The Ice Harvester

by G.P. Johnston

Henry Graham is an ice harvester on the run in New York’s Hudson Valley after a run-in with anti-union thugs left one man dead. Desperate to maintain cover, he scales the walls of the regal estate Lindenhurst and stumbles upon a frozen lake just as a beautiful woman falls through the ice. When he pulls her to safety, he learns that her name is Lillian Harold, an American blue blood betrothed to Charlie Cornelius, heir to a railroad magnate. As a gesture of thanks, Charlie’s father offers him a job. Henry is hesitant to throw in with the elites but still fearful of capture, so he accepts.

Almost immediately, Henry and Lillian sense an unsettling attraction toward one another. This mutual attraction between the two continues to evolve and grow until Lillian realizes she might be in love with two men at the same time. As Henry shows a great aptitude for the business, Charlie seeks to escape his destiny by seeking out adventure in the far reaches of the world. The stubborn, rebellious, and impatient Lillian turns to Henry for company and they begin an illicit affair. Soon all begins to unravel when Charlie returns home and Henry’s past finally catches up with him. Henry eventually lands in Europe. There, amidst the harrowing chaos and carnage of World War I, he makes a promise: to live through the war, return to New York and see Lillian once more.

The Ice Harvester spans the roiling conflicts of America’s gilded age to the killing fields of Europe. It is a tale of love, friendship, loyalty and betrayal as well as the American dream versus its harsh reality in a time of historic splendor and brutal savagery.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Romance, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 2018

About the author

GP Johnston has published numerous short stories, poems and essays from the smallest literary journals to the New York Times. Three of his short stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. A past recipient of Columbia University's Claire R Woolrich Fellowship in Creative Writing, GP has worked as an editor, a salesman, a deep sea fisherman, a construction worker, a taxi driver and a landscape architect. The Ice Harvester is his first novel.

Reviews

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ice Harvester is an historical fiction novel set, like Downton Abbey in the Gilded Age and WWI. The novel focuses on wealthy Lillian Harold and her relationships with Henry Graham a poor man who works for her father, and her fiance the wealthy Charlie Cornelius whose father is a railroad magnate. Lillian is engaged to Charlie, but can’t help, but be drawn to Henry. They indulge in an affair, and Lillian faces some difficult choices about her future. I liked the characters in this book, especially Lillian; she is feisty and rebellious, smoking and drinking, and you want to root for her, but she, like the other characters seem a little flat and underdevoloped, as well as somewhat faceless, especially in the beginning. However the descriptions of war were incredibly vivid and real, but by comparison the other scenes seem dull and boring. I’m also not really a fan, in general of books that split up the text in general by moving back and forth in time, as this novel does. The book was also somewhat predictable, but I was surprised, but pleased with the ending

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it took me a little while to get into the characters of The Ice Harvester, I found the romance itself and the immersion of the reader in this historical setting immensely compelling. The narrative style can be a little grating at times, as the prose is slightly repetitive and perhaps not the most imaginative - but this is more than made up for by the pace of the novel! By the end I was totally gripped by the relationships between the characters, and it was surprisingly unpredictable.

A previous reviewer mentioned that the characters were not always likeable - I agree with this entirely. However, I also think that this is what gives them such great depth, and it made me far more invested in their development. I highly recommend this book.

[Bev Torkelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept my interest and well worth the read. Loved the historical insights.

The story telling was a little stilted in spots, but the story itself was solid and carried it through any lack of passion. The historical background was very interesting and gave good grounding for the story. Overall an enjoyable read.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book through the GoodReads First Reads giveaways.

I enjoyed The Ice Harvester by G.P. Johnston very much. This is more of a historical novel with romance thrown in for good measure. The author appears to have done a lot of research of the self- made financial pioneers such as Cornelius Vanderbilt who I believe Andrew Cornelius is based off of. The author spends the majority of the novel on how the "blue blood" society viewed those members of the "have not" population and how the main character Henry Graham desperately tries to blend in with this crowd to save his life and perhaps catch the eye of the woman of his dreams, Lillian. I couldn't help but feel that I was reading a Nicholas Sparks book while reading the Ice Harvester and I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Nicholas Sparks' books.

[Kameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating of this book is based on story if I was to talk about the typos I would give it a 3.5. I was given this book and am here to give an honest review. Starting off the story made me feel as though the book may be politically motivated, but as it continued I realized the author seemed to only be motivated by the history of socialist agitators and the blue bloods of America that those agitators waged war against. The book is more related to war than anything else besides romance. War between the social classes and the drama of their circles, as well as the first world war. I would recommend this book to others who like historical fiction and whom may want to learn something while reading a great tale.

[Loretta Fielder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graham and Charlie were well-developed characters. But I wanted to know more about Alice. She appears here and there and I got the sense that she was the most sane person in the book - especially towards the end when she shamed her sister-in-law. I wanted her to come out winning somehow, but she was “dropped”.
Lilian was an enigma. At one point you think she is her own person who hates the confines of being a woman during the WWI era. But she appears to like to draw attention to herself by breaking the social mores.
Disappointing ending…problem too easily solved for Lilian and the reader; thus, not very climactic. I recommend the book; however, do not expect an ending that leaves you satisfied with the story.

[Vickie Cochran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book.
It started out as a slow read for me, as i was a few chapters in it started to pick up and it grabbed my attention. A man of no wealth saves a wealthy to do girl ( the betrothed of a wealthy business man) is put in the mix of the wealthy and given a job for his saving her life. But he has a dark secret that could ruin everything for him. A forbidden love and the love triangle and war. This story pulled at my heart. This was a good read.

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

This felt like a trilogy stripped down to the bare bones so it could be crammed into one book and the writing was generally too repetitive and not detailed enough. I was confused about which characters were part of the romance until the last third of the book.

I liked that the resolutions between Lillian and the two men and the ending weren't terribly predictable but the only character I liked was Alice. I would've rather read a book about how Alice grew into herself.

[Janice Cafarelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads. It's the story of Henry who came from the poor working class working as an ice harvester until one unfortunate night that sent him in the path of Lillian, a very well off, beautiful woman with problems of her own. As Henry finds himself thrown into her world and then into the War he knows whatever happens he will always love her.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took place in the early 1900's and involved two men in love with the same woman.It is a story about poor people and very rich people and how their lives are intertwined and how they survived to make it thru.I couldn't stop reading it because I wanted to see what happened to the two friends who loved the same woman.Very good!

[Phyllis H. Pajka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever just started a book and hoped it would never end? This was the book that I hoped would go on forever, unfortunately it didn't. It's a great read by G.P. Johnston and I really enjoyed it a lot. It's got something for everybody and you'll enjoy it if your give it a try. This is a book I may read again in years to come.

[Gary David Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

This was different than thsual love story. She lost all the end but had love for both . Does not paint the rich men who really brought about the industrial revolution in good light.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just OKAY

I read it quickly. It was fairly predictable. I could well see a younger Nicole Kidman played the female lead in a movie. I've read better, for sure. But I've also read far worse. You decide.

[Noreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book from goodreads. I knew as soon as I started this book that I would be finishing it the same day. It is a great historical fiction that kept me glued to the pages all the way through.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and started reading it as soon as it arrived. 3 days later I am finished so obviously I liked it. Very good effort for a first novel.

[Brenda Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good solid historical fiction. Good characters. I enjoyed the book. I won this book through goodreads.

[Camille Hamilton]

It was ok.