Since reading Into Thin Air two years ago, I've wanted to read another book about climbing, but always had a stack of other things I wanted to get to first. When I saw this book pop up on my Overdrive app with the audiobook available, I decided to go for it.

This book focuses mostly on K2, which isn't a mountain I knew much about before reading this book, other than knowing of its existence as the second-highest mountain in the world. Ultimately, I find the history of the various expeditions very interesting, even if I found the writing to be somewhat all over the place. I think I would've preferred the timeline to be more linear, rather than starting with the more recent expeditions and then jumping all the way back and then moving forward again. It just felt a bit confusing at times.

The sections that are taken from diary entries are really interesting to me, and learning the dynamics of the different groups was also really intriguing. It's shocking to me to even think of attempting to climb a mountain at all, much less with a group of people you don't at least have a basic regard for.

The story of the 1954 expedition and unraveling the truth of what happened was actually very shocking. To think of what these men were willing to do in hopes of eternal glory is just astounding to me. I know that sounds naive, but I cannot imagine myself treating another human being the way these men were treated.

As far as the authorial voice, It's obvious that Ed Viesturs is incredibly knowledgeable and experienced with what he is discussing. After all, he is a renowned climber in his own right and knows many of the players involved in the campaigns he's writing about. He's also well-read with regards to literature out in the world about K2 and cites them many times throughout the course of this novel.

It's interesting because while he says that there is an un-written rule that you don't air your groups 'dirty laundry' regarding turmoil or bad blood among the climbers, this book does contain a multitude of commentary regarding other published works and climbers. Also, every time something awful happens, he follows up the account talking about himself and how he never got into that sort of situation for this reason or that. Many considered that to be really smug and arrogant, and while I see where they're coming from, it didn't really bother me. It may have been a bit self-congratulatory, but I feel like if I'd climbed all of the tallest mountains in the world (some multiple times) I'd probably come across that way as well.

I will also say that this does feel the slightest bit dated, which isn't a criticism as much as a heads up. There are things that hadn't been done at the point of this book's release (an American woman reaching the summit of K2, for one example) that have been done now. But that information was easily found after I was done reading, and it would be silly to hold not being able to predict the future.
I do think that this could've been structured a little more neatly, as I previously stated, but I found it to be very compelling and I'm glad I read it.

I haven't re-read this story in a couple years. It's always been one of my favorites and this time I listened to the audiobook recorded by Rosamund Pike available on audible. If you have audible, I highly recommend this version of the audiobook. She is absolutely fantastic as the voice actor, and afterwards I saw that she also narrates Sense and Sensibility...so I may be re-reading that one next month.

I know this story so well, but it doesn't change my enjoyment of it, no matter how many times I consume it. This includes miniseries, movies, webseries, etc. It will always be one of my favorite things. In fact, I would say that if you are someone who wants to experience this story but the idea of classics scares you, watch an adaptation first. Then when you do pick up the book you will have a better idea of what the story is. That being said, I find this easy to follow, but perhaps that is because I've read it several times and watched 101382 adaptations...no regrets.

4.5 stars I had this audiobook out from Overdrive a few months back and my loan expired and I had to go back on the waiting list.

It was worth the wait. I really enjoyed this book. From the flawed but lovable characters to the fun rom-com plot to the rich setting, I was totally hooked on this.

I love that our heroine is smart and that our hero is as attracted to that side of her as he is to her physical appearance. As far as he goes, I liked him quite a bit, although I found his behavior in the first half of the novel to be really not okay. I could see a lot of people having issues with it, but for me I really liked the fact that he understands that what he did was wrong and that he spends the majority of the second half atoning for his actions. He's not let off the hook right away, and I appreciate that because too often in romance we're only given like 5-10 pages near the end for the character who messed up to make amends.

I listened to this on audiobook and thought the voice actor was fantastic. Many of the characters had non-American accents and she seemed to flow in and out of that dialogue seemlessly. I also enjoyed the emotion and humor she was able to inject story. Part of that already built into the text with fun and witty writing, but the wonderful voice performance absolutely enhanced my enjoyment.

The only reason this doesn't get a full five stars from me is that I felt like there were some things in here that weren't quite resolved. This is the first book in a companion series, so maybe some of these things will be addressed in future books or novellas, but I would've liked a couple more scenes between Naledi and her cousin, and also between Naledi and her grandparents.

I will definitely be reading the following books in this series, and can't wait to see some of the side characters get their own stories.

If I'm looking objectively at this book, it's probably closer to a 4 star...but I just loved this so much. It's a 5 for me in every way that really matters.

I love the characters and the arc of their relationship, complete with the cutest banter ever. So many moments that had me kicking my feet and grinning from ear to ear. I love that her disability isn't used as some sort of 'love conquers all' plot device, and is portrayed very realistically. I think the author may also deal with chronic pain, but I'm not 100% sure of that fact, but from what I understand from other reviewers, the rep was solid.

My only wish was that there had been a few more 'list' items that they could've conquered together. I love books about checking off items on a list, and I wanted more of it.

I will definitely pick up more by this author in the future and can't wait to read the companion books in this series when they're released.

I have so much love for this series and while I'm sad that it's over, I'm so happy that this was such a satisfying ending. I like that the stakes were high. I never felt like people were truly safe. Not everything was wrapped up neatly with a bow, and I think that was a really good decision. It gives the reader the sense that even though this is an ending, it's also a beginning and gives the author room to continue writing within this world if she chooses, which I would love!

I really enjoy these characters and their group dynamic. They are all from different cultures with different motivations, but trying to achieve a common purpose, and through that they grow together from a group of people to a real family. As someone who is a sucker for a found-family relationship dynamic, this was really appealing to me and I love that it felt really natural and not forced. There are still moments when characters argue and don't agree, but at the end of the day they care about each other and it's just wonderful.

Laura Sebastian's writing is rich without being overly wordy. I personally enjoy prose on the flowery side, but I know that isn't for everyone. This manages to be evocative without being overdone with silly metaphors and pages-long descriptions. I think she's done a fantastic job creating this fantasy world that is interesting and different while still being recognizable and easy to process.

Also, getting superficial for a second...these covers are absolutely GORGEOUS. I just...wow.

I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next. She is absolutely an auto-buy author for me.

I received this book as an e-ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to them for the opportunity to read and review this title.


I enjoyed many aspects of this book, specifically related to climbing culture and in particular Mt. Everest climbing culture. I've read a couple of books about climbing and while I have zero urge to do it myself, I have to admit that I find myself fascinated by the people who have that sort of determined mentality.

I feel like this book does a good job discussing Everest and the socioeconomic and environmental effect the climbing craze has on the surrounding area.

It was obvious that the subject was very well researched by the author, which I really appreciated.

My issues with the book, and the reason it doesn't rate higher with me, is that it felt like it wasn't sure what it wanted to be, especially for the first half of the book. There are stylistic writing choices made that just made the text feel very juvenile to me. So many moments where words are strung-together-using-copious-hyphens-when-it-isn't-actually-necessary. There are other moments where phrasesaresmashedtogetherlikethis for a variety of reasons. There are also cases where both methods are present. Now, there are a few cases where this works, but mostly it just makes the text difficult to read for little reason.

So we have this hyper-juvenile text, and then at the 40ish% mark we jump into an intimate relationship with our two main characters that was barely hinted at for the first chunk of the novel. They go from 0-100 in the course of about 5 pages, and it feels just out of nowhere for me. There's like one scene where they share an overly-long glance, but other than that, there isn't much build up to them being obsessed with one another. I think a romantic subplot could work here, but I wish it'd been a little more evenly paced throughout the book.

Where the storytelling really works, in my opinion, is while they are on their climb and actually moving up the mountain. Unfortunately, they don't even get to Base Camp until about halfway through the book, and most of the actual climbing/descending happens in the last 15-20%. There are many moments in this last section that affected me, to the point that I actually cried a couple times at the end of the book. I enjoyed the coming-of-age aspect of this as well, and wish we could've had a bit more of the father/son relationship between Jordan and Tate.

This book explores PTSD and trauma in a way that felt very authentic and sensitive to me and my experiences, but I would be aware going into this book if you are at all sensitive to those things.

All in all, while I enjoyed the story, I wish it had dug a little deeper into the characters and really settled on what kind of tone it wanted to set and what audience it is catering to. I would absolutely recommend this to young people interested in Mt. Everest and everything that goes into climbing.

Charles Dickens is the type of writer who will use a page and a half to describe a cough. After all, why use five words when you could use one-hundred and five, right?

The edition I have of this book is nearly 500 pages of very small type. There is no way I would've gotten through this book without the audiobook on hand. I spent a good deal of time reading along, but without the audiobook there is no way I would've been able to concentrate through this book.

As far as the story itself, I thought it was interesting. Dickens was a writer who used fiction to provide social commentary and explore injustices and inconsistencies in the world around him. It's really interesting to think about the kind of books he might write if he was around today.

Pip as a protagonist was a little bland. He kind of just floats along as things happen to him, and spends most of his brainpower obsessing over Estella, a woman with zero personality who treats him like garbage. She's the OG manic-pixie-dreamgirl. We aren't given any real reason that he is in love with her.

I haven't seen an adaptation of this story (at least, not that I can recall) so I didn't have any knowledge of the story before going into the book. There were a couple of surprising moments that I appreciated, and I enjoyed some of the side characters, specifically Joe.

I'm glad that I read this book, just to be able to cross it off my 'classics I should probably read' list, although it's not going to be one I'll revisit any time soon. This won't be my last Dickens, because I think that while he does have the tendency to be overblown in his writing, I appreciate the insight he gives modern readers into 19th-century England.