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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
The threat of the mountain is already great for the inexperienced Cecily, but as those around her start to get caught up in seemingly unfortunate accidents, it seems there might be something more sinister at play. As she travels further up the mountain, she must keep herself safe and uncover the truth about what’s really going on.
I chose this as a fun and different read to break up my fantasy novels and it did not disappoint. The mountain setting did a lot of the hard work and was a really great place to immerse myself over the couple of days I spent reading the novel.
While the action is arguably slow to get going, I was hooked from the start and didn’t want to put it down. The tension and sense of dread is always present and at any moment things can take a turn for the worse.
I chose this as a fun and different read to break up my fantasy novels and it did not disappoint. The mountain setting did a lot of the hard work and was a really great place to immerse myself over the couple of days I spent reading the novel.
While the action is arguably slow to get going, I was hooked from the start and didn’t want to put it down. The tension and sense of dread is always present and at any moment things can take a turn for the worse.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
When struggling journalist Cecily Wong is invited to join an expedition to climb one of the world's tallest mountains, she knows that this is her chance to bring home an exclusive interview with Charles McVeigh. McVeigh is an experienced climber & hero who has conducted several daring rescues of stranded climbers in his career, & he is attempting to climb the fourteen highest mountains in the world 'alpine style' (with no help). Cecily joins his small team & immediately realises that she is out of her depth, with little climbing experience, but she has to reach the summit to bag the interview with McVeigh. Before they begin their climb, a fellow climber, Alain, mentions to Cecily about his friend who mysteriously disappeared on Everest & the strange phone call he received from him shortly before he disappeared, saying that he felt he was being stalked by someone. When Alain is found dead in mysterious circumstances, this is just the start of a nightmare which will culminate in a life-or-death struggle 8000 metres up in the 'dead zone'.
The first thing that drew me to this book is the cover, I love the colours & the composition, it's very eye-catching. I really enjoy reading about mountain-climbing, I've read several true life & fiction stories based on climbing Everest, so I was interested in reading this one. The main character, Cecily, is easy to root for as she inexperienced but not completely naïve. The pace was almost perfect, it did falter in a couple of places, however, the author always managed to bring it round, & the conclusion was great - nail-bitingly tense.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penguin Michael Joseph UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
The first thing that drew me to this book is the cover, I love the colours & the composition, it's very eye-catching. I really enjoy reading about mountain-climbing, I've read several true life & fiction stories based on climbing Everest, so I was interested in reading this one. The main character, Cecily, is easy to root for as she inexperienced but not completely naïve. The pace was almost perfect, it did falter in a couple of places, however, the author always managed to bring it round, & the conclusion was great - nail-bitingly tense.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penguin Michael Joseph UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from Penguin Michael Joseph and NetGalley.
I am not a Skier and do not enjoy cold holidays 😂 So I did need to do a fair bit of Googling during the early part of the book for the definitions of the terminology. I initially found the switch the blog posts quite jarring because the story was written in 3rd person and then blog was 1st person.
I found the writing very descriptive and I was really able to visualise the camps and the mountain, which is impressive given as mentioned above, I don't do cold! I also felt like there was strong character development in Cecily and I was really rooting for her, especially in the final scenes.
My favourite quote:
"The mountain was dangerous - but with another layer, an extra special frosting, just for women."
I am not a Skier and do not enjoy cold holidays 😂 So I did need to do a fair bit of Googling during the early part of the book for the definitions of the terminology. I initially found the switch the blog posts quite jarring because the story was written in 3rd person and then blog was 1st person.
I found the writing very descriptive and I was really able to visualise the camps and the mountain, which is impressive given as mentioned above, I don't do cold! I also felt like there was strong character development in Cecily and I was really rooting for her, especially in the final scenes.
My favourite quote:
"The mountain was dangerous - but with another layer, an extra special frosting, just for women."
adventurous
challenging
dark
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medium-paced
"'Over the years, I've learned how to not just survive in this environment, but actually thrive...My dad would always say the same thing to me: be bothered. So that's my mantra out here...Be bothered...So often fatigue - mental and physical - will stop you from caring, and small issues quickly turn into life-threatening ones in the mountains. The moment you stop caring is the moment you've lost your ability to climb.'"
Inexperienced journalist and mountaineer, Cecily Wong is surprised to be invited by ambitious, heroic and successful alpinist, Charles McVeigh (who climbs without supplementary oxygen), to join him and his team climb Mount Manasu in the Himalayas. It's one of eight mountains in the world over 8,000 metres above sea level, has a false summit and a high death rate. Cecily joins four Sherpas - Mingma, Dawa, Tenzing and Galden - Zak, a tech business CEO funding the trip, Elise an alpinist social media influencer, Grant, a filmmaker, and Doug their team leader. She knows it will be a treacherous task, but Charles has granted her an exclusive interview, which will make her career, providing she summits with him. Before they begin, a climber from another team is found dead, seemingly a tragic accident. As the expedition progresses the team encounters problems, a suspicious death and Cecily receives an anonymous note "There's a murderer on the mountain".
This high altitude thriller, told from protagonist Cecil's perspective, is tense and atmospheric. The author's experience of climbing shows in the description of the environment, events and experiences. Cecily is a well-developed character (the other characters less so) and whilst she seems weak initially, her determination to summit and uncover the truth in extreme circumstances is impressive. Gripping and atmospheric.
Thank you to the publisher, Michael Joseph Books for my copy, along with the Quiggins Chocolate-Covered Kendal Mint Cake and Espirit ear warmer headband.
Inexperienced journalist and mountaineer, Cecily Wong is surprised to be invited by ambitious, heroic and successful alpinist, Charles McVeigh (who climbs without supplementary oxygen), to join him and his team climb Mount Manasu in the Himalayas. It's one of eight mountains in the world over 8,000 metres above sea level, has a false summit and a high death rate. Cecily joins four Sherpas - Mingma, Dawa, Tenzing and Galden - Zak, a tech business CEO funding the trip, Elise an alpinist social media influencer, Grant, a filmmaker, and Doug their team leader. She knows it will be a treacherous task, but Charles has granted her an exclusive interview, which will make her career, providing she summits with him. Before they begin, a climber from another team is found dead, seemingly a tragic accident. As the expedition progresses the team encounters problems, a suspicious death and Cecily receives an anonymous note "There's a murderer on the mountain".
This high altitude thriller, told from protagonist Cecil's perspective, is tense and atmospheric. The author's experience of climbing shows in the description of the environment, events and experiences. Cecily is a well-developed character (the other characters less so) and whilst she seems weak initially, her determination to summit and uncover the truth in extreme circumstances is impressive. Gripping and atmospheric.
Thank you to the publisher, Michael Joseph Books for my copy, along with the Quiggins Chocolate-Covered Kendal Mint Cake and Espirit ear warmer headband.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Dizzyingly addictive. Breathless is the kind of book that will keep you turning pages well into the night.
Amy McCulloch does such an extraordinary job of bringing the reader into the setting and her mountaineering experience gives this book such an authentic feel.
I’ve been desperate for a book like this for so long — it’s going to be a tough one to beat for me this year! A jaw-droppingly good adult debut.
A very big thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph who sent me the proof; I was utterly delighted to receive it and look forward to collecting my beautiful sprayed edge waterstones edition this month.
Amy McCulloch does such an extraordinary job of bringing the reader into the setting and her mountaineering experience gives this book such an authentic feel.
I’ve been desperate for a book like this for so long — it’s going to be a tough one to beat for me this year! A jaw-droppingly good adult debut.
A very big thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph who sent me the proof; I was utterly delighted to receive it and look forward to collecting my beautiful sprayed edge waterstones edition this month.