A big thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This book is very unexpected. I thought it was a romance, but it is not. It is more of self discovery for Maya. She grows and comes into her own in the book. The settings are unique and interesting. Maya while interesting has lots of issues, and was pretty unrelatable for me. This did not stop me from enjoying the book. It is heartwarming and interesting, just not what I expected. 3.5 stars

We’re in Longyearbyen in Spitsbergen in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard for this deeper-than-average light novel. I knew I was in good hands when the book opened with a quote from Christine Ritter’s “A Woman in the Polar Night” and there are some lovely descriptions of that polar night and the return of the sun. Maya, half-Indian, half-British, raised in England from the age of nine, has followed her boyfriend Ryan to his job researching polar bears in the Arctic. She doesn’t settle in well with the gung-ho athletic types and the constant darkness, but things start to pick up when she meets taciturn Mikkel and gets a job cooking for the participants on his adventure trips. Then she’s pulled back to Bangalore when her dad decides to marry an old family friend, somewhere she’s not been since she left as a child, and somewhere she doesn’t remember at all. But as she eats, memories start to come back, and she realises things about her late mum are being kept from her. Meeting son of another family friend, Jobin, gives her an ally in the confusing world of India plus a mental health ally, as she lives with anxiety and he’s a therapist – a best friend or maybe more?

My full review on my blog: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2021/12/12/two-wintry-but-not-christmas-reads-emily-kerr-meet-me-under-the-northern-lights-and-dani-redd-the-arctic-curry-club/

I was skeptical when I picked this book up to read, however I was pleasantly surprised by it. I found that it made me reflect on life! Good book with lovely text. Looking forward to reading her next book.

🥶 The Arctic Curry Club 🥶
I’ve been saving this book for a while as I knew I wanted to read it around Christmas time!
I really enjoyed this frosty read, Maya moves to the Arctic, Longyearbyen to be exact, with her boyfriend when he is offered a job there. She struggles initially and seems to hate it, but after a short trip to India to attend her Dads wedding she returns and takes charge of her life.
She ends up really enjoying herself, making friends and adapting perfectly to her surroundings.
Tasting her late mother’s recipes brings back memories from her childhood in Bangalore that she has forgotten for so long. This leads to her Curry Club and a very sad revelation for Maya.
I really liked Maya and a lot of the characters she befriends, there’s even a hungry polar bear! 🐻‍❄️
Perfect reading for a cold, winters night and if you don’t crave some of the delicious food she creates, there’s something wrong with you!! 😂
Thank you to @netgalley for my copy, meaning I could continue reading into the night!

I think it was a combination of the adorable cover, the promise of a cosy food-based contemporary story and the coming together of heat and ice that drew me in to this wintery read.

Maya has followed her boyfriend Ryan to the Arctic setting of Svalbard in pursuit of his goals but she soon realises that the harsh realities of their new home aren’t quite as magical as she hoped. Ryan also seems quite distant, so Maya turns to a book full of her late mother’s Indian recipes. Before long, her new life begins to take shape as she forms friendships through her delicious dishes and establishes the first ever Arctic Curry supper club. But memories of her mother and childhood in India come bubbling to the surface of her mind and Maya is about to uncover long buried secrets about the mother she thought she remembered.

'Of course, there are countless examples of the idea of a thing not matching up to the reality. Like dresses you order online, worn by much thinner models. Like attempts to make intricate novelty cakes. Like communism...'

I laughed out loud at this passage very near the beginning of the book and I was looking forward to this sense of humour continuing but sadly, it didn’t. Although it was an enjoyable, heartwarming read, I think this was the only laugh-out-loud moment in the entire book. I would have appreciated more of these sparks of comedy, as I think I would have been more compelled to pick it up.

Maya suffers from anxiety and this is mentioned a lot. It is obviously triggered by her sudden lifestyle change and being in a very new, strange environment. I could definitely relate to her on this level but that didn’t stop me wanting to push her out of her comfort zone because I knew she wouldn’t regret it. However, I completely understood the barriers that stopped her doing that and was waiting for her to overcome them.

Maya is half Indian, half British and like many mixed-race people, she struggles with identity issues. I feel like she has done her best to stay in touch with both of her cultures but has always felt different to everyone around her. I’ve heard so many stories of displacement and lack of belonging from mixed-race people, so Maya’s struggle rings very true.

Maya’s mother sounds like a really wonderful, warm and funny woman with an enormous heart of gold. Food was obviously very important to her and this is something she has passed on to her daughter. As the narrative progresses, we learn more about Maya’s mum and it becomes apparent that her life wasn’t quite as it seemed to a young Maya. The slow peeling back of these layers was really exciting to read and I was desperate to get to know Maya’s mum as she really was.

When Maya eats something from her childhood, she experiences vivid flashbacks. It’s through these memories and these dishes that she starts to piece together the truths that have clearly been buried. Although it’s a very long, drawn-out, painful process for Maya, it’s something that she has perhaps needed to do for a long time and there was a sense of relief for me, once it had all come out.

The setting is beautiful and the author does an amazing job of taking the reader to the Arctic and evoking all the feelings and atmosphere that comes with it. I definitely felt like I was there with Maya and the vivid descriptions of the food meant that I could almost taste her creations too. All of my senses were being stimulated and I really appreciated Dani Redd’s writing talents for being able to do that.

The Arctic Curry Club is a warm, transporting novel about community, finding where you belong and dealing with the past. The gorgeous setting is easily my favourite part of the book and I certainly wanted to enjoy a warming curry in the snow.

Enjoyed. More reflective than i initially expected. A lot of soul searching and definitely a different ending than I anticipated

Maya has followed her boyfriend to the Arctic - it’s his career and she has left everything behind.

Then he cheats ….

So far, so predictable.

I am on the fence with this book. It’s not a fluffy, light-weight romcom - there is a lot of focus around Maya’s mental health and her relationship with her father, rather than on her love life. However, I did find it difficult to have patience with her when she was struggling with anxiety (something that I think I am going to have to reflect on and learn from).

I often found myself skimming over her lists (boring and I didn’t think they added anything to the story)..

The backdrop was stunning, whether the Arctic or India, and the food descriptions made me drool (apart from seal ribs, no more to say on that)!

It was a good read, but I felt that it was aimed at the romantic light-weight audience, when it shouldn’t have been. Maybe it should have tried a bit harder to get away from the lighter fictional genre, or just embraced it more and toned down the angst. It could have been a 4 star if it had focused on its audience.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review.

I have often fantasized about going to the Arctic or the Antarctic - but after reading about how many layers you need to feel even a bit warm I am re-thinking that! I would still like to go to Finland sometime though :)

This book, judging by the cover, would seem to be a bit of a chick-lit, but it is far more than that. Maya has packed up everything she has and has followed her boyfriend to Svalbard. Yep, lots of snow and ice, polar bears and months of endless dark. It is a big ask, and when he seems less than understanding of her anxieties in this very different place, you wonder if their relationship is going to hit the rocks. Luckily for Maya, she makes some good friends (although they have their issues as well).

I enjoyed the contrast of the Arctic versus when Maya went to India. It made me want to go there too, because I do love lots and lots of colour around me and the dishes she mentioned made my mouth water!

Maya was a very relatable character for me. I also struggle with anxiety and with being a bit of a people pleaser so this aspect of the book really spoke to me.

So much more than chick-lit! Quite deep, and covers some confronting topics at times.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books.

Maya should not be a character that I like, she’s an anxiety ridden mess and I thought oh here we go another weak female following a man about. But there was something so personable and endearing about her that kept me reading. Before I knew it I had fallen a little in love with her and all I wanted was to be her personal cheerleader and follow her around telling her she could do it! Although the minus temperatures made me quickly reconsider that silly idea.

I loved getting to know her just as she was getting to know herself and all the people she meets along the way. From gruff straight talker Mikkel and Adam the guides, confident Rita from America to childhood friend Jobin. They all had a part to play in Maya’s transformation as the perpetual darkness gave way to light.

One thing I will say is that the cover is slightly misleading as this is not the fluffy book it implies. As dark as the arctic is, so are many of the themes that run through this book. I personally was actually pleased by that and felt this book had a lot more depth than I had originally assumed.

The food will have you salivating as Maya discovers that not only is she a blend of all the places she has lived but that her food could be too.

I actually felt quite sad finishing this as the author’s writing was strangely hypnotic and addictive. Making me not only bereft at saying goodbye to such wonderful characters that now felt like friends but also the beautiful settings. Although as I live in Norwich, which is also mentioned a fair bit, I can at least hold on to that.

I was anticipating a festive, light-hearted read based on the blurb and novel’s cover. However, the plot totally juxtaposes this and, to be honest, it rather threw me. I struggled to engage with the narrative at first, maybe because I was yearning for more Christmas spirit. Yet, once I had realised the plot direction, I fell in love with the setting, the cooking and Maya’s determination.

To be honest, it is quite a bleak story when you consider how dark the Arctic is for most of the novel. I could honestly not be able to live in a location that is minus 20 degrees, more snow than you can build a snowman city with, and zero sun for four months. You have to be pretty strong and determined to survive, and even thrive, in such harsh conditions. Therefore, Maya’s initial reaction to this remote village in the Arctic was of no surprise. I completely sympathised with how cold she felt and I think Redd does a fantastic job of conveying the setting throughout the story.

Yet, not only does Maya have to adjust to Arctic living, but also her inner demons. Very early on, readers learn how anxious Maya is. Suffering from regular panic attacks, the narrative reveals how Maya struggles over so many of life’s daily decisions. Despite having therapy throughout her life, Maya still finds it a challenge and her self-esteem plummets even further when she catches her boyfriend cheating on her.

I really sympathised with Maya and I think the writer’s exploration of mental health is done very delicately and sensitively. Throughout the book it would seem that so many of the characters suffer from their own internal battles and I think this reflects something that so many of us take advantage of every day: even if a person appears well on the outside, inside can tell a very different story.

Therefore, this book is more of a journey of Maya’s self-discovery. Channelling it through her cooking, Maya experiences flashbacks linked to her childhood. I think Maya displays dissociative amnesia whereby a traumatic event in her past has caused her to completely erase the memories of living in India with her mother. Over time, Maya learns what happened to force her brain to detach from this period of her life and I admired how she channelled these challenges in rediscovering the recipes her mum used to make.

Food is definitely a dominant theme in this narrative. The meals that Maya cook all sound delicious and appeal to the senses, leaving my mouth watering and my appetite craving! By far, my favourite scene was with the polar bear during one of Maya’s Curry Club nights and I think this demonstrated a turn in the narrative where Maya truly begins to realise how strong she actually is.

All in the all, I thought this to be a very unforeseen narrative that grew on me as time went by. It certainly went beyond my expectations and I found that I enjoyed it more, the more I read of Maya’s story. Despite set in such a hostile environment, the story radiates a warmth from not just the kitchen and Maya’s concoctions, but also the people around her.

With thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A very unusual and interesting read!
Thinking this would be a cosy fun trip to the Arctic, I was surprised by something quite different. The story is about Maya, who has moved with her boyfriend Ryan to the Arctic, can she make it work for her?
In some ways this is a study of anxiety, the insights and coping strategies. Another angle is the comparison of different cultures melding together in the blended world we live in. There is alot to read about in this very unusual book!
Thank you NetGalley for the early read.

This book had me wanting to read it from the minute I read the synopsis and it did not disappoint in the slightest.

This book is not just about a woman joining her boyfriend in the Arctic, it's about a women with cripperling anxiety who is struggling to come to terms with who she is and what she wants out of life. It's about a woman who is slowly remembering the childhood memories she repressed and embracing another side of her that she didn't know she needed.

Honestly, this book had me laughing and crying. The writing is beautiful and all the descriptions of food had me starving! This book was at times quite dark and there are some trigger warnings to consider (if you want to know what these are then please message me over on my instagram www.instagram.com/oncemorewithreading).

Overall this was an amazing book, perfect for this winter. It's practically begging to be read under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Arctic Curry Club
by Dani Redd
Avon Books UK, Avon

Dani Redd's book The Arctic Curry Club has so much to offer readers. With its Arctic and Bangalore settings, we are treated to connections of region, family, culture and cuisine. The deep subject of mental health is respectfully and tenderly covered, with good development of the main character Maya. Redd writes with good description of place and characters and in an emotionally sensitive yet powerful manner. This is a debut work, and Redd introduces and showcases her talent well in this book.
Thanks to Net Galley and Avon Books UK, Avon for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.

I received a free ebook copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for this opportunity.

This book follows the main character, Maya, as she moves to Svalbard with her boyfriend for a research placement studying polar bears. She is having difficulty adapting to the harsh life in the artcic and takes up a job cooking for an adventure company. She starts making recipes from her dead mother's cook book and begins to have flashbacks to her life in India prior to her mother's death. Through food, she is able to feel closer to her mother and develop a community for herself in the arctic.

This book was super compelling and I couldn't put it down. I read it in one day, it's the sort of book that reminds me why I love reading. Maya was a very well written character and she grew a lot as a person over the course of the book which was really nice to see. This book deals with heavy topics yet still feels like a light and heartwarming read. It's incredibly well written and I think this is the perfect time of year to read it as well.

As a trigger warning: This book contains discussion of mental health problems, sexual assault and suicide.

I'd mistakenly thought this was a rom com, but it's light on the romance and more about the main character finding herself. Once I realised I wasn't going to be getting a romance happily every after I enjoyed this.

She follows her boyfriend to the Arctic, where he's taken a research job. She has anxiety and amnesia related to the first 7 years of her life before her mother's death. And now she's living in this place where its dark all the time , it's freezing and she doesn't have a job so no real purpose.

She slowly starts to connect with her Indian side more through cooking and ends up starting an Arctic Curry Club, as the title says! Food is a key topic in this, so reading it may make you hungry!

Yes, this is definitely a 'don't judge this book by it's cover". I expected a light Christmas read yet this was so much more, dealing with anxiety issues and general lack of understanding and empathy

This novel was not at all what I expected, and I mean that in a good way. My expectations were set by the cutesy cover to think that this was going to be a low-key, feel-good kind of book. Instead, I found far more substance than I expected. The book deals with difficult issues like mental health, anxiety, addiction, and toxic relationships, yet it never bogs down, feels overwhelming, or loses sight of its primary theme which is that of a woman discovering her own strength and learning to trust in herself no matter how challenging the circumstances she finds herself in.

From the minute I picked it up, I did not want to put the book down. I was completely caught up in Maya's struggles, adventures, and achievements as she leaves her familiar life in England behind to travel with her boyfriend at his request, to the the island of Svalbard in the Norwegian arctic, where he has obtained a winter research position studying polar bears. They arrive to the endless darkness and freezing cold of the Arctic winter, an atmosphere for which Maya is woefully unprepared. At first she flounders and her anxiety peaks. Her boyfriend is enamored with the outdoor lifestyle and has little patience or sympathy for how lost she feels. Slowly though, Maya starts to find her feet, helped by a job she obtains cooking for a wilderness adventure center. She throws herself into mastering the Indian recipes of her childhood written in a recipe book by her mother, whom she lost at age 7 and does not remember at all. The food then helps her reconnect to her past and uncover the secrets hidden in her own mind.

There was much to love in this book, but for me, the standouts were the spot on depictions of Maya's anxiety, and the way the author paralleled Maya's state of mind when she first arrived with the inhospitable Arctic winter environment, then the Arctic sky started to lighten on the way to the first sunrise in March as Maya slowly found her way in her personal life. There were also lots of great side characters to flesh out the story and remind the reader that in a place like the Arctic, it's all about community, and it would be downright dangerous to live in such a place without being able to rely on the people around you. On top of all that, the food descriptions were so luscious that I was in a continual state of hunger the whole time I was reading it. My thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

The title, <i>The Arctic Curry Club</i>, caught my interest right away. With the cute cover art and the description, I was picturing a cozy romcom full of delicious food descriptions and hilarious mishaps of a first timer in the Arctic. In reality, this book should come with all sorts of trigger warnings, and it's a lot darker than it would seem at first glance. 

Maya, the main character, is described as having "crippling anxiety," and that should be taken at face value. It's not we-can-laugh-at-it-funny anxiety, it really is crippling. It took me by surprise, when I was still expecting light chick lit, but ultimately, I was glad that her struggles with anxiety were represented seriously. It made her feel like more of a real person instead of a caricature.

It's quite a journey Maya has before her, to adjust to her new living situation, to learn to live effectively with her anxiety, and to deal with family issues, past and present. I enjoyed following along, between the Arctic and India. Even though things aren't glossy and romanticized, the escapism aspect of the book still works, making it a nice read for a cold winter day.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely, warming read! I absolutely loved this book although it did make me very hungry whilst reading it!

I think it’s going to be a book where I keep thinking back to!

Maya moves with her boyfriend Ryan to Longyearbyen on Svalbard an arctic island, he has his job and settles in while Maya struggles with the long dark days, no job and her anxiety. After a trip to Bangalore she returns with her mums old cookbook and making the recipes trigger repressed memories of her childhood.

This book made me hungry! the recipes and description of all the food were mouth watering. It had a touch of everything humour, romance, sadness.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the ARC