Thank you MB Communications & Amazon Crossing #partner, for the advanced copy of The Fires in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Amazon Crossing
Published: February 1, 2023
Summary:
From Icelandic author Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir comes a heart-wrenching thriller about a woman’s desperate quest to save the people she loves from a natural disaster.
After an eight-hundred-year slumber, the volcanoes in Iceland’s most populated region are showing signs of life. Earthquakes dominate the headlines. Echoes of the devastating eruptions in the past stir unease in the people.
Volcanologist Anna Arnardóttir has spent her entire life studying the volcanic powers under the earth’s crust, but even she cannot fathom the catastrophe at hand.
As a series of eruptions threaten most of Iceland’s population, she’s caught off her rational guard by the most terrible natural disaster of all—love. The world as she knows it is about to fall apart, and so is her heart.
Caught between the safety of a nation and her feelings for her children, her lover, and her past, Anna embarks on a dangerous journey to save the lives of the people she loves—and her soul.
My thoughts:
When I was first pitched this book, I was immediately intrigued. I love reading books set in Iceland because it’s just such a beautiful place and one I happen to have visited.
This is a slow-burn thriller and domestic drama that completely pulled me in right from the start. While I didn’t necessarily love the main character – I felt that Anna was a bit immature at times and made some questionable decisions – I did find that her job was quite fascinating. Anytime I read about women in STEM positions, I’m in awe and she clearly loved what she did, having developed this passion from an early age, following in the footsteps of her scientist father. I also loved how throughout the story, the author wove in many facts and tidbits about the geology and nature of Iceland’s environment. To me, it never felt to be overbearing, but rather enhanced the story. You get that sense of danger that mirrors what is going on with the fictional story.
This was such a clever, suspenseful story. The prologue gives a sense of foreboding and then it takes you back six months and I can say as I was reading the story, I did not see that ending coming. I was so immersed in all that was happening that when I got to the end, I had to go back to the beginning and reread that prologue…what a story! Especially the last 10-15% – that’s really where my heart was pounding and I just didn’t know what to expect! I love books that explore climate and nature and our relationships to them, as well as our relationships with others and I think the author does a really good job here exploring all that.
I definitely recommend picking this one up. It’s a little different than your traditional thriller but just as good!
