Hills of Shivers and Shadows

Frozen Fate #1

by Pam Godwin

Abducted and taken to a remote cabin in Alaska, Frankie finds herself at the mercy of four feral men, each with his own dark secrets and twisted desires.
With nowhere to run, she must rely on her wits to survive the harsh winter, trapped with them.
As she delves into their mysterious pasts, she uncovers an insidious evil that feeds on loyalty and uses love as a weapon.
Nothing is as it seems.
In this desolate world where the monsters are as beautiful as they are cruel, trust is elusive. They torment her, protect her, and keep her in the dark.
But to have any chance of escape, they must stand together.
Or fall prey to the evil in the hills of shivers and shadows.

Tropes: Abduction, Adult Romance, Alpha Hero, Angsty, Anti-Hero, Band of Brothers, Billionaire, Bully, Captivity, Dark Romance, Enemies-to-lovers, Escaping a Killer, First Love, Forbidden Love, Forced Proximity, Found Family, Poly (3+ people), Protector, Romantic Suspense, Scars, Slow Burn, Stalker, Taboo, Tortured Past, Touch Her And Die, Tragic, Vengeance, Virgin Hero, Why Choose

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Why Choose, Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Forced Proximity, Contemporary

611 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2024

About the author

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author, Pam Godwin, lives in the Midwest with her husband, cats, retired greyhounds, and an old, foul-mouthed parrot. She traveled the world for seven years, attended three universities, married the vocalist of her favorite rock band, and retired from her quantitative analyst career in 2014 to write full-time.

Her interests veer toward the unconventional: bourbon, full-body tattoos, and tragic villains. Equally peculiar are her aversions to sleeping, eating meat, and dolls with blinking eyes.

SIGNED BOOKS and MERCH: pamgodwin.com/shop
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/pamgodwinauthor
TIKTOK: tiktok.com/@pamgodwinauthor
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pamgodwinbooks
AMAZON: www.amazon.com/author/pamgodwin

Reviews

[Pam Godwin]

COMPLETE TRILOGY NOW AVAILABLE

Beware of the monsters with beautiful eyes.

Universal link: https://books2read.com/hoss
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/4bqFfGT
Amazon Worldwide:https://mybook.to/HOSS
Apple: https://apple.co/3u1eQP0
B&N: https://bit.ly/4bagtKN
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3OiI96s
Google: https://bit.ly/47RKoEN
Signed Paperback/Hardcover: https://bit.ly/3V9hmxQ
Bookbub: https://bit.ly/3OTsRp9
Audible duet style: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0D2JHRN5Y

[Ashton Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNFing at 60% aka 366 pages in. And I'm going to be that review that talks about major spoiler reveals, as an FYI. Because this book legitimately was starting to trigger my mental health into a not good place, and I wish I had known just how prominent one of the triggers really was. Also, if you loved this book, maybe don't read this review, because I'm not super nice about it.

I've read 5 other books by Pam, and yes they go dark places, but I've enjoyed (and sometimes loooved) those other books. This one was just not it and crossed too many of my personal lines, so I'm going to talk about it in case I can keep someone else from diving in thinking they'll be okay with the content, when maybe they won't.

If you can be at ALL triggered by pedophilia, and not just that, but the pedophile continuing to have ultimate control over his victims into adulthood, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. The trigger for pedophilia, even on the spoilery trigger warning list on Pam's site, called the pedophilia "history/off page" and I don't agree with that. If the pedophile continues to groom, physically/emotionally abuse, and attempt to rape (and ultimately succeed with at least one of the victims) when they are of legal age, I don't know that I believe that means the pedophile part is "history". They're still those groomed children he never stopped abusing, and I think the spoiler trigger list should be more specific about that.

The big twist (at almost 60% in) is that the man who claims to be these three men's "father" actually kidnapped them and their mothers, and brought them there so he could start raping these boys after a few years, when they were 7/8 years old (two he kidnapped when they were 2/3 years old and the other was still an unborn fetus who was born into this captivity). The mothers were either murdered by him, killed themselves, or tried to escape into the wilderness and were eaten by wolves. He then continues to bring women to his lair of hell in hopes either he or his "sons" (aka victims) will get the woman pregnant so he has a fresh baby to SA. Oh, and he picked Frankie as the next woman to bring there because she's so small and almost childlike, so it helps him to find her attractive since he looooves children and childlike women.

Where I stopped was when I realized that he also brings women there because his full grown "sons" stopped letting him rape them when they were teenagers and could fight back, so now he threatens to rape women in front of them, in hopes that they'll step in and take the rape themselves. They call it the "devil's bargain". And since Frankie becomes the one woman who doesn't "give up" in this situation (she's not like other girls, y'all) the sons do start to care about her, and so I stopped when at least one of them allowed the "dad" to rape him, on page, so that he wouldn't rape Frankie instead.

And also, despite all the trauma these three poor men have gone through their entire lives, and are still going through EVERY DAY being trapped with their abuser, who still physically abuses them if they put a toe out of line (the dad stabs a fillet knife through the one son's hand as a "punishment" at one point), they still are somehow constantly turned on by Frankie. They know what happens to the women who arrive there and yet they still can't resist her. If I had to read them thinking about her "small perky tits" or "fire-red hair" one more damn time. They didn't want to tell her what was going on (aka what her fate would be) for hundreds of pages, but they had no problem getting hard around her, even if their abuser (ahem I'm sorry, their "dad") was nearby and watching.

I also went digging for spoilers of the ending in other reviews. As I had already guessed, it looks like they kill the "dad" aka pedo at the end and so are trapped in the wilderness (since he's the only one who could fly the plane to get them out). But what also had me officially DNFing was I saw someone's else's review saying that one of the sons dies by suicide. Idk if it's true or if he "comes back" in the second book, but based on their review (which didn't say his name but gave a hint) I'm about 99% sure it's the son who has a bit of a genderqueer presentation and is seen as the "quirky" and "mentally unstable" one, and that just left a really bad taste in my mouth for multiple reasons.

And while I'm on a rant, I had a bad feeling in my stomach from chapter 1 (should've gone with my gut and just DNFed then tbh) when we villainized her husband because he wanted her to have an abortion after she accidentally got pregnant and they had BOTH previously agreed to never have/want children. It makes me think the author feels some kind of way about that topic, and I don't agree with it. Sure, it turns out that husband is also cheating on her, but ya know what, he was still the only male character whose representation didn't give me the ick.

I know this stuff is more personal to me than it may be others, so maybe some will think I'm being overly biased or harsh in my review, but ya know what, it's my review so I'm allowed to be. I still love Pam for writing books like Sea of Ruin (and her reviews being the reason why I discovered the author R. Lee Smith, a top fave of mine now), but if this is the type of direction she's taking her dark "romance" then I think I'll be stepping out the side door.

[manas (traveling) · Rating 1 out of 5]

➳ i need god ☆

characters = disgusting. setting = disgusting. plot = disgusting. writing = disgusting. insta love = obviously. concept = disgusting. development = atrocious. cover = mid. smut = the only thing present and VERY disgusting. pacing = piss poor. my braincells = never there. my friends telling me read this book = they need a fat slap across the face.

one disclaimer that I’m going to make before i start this. i am NOT making fun or belittling anybody who enjoyed these books. this is my opinion and my opinion alone. there are a lot of problematic topics that were not explored properly in this book and that is the only thing i will be touching on. please read whatever you like.

wow. that's all i can say, because i have no clue how to even talk about this book without getting angry. this book is so beyond nasty, i am so pissed off. there are books that are terrible and then there are books that are absolutely abhorrent. calling this a “dark romance” is deeply insulting. i fear everyone has lost the meaning of this phrase because nothing about this is romantic. since when is pedophilia, rape, incestual activities, and gratuitous violence against women and children, mainstream media under the guise of romance? literally go fuck yourself. this review has full spoilers, all the spoilers, and can be very triggering to read. please don't continue this. take care of yourself. <3

first of all, everything about this nonsense is predictable. this book is not unique or interesting enough to even be called a psychological thriller because nothing about this plot is gripping. we start off this useless story with our main character, frankie — a trauma nurse in alaska — who is married to a billionaire, 20 years her senior named, monty. at the very start of this book, we find out that she is pregnant — which apparently was an accident since neither of them agreed to having kids. frankie does not like this answer and refuses to abort the child, in turn arguing with her husband and then deciding to run away from him. this was the start of the bullshit. if i were a smarter woman, i would've dnf'd this mess then and there. as we have seen from my very terrible decisions, i am not.

all while this is happening, we get our first introduction to one of the main characters, denver, who is also 20 years older than frankie. it's been revealed that denver has been stalking and obsessing over frankie for years, even keeping a plethora of hidden camera around her home. after the couple's very goofy argument, denver swoops in — knowing this is a good cover story for him to get away — and drugs frankie, before kidnapping her and shoving her in a coffin...i'm gonna be honest, when i read this part i laughed so hard because this is deeply unserious. from here, he is very violent and abusive towards her but never fails to point how attractive she is and how badly he wants to fuck her. cue in the unnecessary sexual descriptions of frankie and her stupid red hair. just put me out of my misery.

queenies, if you were wanting a plot, STOP, because this is the most story forward portion of this heinous book. they get to this place called, hoss, and denver says she will be staying here with him and his THREE ADULT SONS...this is the part where i laughed so hard, i had to switch to the audio. their names are leonid, kodiak, & wolfson. LMFAOAOAOOAOAAOAO. please fucking free me from this tomfoolery. essentially all of these men are horny and can't stop sexualizing frankie — and that's all that happens moving forward. somewhere along the middle portion of the book, it's revealed to us that denver is indeed a pedo rapist, who forced his sons to be victims of these evils' actions by the hands of adult women he kidnaps. this was not shocking to me AT ALL, since i knew this was a piece of shit from the very start of the story.

from here, the three sons are trying to heal, which is next to impossible since they have been raped, groomed, and abused their entire life: while also living with their abuser AKA dad. somewhere along this mess, frankie starts bitching about dead bodies and makes a mess on his dining table, which in turn makes denver slice his son's hand and threatens the other two if she tries something like this again. this for some reason makes frankie wet and horny, so she starts fucking the oldest brother — leo, making the other two brothers angry and jealous. fast forward another 100 pages of this trash, she starts fucking around with kody and wolf — while unfortunately getting raped by denver's disgusting ass. long story short, she sees denver engage in sexual acts with wolf, and she feels bad for him, so she tries to stop denver. she never romantically cared for wolf, since he is the only one with a personality here, and continues to fuck around with the other brothers while making a plan. the plan in question goes to shit and she kills denver on accident — before wolf jumps off a cliff due to very unfortunate trauma bonds with denver...

i am appalled. there is no fucking way i read what i just read. even typing this out has me sick. as a medical student, i have seen and heard a lot, but this is just way overboard for no fucking reason. i am beyond fucking horrified that denver has supporters...? i saw comments from people SYMPATHIZING with this disgusting piece of shit. i can't take anybody seriously after that. where is the line drawn? when is it too far? when do these things become problematic? when are they inside thoughts for therapists and journals? i am so fucking irritated. if you are going to start some nonsense in my comments, just save it. i have digested dark content and appreciated it when it was done correctly. THIS is not one of them.

whoever started this ideology that romanticizing rapists and pedos, is taking back power to victims needs to be jailed. as an SA and grooming victim myself; no therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, or counselor has ever said this was the way to heal. EVER. the people with their tiktok degrees need to shut the fuck up, seriously. i understand that books can help us, it's helped me and so many readers. however, the author in question, needs to understand what they are writing about and write about that topic with sensitivity. reading this did not trigger me, it repulsed me. i know so many people who promoted this and hyped this up as a spicy why choose...YOU are the fucking problem, and you need to get offline. if you have a platform, it is your damn job to inform people of what they are getting themselves into. do not go making shit up about the content because you want to attract likes and followers.

this story really should've been about survival, healing, and friendship through tough times. frankie lost her baby, these men lost their entire life to abuse, yet all we ever talk about is her pussy...i mean? what the fuck is happening, seriously? this is why i don't take some dark romance authors seriously because why are you turning violent rape and pedophilia into constant porn...none of this is realistic or done with the proper effort and care it needs. i don't give a shit if she ends up having an emotional connection with these men later. the direction of the story was all over the place because why are you trying to tackle 50 different topics in one book. all of them are done really poorly, too. people aren't ready for this conversation, but most dark romance is romanticized white supremacy. that's all it is. that also might be why i — along with many of my friends — deeply hate these types of books.

this really should've been a survival story and shedding light to these dark topics. instead, this was an abuser x abuse porno, with a last second attempt at a reverse harem which wasn't done properly either. every single time frankie was being talked about, i felt like they were describing meat. it was so vile hearing the shit they would say about her. i understand these men are victims and i felt so sad reading their back story — but AGAIN — pam godwin knows better. not to mention, wolf was the only character that displayed a gender queer presence. BUT color me surprised, when he is the one who suicided and was the “mentally ill” and unattractive brother”. she shouldn't write about them the way she did if she didn't know what she was doing.

the number of times every single character described her as being “like a child” scared the fuck out me. it’s also very telling that the only guy that she wasn’t attracted to had an artistic personality that deferred from his moody brothers. the constant, “frankie, with her red firey hair, is so petite and small, almost like a kid”...“she is barley 100 pounds”...yeah, ok bitch. this tells me two things here. number one — this is the worst fucking self-insert since H.D. carlton and her stupid cat & mouse duet — and number two, you believe that SHORT ADULT WOMEN LOOK LIKE CHILDREN. fuck you, fuck this, fuck off. i digress.

om shanthi, let me go sit and pray for peace. i fear i might have to stop talking to the friends that recommended this to me.

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY REVIEW AND OTHERS can also be found on my blog:
╰┈➤KITTY KATS CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS

🌸'𝐇I𝐋L𝐒 𝐎F S𝐇I𝐕E𝐑S A𝐍D S𝐇A𝐃O𝐖S'🌸 Is the first full length dark romance book within the (Frozen Fate) series by author Pam Godwin. Spoken in 'multiple perspectives'

Sometimes to survive you have to make a deal with the devil!!

We’ve not had many words by this author for a while, so once those teasers dropped for this, I was beyond excited! And she brought her A-Game. This was so good, unique in every way and I loved every single minute of this book.

Kidnapping ✔️
Reverse Harem ✔️
Alaska setting ✔️
Protective men ✔️

Trauma nurse, Frankie lives on a secluded island in Sitka, with her billionaire husband whom she loves deeply, after one horrendous fight and with her wanting to leave that decision was taken out of her hands, because that same night like a thief in the night she was whisked away, drugged and kidnapped by a man who looks like Brad Pitt and goes by the name of Denver, she's then flown to a cold unforgiving landscape within the depths of Alaska which doesn't exist on any map and is only accessible by plane.

"𝑰𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒔."

But Denver's not alone in this unforgiving wilderness because he has three sons (Wolfson, Kodiak & Leonid) all devastatingly good looking and she's his gift to them.

From the storyline, to the setting, I was hooked from the get go, to the men that claimed my heart and soul and the feisty heroine which came in guns blazing.

This had many twists and turns which left me flabbergasted, like a needle in a haystack 5 star reads have been hard to come across, until this one landed in my lap and now I'm obsessed with this book/this series!! I never wanted it to end, once this went live, I dived in and inhaled it faster than I've ever read before.

Email ಇ Twitter ಇ Instagram ಇ Blog ಇ Facebook ಇ Amazon 
ಇ Pinterest 

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Reread in Oct 2024 and listened to the audio.

Audio Review:

I knew I was gonna find a whole new appreciation for this story when I listened to it. Stella Hunter and Jack Hesperus were a master pair in their performances, the duet style was a wonderful way to do this chilling story. Frankie and her men come alive in a new way, each character voice was carefully crafted and performed to perfection.

Jack especially had a tall order, with 5 unique men to inhabit. He made them each distinct but also, how many different kinds of "growls" can you do? Well, he found a way to do that. And Stella had me aching for Frankie and every situation she found herself in. It was hard to listen to some of this, even more painful than reading it for myself.

I was truly impressed and I wish I could give it 6 Stars. I can't wait to listen to the other ones as well.
.
.
.
*Reread in August 2024 to prepare for book 3. I'm upping my rating to 6 stars. It's just SO good!*
.
.
.

*Original Review*

Reading new words from Pam Godwin after so long was an absolute thrill. I am not kidding when I say I would walk over broken glass for new stories from her, so I was in Heaven just opening the first page.

Only to promptly fall into this twisted Hell of remote Alaska with Frankie and the strangers she finds herself face to face with each day. She's kidnapped, dr*gged, and removed from everything she knows. With no escape, no way to call for help, and secrets all around. She has no one to rely on except herself.

Listen ya'll, I don't know how to review this book for you without spoilers. So I'm just going to say that there are some characters I would do anything for and some that deserve the most painful kind of ending that you can dream up. My emotions were all over the place and I didn't know who to trust.

I can honestly say I've never read a story quite like this one.

When I got to a certain point, I had a tiny hunch what *might* be going on, but I quickly shrugged it off. That can't be it, could it?

Yes ma'am. Yes it could.

You will be shocked, horrified and morbidly riveted for a good portion of this story and then.. then she'll leave you on a cliffhanger and peace out. But dang... I am hyped for Cage of Ice and Echoes.

My final comment is that: yes, she does have 2 levels of TWs available for readers. One with general non-spoilery ones and another with the BIG ones. Everything short of c@nnibalism is fair game. I cannot say this STRONGLY enough. If you are a Dark Romance lover and you genuinely can handle anything... I highly, HIGHLY, recommend you don't look. The impact will be even better if you just let it ride. I'm not your mama, I'm just saying, you know if you're a DR reader what you can handle. A lot of us look just because we want a peek at some spoilers (guilty!!), but I promise you... nothing Pam does is gratuitous or just to shock you. It's deeply rooted in the secrets of this story and you don't want to rob yourself.

If you are someone who gets truly triggered by Dark Romance elements.. this book is NOT for you. Go find a nice Mafia Romance or Serial K*lling couple. But if you're ready for something unlike anything else..

Take a leap and dive in. HOSS is waiting with all it's secrets and you'll want to discover it along with Frankie.

I bow before your brilliance, Pam Godwin. ALL HAIL MY DARK ROMANCE QUEEN.

5 Stars
4 on the spice scale

CW... she has a whole list on her website. Too many to list..
Also, remember, this does not have an HFN/HEA. This is a true trilogy with cliffhangers after the first 2 books but Book 3 will have an HEA.

A more in depth review is on my Youtube Channel: The Book Refuge.

[Jennifer Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ferocious. Haunting. Bone-chilling and raw.
Hooked from page one, I stayed up well into the nights devouring every word of this masterpiece, knowing each one served a purpose.

A villain so subtly terrifying, I had a pit in my stomach every time he was on page. A heroine with fire and heart. Three broken Alaskan men, each one mesmerizing and delicious in their own right.

And one man in particular, who was so unique, tragic, and witty, I’ll be hard-pressed to find another character in any book that will ever top him.

This story is dark, brave, and complex. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be spinning theories over in your mind long after the final cliffhanger has been read.

It’s no secret Pam Godwin has a way with storytelling like no one else. But this one? This is more than a book; it’s a spine-tingling journey, a roller coaster of emotions and twisted secrets that left me stunned and in tears. I’ll never forget it.

[Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5* Book one of a three book series. I’m going to keep this review spoiler-free and vague. It is best to go in without knowing too much.

The story begins with Frankie (29), as she is abducted and taken to a remote cabin in Alaska. She must navigate the twisted desires and dark secrets of the four feral men holding her captive.

I’m not dealing with healthy individuals.

I could not put this first book down! A chilling sense of isolation and foreboding permeates this story, but Frankie brings so much hope that you can’t help but feel things will turn out ok.

Age gap
Psychological, atmospheric thriller
DARK
Secrets on top of secrets
Complex characters
High suspense
Multi POVs
Strong & independent FMC
Cliffhanger!!

As Frankie delves deeper into the mysterious pasts of these men, the story takes on an eerie quality, with an insidious evil that enjoys manipulating love and loyalty.

“I’m an engineer. An inventor of exquisite closeness. A creator of love and unbreakable bonds.”

This series is not for the faint of heart, but if you enjoy dark, psychological thrillers with a touch of the macabre, this is an entertaining journey. Haunting and unforgettable.

“I hate you.”

“You make it your job to ensure I know that. You want me to feel unwanted here. Unprotected. Alone. Miserable.” I lift a shoulder. “Guess what? I feel all those things. I’m sad, lost, despised, and scared out of my fucking mind. So congratulations. Job well done.”

On the not-so-positive side, I felt that the FMC was written a bit “not like other girls.” It also felt odd that her appearance was mentioned so many times in this book. She has a tiny waist, tiny tits, tiny fingers, tiny body, tiny ankles. We get it, she’s minuscule. However, she was an ass kicker, and I didn’t care how small she was, I really liked her character!

*The artwork for each character at the beginning of their individual chapters was beautiful.

**These books are LONG, my hoopla copy was 762 pages.

Spoiler free TWs from author’s page:
Abduction
Blood
Bondage
Bullying
Dubious consent/Non-con (nonviolent but under emotional duress)
Emotional abuse
Manipulation
Mental illness
Starvation
Wild animal death (self-defense)

Tropes for the entire series from the author’s page: Abduction, Adult Romance, Alpha Hero, Angsty, Anti-Hero, Band of Brothers, Billionaire, Bully, Captivity, Dark Romance, Enemies-to-lovers, Escaping a Killer, First Love, Forbidden Love, Forced Proximity, Found Family, Poly (3+ people), Protector, Romantic Suspense, Scars, Slow Burn, Stalker, Survival, Taboo, Tortured Past, Touch Her And Die, Tragic, Vengeance, Virgin Hero, Why Choose.

[Koisty · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Henry Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

This is not a Dark Romance. It is completely and utterly depraved!

Note: If you react to trigger warnings or if things upset you when you read about them in books...I wouldn't recommend this book. This book includes aspects that many WILL find problematic, but I won't let that hinder my thoughts or opinions. I urge you to separate "real" reality from fiction and take this for what it is. As much as it's problematic, it's a book. Just because I have read about it, does not mean I condone or approve of the actions of the characters in this book.

Normally, when a book is dark, I would say these characters need "quite a lot of therapy for their issues." And while that is true for some of them, some of them just straight up deserved to die. A horrible, painful death. I have never really read a psychological thriller before, but this book made my mind go places that I normally wouldn't.

It follows Frankie, who is married to an older billionaire, Monty. One day Frankie tells her husband she is pregnant, and he disappoints her by asking for an abortion. Before she has a chance to leave him, however, as she wants to keep the baby - she is kidnapped by Denver, stuffed in a box, and taken to a remote cabin in the middle of the Arctic. Denver has brought her home as a "gift" for his boys, Kody, Leo, and Wolf. What follows is a power struggle of survival, uncovering secrets, and an urge to escape home.

This book is dark, heavy, and can be brutal, vicious, vivid, and most of all uncomfortable. But despite the perpetual unease in my stomach, I still couldn't stop reading. I was completely and utterly enraptured by the utter oppressive, anxious vibes this created. It really forced me to go into my mind and question how I would react if I were kidnapped and forced to live in a frozen tundra where escape is literally impossible. Coming to terms that the only way you can survive is by succumbing to the demands of your captor.

There were a lot of What The Fuck moments. What the fuck in questions, What the fuck answers, and then just a whole bunch of what the fuck, what the fuck's? The pure outrage that I felt by what these characters went through with their trauma. The situations that these men have faced and have to deal with and the pure isolation that they have, just left my mind reeling.

I have utter respect for Frankie. She is the epitome of survival. Feisty, determined, and strong, and has a set of teeth on her. I loved the dynamic that she had with Leo, Kody, and Wolf, and I loved how she was able to give each of them a part of a relationship that they needed and craved in their isolation.

I'm not going to say too much about the boys because I want you to form your own opinions of them, and a lot of my feelings revolve around the reveals that get made in the book that explains why they are the way they are. Just know that while I was uncomfortable, I enjoyed every minute of it. This is not an easy read. I would check the triggers. If you are somebody that is sensitive, this might be a little much for you. I, however, went in completely blind, and I think that helped me with the enjoyment. I did not see the shocks, twists, and turns the story took.

I was completely and utterly expecting some cannibalistic shit happening up in these mountains. I think I played a little bit too much on me believing this is a weird combination of Yellowjackets and Lord of the Flies. There were definitely similarities in themes from these stories, especially the inherent evil that exists within humanity without civilization to guide the laws and the savagery that comes with this lack of humanity. It was interesting to see how these men's opinions and views of society have been shaped by what has been very carefully shown to them and given to them by their fathers. How he has intrinsically shaped them into a perception of a "happy dominant hierarchy" that is precariously perched on the edge of destruction, challenged by Frankie's presence.

I loved the push and pull and angst between the brothers and how the tension of Frankie being there disrupted the dynamic. I am still reeling from that ending and everything that happened, and I would just like to say hats off to Pam on this book. I totally thought she was going to go in the direction of a sex fest in the cabin with four big, brawny Alaskan men, and all the hankie-pankie and steam you could imagine. And while there are definitely aspects of smut, that is very much a slow burn, that takes quite a long time to develop. The majority of the book is spent uncovering the complex layers of these characters and how their trauma has shaped them.

In the end...some of the aspects I read left me uncomfortable, and in some of them, I was a puddle of goo. I can't stop thinking about this...

The Trope Summary (and some triggers that might be tropes):
▶ Multi POV
▶ Kidnapping
▶ Reverse Harem
▶ Who Did This To You
▶ Touch Her/Him You Die
▶ Protective MMC
▶ Trauma Bonding
▶ Voyeurism
▶ Alpha Male
▶ Primal Play
▶ Anal Play
▶ Cheating

▶ Drugging
▶ Non-Con

Ultimately, if you like being put in a situation where you have to question your morals and how you would act in a life-threatening situation, pick this up. Ask yourself when given an impossible choice, a literal devil's bargain... what would you do to stay alive???

Thank you Pam Godwin for my gifted ARC copy.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Erika Braga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well …….


Fuck ………..

😭😭😭😭😭😭

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS

Beware of the monsters with beautiful eyes.

I...am not OK. I'm totally and completely shooketh. And I doubt anything will be OK until I can get my hands on the next installment of this series.

This is it. Only two options left. I escape. Or I die.

Having read everything Pam has ever written, this is unlike anything I've read from her to date. One of my favorite things about her writing is just how versatile she is as an author and the genres she writes it. The woman has a Midas touch, I swear. She can write a grocery list and make you cling to every word. But this new series of hers is something else entirely. Is it dark? Absolutely! It wouldn't be a Godwin book without her signature grit and dark undertones. But this story was a total and complete mind f*ck.

They were raised by the devil, and the devil doesn’t breed innocence. He breeds raw, seductive masculinity, apparently.

The first installment in the Frozen Fate trilogy read more like a dark, psychological thriller with romance undertones and the way I was riveted to each page is beyond words. I'll try to review this book without giving too many details (read=any details) away. Trust me when I tell you that you need to go into this story absolutely blind.

Apologize.” She walks right up to him like he’s not about to go full Hulk on her ass.
“Excuse me?” His head jerks back.
“Apologize for the threats you’ve made against my life and the way you’ve treated me since day one.”
He laughs, hollow and vibrating with evil. “Go fuck yourself.”
“You will.” She smiles. “One day, you’ll crawl to me on your fucking knees, begging me to forgive you. But it’ll be too late. You will be the one fucking yourself.”
Extending her middle finger, she walks out the door and slams it behind her.
“Goddamn.” I’m in love.

Frankie is an absolute bad*ss of an FMC. She's fiercely independent and madly in love with her husband. But then her world tilts on its axis after a devastating fight leaves her alone, vulnerable, and kidnapped. Taken to a remote location in Alaska that can only be escaped by a plane, she's left at the mercy of a devil and his sons. Nothing is as it seems and the only thing clear is she's not safe. She doesn't know who to trust and where to turn. Mourning her marriage and what could have been, she finds herself being drawn to the 3 intense men occupying the house and the devil who seems to keep them on a tight tether. When I tell you I was greedily turning the pages desperate for just one morsel of information. The chemistry is fiery but it's very much a slow burn. The sexual magnetism of the men is on a whole other level. And no, I won't name them. Trust me on this.

Frankie is fierce and savage and I couldn't get enough of her. And the men? My heart hurt for them, I hated them, I was at the edge of my seat just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I need you to hate me, Frankie. Hate me the most. But we’re not staying away from this.” I gesture between us. “When I grovel and beg and crawl on my knees, I expect our hate-fucking to be the best fucking either of us will ever experience.”

And then that ending hits you with the intensity of a Mac truck and you're trying to make sense of what just happened and you can't. I have no idea the direction that Pam will take their journey but I know I will eagerly brace myself for what's sure to be one wild ride.

This was a dark romance with psychological thriller vibes that will grab you by the throat from page one and not let up until the end. It will leave you desperate for the next book and wondering what side is up. UTTERLY DELICIOUS.


ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

Find me on:

[Kristina Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars (rounded down)

I picked this up because a friend told me that if she could read one book again for the first time, this would be it. And honestly, this just proves how subjective reading can be. While I did like it, I don’t think I loved it as much as most people seem to. I’m still a little conflicted about my rating and feel like I need more time to process it.

Just to be clear—my rating has nothing to do with the triggers. But it does get dark, so if you plan to read it, definitely check the trigger warnings.

This was definitely a thrilling read. The premise was really cool and had me hooked from the start. But the romance leaned more toward a trauma bond between the FMC and the MMCs—which is understandable given how dark the story gets—but I found myself wishing for a little more spark or lightness to balance it out. Unpopular opinion maybe, but the romance just felt… kinda weird to me.

My biggest issue, though, was the length. The book easily could’ve been condensed; there were several parts that felt repetitive and dragged on. And that “cliffhanger”? It didn’t really hit for me. Still, there are definitely questions I want answered—ones that somehow didn’t get resolved in 700 pages—but I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to another 700 pages just yet.

Overall, I did enjoy it, but the fact that I’m not aching to pick up the next book probably says I didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would.

[Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️]

I am awful and was supposed to read this before it's 3/12 release date. PG is one of my favorite authors, so I feel bad. But better 5 days late than never, so off we go!

***ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review***

[Lacey (laceybooklovers) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was… wild. And I’m so sad I didn’t love it more.

First off, PLEASE check trigger warnings. There’s straight up incest, pedophilia, rape in this book. I personally wasn’t triggered by anything, but there are some intensely dark and traumatic topics in this book.

I was so excited to read a new Pam Godwin romance. I adore everything she writes and when she said she had a reverse harem/why choose series coming out? I was THERE for it. Unfortunately, this 600+ page book truly felt like a 600+ page book. It was unnecessarily long and endless. I also can’t say I’m into the romance… yet. I do see the potential of it, and I do want to read more to see how things work out, but I would consider HoSaS to be more of an erotic thriller.

It starts off with the heroine finding out she’s pregnant, and her billionaire husband not wanting the baby. She prepares to leave him, but before she actually does, she’s kidnapped and taken to the middle of nowhere, Alaska. She finds herself with 4 men, a father and his 3 grown sons. Denver is the psychotic, evil kidnapper, and the only one with any knowledge of how to escape their wintery cage.

This book is like Credence on steroids. I truly had no idea what I was getting into, about the horrors that Frankie, Leonid, Kodiak, and Wolfson would encounter, that they’ve been encountering at the hands of Denver. There’s some hope at the end of this first book… but barely. Pam Godwin does a great job with setting up the atmosphere of this book and transporting you to a deserted wintery landscape, but I just can’t say that I actually loved the story. But I am invested enough to want to see where it goes.

Also, it’s been mentioned a few times that Pam is ending this series as MFM? If so, I feel bad for that 3rd son lol.

******

A new Pam Godwin book! AND it’s why choose!!!

[Clarice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Frankie may be the dumbest fmc that I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading. From her thoughtless actions that nearly get herself and everyone else killed to her dumbass, hollow Pinterest quotes. Also how convenient that only the alpha male good guy protagonists are left alive at the end?

The pedophilia came out of fricken no where. I know the author provided a list of trigger warnings, but ya nothing could have prepared me for that reveal.

As much as the author was shopping this around as a poly romance it’s not. It might turn into one eventually, but the first book was very much not a poly romance.

My favorite character ends up committing suicide at the end, so there was that too. Apparently he wasn’t good enough for Frankie because he wasn’t an “alpha male” like his brothers. Somehow his brothers had no loyalty towards him at the end? Literally what the hell. But also maybe he’s not dead?! Since Kodiak didn’t bring back a body or mentioned that he saw him not breathing. There’s no way he’s alive though in the middle of an Alaskan winter in the tundra. He’d die from exposure before anything else.

Other things that bothered me:

The sex read like a bad porno.

No emotional depth to the characters or between the characters.

The villain gets yeeted at the end and we still have 2 long books (this is always a big red flag to me as later books usually lack conflict to drive the plot).

Brad fricken Pitt gets referenced way too many times in this book!!!!! It drove me nuts.

The writing was a telling and no showing. There was no suspense when there should have been.

The more than likely expired birth control situation. There’s no way birth control would be effective years after the expiration date. That was the most unbelievable part of this book.

I’m only reading the next book if it turns out some how that the brother who committed suicide is alive and that Frankie actually gives him a chance.

[Annica ⚡️ annica_reads_books ⚡️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who read thrillers before diving into the deep end of dark romance, reading “Hills of Shivers and Shadows” felt like I could have my cake and eat it too. It’s the perfect dark, romantic suspense story - a marriage of everything I like to read in a book.

"If hell exists, this is it. The place where evil reigns."

The atmospheric writing transported me straight into the Alaskan wilderness with the complex cast of characters. The plot is paced well and I was never bored. The characters and the story are multi-layered and unpredictable! This book is marketed as a slow burn, and that’s true, but it didn’t feel like that while reading it. There are two characters in particular that I thoroughly enjoyed whenever they got page time – one of them good, and one of them evil. I won’t tell you their names.

“This place…” His gaze drifts over the empty hills, his tone deep and resonant, like hollow notes striking the walls of a tomb. “This place wants to kill you.”

I will not spoil a moment of this book for you because I feel like it’s best to dive in as blindly as possible. Readers beware – this book ends on a cliffhanger that will pick up where the reader left off in the second book in the trilogy. Also, check the trigger warnings. This book has many of them.

"Reality and nightmare are so tightly meshed I can no longer distinguish where one begins and the other ends. It’s as if I’ve been thrust into a twisted realm, where the boundaries of horror have been pushed beyond their limits."

I ate this story up, and I am more than ready for the next book in the trilogy!

You can find the trigger warning list on Pam's website. I've linked the specific trigger warnings for this book here:
Hills of Shivers and Shadows Trigger Warnings

[Brittany Ferraro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think I could write an adequate book review for this book if I tried. But just know that this was fucking brilliant.

It’s for sure going be one of those books that lives with me forever. So dark, so twisted a story that literally had me hooked from the very begging.

My jaw is quite literally still on the floor that wasn’t just a book that was a fucking experience.

Please excuse me while I go stare at the wall for the next week trying to wrap my brain around this masterpiece. Infinity stars. Forever haunted. READ IT


I just know the series is gonna be a fucking Roman Empire for me👏🏻👏🏻

[Poppy Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

Bloody hell this was gruelling 🥲 check your triggers there are so many on page, graphic scenes in this

Frankie gets kidnapped and taken to a remote cabin in remote Alaska, by Denver, and meets his 3 sons, Kody, Leo and Wolf.
Throughout the story we slowly uncover the horrific truth of why she’s there (kind of) and the life they have all been living (which is so dark and so messed up) that’s all I can really say without spoiling the book. Winter draws in, they’re all stuck and they need to keep their captor Denver alive as he is the only who can work the generators and fly the plane…

I actually really like the concept of the book and the setting but I don’t think the execution of the romance and the pacing is quite there for me in this book!

For starters, the book is way longer than it needs to be it’s 600 pages and could definitely be 400, it was very repetitive through the middle, and I found myself getting so frustrated with the lack of answers about why Frankie was kidnapped..

Kody & Leo are basically the same character and Wolf is the only one with a distinctive personality however I do like each of them more so as the book goes on
The romance is pretty non existent however the boys are so so traumatised that their love for Frankie (and hers with them) is all built on trauma, it’s literally trauma bonding at its finest which I understand, but with a story this dark I feel like I need a spark of some genuine real romance

The plot doesn’t really progress much it’s very slow moving, however I am also quite hooked by it at the same time because I seriously need answers as to why Denver is this way, what made him to do the things he did and how Frankie ties in to all of this

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m speechless at this story.
I don’t like RH but this is another level. The connection and power between the characters are unique.
It’s worth reading.

[Shelby · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

Dark and spicey yes, suspenseful at points but romance it was not 🥲

28 year old Frankie is pregnant and married when she is kidnapped from her home by a man she doesn’t know called Denver, who takes her to his 3 sons on an island he owns called Hoss.

Some things I liked, but lots more I didn’t like 😭.

Pammy G is one of, if not the best dark romance writer out there. Her prose is mustard, some of the descriptions in this book had me by the throat. Reading about Hoss made me want to lock all the doors in my house in the middle of the day.

The concept is great, I was hooked right from the start. This book is darkkkkk. The way it doesn’t hold back and have boundaries is admirable but the execution of the dark content was so poor it was almost offensive 😵‍💫

What started off as good, progressively got worse 😩 It was 3⭐️ until 60% when things went really south for me.

The majority of the book is largely repetitive. Frankie asks a question, everyone ignores her 😂 for 500 pages of the book it’s her asking the same questions, trying to find out why she was taken, and not getting anywhere. The mystery behind her kidnapping is annoyingly dragged out. I was ready to tear my hair out at the drawn out evasiveness and if Frankie asked ONE MORE TIME why she was taken.

I swore down I’d never read another Why Choose again and this book reminded me of why I made that oath. I broke it for Pam but wish I hadn’t. Because despite being 700 pages, like all WC, so much relationship development is lost and rushed and one relationship favoured. There was ZERO romance, just spice and I saw another review on here where someone said the spice read like a bad porno hahahahahaha they’re not wrong.

It’s VERY insta lust from the boys, Wolf she barely speaks to and by 50% he loves her?? Sure they’re not normal boys, they’ve never left Hoss but that’s just it. It was the way they were all so maddeningly horny for her and crazy in love despite their horrific pasts?? These boys are damaged, and their trauma was cheapened by how hysterical they were to get into her pants.

We don’t get to see Frankie truly bond with any of them. There’s one scene where she tells them about her life and where she’s travelled to in the world and that’s it. No real development or cause for their insane obsession with her and instinctual need to protect her. And for her to protect them?!

And Frankie as an FMC 🙄 She was pretty damn conveniently perfect. And of course she was different, she really wasn’t like the other girls 😂😂 Bad stuff happened to her during the book but nothing in her past that defined her or impacted the choices she made today? ShE’s So StRoNG but why? She was squeaky clean and didn’t feel real as a consequence. I couldn’t connect with her or find her remotely likeable. I didn’t know her. I beg someone tell me what this woman even wanted from her life prior to being kidnapped?

Tbh apart from Wolf, Kody and Leo sounded exactly the same, their internal monologues identical. Wolf was the only semi-fleshed out character.

Leo’s inner monologue:
‘𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐲, 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞, 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐀 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦, 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.’

Sorry Ashley Cutler is that you? Am I reading Sea of Ruin? Because what 30 year old artic man who has never left an island, never integrated with society, thinking/talking like that 🤨😭🤣

By the end, SO many things didn’t make sense to me. There’s suspending belief and then there’s mine which I need to make MISSING posters for. The last 30% I skim read whilst heavily rolling my eyes and now the major conflict has been solved I can’t believe this will be a trilogy 🤨 red flaggggggg.

I won’t be reading the second book.



********************SPOILERS*************************


So these were a few plot points that I thought were either WILD and/or didn’t make sense to me.

Denver 😑 part time pedo, full time rapist. The man doesn’t like violence or force, that’s why he won’t rape his sons, hence he kidnaps Frankie to force their submission. But he’s happy to rape the women 🤨 ?? And judging by the horrific scars on Kodys back, the kin punishment, the way he kidnapped and sedated Frankie, oh and all the other women who died, I’d argue he fucking loves violence 😂😂😂 so that’s a load of bollocks. Nice try Pam. She wanted a good reason for him to kidnap Frankie but it didn’t work.

The big reveal at 60%, the various rape scenes and the gravity of the situation I stg Frankie just took on the chin 🤣🤣 so much of her responses to what happened was unbelievable.

It was the way she easily made that deal with Denver. I will let you rape me so you don’t hurt the boys 🙃🙃
it was like she agreed to let him make her a cup of tea?? Stop it.

Imagine for a second you watch a 48 year old fully grown man, a supposed father raping his 23 year old son 😩 if that wasn’t bad enough you then find out your kidnapper is a pedophile, why he took you, and the horrors those boys have been subjected to their whole lives You’ve also had a miscarriage, found out about your husband’s infidelity. I’m sorry but a red headed nurse from Sitka is not mentally stronger than any normal person to deal with all that 🤣🤣 you would be inconsolable. Maybe even suicidal. This is every woman’s worst nightmare. But Frankie? She had a wobble but ultimately she just can’t wait to shag Leo and Kody 😂😂😂 you would not be sleeping with anyone after what this woman has been through.

Because literally 5 minutes after Denver has raped her in THE ASS 🥲💀 she consensually lets Leo do it while Kody watches 🤣🤣🤣🤣 she basically stayed face down ass up, rape completely forgotten. THIS WOMAN WAS RAPED. Imagine that for a second. Then imagine being horny enough to do it again. Reading these scenes felt wrong and diminished the abuse 🥴

Similar to when Wolfson was raped after not being touched for 10 years by Denver, he’s ready to shag Frankie immediately after????

I get that it’s a book, it needs to be entertaining but given the dark content and what these characters go through it doesn’t sit right with me to just ‘suspend belief’, it felt wrong. If you’re gonna go this dark, and give characters this kind of abusive past/trauma you’ve got to do it properly and have them reacting accordingly.

[The Romantic Rush Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLY SMOKES! I AM SO OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK. Y’all, hands down this is one of my favorite reads of the year. Pam Godwin at her VERY best. Epic, haunting, devastating, and endlessly captivating. This book owned me completely- wrecked and gutted me and consumed me whole. This is a masterpiece of heart-wrenching storytelling- I could not tear myself away from these pages. The Hills of Shivers and Shadows is inspired. It’s fierce, it’s bold, it’s unflinchingly provocative.

From the first chapter I knew this story would wreck me. Mesmerizing but deeply flawed characters, dubious motives, a gripping “meet-cute,” and so much drama. It’s a vornado of intriguing elements. And the way Pam utilizes tone and setting to create this whole world, this whole experience? Truly chef’s kiss. The vibe of this story is so well realized it’s palpable. Just read the first chapter- and you there’s no going back. It all starts with an abduction….and then what unfolds is a messy, shocking, and heartwrenching story of survival…in more ways than one.

This book, my friends, is when dark romance meets profound depth and emotional substance. Pam Godwin truly elevates the genre with the complexity, with the emotional resonance, with the power of her prose. Each word is a visceral and emotive experience. Because this is a story with a point of view. Oh it’s wildly entertaining, full of suspense and twists and spice and heartache, but most of all it’s a deftly written and deeply provocative labyrinth of existential curiosity. An exploration of humanity, the most pure and beautiful and redemption sides. But also the darkest, most depraved, and most broken. Like the raw beauty and harsh dangers of the Alaskan wilderness that surrounds, our characters find themselves in situations and conditions that peel them back to their true essence. She eviscerates these characters, opens them wide. It’s psychological riveting, but also incredibly moving. Pam grapples with so many themes that are the center of our being. What makes us who we are, nature vs. nurture, the meaning of freedom, what truly can break the human spirit, what even is survival, and if we can truly survive when we’re broken. And broken they are. Triggers abound. Does humanity make the human? Or does the human define humanity?

This book is LONG, but I flew through it. Each word, each moment perfectly constructed. The characters are so complicated. Pam delivers a gritty and complex character journey for the core characters. Keep an open mind, question everything, and prepare to fall for some very broken and tragically haunting men….or villains? And our heroine Frankie. Oh my, what a center. She’s all interesting dichotomies, fierce and soft, gentle and tough, resilient but broken. She’s all the pieces of our human-ness rolled into one mesmerizing lead. And the plot? Gah, hang on tight. Twists, turns. Shocks. Trauma. Healin.g. Victories. Losses. I cried, quite a bit- this story shattered my heart in so many ways. Beautiful ways, and devastating. I have so many theories about what’s happened, what’s to come, but all I know is that this survivalist, existential allegory has much left to still unfold. And that the path forward will be brutal but beautifully captivating. I sobbed at the end of this story, and I know there are many tears to come.

There are triggers. LOTS OF THEM. If you don’t have them I recommend going in blind. This is meant to be an experience, one we experience side by side with our heroine. And there is a devastating ending and a cliffie that DESTROYED me. My heart broke repeatedly for these characters, but I have not thought so hard about a book in a long time. I’m still thinking about it- and I’m desperate for more.

Brava, Pam, Brava.

❄️Abduction/Forced Proximity/Captivity
❄️Dark (very dark, take trigger/content warning seriously)
❄️Alpha Heroes
❄️Angst/Drama
❄️Trauma/Broken Characters
❄️Billionaire
❄️Survivalist
❄️Enemies to lovers
❄️Thriller/Plot Twists/Suspense
❄️Why Choose/Poly
❄️Virgin Hero
❄️Slow Burn
❄️Taboo elements
❄️Isolation/Off the Grid

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

—dark romance
—abduction
—check TW, it’s heavy
—anti hero
—first in series

Pam Godwin never fails.

And Hills of Shivers and Shadows was no exception.

This book was dark, full of suspense, and just all around page turning read. The characters were quite interesting with their different personalities, traits, and the plot twist with one of them was something I was NOT expecting. Tbh, I didn’t expect a lot that happened in this book to happen, it was a wild ride that I want to continue on.

Check TW first, and if you’re comfortable after reading those, add this book to your TBR if you’re in the mood for a dark romance to take you on a rollercoaster ride full of twists, turns, and you’ll have a hard time putting this book down. In true Pam Godwin fashion, this book was highly unique and different in the absolute best way.

enjoy 💫

[Jessica Shaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars - this was traumatizing to read lol. I NEEDED to know if they escaped their psychopathic captor’s island but also… this was soooo dark & fvcked up. Jfc I’m going to have nightmares now 😅.

It also dragged on a lot and the smut felt excessive.

I was so confused as to who all of these people on the island were. When I found out I wanted to puke… so scary and sad😭. Don’t ask me why I kept reading

[Tatianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Credence meets Little Bird Lost and The Great Alone to create a chilling exploration of survival and resilience in the face of the purest evil and the harshest climate.

Hills of Shivers and Shadows by Pam Godwin is a dark psychological why-choose romantic suspense set in Alaska. It's the first of an epic trilogy, with all books set to release this year.

Frankie Novak is a 28-year-old trauma nurse and the wife of one of the wealthiest businessmen in Sitka, Alaska. She is abducted from the safety of her home and taken by plane to a remote location in Northern Alaska — erased from civilization, just like that. She finds herself captive in a homestead with four very complicated men and zero understanding of why she was targeted. What follows is a disturbing and captivating story that had me on the edge of my seat; a fantastic start to a trilogy that I feel will be a top read of 2024.

Note: there are many content warnings for this story and the author has kindly provided a list here on her website. If you are someone who has hard lines or can be sensitive to certain dark subject matter, I definitely urge you to read responsibly and take a look.

In this desolate land, death dwells.

Pam Godwin never disappoints! Her storytelling is on another level and I've been salivating for this one ever since she first hinted at it on Instagram. This story was everything I expect from Pam Godwin and more; it was alluring and shocking with cinematic intensity and incredible character chemistry and dynamics. The plot had me gripped and the Alaskan setting lends so well to her particular style of dark romance. At times it felt like I was trapped there too, right alongside Frankie.

“There’s nothing wrong with hope.”
“It crushes, darling.”

This story is an undertaking both in length and emotional density. It's not easy to digest. It gets quite dark and emotionally heavy with little reprieve as hope dwindles with each page. The darkness in this book is insidious, creeping beneath the reader's skin and twisting into something truly sinister and malevolent.

The four demons of Hoss are my constant shadows, taking shifts in their vigilance, always watching, even when I can’t see them.

I took my time with this story. I've not read many reverse harem romances, and when I do, I find I need to slow down in order to get to know the many characters and differentiate between the multiple POVs. I won't say anything about any of the men because I don't want to lead any readers into thinking a certain way. These are characters that you want to meet for yourself! But I will say that there are some I absolutely adore and others I hate with every fibre of my being.

This is a slow burn with multiple players, but when the spice hits it feels like the sweetest indulgence in an otherwise hopeless and brutal world.

In the dark, we all lose our way.

This book is difficult to review; being the first in a trilogy means that it is setting a foundation for the core story and also slowly unraveling a mystery which I can only assume crosses all three books. There are a few reveals that truly shocked me and it ends on an intense and heartbreaking cliffhanger. I personally love cliffhangers (I am an emotional masochist) and this ending left me positively feral for Cage of Ice and Echoes ... I need to know what happens!!

This story is intricate and definitely doesn't fit in a box, but I seriously urge anyone that likes dark romance to pick this up when they are wanting something dark, immersive and heavy.

I'm so grateful to Pam Godwin for generously providing this arc in exchange for my honest review.

[warhawke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Dark Romantic Suspense
Type: Book 1 of 3 from Frozen Fate series
POV: First Person - Multiple
Rating:




Frankie Novak had a charmed life until she was abducted and taken to a remote Alaskan wilderness. But the harsh landscape was only a small part of her challenges when there were four men hungry for more than just sustenance.



I have to admit I dreaded starting this book because of the length. I’m so glad it was worth it. The story was dark and engaging, with a good balance of suspense, sexiness, sadness, and humor.

“I’ll take any scrap you’re willing to throw my way. Scraps are better than nothing, because nothing is all I have.”

Each character had their appeal, no matter how misguided they might be. Wolf was my favorite right from the beginning. And I can’t help but admire Denver’s ingenuity in getting things his way.

Hills of Shivers and Shadows is a story of survival and unbreakable bonds. It would appeal to readers who enjoy forced proximity, dark romance.



Books in the series:




🪵❄️🪵. . . (F)BR with Twinsie CC, Loyda & Liz . . . 🪵❄️🪵




For more reviews/interviews/book talk/promo visit:



For graphics, trailers & author services visit Warhawke Design Studio.

[Vanessa Booked Up · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+ STARS!

"They stripped me of everything, including freedom, and now, I must survive alone in an unfamiliar world."

OMG, I have read just about everything this author has written, yet this story completely floored me!! It was so compelling, addicting, dark, scary at times...I felt every emotion!

Frankie is a nurse married to a wealthy man who has just learned some unexpected news. Her husband and her have an argument. She asks him not to work late that night, so they can talk when he gets home. But unfortunately, that talk never happens, because Frankie gets kidnapped before her husband ever makes it home.

When Frankie finally makes it to her destination, one that can only be reached via plane, she finds that she's now at the mercy of a man and his three sons. This book was the biggest mindf@ck for the reader as much as it is for Frankie. The good guy and bad buy designations kept changing.

"The odds are stacked against me. I’m not smart enough. Not skilled enough. Not brave enough.
It’s me against my shortcomings. But no matter what happens, I won’t let fears and insecurities be my downfall.
This is going to be hard. It will probably hurt like hell. But I will survive it."

I loved and hated these characters. Leonid, Kodiak, and Wolfson are the sons and my heart broke for the hell they've had to endure in life. They are all so well written with so much complexity and layers. They have been kept away from the world and starved of love.



This is a slow burn with hints of romance.. and huge parts dark, psychological thriller. And just when you're thinking this book can't get any darker or more brutal, the last hundred pages hit, and good God, what was left of my sanity went out the dang window!

This story was unhinged and pulled no punches. And for being as long as it was, it is such a fast read and I could not put it down. I am OBSESSED and need more!

P.S. This story had vibes from the following books:
- Credence
- The Great Alone

"If hell exists, this is it. The place where evil reigns."

Actual footage of me at the end of this book…

[CC · Rating 5 out of 5]

5★



Frankie Novak thought she had it all with a career in nursing and a billionaire husband until her world was upended. Abducted and taken to a remote location in the Arctic circle, Frankie must navigate her survival amongst her captors.

“But there’s something… Something dark and oily hanging in the air. Something whispering its inevitable doom in my mind.”

Narrated in multiple POV, Frankie is a fierce character choosing to find a way to escape. After she realizes the weight of her circumstances, the battle is only beginning as there is more than one threat. What ensues is a descent into physical, mental and emotional endurance. Adding to this multilayered story are the complex and diverse characters. With Alaska as the setting, the relentless tundra and winter is tangible and this intensity adds to the desperation of these characters. The story is gripping and I cannot wait to read book two.

Hills of Shiver and Shadows is about survival and sacrifice. This book would appeal to those seeking a dark psychological captive book.


*An ARC was provided for a review.*


*This was a (F)BR with Twinsie Hawkey, Loyda & Lonestar Liz*


For more reviews/reveals/giveaways visit:

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wtf did I just read? Some of the most unique and physiologically challenging words ever. Point and reason right here of how incredible Pam’s writing is. This storytelling was unmatched. I really need to process but I’m stunned. And also sobbing.

[MELISSA *Mel Reader* · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars!
(ARC provided by author)

Frankie Novak is a trauma nurse from Sitka, Alaska. She loves her job, and has built a happy life where she feels deeply loved. Then her entire world is destroyed when she's suddenly abducted and taken to a remote cabin in the wild where she's off the grid and has no communication with the outside world. She's isolated from everyone and everything, and is sad, lost and terrified. Society and rules are all gone as her life becomes a nightmare trapped at the mercy of four strangers. Held captive against her will she feels helpless, empty and alone, but she refuses to accept this unimaginable fate. As the unending eternal winter gets harsher, more answers are slowly revealed. All she has left is hope, and she won't give that up. There is nowhere to run, but she can't stop fighting to find a way out. She learns she's stronger than she thinks, and no matter what she's determined to survive and have her freedom back.

Hills of Shivers and Shadows (Frozen Fate #1) by Pam Godwin is a psychological thriller that will blow your mind. Nobody does dark romance quite like Pam Godwin. I was completely captivated throughout, and couldn't look away or put it down. This book will take you on an intense emotional roller coaster that is tragic, intoxicating and unique. This story is a forced proximity, slow burn, taboo, enemies to lovers, dark romance about found family, self discovery, vengeance, sacrifices, loyalty, trust, survival and love. It's an extremely original romantic suspense full of secrets, mystery, desire, chemistry, tension and angst. I was completely consumed by these characters, and can't wait for the next book in this twisted, addictive trilogy!



***NOW AVAILABLE***
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CT4KYHW3?...

[Annie Månsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5⭐️ Oj, vilken bok. Vet inte vad jag väntade mig men det var inte detta. Har absolut känt väldigt blandade känslor som bäst kan beskrivas:😮‍💨🤨😢😳. Men tyckte verkligen den var bra och kunde inte lägga ifrån mig den på kvällarna.

[littlegirlbigbook · Rating 5 out of 5]

5✨ this is the darkest book i have ever read. easily one of my top favourite dark romances ever. the content is dark and dangerous and depraved and so tragically beautiful.

not me literally obsessed at the prologue. when i say i could not put this book down, i mean it. it was a struggle every single day. finishing it was devastating because of the cliffhanger and just because of the fact that i finished it. it was wild and weird and confusing at the beginning in the absolute best ways. i was immediately gripped and intrigued and just wanted to know absolutely everything.

leo is so alpha and possessive and manly.
kody is broody and dangerous and delicious.
wolf is sensitive and broken and desperate.
the brotherhood between these three men just did it for me. they’re all so incredible, i adored these men with my entire being. their character arcs, their constant defence of frankie, their inability to resist (or even want to), their absolute incomparable love. they were feral and it made me feral in return. i want them all healed and whole and happy. they’re so dangerous but so soft & weak for her.

frankie is one of the absolute bravest and strongest fmc’s i have ever read. my heart breaks for her but those men put it back together. she is incredible.

this book consumed my every thought. i adored their unhinged, feral behaviours. my love for this dark, depraves, devastating, tragically beautiful story is unstoppable. insatiable. and so hot. the kink…i can’t even imagine how it’s gonna get better but i know it will. this book is as emotionally breaking as it is tragically beautiful.

”I can break. I can be sad. That’s okay. I’ll find my way again.”

“I can’t stay away from you.”

“When oblivion retreats, all I see is Frankie.”

“You’re so fucking beautiful it hurts to look at you.”

“It means I want you. Forever.”

“Whatever you offer, I will treasure it.”

“But you don’t need to keep it together. Not if you have a safe place to fall apart. Let me be that place.”

“You’re one of us. We’re family.”

“You’re a goddamn dream.”
“Not a dream. This is real. We are real.”

“I love you unconditionally, with the brokenest pieces of my heart. I love you like the snow loves these hills, with a heavy, dependable lethality that transcends the shivers and shadows, buries the past, and withstands the immeasurable test of life. I dare you to put a label on that.”

“I want this and only this for the entirety of our forever.”

• stalker
• kidnapping
• enemies to lovers
• forced proximity
• grovelling
• alpha male(s)
• why choose
• found family
• romantic suspense
• slow ish burn
• multi pov

*if you have triggers, check them. this book is no joke. it is extremely dark with extremely sensitive content*

thank you so, so, so much pam for an arc of a new top favourite read and i’m sorry for yelling at you in your dm’s (not that sorry).