Frostbite by David Wellington

The story opens with Cheyenne, "Chey", Clarke being swept away in an Arctic flash flood. (We aren't told why she's in the Arctic alone, that is kept a mystery at first.) Her pack is destroyed on the rocks at the bottom of the ravine and she loses all her supplies except her useless cell phone, a compass, a water damaged map, and a few energy bars. She becomes lost and it on the edge of starvation when she encounters a pack of wolves. She escapes them by climbing a tree, but the await at the bottom, until a howl from something bigger scares them away.

The creature that scares the pack away is a larger, single wolf. Chey is scratched by this creature. In the morning Chey continues to walk in hopes of finding a town, and help. She is drawn to the camp of a very strange man by the sight and smell of smoke. They hike further into the wilderness, and to his run-down truck. He takes her to get help, and they meet Powell. It turns out Powell is the same creature that scratched her.

Chey does not realize that Powell is the creature at first, Powell attempts to kill her before her first change to prevent the spread of his curse. Once she changes for the first time, Powell resigns to teaching her about her new life, and explains his choice of living arrangements. We learn more about Powell and Chey through flashbacks: finding out how he received the curse and why she came to the Arctic all alone. Her motives for being in the Arctic cause strife between them.

When other people arrive, the situation becomes even more complicated and dangerous. David Wellington maintains his style of fast-paced action in this book. His descriptions are detailed and gripping, allowing the reader to picture the foreign landscape with ease. I look forward to finding out what happens next in the series in Overwinter.

Happy reading!