“Then stop second-guessing all the time and learn to live for the moment. You won’t see any of these people again after this week so who cares what they think?” (Page 174)

Content

Three years ago, Esme Greenwood had left for London, to live with her fiancée Warren. Three months ago she found out that he is married and went back to stay with her grandmother Mathilde at Thimble Cottage in Little Dove Morton, a small village. Soon it will be Christmas when grandmother Mathilde suddenly dies. This makes it easy for Warren to persuade her to come back to him. However, there are still two tickets for a Christmas week in Lapland, her Christmas present from her grandmother, but over-controlling, egoistic Warren refuses. Therefore, one day, when Warrren has left for work, she just packs her suitcase and takes a cab to the airport. Lapland, the place of her childhood dreams, is waiting, together with a fantastic scenery, lots of snow, Santa’s village and some surprises too.

Theme and Genre

A heartwarming, typical Christmas romance, which takes place in Lapland.

Characters

Esme is likeable and witty, but when it comes to Warren, she still believes his promises, and still struggles to understand that Warren definitely is not good for her.

Plot and Writing

The story is romantic, with amazing portrayals of Lapland, Rovaniemi, the Northers lights and traditional Christmas festivities. The main part are the days in Lapland, Esme making new friends with other single travelers, and enjoying spectacular experiences of nature and romantic Christmas sceneries. But there are many, in my opinion too many, pages about Esme thinking about Warren, how much he needs her, still finding new excuses for his behavior and feeling guilty, again insecure and worthless, and this began to annoy me a bit, dimming the Christmassy, enjoyable mood of the story.

Conclusion

An entertaining, romantic Christmas read with lively and impressive descriptions of Lapland in December, but a sometimes-annoying heroine.