A journey of love, but also a journey to self-acceptance and not caring what other people think. Although Quill had to learn that his sexuality and love of Owen wasn't something he had to hide, but rather celebrate, you can take that lesson and apply it to your own life and experiences.

I love the type of book where you can learn something as you enjoy two people falling in love.

I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this as I loved the last book in the Frozen Hearts series. One of the things I really enjoy about this series of books is that the setting is almost like an additional character. Albert has done her research about Alaska and it shows in this book. I spent a lot of time in the north myself and it rings really true for me.

Owen Han is a man looking for adventure and fulfillment in his life. After a victory over cancer, Owen has been checking items off his bucket list and volunteering in a park in Alaska is his next challenge. It’s at Owen’s volunteer training that he meets Ranger Quilleran Ramsey. Quill is a rugged loner who is a Park Ranger doing a presentation. Owen’s immediately drawn to Quill…he’s just his type… but after a brief encounter Quill makes it clear that he won’t cross his strict ethical boundaries for a fling with Owen.

Through a lovely twist of fate, Owen ends up volunteering at the Station run by Quill and their lives get tangled together. I really enjoyed the way these two characters struggled with their own expectations and pre-conceived ideas as they grew closer to one another. There was some lovely sexual tension from the moment they first met and it carried through into wonderfully hot sex scenes. I adored Quill! There were definitely some moments when he broke my heart… but it was well worth it!

This novel has all the ingredients for a great summer m/m romance! It’s set in the cool Alaskan wilderness, there are two hot men (one of whom wears a uniform), there’s some adventure and an epically dangerous natural event … and a happy ending!

3.5* I had mixed feelings about this - at times it felt like Owen was railroading Quill into a 'relationship', whatever definition you might like to give to that noun...

I jumped into this tale blurb-blind, because of the author's name and because I've read the other tales in this series, and I wanted to see how she'd end this. Tbh, this tale isn't at all connected to the others, though very, very briefly the leads from book 1 make an appearance here, with no names mentioned, and it wasn't until the word 'guide' came up that I clocked who they might be. So, it's not necessary to read these in order, and tbh, each is a standalone.

I didn't know about Owen's brush with cancer or his bucket list, and it felt like the latter got bigged up a bit to tease the repressed, closeted Quill, and then nothing came of it. A couple of times, Quill himself, in moments of insecurity, brought up the bucket list and Owen professed to have discarded it, but I thought it was a bit not-really-that-nice to mention it and then not talk seriously about it. I'm not sure that I liked Owen and his Me, I, Mine attitude, but I think I understood that a brush with death would have changed him and changed how he viewed things. There wasn't any evidence of investment banking in his past, which is a bugbear of mine, as it's a line of business I work in and too often authors use the words but don't know what they mean, don't bother checking and don't go there - why?? It wasn't relevant to the tale, other than affording Owen some time off work to do some volunteering. He really didn't seem like a banker type; everything about him, and I mean everything, made him come across as a bit of a dreamer. Not an idealist, but a dreamer, and he really didn't fit the mould of an investment banker, who thinks with his/her head of returns, bonuses/profits, targets, clients, etc.; he really didn't seem tough enough, and of course we don't get to see pre-cancer Owen to compare...

I also didn't like how much Owen pushed Quill into starting something. Frankly, had I seen this in the workplace, I'd have been debating whether to report a form of bullying, but later on being privy to his thoughts, it was clear that he felt something and saw something in closeted, repressed, guilt-ridden Quill, but I don't know that his MO was right, still. Quill did blossom and shed some of his baggage with Owen, but then other guilt set in and it felt at times as if an emotional or emotional guilt, I think is more apt, tennis match was being played, with each wary of the other. Not wanting to win, no, but each volleyed stuff back and then backed off, so nothing much got achieved.

There was a catalyst to this romance that really aided and abetted a big step to be taken towards a HEA. Actually, before this catalyst I felt that the guys were stuck in an unhealthy cycle of guilt, holding back, trying to please, trying to be forgiven, being a bit selfish and I didn't see where their relationship could go. I didn't see how it could last the rest of the time they'd be forced to spend together, as it wasn't a relationship, working, friendship or otherwise. But, hey ho, the catalyst did its job.

The tale ends close to two years since the guys met, and they're in a good place. Life is good for both of them, Quill is comfortable being quietly out, and Owen is doing what makes Owen happy, and I don't mean that in a beeotchy way; simply that he's found something that fulfils him and he's good with life, isn't searching for anything more or making any more lists.

It's not a Keeper for me, and it seems the series has ended, but I don't really consider unconnected books (even books 1 and 2 didn't really have a connection, apart from some name dropping) to be part of a series. It was interesting reading about Alaska and yes, I did get an education worthy of the type bestowed by a tourist guide, but I wasn't invested in any of the leads, particularly the couple in book 2 who really, really didn't seem suited and just came across as two lone gay men in the same place at the same time.

ARC courtesy of Carina Press and Bayou Book Junkie, for my reading pleasure.