rave review for THE ARCTIC FURY at AudioFile!

A very happy Friday indeed! Just got word that AudioFile Magazine gave Eva Kaminsky’s narration of THE ARCTIC FURY a rave review. She really is the perfect match for the material (her Brooks! I love her Brooks so much) and I’m thrilled the audiobook-specific review acknowledges how she makes the story “come alive for listeners.”

And besides, I mean, this is a pretty sweet lead-in:

Dramatic and atmospheric, this audiobook is a powerful story about loss, determination, and hope.

Read the full review here.

THE ARCTIC FURY an Editor's Choice at the Historical Novel Society!

What a fabulous way to celebrate THE ARCTIC FURY being out in the world for exactly two months! (Seems like just yesterday and a lifetime ago, as usual.) I just found out from my publicist that THE ARCTIC FURY was named an Editor’s Choice for February by the Historical Novel Society — a fabulous organization that not only does a great job covering and reviewing the latest releases in historical fiction, but also throws a heck of a party every two years for North American historical fiction writers to gather and learn from each other. This year’s conference will be virtual, which means no gathering at the hotel bar, but opens things up for more people to participate without needing to travel, which is fabulous.

But! This post is not about the conference! It’s about the amazing review of THE ARCTIC FURY that I want to share. You can read the whole thing here. And here’s the snippet that resonated deeply with me, made me grateful, and immediately got added to my Praise page.

Macallister is a master of historical fiction with female characters, and The Arctic Fury is perhaps her finest work to date. Mixing courtroom drama with a thrilling Arctic exploration, she fleshes out thirteen distinct, three-dimensional expeditioners. This book passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors, proving that a group of women need not be reduced to cattiness over men and clothes. But neither are the women flawless Mary Sues. Reeve, especially, misjudges people and struggles with self-doubt. These are women as women have always been, regardless of their time period: complex, nuanced, ambitious human beings.

That link again for the whole beautiful review in its entirety? Here.

new review from the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette!

Love this! Since Melanie Benjamin’s new book The Children’s Blizzard and my own The Arctic Fury are both historical fiction set in very cold conditions, we recently did a joint event to talk about both books, and it looks like we’re not the only ones making a connection! Both books were recently jointly reviewed in the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette.

Their overall verdict: “Two great historical fiction titles that offer thrilling cold-weather tales combined with life-and-death stakes.”

Yes! And here’s my favorite bit about The Arctic Fury:

“Macallister skillfully traces how friendships and rivalries develop against the backdrop of extreme weather conditions and the women’s grueling quest to survive…. The Arctic Fury is an absorbing page-turner.”

Read the whole review here.

Escapist historical fiction for Bridgerton lovers, including THE ARCTIC FURY!

Well, this was a nice treat! The Globe & Mail (hi, Northern neighbors!) did a lovely roundup of “new escapist historical fiction” that viewers of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” series might enjoy — and yes, they included The Arctic Fury!

You can read the whole review here if you’re a subscriber, and my publisher was nice enough to render the most delightful bit about The Arctic Fury in graphic form! Love it.

new review of THE ARCTIC FURY at SBTB!

I love Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, so you can imagine how delighted (but also nervous!) I was to see that they’d reviewed THE ARCTIC FURY. I clicked with a bit of trepidation. They do grades instead of stars, and when I saw the B+ at the top of the TAF review, I was thrilled! It’s a warm and glowing review with some well-articulated issues, so it’s exactly like getting a B+ from one of your favorite professors, the one whose scarves you covet and who gently critiques the first topic you propose for your final paper with a, “Well, that approach would be fine, but you can do so much better than fine, don’t you think?”

You should probably just read the whole thing — the reviewer does a great job of avoiding spoilers — but in the meantime, here’s a highlight:

I especially enjoyed the way the diversity of the group gradually reveals itself in terms of class, gender, sexuality, race, and other traits. It’s also a book that’s hard to review because the things I loved the most are spoilers. I liked the language and description, and felt I could really feel the tactile world around the women and see through their eyes.

Read the full review here.

new review of THE ARCTIC FURY from BookPage!

You can tell pub day is getting close because the reviews are rolling in fast and thick! Such a lovely review from BookPage, which calls it “a cracking good story“ — and I love their warm, thoughtful look at the book, which manages to summarize and explain a great deal without giving too much away.

The real Lady Jane Franklin sponsored a number of expeditions to find her explorer husband, Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin, after he and his men went missing in the Arctic. Though there’s no record of an all-female expedition, that hasn’t stopped Greer Macallister from writing a cracking good story about one in her fourth novel, The Arctic Fury.

Read the full review here.

THE ARCTIC FURY reviewed in Shelf Awareness!

I’m such a huge Shelf Awareness fan, and surprise! Today they reviewed THE ARCTIC FURY, which gladdens my book loving heart.

You can read the full review here! They called it “gripping” and “compelling” and I particularly loved this bit:

“Readers who love historical fiction, strong women and unusual settings will find all three--as well as a couple of truly inventive twists--in Macallister's novel.“

Again, full review here if you want to check it out. Completely spoiler-free! Definitely brightened my Monday.

my review of THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE at CHIRB!

I was thrilled to get the chance to review V.E. Schwab’s new novel The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue for Chicago Review of Books — not just because I love Schwab’s work, which I do, but because it provided the perfect occasion to get some things off my chest about what I see as widespread genre snobbery in today’s book world. The intro:

I’m tempted to say the modern idea of genre is a joke, except that it’s not funny. A sincerely curious, skilled, and committed writer can basically write whatever she wants, genre be damned. Yet certain genres are still elevated and others dismissed; the New York Times “By the Book” feature still regularly asks writers “Which genres do you avoid?”

(Because it interrupted the review’s flow, my editor asked me to take out a snotty aside about a certain Very Famous Historical Fiction Author whose answer to that By the Book question insulted anyone who has ever written in any genre, including her own. Part of her response: “Choosing to write a genre novel is like fencing the universe because you are afraid of space.“ You can check that out here!)

You should definitely read Schwab’s book, and I promise that my review of it doesn’t give anything too major away: only that “Schwab is an author who understands the importance of both subverting and satisfying reader expectations” and “You can relax into your enjoyment of the story and trust that she knows what she’s doing, because she does.” 

Read the full review here.

THE ARCTIC FURY tops Washington City Paper's upcoming book roundup!

Oh, this one is so lovely! As a longtime Washington City Paper reader, I’m thrilled to see my name pop up in its pages, and the warm words of praise for The Arctic Fury are the icing on the proverbial cake.

The whole write-up is so good I could quote it in its entirety, but here are a couple of quick highlights:

“‘In the front row sit the survivors,’ begins The Arctic Fury, D.C. author Greer Macallister’s fourth novel. Like all of her books, this one intertwines history and the female gaze in stunning detail. Macallister writes women like no one else, her characters’ strengths and shortcomings vividly magnified by the societies and even geography that would diminish them.”

Love it! And also this:

“We care deeply for [these] characters, believe in what they fight for, but never feel lectured or pulled out by a modern point of view. These women live and shine brightly in their own time—exactly as historical fiction should read.”

And if you do want to read the whole thing, you can! The whole piece rounds up several upcoming books from DC-area authors, including They’re Gone, from Anthony Award-nominated E.A. Aymar, writing under the pseudonym E.A. Barres — a book I can’t wait to read, and an author I’m sharing a panel with at the Fairfax County Public Library (check out the details on my Events page, won’t you? Registration is a must.)

Here's the whole round-up.