Before I give you my review this book has alot of triggers. This is however a book about trying to survive the Arctic.

This book kind of reminded me of a book I read a long time ago called Lure of The Labrador Wild. This book also describes the expedition and the deteriorating relationships between the men. As the story progresses I actually felt like I was with these men enduring the harshness that is The Arctic. A very detailed story.

If you love explorations and reading about expeditions then you should experience this book.

Thank you publisher and netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else

This book is beautiful and brutal. I had a great time pulling up Arctic maps to follow along with their journey. I’m definitely inspired to learn more about the Arctic expeditions.

The pacing was very slow, thought, and I almost DNF’d because of it: there was nothing but walking for the first half of the book. The ending as well isn’t rushed as much as it feels unresolved, which was extremely unsatisfying considering everything that happened on the journey.

Overall a really interesting subject matter and I learned a lot!

Thank you to NetGalley, Colin Mills, and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fictional novel but based on true events.

Colin does a great, if not always pleasant, job at describing the horrors of being stuck in ice - the wind chill, snow, tensions, blisters, hunger. You can feel the wind on your face and the frostbite in your toes. It's very evocative.

It is very much a character story, rather than plot - which isn't a negative for me as I prefer character over plot. And Colin has done well with creating fictional versions of real people. I have heard of the people mentioned in this book, but my knowledge of what they went through is practically non-existent. And so I feel Colin has given me enough to get to know them, but left enough out to whet my appetite to go down a Google black hole and look them up myself.

Having said that, I didn't feel any strong feelings for the characters. I wasn't overly bothered whether they succeeded or not. They're interesting characters and I enjoyed reading about them, but I felt they could have done with a bit more meat on them.

I'd say it focusses more on the characters psyche and mental health rather than what they physically set out to do, which I did like.

It isn't an easy book in any stretch of the imagination. It has complicated topics such as injury, violence, death, difficult relationships, and racism (as was prevalent in the 1800s).

It is worth persevering with. It is quite slow to begin with. I'd say at least the first 25-30% takes some getting through, but on the whole I felt it was balanced enough. I'd have preferred a bit more a bit earlier to keep me interested, but I was glad I kept with it, as it was a good study in creating hostile environments.

It isn't a genre I know well. I can't name many, if any, fictional books I've read regarding a polar disappearance, struggle, and attempted rescue. And considering I read 300+ books a year, it was a breath of fresh air to read something completely new to me.

Like I said, I don't know the true story, so I can't say how much of it is accurate, but it felt like it was rooted in some strong research, and there's clearly a passion on Colin's part in the topic.

I'm not sure it's a book that'll stick with me, but it has sparked an interest in the true story, and I will definitely be looking it up for myself because I am a big nerd.

On the whole I'd say it's a good book and I enjoyed reading it but it did have its flaws. Fairly interesting characters but a bit flat, slow pacing to begin with, needs more and earlier, and I think I'd have to say that if you are familiar with the time period or true story, you will get much more pleasure out of it. But going in blind, whilst in some aspects is great, it can leave you feeling slightly lost at times.

The premise of the book is so interesting, and It doesn't disapoint. Having watched the series about the Terror, I just had to read this book!! Mistery, darkness, and many interesting characters. Totally reccomended.

I remember watching a tv adaptation of this story not so long ago and finding it absolutely fascinating, so when this popped up I knew I had to read it.

The story holds nothing back, it’s a hell of a story, hopeful, desperate, scary, tense…I could go on. I found myself tensing up and holding my breath in the last few chapters - I got rather stressed out.

Brilliantly written, and deeply emotional.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Colin Mills for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Bitter Passage coming out December 3, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I’ve read and watched a couple things about this topic, so I was interested in checking out another book about it. I think stories about the sea and braving the elements are really fascinating. I really enjoyed this book. I would read other books by this author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys seafaring stories!

In May 1845, Sir John Franklin, commander of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, departed England to seek a navigable route across the top of the Americas. He and his 128 men never returned.
Four years later, Royal Navy Lieutenant Frederick Robinson and Assistant Surgeon Edward Adams are determined to find the men missing in the Arctic.

I've always been interested in the story of the Franklin Expedition. I looked forward to reading this, but it was a lot different than I expected.

I was looking forward to being immersed in the environment since it is the reason for them being there. Instead this is more of a character study of the men sent to find them. The pace is slow and a lot is overly detailed. The story is also philosophical which I didn't expect or enjoy.

If you stick with it you get an idea of some of what likely happened with the Franklin Expedition.

"Bitter Passage" is a slow-moving character study that focuses on two very different men searching for the truth behind the failed Franklin expedition. Countless books, fiction and nonfiction, have been written about this segment of history and the isolated, strange world of the Arctic. "Bitter Passage" is unique in that it doesn't focus on men on the Erebus or Terror ships, but their attempted rescuers. You might guess going in that things are going to go bad given that we still don't know what happened exactly in the real world, and you'd be right. While I enjoyed this book, it was ponderous. Lots of in-depth character work hanging on a somewhat thin skeleton of plot.

this was a bit of a different book for me but i really enjoyed it! i do wish i had looked into to trigger warnings properly but once i was over the initial shock i really did get into it and was gripped by the end. i felt really entranced by the setting in particular.

thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc 🫶🏻

If you, like me, have a merely healthy obsession with polar exploration in the 19th century, then Bitter Passage will be a book you want to read. And, for the most part, it was a decent enough way to pass the time. It’s a character-driven book about surviving in one of the most hostile landscapes on Earth, following two men who, to put it bluntly, do not like each other one bit, but are forced to depend on one another for survival. In searching for evidence of another expedition’s fate, they find themselves stranded and their only hope is to continue on across the ice. It’s a book that very successfully evokes that bleakness and the vastness of the landscape around the characters. I think if it’s let down anywhere, it’s that it doesn’t make you feel much for these men. I wasn’t that invested in their survival, to be quite honest, or their relationship and its development (or relative lack of? I feel that could have been done better). I read it to find out what happened, rather than feeling compelled by the plot itself. But, like I said, it was a good enough read and not one I regretted.

A gripping and intense journey through the darker corners of the human soul. Mills' sharp writing and complex characters create a riveting narrative that keeps you on the edge of your seat. This novel is a powerful exploration of survival, morality, and the choices we make in the face of adversity.

This story mainly follows Adams and Robinson, who are part of an expedition to the arctic to look for Captain Franklin after he and his crew disappeared looking for the northwest passage. The story is at least somewhat based on the actual events taking place after Captain Franklin's disappearance, but having no prior knowledge of that I cannot say how accurately the events are described in the book.

I found the story to be unexpectedly gripping, given that from the beginning it is difficult to like either of the main characters. They are at odds with each other throughout the book, and it is difficult to find a clear line on who is right and who is wrong about a lot of their disagreements. The characters are essentially walking through a vast space for much of the book, dealing with the harsh conditions of the land and the lack of available food. There is a great sense of struggling throughout, and the book gives a lot to think about in terms of human psychology. The pace of the book is often quite slow, which adds to the atmosphere really well, but there are also quite a few moments of action which come up quite suddenly and remind you of the dangers these characters are in.

A lot of the situations Adams and Robinson find themselves in are unbelievable to me, but for the most part it feels more that the writer is trying to highlight the kinds of situations and dilemmas people would have actually faced rather than just trying to shock for the sake of it.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It was a well written book. It is my first book that I read by this author.

I love Endurance so I was excited to read this one. It was a bit slow at times, I had to drag through it at times (it's not as attention grabbing as Endurance was for me), but it's a decent read for someone who enjoys epic exploration stories. It's definitely not for everyone, there's a specific niche audience for this story.

Was really interested in this book as it’s not my go to genre. Enjoyed the different style and pace of writing and the opportunity to learn as I was reading. A welcome change from my usual crime and thriller/mystery picks.

This is not the typical story I would pick up and read and I will say it took a bit to get invested, but once I was in, I was IN. The cover art is absolutely beautiful and drew me to the book in the first place. This survival story follows two men on one shared mission with two varying personal purposes. I like the way the author, Colin Mills used the harsh settings and personality differences of the men to create tension building and a sense of dread. I felt unsettled most of the book, which as an avid horror fan I am not complaining! I would've liked more backstory on how the characters came to be themselves but the book is titled, Bitter Passage and that it was.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy for an honest review.

While it took a little bit of time to get into enjoying the book, I felt so entranced during the story that I didn’t want to put it down. It is a work of fiction; however, it did give more non-fiction vibes but read more like fiction. I would say it read similar to The Wager by David Grann.
Also, I really enjoyed the dynamic relationship between Adams and Robinson and both of the characters fluid by stern actions and morals.

I'm sad to say this book did not work with me.
I was intrigued by the icy polar exploration (the art cover is, by the way, stunning!) and the whole setting, landscape and ambience.
But the characters fell flat to me, the 'shock' events were not shocking at all to me, and even though this a fairly short book, it felt so much longer.
I guess this one isn't just really memorable to me.
Other readers might enjoy it.

Awesome concept! And the ideas and theories and themes were definitely there which is why this is such a difficult one to review. I recently read the ministry of time, so i've been absorbed in the whole expedition story, doing research on my own from pure interest. But something in the writing style of this one didn't affect me unfortunately, I think this was mainly due to the slow writing pace, which fit well for the themes I will admit, but not well for my reading experience.

I would like to return to this one in the future though, I feel like it had a lot of potential and maybe I will sit down and do a slower read.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for this ARC! I have always been interested in arctic exploration history and thought this was a fun read overall. I was most interested in the themes addressed in the novel, such as conflict of beliefs and humanity's tenacity. I know that the book focuses on the arctic explorers but I would have loved to have also seen the spotlight on the indigenous people of the Arctic (Iqaluit, Inuit) much more, so that there could have been a nicer balance of perspectives. Overall, a good read nonetheless!