From the Bookshelf of Bound Together…

The Arctic Fury

Greer Macallister

Start date: September 23, 2020

Finish date: September 30, 2020

Discussion: A Sneak Peek~Under the Covers

Discussion leader: Diane S ☔

Why we're reading this: Under the Covers
Upcoming ARC 12-1-20
Sept 23rd thru Sept 30th
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Upcoming ARC 12-1-20
Sept 23rd thru Sept 30th

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What Members Thought

Jan 07, 2021 Carol rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, library-overdrive, published-2020, adventure, kindle, read-2021

2.5 Stars.

Disappointing.......

Well shoot! I was all ready to hunker down and read about an Arctic expedition, but got a story that begins in an 1853 Boston courtroom with a murder trial that reveals within the first couple of pages who lost their lives! Very disappointing start.

THE ARCTIC FURY is an experimental expedition of twelve diverse women commissioned by historic figure, Lady Jane Franklin, for the purpose of locating or finding out the truth about her missing husband and the Frankli

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Feb 23, 2021 ♥ Sandi ❣ rated it really liked it

Shelves: another-ctry-book-or-author, historical-history, travel, prison-mob-trials, based-on-truth, 351-more-pages-or-more

4.25 stars

This story is a bit of a flip on the normal, by one great author Greer Macallister. Based on the truth it is about an expedition to the Arctic in 1853. However this expedition was women, all women, lead by a woman. Their goal was to find the lost Franklin expedition and explicitly find John Franklin for his wife, Lady Jane Franklin.

There were many hardships on this trip for the 13 women, the least of which was putting 8 women off their ship, early, onto the ice, to prevent a mutiny. D ...more

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Jan 30, 2021 Shona Gibson rated it it was amazing

This novel opens in a Boston Courtroom in 1854. Virginia Reeve stands trial for kidnapping and murder of a wealth socialite, Caprice Collins. Virginia was the leader of an all woman expedition to the Arctic and she is juggling what to withhold and what to reveal about the true nature of their trip, especially since only 7 of the twelve members returned . Suffused with a spine-tingling aura of dread, Greer Macallister’s complex, riveting historical novel includes tantalizing glimpses of nineteent This novel opens in a Boston Courtroom in 1854. Virginia Reeve stands trial for kidnapping and murder of a wealth socialite, Caprice Collins. Virginia was the leader of an all woman expedition to the Arctic and she is juggling what to withhold and what to reveal about the true nature of their trip, especially since only 7 of the twelve members returned . Suffused with a spine-tingling aura of dread, Greer Macallister’s complex, riveting historical novel includes tantalizing glimpses of nineteenth-century women’s lives.

Virginia’s crew is motley enough. Among them are a woman who handles the sled dogs, a cartographer, an illustrator, a writer, a ladies’ maid and her pampered mistress, Caprice. Though Caprice and Virginia cross swords early on, the hardships of their trek allow them to value each other’s qualities.

In this deadly adventure horrors is always looming over the horizon. From the very beginning surviving implies that others have not. The book’s revelations are drawn out in a chronology akin to a word problem. Told on multiple points of views from
Each of the women , the past and present race towards each other from opposite directions. The plot’s restrained tension thrums, its undercurrent hurtling the story toward the dark-edged truths that await.

This historical reimagining spotlights the problems of the present. The motley crew women who form the expedition are unlikely companions. They span all walks of life. The only things that unites them are the machinations of their mysterious benefactor , who is desperate to have her husband’s Arctic disappearance solved, and their inability to fit social expectations. For these women , the call to adventure is irresistible. Their assemblage is a captivating window into the ways that race, class, and sexual and gender identities interact within the broad, shared social category of womanhood.

This book, reminds us that women had all kinds of adventures during this period, from heading out into the frontier to holding conventions for women’s rights and writing antislavery books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The Arctic Fury is a tribute to one young woman’s leadership and genius for survival.

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Feb 09, 2022 June rated it it was amazing

A wonderful book! I hesitated to read it but thought I'd give it a try. Well, it held on to me like superglue, going on an adventure to the unmapped part of the Arctic in the 1850's to find some missing men.

This book had everything; a courtroom trial, the frozen tundra, the 12 mysterious women on a insurmountable mission, culminating in the leader on trial for her life.

A fascinating, unputdownable story. ...more

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Aug 26, 2021 Bonnie rated it did not like it

Characters were one dimensional, too much of the story is just in Virginia's thoughts. Not much dialogue, and really it didn't tell the story of the adventure. The trip to the Arctic was so poorly described I didn't even care if anyone made it home. I think the research could have been better. It was a weird combination of feminism, ineptitude, and no suspense. ...more

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Dec 08, 2021 Donna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book. A group of strong women set out on a difficult expedition and experience setback after setback. The book culminates in a trial of the expedition leader, who is accused of murder. The tension mounts as the chapters fluctuate from the story of the expedition to the trial. Recommended.

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Jan 25, 2021 Jennifer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Love the strong women novels! This one did not disappoint!

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Jan 09, 2022 Monica rated it liked it

I wanted to like this more but I just struggled. It dragged out and I kept waiting for the plot to thicken. I wanted more from the adventure POV’s and less on the court room drama. But if there wasn’t any court room drama it would of been a 2 or less.

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