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In 1917, Anastasia is traveling with her mother’s remains when she recalls a similar journey a decade prior. She encounters a phantasm named Svetlana, who warns her about the “Arctic Fox.” Despite this caveat, loneliness and despair lead to Anastasia summoning the fox, who proceeds to haunt her every move. Meanwhile, Jack is a British expatriate living an idle life in Egypt. He is a budding musician but can’t seem to have good fortune in composing anything of note. He believes his misfortunes stem from his father sending him away to avoid service in World War I. He is forlorn until the day he first lays eyes on Anastasia and is summarily smitten. However, Anastasia returns Jack’s affection with icy indifference and caution. Jack will need to decide whether Anastasia is worth the cost of courting.
The trajectory of the book begins on a note of the supernatural as Anastasia encounters the ghost named Svetlana. However, the emotional essence of the book consists of the inner demons that plague both Anastasia and Jack and the uncertain path to romance they travel on. They are lost and troubled souls upon their first encounter. The war is still waging, and Jack’s heart is heavy with feelings of shame and cowardice. He feels compelled to take a chance and feels as if Anastasia provides the opportunity for him to do so. Anastasia has fled her increasingly fractured Russian homeland and now lives in the Sinai Peninsula. “The Arctic Fox” is her cross to bear and she longs to find the right mate to fulfill her lonely heart and rid her of the fox’s presence for good. This is an enjoyable read about a transcendental romance.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review