[Audiobook Review] Below Zero by Ali Hazelwood

When Hannah landed her dream job at NASA, she didn't know it would mean having to see Ian again. Ian, her friend Mara's "cousin, or something," who happens to be a brilliant mind with whom she has a brief past with. Ian, who gave her mind-blowing pleasure only to turn around and try to ruin her career. Ian, who shouldn't be in the Arctic - yet here he is, saving her from freezing to death. With chemistry hot enough to blast Martian rovers into space and melt all of the ice and snow in Norway, Ian and Hannah's love will span the globe before finally touching down. 

I've absolutely loved these STEMinist novellas from Ali Hazelwood, and I'm sad that we've reached the end of the series. Mara, Sadie, and Hannah were all fun, smart characters who maybe needed a little more of a push when it comes to seeing the love right in front of them. For Hannah, especially, that love needed an extra push; she was always a loner, even among her friend group, so it was difficult for her to see how Ian's actions might have been out of love and concern rather than an attempt to stifle her career. 

I think Ian was a little too reserved for him to be my favorite leading man in the STEMinist world, but it's hard to top the lengths he would go to for Hannah. I love when two loners/lonely people find each other, so I truly enjoyed seeing Hannah and Ian find someone like-minded in the other person. 

While all three novellas had spice, I loved that Hazelwood used multiple timelines to make the novellas anything but linear and predictable. And because of these past and present timelines, the spice was able to happen in different parts of the novella each time. While Mara, Sadie, and Hannah might be similar enough to remain fast friends, their individual stories were anything but similar. 

Regarding the audiobook, I loved that each novella was narrated by a different person. Savannah Peachwood did a fantastic job at bringing Hannah and Ian to life, and it was clear right from the start that Hannah, as voiced by Peachwood, was going to be different from her two friends in terms of the emotion and cadence in her voice. I've said it before and I still stand by it: it was a brilliant decision to bring on three different narrators for the three different audiobooks. Peachwood brings all the necessarily fire to both Hannah and Ian, giving them both unique personality, while also keeping the style similar to the first two novellas. 

I really enjoyed listening to Below Zero. I could have easily listened to a full-length novel featuring these characters, and highly recommend this novella as well as the first two in the series for fans of Hazelwood or readers just looking for more women in STEM representation. 

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Release date: 4/5/22
Format: ALC
ALC provided via: LibroFM Librarian ALC program