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August Ice

by Dev Bentham (Goodreads Author)

3.46 of 5 stars 3.46 · rating details · 94 ratings · 33 reviews

It takes a special kind of person to work in Antarctica. Max Conway, an ex-Navy Seal, loves working at the bottom of the world. Like any other diver, he's tough and hard drinking. Half the year he's stuck in the States traveling the commercial dive circuit and hitting gay bars every night. The other six months he's lead safety diver at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, reveli...more

ebook, 128 pages

Published July 17th 2012 by Loose ID

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Jul 18, 2012 Ami rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mm-contemporary, mm-romance-or-erotica

After reading 1000+ stories in M/M romance genre (most of them contemporary), I always long for something that feels fresh. No need to be too out there (I don't do sci-fi or tentacle sex, that's for sure); sometimes a change of setting or having older gay guys is enough (can 40 be the new 20? :p).

This story offers that in particularly the setting. It takes place at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, where the winter-overs and the WinFly stay their duration for months (you will get to know what those...more

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May 20, 2013 Natālija rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mm-mmm-mmf

Another milestone, another Dev Bentham's book. My 900th book was Moving in Rhythm, therefore I postponed reading August Ice in order for it to be my #1000.

Although heavy on the subject matter of diving and living and working in Antarctica, August Ice kept my interest throughout. I can only imagine the amount of research that went into writing this book, and I applaud the author's ability to incorporate it into the story.

As far as characters go, Ms. Bentham didn't disappoint. All of the characte...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Jess Candela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m, read-in-2013

3.5 stars, rounding up for the unusual and fascinating setting

I loved the setting and found each of the main characters relatable and sympathetic in their own ways. And I could see the potential for friendship and sexual attraction between them, but I was surprised when they were suddenly in a Relationship and apparently heading for HEA. That must have happened off-page or something, because I certainly never saw it.

I'm also unsure how believable Max's sudden slide was, considering how long he'd...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Alina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Well, I'm torn!

I really really liked the final couple dozens pages and I rather liked the whole final third of the book. But the beginning not so much. The whole Antarctica setting was great and I loved Max - to me he's very sympathetic character, despite his flaws, but Andre at first came across as judgemental prick. I couldn't understand why he's been so mad at Max - so, you picked up a drunk guy at the bar and he passed out, well it happens to drunk people all the time and it's not that Max's...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Lou rated it 3 of 5 stars

August Ice makes for a great change in setting from what I’ve been reading lately. Max Conway is a former Navy SEAL, and is working as a diver in the Antarctic. Max is an alcoholic, and his drinking is getting out of control. Before he leaves for his 6 month trip to Antarctica, he gets drunk one night and wakes up not remembering anything. Max wakes up beside a stranger, Andre Dubois. Max can’t remember anything from the night before, and the two part ways in the morning, with Andre realising Ma...more August Ice makes for a great change in setting from what I’ve been reading lately. Max Conway is a former Navy SEAL, and is working as a diver in the Antarctic. Max is an alcoholic, and his drinking is getting out of control. Before he leaves for his 6 month trip to Antarctica, he gets drunk one night and wakes up not remembering anything. Max wakes up beside a stranger, Andre Dubois. Max can’t remember anything from the night before, and the two part ways in the morning, with Andre realising Max is a drunk. Andre dismisses Max’s ‘offer’ and Max leaves with the familiar feel of shame.

Max is ready for the plane trip to take him to his job when he sees, ‘The Guy’, Andre. Andre looks on at Max with distaste, and a mutual antagonism flares between them. Andre turns out to be a scientist that is traveling to the Antarctic for work, and Max knows that things have got to stay professional between them. The rest of the divers are homophobic, and Max has kept the fact he’s gay quiet. With the attraction he feels for Andre not dissipating, and his drinking getting out of control, the summer for Max is going to be hell on wheels for him.

I’ve a big fan of Dev’s writing, and though I didn’t like her last release, I liked August Ice a lot more. Max is a dark character, and this book is quite dark in tone which fits in with the icy setting. Max is an alcoholic in denial, and he doesn’t realise the danger he’s putting others and himself in with his drinking. He keeps telling himself that he likes the odd drink. His best friend, Annie, knows he’s a drunk, and the two of them had a toxic relationship. She puts up a front pretending to be his ‘girlfriend’ whilst Max keeps others away from her. Also, Annie would supply Max with bottles of alcohol, and in return, Max would supply her with LCD. On the days that Annie would go on an acid trip, Max would watch over her to make sure she was safe. I was horrified by their relationship and what they would do for each other.

The romance is not the strongest in August Ice. Andre is not as in-depth as Max is, and we don’t learn a lot about him or his personality. Andre is an ex-heroin user, and notices that Max is in deep trouble. At first I could understand why Andre was judging him. When the two of them became closer, I didn’t quite believe in the attraction between them. That was partly because of Max’s alcoholism because it took over the entire book. It was the third person in the relationship, and I was waiting on tenterhooks wondering when would it all come crashing down on Max.

It did all come crashing down, but how it did annoyed me. Max’s drinking becomes out of control. During one of Annie’s acid trips, Max drinks and falls asleep. Annie is found out of her head by the other teammates, and Annie afterwards blames and puts all the responsibility of her acid trip going wrong on Max. I was like, woah, wait a minute. You took drugs on your own responsibility, and you trusted a known alcoholic to keep you safe? I thought there was a terrible lack of responsibility with Annie, and she should have been fired. I didn’t understand why Andre helped with the disposition of the LCD’s. Annie deserved to lose her job, but Max ended up being the one taking the brunt.

This is the biggest downfall of Max, and it’s there that Andre helps him become sober. This isn’t shown, but we start off on the next chapter with Max a different man and ready to become a diver again. He’s now open with his relationship with Andre, and I wanted to more of Max being sober. August Ice makes for a different read, and I did enjoy it a lot more than Learning from Isaac. It doesn’t have a strong and emotive romance, but Max is a dark and flawed character that made August Ice a very interesting read. I give it a C+(less)

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Aug 21, 2012 Brie C. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Originally posted at Romance Around the Corner

Grade: 3.5

I don’t recall ever reading a story set in Antarctica, so that alone was enough to make me want to read it. Also, one of the characters is French. Enough said!

Max Conway is a former Navy SEAL with more baggage than an airport. Since he was discharged from the teams, he’s been working as a safety diver at a research base in Antarctica. During his free time he either gets drunk, has anonymous sex or both. So is no wonder that one day he wakes...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Heller rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, m-m

I'm wavering on this review. I have to say it's closer to 3.5 but I can't give a 4. It's such a beautifully written book with compelling characters but boy did it depress me.

I really enjoyed the slice of life down in Antarctica and at McMurdo Station, this was such an original location for a story, one I'd love to see more of in future books. The descriptions of life there in relative isolation were so interesting and one of the reasons why this is pushing closer to a 3.5

I'm glad there was no q...more I'm wavering on this review. I have to say it's closer to 3.5 but I can't give a 4. It's such a beautifully written book with compelling characters but boy did it depress me.

I really enjoyed the slice of life down in Antarctica and at McMurdo Station, this was such an original location for a story, one I'd love to see more of in future books. The descriptions of life there in relative isolation were so interesting and one of the reasons why this is pushing closer to a 3.5

I'm glad there was no quick fix for the characters here, most especially, (view spoiler)

I'm not adverse to reading darker more dramatic stories but I lean more towards those with a thread of hope running through them. (view spoiler)

I just think for all the darkness the characterization of both Max and Andre is a bit thin, this for me has a lot to do with the length of the story which was surprisingly short. I think with a longer story I could have come away with a deeper understanding of the character's motivations, especially Andre, who has a backstory that I think suffers from the length of the work.

Still this is a really intense, concentrated story that is wonderfully written but in the end, too dark for me. I enjoyed it and can recommend it but it's not something I'll ever go back to again.

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Sep 29, 2012 T'Lar rated it 4 of 5 stars

I went into this story a bit leery. I tend to like my romance novels on the sunnier, fluffier side, and added to the mix, addiction tends to be a dealbreaker for me in fiction because it hits too close to home. (I'm closely related to enough alcoholics that I never touched the stuff until I was in my mid-thirties.) So August Ice sounded like maybe a bit more than I generally like to bite off. But I was very impressed with the writing, and I really look forward to trying more stories by this auth...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Becky Mrs Condit Reads Books rated it 4 of 5 stars

4 1/2 stars!

Dev Bentham writes scenic descriptions that are so wonderful I was imagining whether it was feasible to consider taking a job, any job, for a tour of duty on the frozen continent… Nah. I live on the Gulf Coast and shiver miserably on our 50 degree winter days. But despite the rigors of just day to day life, the required survival course, the close quarters, and the other negatives of live in Antarctica, the appeal is written broadly in this book. I enjoyed the depth of the story and t...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Feliz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, contemporary, m-m

4.5. Great location in Antarctica, multi-layered characters; the take on addiction realistic and heartbreaking. A little too mushy ending.

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Jul 26, 2012 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: gay-romance, own-kindle-copy, reviewed, to-reread

I liked this book a lot, but not quite enough to give it 4 stars. The setting was absolutely fantastic, it was so easy to imagine the characters going about their daily routine in Antarctica. I liked both Max and Andre and it's always nice to read good female characters like Annie in a m/m romance. I also didn't find it that depressing, although I definitely felt for Max and his friends as his alcoholism worsened.

I think the book could have drawn me in more emotionally though. Andre's perspecti...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Sophia (FV) rated it 3 of 5 stars

First reviewed at Fiction Vixen

Max Conway is an ex-Navy Seal who works half the year as lead safety diver at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Gay, and living in very close quarters with heterosexual men, Max feels he must hide his sexual orientation when he is working among his fellow divers in Antarctica. Like many of the divers at the station, Max drinks a lot. With a troubled past, he turns to alcohol more than he should. While in the US before he’s about leave for McMurdo Station, after a nigh...more
First reviewed at Fiction Vixen

Max Conway is an ex-Navy Seal who works half the year as lead safety diver at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Gay, and living in very close quarters with heterosexual men, Max feels he must hide his sexual orientation when he is working among his fellow divers in Antarctica. Like many of the divers at the station, Max drinks a lot. With a troubled past, he turns to alcohol more than he should. While in the US before he’s about leave for McMurdo Station, after a night of drinking he ends up in the company of sexy André Dubois. However, due to Max’s intoxication, they don’t actually do more than occupy the same space for the night. Max passed out before they could get busy and doesn’t even remember what happened the next morning. Needless to say, André was a bit pissed off and gives Max the brush off the next morning.

André Dubois is a French scientist bound for Antarctica to do research. He is the opposite of Max in that he is openly gay and does not drink at all. As fate would have it, he is paired up with Max at McMurdo Station and things are very awkward because of their failed hookup. But living in such close quarters, it’s difficult to avoid each other.

August Ice did not really work for me as a romance. I never felt a romantic connection between Max and André. There is some physical attraction but the romantic feelings between these two men never came through for me. The bond between André and Max comes from Andre’s understanding of Max’s alcoholism when he helps Max into recovery after something disastrous happens as a result of Max’s drunkenness. I wish the romance was left out of the story and this had been a story of two people whose relationship starts as a failed hookup and blossoms into a great friendship.

What really impressed me in this story was the unique setting and the author’s ability to create such a vivid picture of what Antarctica is like. I sometimes have difficulty envisioning an unfamiliar setting—and Antarctica is very unfamiliar—but I felt as though I saw the surroundings exactly as Max saw them. Also, I don’t know much if anything about diving, but that wasn’t a problem because the author does a fabulous job placing the reader right into the setting without overwhelming with too many technical details, yet just enough so that the sense of authenticity comes through.

While August Ice did not work well as a romance for me, I enjoyed the story and the build up to Max and Andre’s new relationship, I just felt it was more of a friendship rather than a romance. The setting was fascinating; harsh, yet beautiful at the same time. I appreciated the author’s ability to draw me into a part of the world totally unfamiliar to me.(less)

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Jul 24, 2012 Mandi Schreiner rated it 3 of 5 stars

Max is an ex-Navy SEAL (man, I love those ex-seals) who now spends his time at McMurdo station in Antarctica as a diver. His job is to prepare the stations for the main season when the scientists come down to research the climate and other scientific things. He lives for diving and for the cold, cold land. He likes to keep to himself, which is something hard to do when on assignment down there. They stay in dorm type rooms, and they see the same people every single day. The food kind of sucks, y...more Max is an ex-Navy SEAL (man, I love those ex-seals) who now spends his time at McMurdo station in Antarctica as a diver. His job is to prepare the stations for the main season when the scientists come down to research the climate and other scientific things. He lives for diving and for the cold, cold land. He likes to keep to himself, which is something hard to do when on assignment down there. They stay in dorm type rooms, and they see the same people every single day. The food kind of sucks, yet it is home to Max.

Max had some bad experiences while in the military and now turns to alcohol pretty much every day to ease his mind. It is many, many drinks of alcohol which lands him in a hotel room of a complete stranger while getting ready to fly back to Antarctica for another few months work. This stranger is Andre Dubois, a French scientist who just so happens to also be going to Antarctica. Max has no recollection of the previous night as Andre gives him the very cold shoulder in the morning. Apparently Max started the make-out process and then promptly fell asleep. Max and Andre part on bad terms, only to meet again on the plane heading south. These two will get paired up again when Max has to get Andre’s dive station ready.

I’m eager to try more of Dev Bentham’s work. I loved and adored Moving in Rhythm which I reviewed earlier this year. Then I tried Learning From Isaac but got bored and set it aside. But I like this one. She has a really nice writing style. Max and Andre really hate each other at the beginning and even the middle of the book. It takes a long time for a romance to develop in this one. Maybe a little too long. It all comes down to the fact that Andre is hesitant to forgive Max about his one night in that hotel room. Andre kind of looks at Max with disgust because Max drinks so much. Max really can’t help it though. He is definitely an alcoholic and has gotten really good at hiding it while working. Obviously a drunk diver, who is diving into extreme freezing conditions, needs to have all his wits about him. But somehow Max survives, year after year. But his actions eventually catch up to him, and he does have consequences to answer to.

This is all told in Max’s point of view, and we really don’t get to know Andre all that well. We are told of his back story but I still think we missed out on a lot of his personality. And as I mentioned, the romance takes a long time to build. Which is fine, but at the same time, I think I needed more page time of them together. The romance felt rushed at the end.

I think the strength of this book lies in the setting. I really felt like I could picture the cold, dark tundra of Antarctica and the way the author describes the dives is well done. The romance lacked a bit for me, but I still like this author’s voice.

Rating: B-(less)

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Dec 01, 2012 Tonileg rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, romance, kindle, seriously-damaged-h-h

Antarctica contemporary M/M romance with a sexy drunk diver, Max Conway and a hottie doctor researcher Andre Dubois. Max is an ex-Navy Seal who loves spending have the year in Antarctica diving in the deep cold blue, but he is quickly drinking himself to death and when there are mistakes, he loses his position with the Head Diver in Antarctica. Andre is a great guy even if he is a total jerk in the beginning, but he does have his reasons and a ton of baggage.
The story was extra short and the dev...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Kaetrin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, ebook, m-m-romance

Why I read it: The author offered me a review copy.

What it's about: (from Goodreads) It takes a special kind of person to work in Antarctica. Max Conway, an ex-Navy Seal, loves working at the bottom of the world. Like any other diver, he's tough and hard drinking. Half the year he's stuck in the States traveling the commercial dive circuit and hitting gay bars every night. The other six months he's lead safety diver at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, reveling in the cold blue Antarctic Sea. The o...more Why I read it: The author offered me a review copy.

What it's about: (from Goodreads) It takes a special kind of person to work in Antarctica. Max Conway, an ex-Navy Seal, loves working at the bottom of the world. Like any other diver, he's tough and hard drinking. Half the year he's stuck in the States traveling the commercial dive circuit and hitting gay bars every night. The other six months he's lead safety diver at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, reveling in the cold blue Antarctic Sea. The only drawback to life way down under is that Max feels like he has to tuck his libido into storage while he's on station, stashing all those free condoms for use back up north.

That is until Andre Dubois, a gorgeous French scientist, shakes up his world. Not only is Andre out and proud, he's sober as the day is long. And the days are long during an Antarctic summer. Max must choose between his comfortable inebriated closet and a life in the sun with Andre.

What worked for me (and what didn't): I enjoy this author's voice and loved the idea of the setting. I also love broken/tortured heroes so I was pretty happy to dive in to this book (pardon the pun). The descriptions of Antarctica and life at McMurdo Station were interesting and felt authentic. I'd love to visit Antarctica (well, except for the cold) - I guess reading about it will have to do for now.

The story is told from Max's deep third person POV so unfortunately we get very little of Andre. What he doesn't reveal in conversation remains unknown. The book is about 110 pages and I felt it was a little short for the story packed into it.

The author does a great job of showing the reader how screwed up Max is - Andre describes him as a "beautiful wreck", that it was difficult to see Andre's attraction and willingness to put him with him and stick with him throughout. Max is an alcoholic and in deep denial about it and he's also a closet case, so the latter certainly feeds into the former. A former Navy SEAL, he was active when "don't ask, don't tell" was in force and he believes he will get no acceptance from other divers if he comes out. The book in fact reinforces that belief somewhat, because when he does come out, his fellow Antarctic divers (with the exception of his boss) remain the homophobic bigots he knew them to be.

There is Max's alcoholism to be dealt with - and it takes a lot of the book for him to realise it's a problem and then a lot more for him to be willing to do something about it. The resolution is a few paragraphs which felt unbalanced and made me question its reality - I was so convinced by Max's early behaviour it was difficult to imagine it changing and I didn't see enough of that change in the book to completely buy it.

Then there was Max's coming out. Given how much of a problem this had been for Max and for how long, it seemed a little too easy for him to suddenly be willing to share a tent with Andre on the ice with everyone knowing they were lovers. There was no resolution to his coming out story really - the book ended with him in the midst of it at work and again, I wondered whether the flack from this would fracture his relationship with Andre and drive him back to the bottle.

I didn't have a lot of confidence in his relationship with Andre because I didn't see much of them being strong and healthy together and, like I said, I saw so little of Andre because we only had Max's POV.

All this sounds like I didn't like the book. But I did. The beauty of Antarctica, the wonder and freedom Max experiences when he dives under the ice, the sympatico he feels when diving with Andre - they were all wonderful. The writing was spare and lovely and I definitely got the spark between the couple. There were some steamy sex scenes which left me in no doubt of their physical connection. It was just that there wasn't quite enough of the good stuff to balance out the set-up and that left it being somewhat of an uneven reading experience. I would have loved another 50 pages from Andre's POV.

Grade: B-

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Aug 12, 2012 Meggie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: drama, romance

In general I did enjoy this light romance, but... everything circles simply to much around Max's problem of being an alcoholic. The main romance between Max and Andre was solid even good, but even so, something was missing in this whole storyline. I wasn't satisfied with it. And as I said, this storyline focuses on Max's problem of being a drunkard and somehow this wasn't enough. The way it ended felt rushed and undeveloped. I liked an idea about a story in Antarctica, but in this particular cas...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Julesmarie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m

So, apparently I was so fascinated by the Antarctica and Navy SEAL bits in the blurb that I completely failed to pay attention to the mentions of alcohol. Given that oversight, my expectations for this book ended up being worlds away from what it really ended up being, and I'm afraid my opinion of the book may suffer as a result.

However, now that I've gone back and re-read the blurb, it doesn't ever mention that Max is an alcoholic, nor that 90% of the book will focus on his downward spiral.

I'm...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Fashionta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: author-request, bookedup

Reviewed for Booked Up

Review at Booked Up

Here we get sent to the beautiful, yet cold continent of Antarctica during the summer months, where even during the summer it gets to subzero temperatures - brrr! I found myself having to look up photos just to get a feel of the breathtaking brilliance Antarctica has to offer.

We start off with Max waking in a strange hotel, and for the life of him, he can’t remember how he got there or even what he got himself into the night before. Ah, the wondrous dru...more Reviewed for Booked Up

Review at Booked Up

Here we get sent to the beautiful, yet cold continent of Antarctica during the summer months, where even during the summer it gets to subzero temperatures - brrr! I found myself having to look up photos just to get a feel of the breathtaking brilliance Antarctica has to offer.

We start off with Max waking in a strange hotel, and for the life of him, he can’t remember how he got there or even what he got himself into the night before. Ah, the wondrous drunken haze of the morning after. Then the room’s occupant comes in … it’s a shot of lust/hate at first sight. Only you can’t decide who hates whom the most. Haha! Max is so deeply in the closet and he finds himself blown away by Andre who, of course, is simply not impressed. He’s perfected the look ‘You’re no better than a speck of dirt’ as he glares at Max. Seems our Andre doesn’t like closeted drunks?

Then they find out that they will both be down in Antarctica, oh joys! At least Max has a good cover for while he’s at the station in McMurdo. Annie is Max’s good friend and closet girlfriend for while he’s down there. Annie helps keep Max’s secret while Max keeps her secret as well as the dogs’ “potential suitors” away from Annie. You can tell right away there is a unique but strong bond between them as friends.
Now the fun really begins! Or maybe not … Max finds he’s in charge of watching out for Andre and his student. Yippie! Oh wait, aren’t they supposed to hate each other? It’s quite funny watching them sniping at each other every chance they get, yet you can see this underling attraction that is just building. It’s really comical they way the insistently torment each other. In one moment they are sharing a beautiful scene underwater, then a scorching hot kiss followed by more glaring and grumbling at each other. Haha, it’s great!

It takes Andre swallowing his own pride to go and seek Max out. Sigh, they are so great together! Andre is actually perfect for Max. It’s also when we learn how Andre is more understanding and familiar to what Max is going through with his withdrawals. But you also get to see a glimpse of how much Andre has come to care about Max. There is this invisible string connecting them, forcing them to seek each other out – but it’s only working from a distance with them stealing glances at each other.

While Annie is an unbelievably sweet woman, there is one thing I hate about her friendship with Max. She stockpiles alcohol for him while he’s away, even knowing he’s borderline drunk. He carries around a lot of guilt, shame and humiliation for being the only survivor of all his buddies who fought in the Afghani war. She may worry about Max’s drinking problem but she’s also enabled it to continue. An incident happens to Annie where she counted on Max to watch over her (and yes, Max fucked up big time), and he winds up passing out drunk imperiling her. The subsequent scorn she deals out to him seemed a bit too harsh. An accident as a child has left her with a scarred face, now she refuses to speak to him, let alone share a room with him, turning from the very sight of him as if he disgusts her, as if he is the one with the scars. It puts a small tarnish on their friendship that is supposed to be strong. To me, they both messed up.

Max only seems to get worse, his drinking escalates and he becomes reckless; losing the respect from almost everyone except Andre. Andre keeps reaching out to Max, all Max needs to do is reach back. It’s heart wrenching to watch someone you care about spiral out of control, it’s even more disheartening to see those who are supposed to care for you look the other way. But most of the blame is laid on Max … can no one but Andre see the shame and guilt pilling up on his soul? It’s like all the people that should have seen the signs point to Max needing help, but they just vanish, turning their back on him. It is so sad. Max’s need for alcohol seems to boil over, creating more havoc. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. His guilt, shame and humiliation have him spinning out of control.

His only hope is Andre. I love Andre for the fact that he never gave up on Max. He couldn’t though; he understood Max too well. He knew what Max was most likely feeling, and knew he needed someone to care, love, and be there for him. I want my own Andre – though I might pass on the cold temperatures of Antarctica, even if it might be a beautiful yet mostly untouched continent. As much as I’d love to go to Antarctica myself, I’m not sure I’d be will to go through all the survival tests. But all the exercises they go through for the Happy Camper Schooling is insane, crazy—but hell, if it’ll save your life that you better damn well pay attention!

I give August Ice 4 stars. The struggles that Max go through are a testament to many of the struggles a lot of us go through in life. We all have something we wish to keep hidden. If only we had someone like Andre to help us break out of our shells. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it!
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Jul 18, 2012 Natalie rated it 4 of 5 stars

What I liked most: the setting! Antarctica has always fascinated me, so it was a pleasure to read a romance set there. The author has obviously done a lot of research, and the level of detail in the story is just right. I also liked Max and Andre. They're strong but flawed, both in different stages of struggling with their own demons. Why I didn't give it 5 stars: For all we know about Max, I felt that Andre was still something of an enigma. Max and Andre don't spend a lot of time together in th...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Bea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: male-male, goodreads-review

I am very surprised at the poor ratings for this book. The books I have been reading read more like plotless poor with no character development.

But this book dealt with a serious issue of alcoholism, yet to me it did not get too maudlin.

I would say that on the negative side, we did not get much character development for Andre and the book was way too short.

Overall, I enjoyed the book.

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Jul 22, 2012 Katrina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: disability, friends-to-lovers, m-m, traveling

Not a typical romance, but the focus on addiction and how it affects all types of relationships in a unique setting was a welcome change to the genre. Not overly angsty or drowning in drama, but I think some of the tension could have been heightened to give the story more drive and danger. Definitely has me curious to watch for more of her work.

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Sep 24, 2012 LDL rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a really well written books about flawed humans finding each other and finding themselves. It is more a story of individual crisis and triumph than a romance. Honestly it really is a 4 star or more book and I'm glad I've read it, but I find the pain of the main character more then I want to experience again.

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Dec 30, 2012 Elizabetta rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: free-have, action-adventure, disability-illness

4.5 stars

Loved this. The UST between Andre Dubois and Max Conway is sweet especially as things don’t go terribly well at their first meeting. I fell slowly in love with Andre. The tough compassion and understanding he eventually shows to a broken Max is enlightened and courageous. This may not be clear early on in the story but give it time...

Loved the setting: the depiction of life and sea diving on an ice station in the Antarctic is well done. Loved the characters -- all of them and especially...more

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Sep 26, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story deals with being closeted and alcoholism and the repercussions.

It was well written, has a decent pace, and believable dialogue and scenarios.

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Aug 26, 2012 Page Crusherz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyable. Great MCs, and while I didn't like the actions of the MC, I really loved and cared for him.

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Jul 20, 2012 Sorciere666 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks

Rather depressing, although nice lovestory

1 like · like · see review

Aug 24, 2012 Paws rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great location! And interesting situations. Good book. Was surprised that the main theme was alcoholism, but it was handled well.

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May 20, 2013 Danielle marked it as to-read

Shelves: author-bentham-dev

Max and Andre

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Aug 30, 2012 Jeri rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5

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Sep 09, 2012 Anke rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another read difficult to rate. When starting I had no idea where the story would head. This was not a fluffy, easy read. It dealt with some heavy topics and although the setting was unusual, the problems of MAC soon took over and were rather difficult to follow. For me there was a huge gap between MAC's darkest point and his emerging after overcoming his alcoholism. Yes, it finished on a positive note, but overall it was a gripping read, but not easy. So I go with 4 stars.

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About Dev Bentham

As Dev Bentham, I write contemporary gay romance. My characters are flawed and damaged adult men who may not even know they’re looking for true love, but when they meet their bershert, their true love, their lives are transformed. My stories are set in the real world where gay men have gay friends, families who do or don’t accept them, personal histories they’re not necessarily proud of and a myri...more

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