I found the characters compelling and the writing superb. When all seems insurmountable, the characters behave in a believable way. Chemal was a wonderful addition to this family drama, which addresses several serious issues.

I have to admit there were a few times I put this one down. Although the story was a good one. With themes of family, forgiveness, second chances and more, the characters were real and flawed. To be honest the only one I cared about was Chemal. 

There was a point in the story where all of the bad blood between father and son could have been mended with apologies, but Pauline never mentions it. No one was really talking to anyone on a deep level. And I can't count how many words were a mile long and left one looking for a thesaurus!

For me these characters and the story were rather surface deep. But I will definitely try another of the authors works.

Netgalley/Grove Press   Dec. 05, 20017

Adult contemporary fiction about forgiveness, courage, and redemption disguised as a family drama about a couple who owns an ice factory. Contains one of the most well-drawn set of characters in a book I’ve read this year. One of the secondary characters, Chemal, is among my all-time favorites. Even the dog had a unique personality.

The story revolves around the factory owners, who are currently facing impending brain surgery and business-ending OSHA fines. In addition, difficult family relationships abound, such as a father with dementia and an adult son recovering from heroin addiction. The author transports the reader to both Jacksonville, Florida, and Loch Linnhe, Scotland, through her articulate descriptions. The author’ writing style enables the plot to flow seamlessly, and her use of imagery brings the scenes to life. I highly recommended this book to those who enjoy well-drawn characters and stories of family relationships. Also recommended for book clubs and those who appreciate erudite fiction.

If you have read other reviews of this special novel, you may think me addlepated when I tell you that this is an excellent feel good tale. After all, 30 year old Corran, though currently in his fifth phase of freedom from heroin addiction and settled in a small drug free town on Loch Linnhe, Scotland, is facing a life of strife with no marketable skills that will allow him to raise his nine month old daughter as a single parent after his wife Anna receives an extended jail term for selling drugs to feed her habit. He has and can work off-shore oil rigs and make a decent wage but who will take care of Lucy? He is afraid to settle anywhere drugs are available as he is now all the family Lucy has. He must stay drug free for her.

Corran and his father Johnny haven't spoken since the dust up in Jacksonville, Florida at Christmas the year before, when Corran slides back into addiction just days after his release from the last expensive rehab. Johnny has his own problems - a brain tumor and a second mortgage on his home to pay for drug rehabs for Corran over the years. Johnny's across-the-street neighbor jumped in to help while Johnny is taking steroids and waiting for the swelling in his brain to go down before the surgery, to drive Johnny around and help out. Seventeen year old Chemal is scary smart, but is out of school because of emotional issues - poorly socialized, doesn't sense boundaries, doesn't do well with authority.
Johnny's wife of twenty something years, Pauline, is at 50 watching her racist father Packy Knight fall further into dementia and is second guessing her long ago decision to forgo children of her own - Johnny has always been good about sharing Corran with her, but..... Johnny and Pauline are also facing massive fines from OSHA that will result in closing down their second generation family owned Jacksonville Florida ice house unless they can come up with a witness to tie in the across-the-street dope dealer with their ammonia tank rupture. If they have to close shop to pay the fines it will not only break them, but put out of work their many loyal employees.

Corran's Mom Sharon, a hospice nurse and breast cancer survivor who is also broke from rehab expenses over the last several years is dealing with her husband Toole slipping into dementia, working full time and trying to assist Corran three hours away from her home near Glasgow with Lucy on weekends, so he can work overtime on the ferry that employs him.

These folks feel like family - they are well rounded, compassionate, genuine. Anything is possible with this support system on your side. Laura Lee Smith is an author I will watch for.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Laura Lee Smith, and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

I found the way this story was wrote completely off putting. The short, stacco like sentences seemed off and led to me feeling frustrated. I'm not sure what the author was trying to achieve but this way of writing increased my feelings of disconnect and I had no desire to find out what happened. This book didn't work for me on any level

Laura Lee Smith's American fiction 'The Ice House' is set in Florida around the MacKinnon family. Pauline and her husband Johnny (who is actually Scottish), inherit The Ice Factory but are possibly having to close down due to foul play and an inspection is imminent!

This is a touching novel exploring several human issues, including stress due to the business itself and who can be trusted? Also, other problems include a potential brain tumour, a long-lost son still living in Scotland, heroin addiction, and a little granddaughter Johnny has never met! There is also an ex-wife in the equation.

The main characters are well drawn, and I found myself absorbed in most parts, but in others, it seemed to drag, hence I feel that three stars are a fair verdict. I imagine that this novel will appeal to many serious readers, but I prefer other genres.

By Galadriel.

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review

A thoughtful, insightful novel which is impossible to put down.

Caution: For erudite audiences only.

That was seriously my first reaction to this book once I finished it. There are so many sesquipedalian words in this book that I had to read it with a dictionary on hand to look up new words every few pages. At first, I thought that the author is very intelligent and has a large lexicon, but when the book ended and I counted 91 words that I needed to define, I decided that Smith probably wrote this book with heavy assistance from a thesaurus. The "thesaurus writing" was severe for the first quarter of the book, but it mellowed out after that. Although, I still did really enjoy the writing style in this book and the fact that it challenged me intellectually with all the new words. The way she writes had me engrossed in the story. There were times where the story took a tangent for half a chapter, but I didn't even notice because the way she described the small town of Little Silver and the maintenance of the machines in the ice house had me enthralled and I was seriously interested in what was happening, even if it wasn't pertinent to the plot.

After having had to look up a lot of words, I realized that there were quite a few regional Scottish words, but there were also quite a few words specific to North American dialects. This led me to two conclusions: the American author is writing about a Scottish man and therefore attempts to include Scottish words to give credence to the story, but she still uses American-specific words because she is American; or, the Scottish man in the story has lived in America for many years and has picked up dialects from both countries and therefore the author uses words from both countries for his character. I am not sure which of these theories is true, if either, but it was just something that I noticed while reading.

At first, I didn't really want to read this book (I can't remember why I requested it in the first place), but once I reluctantly started I couldn't get enough. The author's style pulled me right in, as did the plot. Not to mention the unique setting. I've never read nor heard of another book that's set in an ice factory. And I actually learned a lot about that business while reading this novel. I think The Ice House was thoroughly researched, in mechanics, in medicine, and in the scenery. It felt real, like real people having real conversations, and that's something I loved about the book. You know far too often that characters fall flat and confabulations (to use a word from the book, meaning conversations) feel forced and stiff, but I didn't see that happening here. The characters, especially Johnny and Pauline, were fluid and they experienced trials and growth throughout the novel. And Chemal was my favourite character, of course.

The Ice House follows Johnny and Pauline, owners of an ice-manufacturing plant. The ice factory has just been served a lofty fine by OSHA for a recent accident that occurred in the building. Amidst trying to combat the possibility of the factory being permanently shut down, one of the protagonists experiences a sudden seizure, which leads to a potentially devastating diagnosis. While all this chaos is happening down in Florida, Johnny's estranged son, Corran, is up in Scotland experiencing some turmoil of his own. We read from multiple perspectives in this book, which I found to be an asset to the story; I loved the limited viewpoint each character offered and how the details in each person's life connected to create the satisfying revelations by the end of the book.

Ultimately, I don't think the book sounds overly interesting from an outside viewpoint, but the writing style had me hooked the whole way through, and I was actually quite absorbed in the plot. I became attached to these characters and I became emotional in their struggles. Every piece of this story is important and rich with detail as the narrative is woven together. Laura Lee Smith is an author that I will definitely keep on my radar because I would love to read more works by her after enjoying this one so much.

By the way, I looked up where Corran lives, Loch Linnhe, on a map of Scotland, and there's a ferry line that shares his name. That can't be a coincidence.

It took me several tries to finish this book. It is about currently well off people and their problems. Of course, said people had much to overcome in the past. I did not find the lead characters to be all that interesting and therefore their problems weren't compelling. The main setting around the Ice House was different and I did enjoy getting a bit of a lesson about how that happens.

It's more than the Ice House! Second chances, choices, forgiveness, letting go versuses giving up! This story finds Johnny MacKinnon stuggling with both his future and his past. Johnny and his second wife, Pauline, own an Ice House in Florida. While finding themselves up to their elbows in OSHA trouble, Johnny has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He feels the need to return to Scotland and make amends with his adult son, Corran, who is now a father to a beautiful little girl, Lucy. With the help of a neighboring teenager, Johnny makes the trip. Corran is struggling with his own demons related to drugs. With many obstacles, Johnny and Corran find a place to stop the hurting and move forward. Pauline, left to handle the legacy of her father's Ice House, is also struggling with choices of success or failure. Success comes with a price, or does it? Forgivenss is never too late. Choices drive lfe's path. Beautifully written! The plot has twists and turns, and yet, while the struggles for the characters are complicated and very realistic, the read is easy to follow. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book!

Adult fiction-not something I normally read, but still enjoyed immensely.

Johnny and his wife are in the middle of fighting OSHA for their business (an ice factory his wife inherited) when he’s diagnosed with a medical condition and scheduled for surgery. Instead of resting and taking it easy, he decides to travel to Scotland to reconnect with his son Corran and to met his new granddaughter, a journey he’s avoided even though Corran claims to be clean from his past drug addictions. This is a beautiful novel, full of heart, family struggles, and complicated characters. Definitely recommend it.

-This is a complicated story between parents and children and the cycles that they go through. Johnny wanted to work hard to get his son out of their poverty stricken neighborhood in Scotland, and he did, but he still found drugs in sunny Florida.

-I loved the commentary on racial and socioeconomic differences in Florida (the South) and Scotland. The book wasn’t preaching or trying to change minds, instead of opening a window, it opened the curtain for us to peek in. While Johnny grew up poor in Scotland and Corran ended up in a rural and poor part of Scotland again, there were great moments showing the differences in the situations and locations. There was also some interesting things happening with tourists encroaching on their lands.

On the other hand, Pauline grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth at the hand of renowned white supremacist. She is described as shallow and spoiled, which is partially true, but she also has to come to terms with her father’s racism. What really got me is that she not only realizes exactly how terrible things were when she was growing up compared to how easily she was able to succeed (i.e. inherit her father’s booming business) but she actually did something about it. Granted, it wasn’t very much. It was very little. It was a small, selfish, and personal action she took. But perhaps a reader could sympathize with her actions and gain new perspective on how the racism of yesterday is still affecting people today.

-Pauline is a very fascinating character. She was annoying and vain, but also resilient and powerful.

-I also liked the depiction of drug addiction. It shows the whole family’s struggle, financially and emotionally. It gave everyone autonomy and a chance to step up and own their actions. It was a portrait of addiction we rarely see. In this case, he had every chance to do things right and just sort of fell into drugs. It wasn’t because he had no other choices, it just happened and he was stuck and and he doesn’t try to excuse his behavior. It also shows how it can happen to anyone. There is even an example of a health professional sliding into risky behavior (which is common but we never talk about!)

-There was a great interweaving of geography, both the physical landscape and the social atmosphere that really set the scenes. From dreary Scotland to scorching Florida. Truly wonderful world-building.

-I wasn’t expecting a resolution to the narrative, but I’m glad knowing how it worked out.



Thanks for Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved every bit of The Ice House. Smith has a wonderful way with words and knows how to keep the reader going.
Wonderful story.

Exciting and thought-provoking
I requested and received an advanced reading copy of this book from NetGalley and I am really grateful for that. It's so exciting to read books before they hit the shops and I take writing an honest review very seriously. I could say I am fortunate, I liked the book so I'm happy to share my opinion.
First of all, I liked the author's writing technique, the way she diffuses the most dramatic scenes with her sense of humour but, at the same time, she manages to send a deeper message. The book is about relationships, not always the easiest part of our lives, some of them need a lot of work. And even if you try to mend them in the 11th hour, traveling to the end of the world, there's no guarantee they will work in the future. Some of them are not even worth saving: Johnny and Sharon are better off friends than married.
Johnny's medical condition is a curse and a blessing at the same time: it gives him pause to prioritize and put things into perspective. If you had only 2 weeks to live, you would choose where and how to spend them. His attempt to reconcile with his son is desperate and he is the first to admit failure. Then something more dramatic happens and, again, this time Corran is forced to admit that he is not an island, he needs help and that the past is just the past, you need to move on.
One of the images that will stay with me is that of Corran as a modern Sisyphus, carrying his daughter and pulling her buggy up a hill. To his own mother and father he looks like a drunk numpty until they recognise him. But you cannot but compare it with his struggle with heroin addiction, how unexplicable and hurtful must be for his parents.
I also liked how the author changes perspective (Johnny's, Sharon's , Pauline's, Corran's), offering us insights in these characters' inner thoughts, some of them quite funny (Pauline's infatuation with the young lawyer who sought his mum in her), some of them painful memories and a lot of regrets.
Surprisingly, everything ends well. I'm an optimist so for me it is a pretty credible ending and I am satisfied with it, the characters grew on me.

This book surprised me, being written by an American woman, Laura Lee Smith, and set partly in Florida and partly in my homeland of Scotland. In the acknowledgements the author thanks her family member Johnny Readie, who emigrated from Scotland to America and it is presumably this family link that has inspired her work ( as well as the first name of the main character and of the fictional location on Loch Linnhe in Scotland). The surprise was the author's knowledge of Glasgow and the west coast of Scotland (although this did lead me to spot a few geographical non-sequiturs). Smith creates believable characters on both sides of the Atlantic. I particularly liked Sharon, the survivor, Johnnie's first wife and mother of his only child, Corran, now 30 years old. The main focus of the story is the relationship between Johnnie and Corran which has been damaged by Corran's history of heroin abuse. However the sub-plots of the explosion at the ice factory which Johnnie co-owns with his second wife Pauline, and Pauline's own relationship with her racist father are also strong story lines. Much of the narrative was very poignant but there were laugh out loud moments as well. Minor characters also played a substantial role in the plot development and were also well developed by Smith. Overall Smith's development of place, character and plot would lead me to read more of her work and to recommend this book.

I think this book has something to offer--the relationships between characters are thoughtfully and realistically drawn, the plot is compelling, and the author has a gift for langauge that is poetic without being overblown.

I have to say this is a difficult book to review. I kinda liked but then again I kinda didn't. The ice house has been in Paulines' family for a long time. But Pauline and her husband Johnnie are on the brink of losing it. The book starts with this as the main theme but as you read more this becomes less in the forefront and there are at least two other sub-plots. I don't look for a lot of hidden meanings or themes- I just try to stay "in the moment in reading the book ". I would recommend to certain friends and family members. As much as I became invested in Johnnie and all of his issues, I didn't like the ending. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

Smith's novel centers around a Florida couple, a native Floridian and a transplant from Scotland. Dealing with a number of modern family issues such as drug addiction and the choice of parenthood, this novel is well-written and the characters engaging. I found the middle of the novel to drag a bit, but was very satisfied with the ending. While I don't believe this book will be on anyone's "favorites" list, it is a solid, enjoyable read.

Interesting family drama set in Florida. Took me a while to get into this one. Hard to relate to some of the characters.

Pretty much a solid three. At times I really liked; other I could have walked away. The story wavered between engaging and not.

Set in current day Florida, The Ice House is an ice factory owned [inherited] by Pauline [50], and her Scottish husband, Johnny [53]--who may, or may not, have a brain tumor. Johnny has a son, Corran, by his first wife, Sharon, now remarried to Toole; all are friendly. Corran was addicted to heroin; now clean, is sole custodian of his baby, Lucy. Corran's wife, Anna, is currently in prison for trying to smuggle drugs. And then there's the employees of the Ice House. And General San Jose, Pauline and Johhny's aging daschund. And my favorite character, the teenage neighbor, Chemal [17, male]. The factory is under investigation from OSHA following an accident. Phew.

So not without drama. In fact, though at times I was drawn into the story, what kept me going was wanting to find out how it ended. And, the various descriptions that made me smile. Here are some of my favorites: "...decaying houses that were nothing but termites holidng hands..." An MRI as a "medical fire drill" and "...dealt a deathblow to the dwindling coffee cake" [i.e., eating it]. The office microwave looking like a murder scene on the inside. "wearing rubber Crocs that made his feet look like large hooves..." And many more.

I liked how the story ended. No spoiler alert, rather neat but not too much.

I really liked this book and my rating is a 3.5. It would have been a 4 but the book could have used a little more editing. It was a little slow getting into and then just when I did, the chapters would switch to different characters that were not as interesting as the main family. There were parts with too much detail or descriptions that didn't add much to the story and I found myself skimming paragraphs so I could get to the main story. But overall, I loved most of the characters and the story. Great for readers of family drama and stories set in FL.