Did I like the book?

It’s the perfect read for those cold and gloomy days!

Did I enjoy reading it?

Kate Simants’ writing is really enjoyable and her sense of pace creates a hypnotic flow that keeps you reading even when the dogs need feeding…

What did I feel?

Cold! Very very cold! Yes, I am going to use the cliché: the setting is a character itself. But hear me out. Imagine characters whose apparent ice-cold attitude matching their surrounding are thrown into a pit that the author sets on fire, branch by branch, one tiny wee match after the other. It was delicious to see facades melt like snow and frozen hearts explode with the force of the cork of a champagne bottle.

Not all protagonists will win your heart, and they shouldn’t! Neither will you fall in love (I hope) But the strength of those people who have chosen to travel to the Artic to take part in a game for money resides in their flaws and histories. When I thought I’d cracked something, I was sent sliding back to the start. Don’t trust anyone, and don’t forget secrets can smother you in more than one way before they explode to the surface!

I really enjoyed how Miss Simants explored the theme of friendships and relationships in a more general sense. Secrets and lies can have them go gangrenous and lead to bad endings.

A tiny bit of suspension of disbelief was required on my part to tie all the loose ends and be happy with the ending, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the novel.

Freeze

Firstly, I think I may need to add the disclaimer, “it’s not you, it’s me”.
Maybe I’ve read too many locked room/desolate and unforgiving location books recently, but I’m starting to feel a bit bored of them now.
And unfortunately, Freeze didn’t do enough to lift me out of my ennui.
Freeze is set in Greenland on a ship which is mostly stuck in the ice, with contestants vying for a cash prize for a reality TV show.
The production is pretty low budget to start with. And with the producers cutting corners and doing things on the cheap from the get-go, the project was destined for trouble.
But trouble visits from other corners and the contestants and crew are in danger of more than just ‘extreme weather’ challenges set for the show.
My issue was with the ‘hidden secrets’ element that was ladled on thickly from the start. Added to that, the characters were mostly unlikeable (probably purposely) so I cared not one fig for their problems!
I did guess quite early on the ‘who’ and the ‘why’. The satisfaction of the twist you didn’t see coming is greater than the satisfaction of guessing the outcome, so, unfortunately, this book didn’t really tick too many satisfactory boxes for me.

What do you get if you mix a reality TV show and the frozen plains of Greenland? A recipe for a winning thriller that will definitely put you on edge. Tori Matsuka hopes that her upcoming show, Frozen Out, is the programme that will put her at the top of the career ladder. She’s paid her dues and worked her way up – and all the sacrifices she’s made will finally be worth it. Plus, she is working with her close friend, Dee, an accomplished camerawoman who is looking for a return to working life after a particularly upsetting undercover journalism role. Despite being friends, it’s clear there are many secrets between them. But the show isn’t going according to plan. Tempers are heated, a series of mishaps occurred and then a body is found. Dee quickly realises that this will not be the last fatality. And don’t forget, the weather is closing in (it is Greenland, after all). Let’s hope that no one is claustrophobic as the Arctic ice takes over…

Freeze is a locked room mystery set on a ship in the Arctic Circle. I liked the setting and always enjoy books set on boats. However, I disliked all the characters and some were badly written. The last couple of chapters.had the pace the rest of the novel should have displayed. Thand to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

✨Book Review ✨

Freeze - Kate Simants

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A locked-boat mystery with a killer on board and no means of escaping. Add in an element of filming a reality series whilst a member on board is dead and you have this story.

Dee is in need of money and her best friend, Tori, can give her just that. Tori, who is producing a new reality TV show that involves 8 competitors completing a series of challenges, hires Dee as her camera woman. Together, with the competitors and assistant, Annabelle, they head off on their low-budget production - on a ship, in the middle of the Arctic. Immediately, they are met with challenges when 3 candidates drop out and Tori’s partner invites another one along - without anyone knowing who she is. When on board, tensions are high as the candidates fight, argue, use substances and one of them attempts to push Tori to her death. During the first task, a candidate is missing and later found dead on board. There’s a killer among them, threatening to kill Tori, but Tori is … covering for them?

The suspense is thick within this book. It’s definitely a book where, on the whole, you can’t seem to work it out. Secrets arise among all of the characters and you don’t truly know anything about any of them until right at the very end. This made it a quick read for me as I wanted to discover everyone’s secrets.

Being a reality TV fan, I also liked the idea of this as an integral part of the plot. It was interesting to explore the positive personas people portray when in front of a camera and how this personality can dramatically change when off.

However, I do think the constant change between TV show and murder mystery made the plot line rather jumbled for me and unrealistic. One minute they were finding a dead body, the next minute they were racing huskies? It just seemed a bit all over the place and lacked cohesion. I just couldn’t imagine everyone being so OK with filming challenges when one of the candidates is dead one floor beneath them? As well as this, the challenges bored me. They were so short that they almost seemed irrelevant and nothing really important happened during them. I’d rather have just skimmed past them.

None of the characters were likeable. I think this contributed to the suspense and secrecy of them all however I would have liked one that I felt a connection with. I also feel like there wasn’t much description on their feelings during this therefore I didn’t actually feel scared for any of them. I wanted to be terrified for their lives but I just found that I actually didn’t care.

Overall, an interesting premise with suspense and secrecy laced throughout however the flat characters and unnecessary plot lines fell short for me.

The production of a reality TV show with celebrities competing in physical tasks on a boat off the coast of Greenland is the setting for rivalries and murder. I found the interplay between the group members interesting and enjoyed the way the tension increased as tempers frayed and the weather deteriorated. Central is the strained friendship between Dee and Tori, who are keeping secrets from each other that drive each of them to take risks and make unwise decisions. Claustrophobic, thrilling and satisfying.

I was lured in by this book as I love locked room mysteries and I love reality TV, so the storyline sounded like a match made in heaven for me.

I was kept interested in the plot for the duration of the book and the pacing was decent. I also loved the setting and it was well described.

For me, characterisation is where the book let me down unfortunately. The two leads were so interchangeable that I was regularly halfway through a chapter and had no idea whose perspective I was reading from as their 'voices' were the exact same. The other characters all felt underdeveloped too, so whilst the plot was quite interesting it was difficult to feel invested.

I did quite enjoy reading this book, but I don't think it will prove to be particularly memorable. I think I liked the idea of it more than I liked the actual reading experience.

I’m not a huge fan of reality tv, I don’t find it entertaining or enjoyable, so the premise of this book appealed and it didn’t,
It flows really nicely and I liked the alternate viewpoints of Tori and Dee. I was hoping for a really good story and that’s what I got, despite of, or in spite of the reality tv angle. I actually think it would have worked just as well, if not better than the reality tv angle, all of the characters are really well written and drawn. What I loved about it was that I literally did not see the twists coming, I liked how it all spun together. Long buried secrets coming to the surface and in the most of inhospitable environments.
I’d read it again and again and recommend it to my friends. It was claustrophobic and it was really a great read.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this before publication. 'I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.'

Freeze is a locked room style thriller. The story follows presenter Tori and camerawoman Dee as they film the debut television series Frozen Out on a boat outside of Greenland.

Not everyone is as they seem and soon a killer is on the loose in the isolated and confined frozen setting.

I enjoyed the relationship between Tor and Dee, and the different storylines at play, I did work out some of the elements along the way but it’s also nice to be able to try to work out the mystery and be correct! Overall a fab, fun read.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

Freeze is a standalone thriller by author, Kate Simants. This author is new to me and I selected this one based on the exciting mystery posed in the blurb. A reality show set in the Artic where one of the contestants dies under mysterious circumstances – sign me up! I loved the idea, having just recently binged many seasons of Survivor, the reality show. The story is mainly told in multiple POV by our two main characters. I feel like this book could have been improved by having more POV characters so that we come to care and know about more of the other characters, but I understand why the author did this. The first third of the book is pretty slow, I expected there to be more focus on the reality show aspect but this doesn’t quite go how I had expected. The mystery is complex, full of twists and while the pace (and length) felt a little sluggish at times, it was all worth it for the ending to see how it all comes together. I enjoyed this one and will look out for more by this author.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an arc of this book.

Murder at subzero ★★☆☆☆

Best friends Tori and Dee are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime: 12 days as presenter and camerawoman on a reality TV show off the coast of Greenland. “Frozen Out” is Tori’s creation and she’ll do anything to make the show a success. However, both women are hiding dangerous secrets which have followed them to Greenland.

Despite mounting safety concerns, narrow misses, and a death, Tori insists on proceeding with the show, much to Dee’s bafflement and distress. Yet Tori and Dee are not the only ones with secrets or ulterior motives…

I quickly connected one of the characters with past events but the finale revealed a high number of overlapping motivations and secrets which lacked credulity.

A pacy action thriller which reminds us not to trust anyone and that a boat in the Arctic is either the best or the worst place for confrontation.

Locked room style thriller with the room being a vessel sailing around Greenland with minimal crew and an annoying bunch of guests. These said guests were players in a reality style TV show where they had competitions against each other, voting on said competitions and aiming to win the £100,000 prize. Told from the points of view of the two main characters - Dee, the camera woman with a history and Tori, the producer also with a history. At least each chapter told you who was talking. The eight contestants turned out to be six, then there were one or two substitutions and it soon became clear that all was not as it seemed. A couple of murders later plus the worsening weather tried to make it more thrilling. The weather, and the remoteness of the area in which they were sailing, were certainly well described and realistic for the Arctic. The overall characters less so; I felt them rather one-dimensional and, basically, rather nasty and, I'm afraid really didn't care what happened to them, except perhaps for Craig. Other than being helpful and knowledgeable about the country I'm still not sure where he fitted. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Very good read. The premise hooked me on this one and it didn't disappoint.

Remote location, harsh winter setting, and a “closed door” mystery.

“Freeze Out” is a reality TV show being made by a small independent production company, set on a ship in the Arctic Circle. The narrative starts just as the crew and competitors are about to head to Greenland, and all are thrown by some late changes to plans.

Quite an unsettling read, as it seems all characters are a little off balance, either through personal circumstance or because of events that take place. A chilling (in both senses of the word) psychological thriller, with so many hidden secrets coming to light, and many twists and turns in a very cleverly plotted tale.

Great fun.

The first thing that got my attention, and the main reason I asked an ARC of the book, was the cover and the way the story was sold with just a phrase: On the toughest reality show on television… a killer is hiding out of shot.
It instantly reminded me of the TV series Unreal, where there was no killer but a lot of drama, and this feeling continued as I was turning pages: there suddenly were less contestants than initially agreed, lots of last minute suspicious changes, including the ship itself… and then there it was, an almost fatal push in the middle of the night, and a cadaver.
I know this is the kind of story where it is difficult to like the characters, all the contestants have secrets and even both the camerawoman and the host are hiding something, but it was incredibly difficult to care for their survival when all that was shown was their awful side; they kind of felt one dimensional. I also think both voices of the main characters are very similar; if I was very invested in that part of the story, I had to double-check whether it was Tori or Dee’s point of view.
Finally, and sadly, I think not all the twist landed as they were supposed to, and were forced in order to maintain the puzzle afloat. That being said, the story was entertaining enough to get you hooked (I’ve seen some people saying that it felt too slow in the beginning, that was not my case) and the different challenges are the best part, because you can really see how unprepared everything was.

I loved this!

This is about a reality TV show being filmed in the Arctic circle. Basically 6 contestants battle it out to show leadership skills and win the 100k prize. They stay on a boat and compete with each other in several challenges with one person voted down to crew at the end of each day.

Tori and Dee are our main characters, both who carry secrets. Tori is the presenter and Dee is the camera operator.

This starts with a bang and doesn't let up. Right from page one you are hooked and need to know all the twists and turns. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Well this was a real chiller, full of atmosphere with harsh conditions and a killer on the loose. Eight contestants on a reality tv show are set to battle it out through a series of challenges with the winner receiving a £100,000 prize if they they win. Right from the off things start to go wrong, contestants changed, a different ship to the one they were supposed to be on, safety risks compromised and tempers starting to fray then one contestant is found dead. With the weather taking a turn for the worst things are not looking good at all thugs are about to get even worse.
This was an enjoyable read and I liked the whole idea of the story, my only problem was I didn’t much like any of the characters at all but I think maybe that was meant to be. I read the book quickly and I liked the way the feeling of isolation and menace the author managed to convey and I look forward to reading more from Kate Simants in the future.

This book has a great premise, it’s exciting unusual and who doesn’t love a bit of reality tv mixed with drama.
The dual narration took some time to get used to but you soon settle in to it.
The story has some great twists and turns and I definitely wanted to keep reading.
For me, I’d have liked to have had more of the ‘gameshow’ element included as that was one of the reasons I was so interested. I felt some of the characters were a little one dimensional and they could perhaps have had some more time spent on them but ultimately this was a good read.

This was an entertaining read! A great twist on the locked room thriller. I loved the TV/documentary background and the atmospheric setting. It's clear that the author put a lot of work into research for this book andnit really shows.

#Frozen Out - A reality television programme. Eight leaders, seven Arctic challenges, one ship and a prize pot of £100k for the best leader amongst them.

Hi, I’m Tori Matsuka, your glamorous host and Co owner of Tori Tells Stories, a production company and I’m desperate this programme succeeds as it’s taken a financial toll.

Hi, I’m Dee, Tori’s oldest friend and I’m the director/in charge of camera action. I’ve also got a lot riding on this as my career has suffered a tragic setback.

So, the scene is set but problem number one arises with the potential eight contestants down to six with some substitutions. They arrive in Greenland to possible problem two as the boat is not exactly what Tori has in mind or thought they are getting. That my friends, is the tip of the iceberg as far as problems go as Tori and Dee narrate.

First of all, I’m sure we can all work out what you’re going to get in this plot! Yes, you guessed a locked boat mystery and mayhem in an isolated place, very much a popular theme right now. The two main characters are interesting and neither are what they seem. Right from the start, Dee is in self protection mode and as for Tori, her issues emerge later. The contestants, as on any reality show, are a very mixed bag and are there for a variety of reasons which becomes apparent further down the line. The dynamics between them fluctuate between explosive and disinterest which is entertaining.

The remote, breathtaking wilderness of Greenland is good but could have been utilised way more than it is and become a more sinister backdrop. The somewhat dilapidated and gloomy boat location does add a frisson of uncertainty and suspicion to proceedings.

Unfortunately, the book is very slow to get going and though it does ramp up it never achieves high octane levels. The characters are not especially likeable which I don’t mind but they’re not all well fleshed out. The plot doesn’t flow as well as it could, it’s disjointed at times and convoluted. There is some tension but it doesn’t reach the intensity it should and some of the drama that takes place just feels too convenient.

Overall, this latest novel by Kate Simants certainly has good elements but in my opinion is not as good as her last two books.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Serpent’s Tail/Viper/ Profile Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Freeze, by Kate Simants, sees Tori, a popular TV presenter, now turning her hand to making TV shows. Her first show her new TV production company is making is Freeze Out, a reality TV show set in the Arctic where eight contestants will battle it out to win a £100,000 prize. She has a lot riding on the success of the show and it simply can not fail.

The story unfolds alternating between the perspectives of Tori and Dee. It becomes apparent early on that Tori is committed to making the show a success at literally any cost and that in order to do so corners have been cut to save money. Although Dee is Tori’s friend, she can not ignore her concerns - there has to be some duty of care for the contestants in such a remote location. As I was reading I shared Dee’s concerns and began to wonder just how far Tori would push things to make her show.

I think we are all well versed in reality shows, even if we don’t watch them. Reality contestants will present themselves in a way that they wish to be seen, which may not be who they really are. They may withhold information or lie. We all know that reality contestants are on the shows for their own reason - they want money, fame, want to be universally liked or they have another agenda. So, it’s no surprise to find that the contestants on Freeze Out live up to all those of traits. As such, it’s quite hard to warm to any of the contestants.

Freeze is a sort-of locked-room mystery in that no-one can leave the ship in their remote location. As there’s no escape, the tension really builds up between Dee and Tori and also between the contestants themselves. Adding to the tension is the change in weather and the ship getting icebound. It really does feel like they are sitting ducks in the ice. I read the book in two sittings, I just had to know how it would end and how far Tori would push things.

I think the relationship and cracks that emerged in it between Dee and Tori maintained my interest in the book. As said, I didn’t warm to the contestants and I did find some of the twists and turns and coincidences involving the contestants a little too ‘tidy’ and convenient.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Serpent's Tail / Viper / Profile Books, Viper, for making the e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review