Soon after upending her life to accompany her boyfriend Ryan to the Arctic, Maya realises it’s not all Northern Lights and husky sleigh rides. Instead, she’s facing sub-zero temperatures, 24-hour darkness, crippling anxiety – and a distant boyfriend as a result.
In her loneliest moment, Maya opens her late mother’s recipe book and cooks Indian food for the first time. Through this, her confidence unexpectedly grows – she makes friends, secures a job as a chef, and life in the Arctic no longer freezes her with fear.
But there’s a cost: the aromatic cuisine rekindles memories of her enigmatic mother and her childhood in Bangalore. Can Maya face the past and forge a future for herself in this new town? After all, there’s now high demand for a Curry Club in the Arctic, and just one person with the know-how to run it…
Review: What an interesting concept for a book! I don't think I've read anything predominantly set in the Arctic before, Polar bears and 24 hour darkness makes for an excellent dramatic melting pot. I loved the description of the scenery here and I was definitely feeling the cold as I was listening to the audiobook so the scene is set perfectly. We also have the juxtaposition with some of the scenes describing parts of India and the UK too so if anything that made it feel colder. make sure you've got a warm blanket or a fireplace around when you're reading this one!
Poor Maya is having a tough time, she hasn't had an easy run at life so far and this adventure is supposed to be the making of her but things don't always turn out the way we plan do they? Maya is a really interesting character because she seems pretty weak to begin with, someone who always plays second fiddle and is fine with that but we get to see her blossom and grow over the course of this novel. We learn that once she does start to take responsibility for herself and make her own choices and devisions, somme of her old anxieties come back to haunt her.
This book deals with mental health really well. It shows how taking care of your mental health is something that we should all be doing, not just waiting until it becomes an issues. It shows that everyone can be affected by anxiety or depression, not matter their walk in life and that it is OK to ask for help and I find that commendable, especially in this genre that doesn't always take mental health into account. I liked seeing anxiety through Maya's eyes although it did end up making me feel quite anxious and often down for her at times so make sure you're in a good headspace when reading this book.
Overall this book was very different from what I expected. The writing is definitely excellent given the fact that it had the power to make me cold and anxious all at once but it was definitely a lot darker than I was prepared for. There are moments in the book that verge on scary they're so tense and so there's definitely a touch of the thrill about some scenes and you definitely have to prepare yourself for the depths that it discusses depression, anxiety and suicide. The setting is fabulous though and the food will definitely make you hungry!
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