This is a very (very) well-written book. It demonstrates great use of language, excellent building of characters and their backstories (both MCs and supporting), wonderful humor, and overall a really good ice-queen story from an original point of view.
The book is a nonstop rollercoaster but there's hardly any "action" in it. There is so much emotional development and such complexity in the surrounding environment (supporting characters, backstory, time jumps and flashbacks, etc.) that I didn't feel like the plot is lacking in any way. It was magnificent :) I enjoyed reading it so much!
In a way, one could say that this book has too much of everything: Too much emotion, too many ice queens, too many metaphors, and too much complexity of MCs and supporting characters alike. You may think that "too much" is a negative thing, but this is not the case. In this very particular case, it serves the story and the book is better for it.
Let me elaborate: This is quite a long novel. It is not always easy to keep the reader engaged throughout a long novel. This novel has over 115K words and I could continue reading it even if it was double that number. The plethora of elements in the story, the rich language, the original POV (when have you recently read a book told solely from the ice queen's POV?), the authentic feeling of the extreme backstory, and the endless and recurring metaphors - everything comes together to create a literary jungle with a clear, albeit narrow, path for the reader.
When you read this book you are flooded with visual images, emotional highs (and lows), and profound insight into the MC's motivation and drive. The sheer complexity that the structure of the book lends to the story is a whole element unto itself. I am talking about the therapy sessions and the following scenes (which mostly precede the therapy session chronologically), and the numerous flashbacks - a complex structure yet very well-executed. It is highly organized, consistent, and justified by the MC's state of mind.
Despite the high potential for confusion, it works, and it works well. It becomes a sort of milestone, showing the reader the MC's development arc, and it anchors the reader back in the story among many time jumps. In my mind, this book has all the dangers of the jungle but also all its beauty. The structure makes it easy to go through the jungle and walk that narrow path I mentioned earlier, without losing sight of the beauty and richness of the surrounding view. The mere quantity of the elements paves the journey through this story and turns it into a rich environment, such that cannot be ignored or put aside. I literally could not put aside the reading and finished the book within a few hours of intense reading. My eyes were killing me but I couldn't stop.
So yeah, it's too much but that's not a bad thing :)
Having said all that, I must point out that this is a very "white" book (a few supporting characters are maybe Hispanic? suggested by name only). While it is not a flaw in itself, it still bothers me when there isn't enough representation for POC, especially in such a rich and otherwise varied environment. Also, I found a factual error in a piece of trivia mentioned in the book and it kind of threw me out of my headspace for a bit.
Last, and certainly not least, I would like to offer another reading of this novel. There are many self-proclaimed metaphors and numerous overt references to literary tropes such as ice queens, lack of communication between MCs, and the conflict 80% into a book... All these 'tongue in cheek' moments wrap up the novel in uncharacteristic self-awareness and humor (it could be seen as self-deprecating humor on the author's side) and turn it into a novel that can be read as a satirical take on the ice-queen trope (or any other trope that appears in the book for that matter). I find that it adds yet another layer of subtext, adding to the overall complexity of this novel.
T&T:
Tropes: ice queen, age gap, 2nd chance, miscommunication, from rags to riches, workplace romance (hot for boss), redemption through love
Triggers: PTSD, abusive family (mostly off-page), infidelity
Rating: 5 stars across the board! I am in awe of the literary creation which is this book.
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