This book dragged me in hook, line, and sinker which I wasn’t initially expecting when I first started. Past and present interweave masterfully throughout the course of the book, with the present, which is filled with uncertainty and unanswered questions, to the past that lays out and sets up the relationship between June and Shep.
This creates the perfect blend of investment in their relationship, combined with suspicion for what Shep is hiding from June in the present and wondering how something so pure could have taken such a turn. Getting to know the Shep and June of the past felt so essential to the book as it created this bond with them and their relationship, making the reader hope that there was a way for them to work through their struggles in the present all while wondering what exactly Shep might be hiding from June.
The way the ending played out and the way everything was lined up throughout the story was perfection. I loved how the book got to the conclusion and the way the reader is presented with questions right up until the reveal, and how fantastically it all comes together. The characters and their relationships were also clearly, deeply flawed but so relatable for it. They also managed to be easy to like and had me hoping for the best for them as a result, all together making for enjoyable characters to read about.
I had a hard time not reading this one all the way through once I really got into it because it was so compelling, and it did make me want to read more books from this author. The skill with which the story was weaved was entrancing and I really ended up liking Whiteout. This one gets a highly recommend!