracted to older guys, but
there’s something about this one that really does it for him. Still, Toby
doesn’t make a habit of hooking-up with clients, so instead he concentrates on
winning Reuben over and getting him to enjoy himself.

Over the next couple of days, Reuben is
surprised to find himself worrying about work less and less and not wanting to
check his email at every available opportunity. Equally surprising is the way
he finds himself growing comfortable with his attractive – but far too young
for him (Toby is thirty-one) – tour guide, even going so far as to open up to
him about things he doesn’t normally talk about with anyone – such as his
frayed relationship with his teenaged daughter, Amelia – let alone someone he
doesn’t know all that well. Both men are aware of the current of attraction
fizzing between them, but before they can do any more than acknowledge it, the
entire trip goes pear-shaped when a freak storm blows in and forces a crash
landing in spite of Toby’s best efforts to get the plane down safely. Toby
sustains some serious injuries as a result, and it’s down to Reuben to get them
both to safety while they wait for the rescue team to arrive.

This all happens in the first few chapters
– the rest of the book deals with the ramifications of the crash and the way in
which both Reuben and Toby find themselves making those reassessments and readjustments
I mentioned earlier. For Reuben, the near-death experience gives him the push
he needs to take a good, long look at his life and realise that he doesn’t
really have one outside of his work. At forty-eight, he’s too young to retire,
but the firm he works for is restructuring and he’s been offered a buyout
package which, prior to the accident, he hadn’t been willing to consider. Now,
however, he starts to see the offer as an opportunity to make a fresh start and
decides to extend his stay in Alaska over the summer while he takes the time to
think about what he wants to do next.

Toby, however, faces a completely different
set of problems. He’s been his family’s main provider for a decade, but with a
broken arm and a broken leg, he’s not
going to be able to work for some time. With an infirm father and two younger
sisters – one of whom is in medical school – not to mention his own medical
bills, the family finances are going to take a massive hit – which is just one
more thing to add to his growing pile of worries.

The principal source of conflict in the
story stems from the fact that Toby finds it really hard to ask for and accept
help, and it’s his stubbornness on this point that, more than anything else,
threatens to tank his and Reuben’s burgeoning relationship. Reuben is a natural
protector; he likes taking care of people, and occasionally, Toby can admit
that it’s nice to have someone to lift – or at the very least – share his
burdens, even if only for a little while. But he’s had it drilled into him from
a very young age (by his father) that a man should stand on his own two feet
and not be dependent on anyone, and it’s conditioning Toby finds very hard to
break. In any case, he and Reuben have agreed to a summer fling, nothing more; Reuben
doesn’t belong with someone like Toby any more than he belongs somewhere like
Alaska and eventually he’ll go back to his big-city life and will find the sort
of man he deserves, someone as rich and sophisticated as he is. Which is going
to hurt like hell when it happens.

I did think Toby’s reluctance to ask for
help went on a little too long, but otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the story
and the sizzling, slow-burn romance. Toby and Reuben are attractive, engaging
characters and Ms. Albert takes her time developing their love story, showing
them getting to know each other, being comfortable around each other and
gradually strengthening their emotional bond. She does an excellent job with
the other relationships in the story, too, clearly depicting Toby’s dedication
to his family (even though they drive him batty sometimes) and Reuben’s love
for Amelia – who is very well written as a typical teen – as the two of them
get to know each other again, and I really appreciated the way she so easily accepts
Toby’s presence in their lives.

When I requested a review copy of Arctic Wild, the narrator was listed at
Amazon and Audible as “TBA”, so I had no idea who I’d signed up to listen to!
(Which just goes to show what a fan I am of Annabeth Albert’s work – normally
I’m all about the narrator!) So I’m sure you can imagine my sigh of relief when
the familiar voice of Iggy Toma filled my ears. (In fact, at time of writing
he’s STILL not listed as the narrator for this title. Audible peeps, you need
to fix that!) He delivers exactly the sort of expressive, emotionally resonant
performance I’ve come to expect from him; the secondary characters are all
skilfully delineated, his pacing is spot on and his portrayal of the two
principals is superb. Reuben sounds exactly like I’d imagined he should when I
read the book; he’s given a deep, slightly gruff tone that fits his
physicality, and his delivery is measured in a way that conveys that here’s a
man who is comfortable with who he is, who thinks things through and likes to
take his time (as Toby is very happy
to discover! *wink*). Toby’s speech is slightly faster and higher-pitched, and his
innate good humour shines through in the portrayal, as does the frustration and
anxiety that dog him later on in the story. The attraction, warmth and
chemistry between the couple all come through in Mr. Toma’s voice, and his
terrific performance, together with the sensual romance and thoughtful story make
Arctic Wild an audiobook I’m more
than happy to recommend.