Hills of Shivers and Shadows

Hills of Shivers and Shadows will remind you why you fell in love with dark romance to begin with. Trauma nurse and married woman, Frankie, is taken from her billionaire husband and brought to a remote cabin in Alaska by Denver (late 40s Brad Pitt look-a-like), where he lives with his three adult sons. Frankie does everything she can to escape, but what they have planned for her is far darker and more twisted than ANYTHING you can imagine. Pam, our queen of forbidden/taboo romance is at the top of her game with this book. I was sucked in from the very beginning. When I say this book is dark, I'm not talking morally grey, we're in fully lights out territory here in the BEST way. And when the spice starts simmering, it grabs you by the throat and does not let go. The pacing is amazing. The character development is deep and authentic. The mystery behind why Frankie was taken is so unexpected that I just couldn't stop reading.

I always enjoy Pam Godwin's dark, gritty romances, and HoSaS was no exception. But this was the first I can remember when the overall plot was even more intriguing than the romantic relationships being setup. From the start, you think you know where the story is headed, and then it makes a sharp right turn, and you're thinking back, trying to pick up the clues scattered along the way to figure out the mystery. Frankie is a willowy, frail heroine physically, but mentally & emotionally she's the backbone of the other innocent inhabitants at Hoss, where she's taken by one of the most calculating villains I've read in awhile. PG does a wonderful job building the setting of the desolate Arctic, people thrown together unwillingly by a madman, yet showing the love growing between them in a realistic way, all the while keeping your mind hooked with the with the sinister backstories and uncertain future of the characters.

Oh my gawd. Hills of Shivers and Shadows is incredible. This story is dark, brutal, and unforgiving, much like the Alaskan setting Pam took her readers into. This story will make you uncomfortable at times, it will grip you and suck you in and not let go until the very last page. This, my fellow dark romance readers has got to be one of the best by Pam Godwin if they handed out Oscars for best story writing for a novel this would take top honors. I absolutely cannot wait for Cage of Ice and Echoes. Note to readers, if you have triggers check make sure you read PG's Dear Reader page carefully and go to the link she mentions on her website for the spoiler-free list.