Review

I must say that this book was nothing like what I was expecting. I thought this would be a rom-com type of book with a secondary plot focusing on food, but I was wrong.

While there is a storyline that explores Maya's relationship with her childhood friend, this book is more about her journey in healing her underlying traumas while reconnecting with her culture. Maya is half-Indian and half-English. She grew up in India but moved to England after her mother passes away, which is a traumatic event that she can't remember. The only thing Maya has connecting her to her mother is the recipes journal her mother kept, which stores all of the Indian dishes Maya grew up eating.

Food is one of the main plot devices in this book. Maya loves cooking. She is the type of person who follows each recipe and measures every ingredient to create a perfect dish. When she starts to suspect that Ryan is cheating on her, she turns to the only thing she can find comfort in which is cooking. While she has avoided her mother's recipes for a long time, being alone in such a remote place gives her the push she needs to explore her mom's dishes. And the first time she does and tastes the food, she immediately gets transported to a memory of herself tasting the same dish when she was younger. Maya realizes that recreating her mother's recipes brings her back to those moments she shared with her mom, so she decides to create every dish to be able to remember those memories she has repressed. As she recreates each recipe and memories surface, Maya realizes she needs to visit India to reconnect with her own culture. Maya goes through a lot during her trip to India, and while she can reconnect with her Indian side, she also has to cope with traumatic events she had repressed. It is during this trip that she meets with her childhood friend again who helps her in her journey to healing her trauma.

I was amazed by this book because of the intricacies the author explores in such a marvelous way. For starters, Maya is dealing with mental health struggles, which are dealt with sensitively. Maya understands that it is odd that she can't remember her time in India or any event before her mother dies, but she has put two and two together that it was such a traumatic experience that she is repressing those memories. When she first remembers something after tasting the food her mother used to cook, she realizes that there is underlying trauma she has not dealt with, and she is aware she has to do it even if the memories are too painful. Maya's journey to cope with her trauma is described so realistically and in such a sensitive way that I can't help but give kudos to Dani Redd for such a great approach to the topic.

I honestly loved this book so much. For a debut novel, it is extremely well written and it delicately deals with hard issues. I was pleasantly surprised about how two topics that are so different from each other are connected smoothly in this book, and I truly enjoyed the story from beginning to end.

Such a lovely book that I read so fast as I was hooked.

I love a curry and there is plenty of food relating chat so be prepared to fell hungry throughout!

Maya suffers with anxiety and if this affects you too then you will really relate to her.

A great read for all.

Managed to read this with thanks to Netgalley, and I'm so glad I did! A really difficult subject matter at times, with moments that made me feel really uncomfortable. But the main take away was how much it made me want nothing more than some beautiful Punjabi food while looking at nothing but a blizzard! One day maybe!

I absolutely adore this book! There are so many layers to it - food lots of yummy food, friendships, relationships and journey to healing. A perfect read for when you’re looking for a book that will make you feel all sorts of emotions. I love that the author had taken their time to research the arctic so well that they depict in such an alluring way!

I was not a fan of this book. I could not connect to the main characters or something. Or maybe I wasn’t in the right head space? It just wasn’t a hit for me unfortunately.

A really great story, charming, atmospheric, great characters. Filled me with warmth and spirit. Well written and flowed nicely, was romantic and funny, charming and full of fun. A great read, i really enjoyed it.

The cover is misleading, since this book is so much more than chick lit. Maya follows her boyfriend Ryan to the Arctic, as he is studying polar bears. At first, the darkness and the cold affect her negatively, and her anxiety takes over. After Ryan leaves her, Maya finds work as a chef, and in reviving her career as a chef, she uncovers truths about her family that she has hidden due to trauma. As she makes some of her mother’s recipes, the taste forces her to face some very difficult memories, that were hidden by her father to protect her. I really liked the writing, Maya, and the story line. I recommend this book and thank NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a really enjoyable read and a great debut.
The setting is well described and I felt as if I was in the Arctic with all the characters.
There is an important theme within this book of mental health - I felt it was dealt with sensitively and the power of food to help heal was important throughout the book.
I loved the characters and the plot and this would be a book I would recommend to others. A lovely winter read.
Thanks to the author and publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review

An engaging delightful story full of tension and surprises.

The Arctic Curry Club is an emotional story of family, friendships, dark secrets, new beginnings and with a true sense of community wrapped in the need to belong, this is a beautiful story that kept my attention to the very last page.

Real and relatable, can't wait to see more from Dani Redd!

Maya's boyfriend, Ryan, gets a job in Longyearbyen in the Arctic Circle and she moves there with him. Plagued by insecurities and self-doubt brought about by the childhood loss of her mother, Maya finds the move and transition hard and this is compounded by a trip back to India when her father remarries.

In time, Maya finds her niche cooking for an outdoor cabin business on the edge of town, using the recipes inherited from her late mother, and this gradually enables her to gain control over her anxiety and panic attacks. She is also able to make new friends - Mikkel, Adam, and Rita - who all help her move forward. Her childhood friend, Jobin, also helps.

Ryan is shallow and selfish and doesn't respect Maya when she wants to discuss her repressed memories coming to the surface. His response is to jump into bed with someone else when Maya goes to India. As the story progresses, Maya is able to leave Ryan behind whilst she grows in stature and confidence.

There are some deep themes in this book, including depression, but there is also a lot of cookery. Many Indian dishes are described and will leave you wanting to recreate them.

I enjoyed this book and especially the description of the Arctic weather and surroundings. Maya's situation was sensitively handled, allowing us to see her struggle but ultimately grow as a person. The ending is affirmative without being cloyingly romantic.

This is a good story and I will be happy to read more from Dani Redd.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Avon Books UK, in return for an honest appraisal.

Don't let the cutesy cover on this one fool you, it is not the rom-com that you're looking for. That being said it is an excellent read and one that I didn't know that I needed. Upon beginning the book I quickly found that I have a lot in common with Maya and both loved and loathed how accurately her anxiety is portrayed. This book definitely has a lot of heavy undertones to it and readers should be aware that there are several triggers including the aforementioned anxiety, suicide/self harm, depression, infidelity, drug addiction, and sexual assault but the author handled it very well and not just to sensationalize the story.

One unexpected effect that reading this book had on me is that I'm pretty convinced that I should move to Svalbard. I mean I hate hot weather and prefer darkness to sunlight so you can't convince me I wouldn't thrive there! The downside to this argument is that is one of my all-time like aspirations to hug a polar bear ( yes I know that's idiotic) and since that's pretty much a polar bear mecca I would probably get myself killed attempting to do so. Oh well, yolo right?

I actually enjoyed this book after wondering if I would. When the first mention of anxiety surfaced, I was in two minds as to whether it ought to come with a trigger warning for those who might suffer with anxiety and some of the other topics that are covered in this book. I think that it could be really helpful to know that others experience similar things when anxiety or panic attack hits or it could be triggering for someone who was expecting a more laid back read. I think that I wasn't expecting it to be such a large part of the story and it was therefore a little jarring when I first encountered it when I was reading to relax and chill out. I did, however, enjoy reading the book overall and could recommend it - just with a caveat of knowing that it contained themes that might not be helpful for all.

DNF @ 39%
I had hoped this was going to be fun, fast-phased rom-com. But idk? i felt like it was not. It was just meh.

This one wasnt what i was expecting but it was good , Good holiday read easy to pick up and put down. Nice cover good story i give it 4 stars.

☆☆☆☆ /5
(english review below)

Une histoire profonde et bouleversante sur le fait de faire la paix avec le passé et son histoire et sur le fait d'enfin trouver un endroit où on se sent bien.
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《 Toute ma vie, j'ai cherché un chez-moi. Mais pourquoi serait-ce dans un endroit que j'ai déjà quitté ? Peut-être que j'aurais dû continuer à avancer pour le trouver… 》

Peu de temps après avoir bouleversé sa vie pour accompagner son petit ami Ryan dans l'Arctique, Maya se rend compte que ce ne sont pas juste que des aurores boréales et des promenades en traîneau husky qu'elle va vivre là-bas. Au lieu de cela, elle fait face à des températures inférieures à zéro, à une obscurité de 24 heures, à une anxiété paralysante –et à un petit ami éloigné en conséquence.
Dans son moment le plus solitaire, Maya ouvre le livre de recettes de sa défunte mère et cuisine des plats indiens pour la première fois. Grâce à cela, sa confiance grandit de manière inattendue -elle se fait des amis, obtient un emploi de chef et la vie dans l'Arctique ne la fige plus de peur.
Mais il y a un prix : la cuisine aromatique ravive les souvenirs de sa mère énigmatique et de son enfance à Bangalore. Maya pourra-t-elle affronter le passé et se forger un avenir dans cette nouvelle ville ? Après tout, il y a maintenant une forte demande pour un Curry Club dans l'Arctique, et une seule personne a le savoir-faire pour le faire fonctionner…
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Alors comme mentionné en début de post, je me suis sentie trompée par la couverture et je tenais à en parler dans cette chronique, si jamais cette lecture peut vous intéresser. Cette jolie couverture m'a laissé penser que j'allais lire une romance toute douce, un livre feelgood, un texte léger...
Or, cette lecture s'est révélée être tout le contraire puisqu'on va apprendre à connaître une protagoniste qui va devoir démêler son passé afin de maturer. Cette lecture s'est révélée être plus profonde qu'elle en a l'air car on va être dans les souvenirs et les pensées de Maya qui oscillera entre son enfance en Inde et sa nouvelle vie solitaire en Arctique. Cette lecture s'est révélée bouleversante car Maya va devoir prendre du recul sur ce qu'elle a vécu jusqu'à aujourd'hui, accepter des vérités difficiles pour mieux grandir.
En fait, j'ai bien apprécié osciller entre les flash-backs en Inde et les moments présent en Arctique. Cette alternance m'a permis de connaître un peu plus le personnage de Maya qui est, pour moi, psychologiquement bien construit. Sa prise de conscience sur sa vie passée, présent et son mal-être est plutôt réaliste. La jeune fille fait face à plusieurs stades de réflexions et d'émotions qui font écho à ce qu'une personne lambda dans notre réalité peut ressentir dans une situation similaire. L'histoire de Maya a fait écho à la mienne quand je commençais ma vie au Canada alors que je fuyais volontairement des problèmes que j'avais en France.
À travers de nouvelles rencontres et de cuisine aromatique, l'autrice offre à sa protagoniste Maya une belle évolution d'elle-même.
En bref, c'était une chouette et touchante lecture, bien que surprenante comme je m'étais laissée avoir par les messages qu'envoyaient la couverture du roman.

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ENGLISH REVIEW

A deep and moving story about making peace with the past and finally finding a place to feel like home
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‘For my whole life I had been looking for home. But why would that be in a place that I’d left? Perhaps I had to keep moving forward in order to find it…’

Soon after upending her life to accompany her boyfriend Ryan to the Arctic, Maya realises it’s not all Northern Lights and husky sleigh rides. Instead, she’s facing sub-zero temperatures, 24-hour darkness, crippling anxiety – and a distant boyfriend as a result.
In her loneliest moment, Maya opens her late mother’s recipe book and cooks Indian food for the first time. Through this, her confidence unexpectedly grows – she makes friends, secures a job as a chef, and life in the Arctic no longer freezes her with fear.
But there’s a cost: the aromatic cuisine rekindles memories of her enigmatic mother and her childhood in Bangalore. Can Maya face the past and forge a future for herself in this new town? After all, there’s now high demand for a Curry Club in the Arctic, and just one person with the know-how to run it…
¤
So as mentioned at the beginning of the post, I felt cheated by the cover and I wanted to talk about it in this review, if ever this reading may interest you. This pretty cover made me think that I was going to read a very sweet romance, a feelgood book, a light text...
However, this reading turned out to be quite the opposite since we will get to know a protagonist who will have to unravel her past in order to mature. This reading turned out to be deeper than it looks because we will be in the memories and thoughts of Maya who will oscillate between her childhood in India and her new solitary life in the Arctic. This reading turned out to be overwhelming because Maya will have to take a step back from what she has been through until today, accept difficult truths in order to grow better.
In fact, I really enjoyed oscillating between flashbacks in India and present moments in the Arctic. This alternation allowed me to know a little more about the character of Maya who is, for me, psychologically well constructed. Her awareness of her past and present life and her ill-being is rather realistic. The young woman faces several stages of thoughts and emotions that echo what an average person in our reality may feel in a similar situation. Maya's story echoed mine when I started my life in Canada as I voluntarily fled from the problems I had in France.
Through new encounters and aromatic cuisine, the author offers her protagonist Maya a beautiful evolution of herself.
In short, it was a nice and touching read, although surprising as I had let myself be taken in by the messages sent by the book cover.

I loved reading this book. When I first requested to read The Arctic Curry Club, I was expecting a light-hearted women's fiction/chick lit but this beautifully written novel delves into some deep topics - friends, family, love and anxiety. I loved the mergence of the Arctic backdrop with the Indian cuisine - an extremely unlikely combination but it works magically. Definitely worth a read

Quite the story, this book The Arctic Curry Club by Dani Redd. I loved the main characters for being down to earth, also the ones that were slightly more at the background such as Adam and his partner. And then there was the little gem of the symbolic rose, bud and thorn.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

Maya’s boyfriend Ryan has got a fellowship in an Arctic town, so she packs up her life in London and accompanies him. The sub-zero temperature, the 24-hour darkness, and the constant anxiety over polar bears and other unknown dangers add to her already fragile mental health. In these lonely times, Maya discovers her late mother’s cookbook. By trying out her Indian mom’s recipes, she is able to feel a connection that she had assumed was lost. Soon, darker truths come tumbling out, both from the past and from the present.

The Arctic Curry Club is a book that surprised me. The cover and description make you think it is a light-hearted, easy, romance read. This book is not that, it is so much more and so much deeper. There is a strong theme of mental health that runs throughout but is dealt with very well.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Really enjoyed this book.

I actually made a bhuna similar to the one that was sent with the pr package I was sent I indevoured this in one night.

I gave it a solid 3 stars. I enjoyed the growth throughout the book and she found her worth!!

Many thanks to the publisher for an e-ARC of The Artic Curry Club! I really enjoyed reading this beautiful story. <3 I didn't expect the book to explore serious themes, but I am glad the author included Maya's emotional and heart-breaking experiences. So if you're expecting a (fully) light-hearted book, this isn't one.

Maya was such a fascinating protagonist! I really loved reading about her. Her character development throughout the book was so perfectly done. Her mental health was a major part of the story, and I appreciated the representation so much. Reading about her struggles, and how she overcame them with Maya is biracial as well - she's half Indian and Half-British, so I loved reading a winter-themed novel that explored a character whose culture I could relate to. (I am South-Asian) Speaking of culture, the description of the Indian dishes was so mouth-watering !!! Getting a glimpse of the recipes from Maya's mother's book was really special to me.

I am so glad that I picked this book up. Can't recommend it enough. <3