I loved the Finnish setting and am hugely interested in books set around the Northern Lights. Having a setting outside the UK is a great option for travel during the pandemic so I really admire that option.

However, I really didn't like the main character here and DNF'd after 10 per cent.

Beautiful scenery and a great tale. The location descriptions are so vivid you can feel the nip in the air! A wonderful comedy drama read with a perfect balance of drama, comedy and romance. Thoroughly enjoyable and perfect for diving into. The characters are so warm you can’t help to like them (with obvious exceptions). Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Meet Me Under the Northern Lights was an okay book. Kind of weird to rate it this way but I'm not really sure how I feel about this. The setting and Finland sound beyond gorgeous. Definitely makes me want to travel right now. It's just that I didn't really connect with the characters throughout this.

In this, you will meet Tommi and Lucy. They were okay, I guess. I definitely like Tommi a bit more than Lucy though. It seemed like things went in one ear and out the other. Which definitely frustrated the heck out of me. Other than that, the pacing was pretty slow for most of this book. So, I easily found myself bored with everything that was happening.

Overall, in some weird way I'm happy that I got the chance to dive into this. I sort of got to visit a place I've never been through. Just wished that I connected or liked the characters because I would have enjoyed the book more if I did.

A really great story, charming, atmospheric, great characters. Filled me with warmth and spirit. Well written and flowed nicely, was romantic and funny, charming and full of fun. A great read, i really enjoyed it.

Not for me unfortunately. I didn't click with the main character which made it hard for me to enjoy the book. Put it down and never went back to it

Finland in the middle of winter? No, I'm not so sure I want to go there! (I grew up in frigid northern state of the U.S.) But the chance to see and experience the Northern Lights in all their glory? Now you've caught my attention.

Okay, after reading this book, I've changed my mind. It's now on my bucket list to visit Finland in the middle of winter!

Emily Kerr is a great author who artistically uses words to paint the environment, people, culture and lifestyle of this Finnish town where her story is set. We're near the North Pole and yes, it's unbelievably cold, but the hardy Finnish people in this remote town and resort have found a way to cherish the beauty that surrounds them. And as a reader of Kerr's words, we learn to appreciate them in a new way too.

In her story, radio personality Lucy Fairweather finds herself the subject of a embarrassing, career-ruining viral video. She wants to hide from the world until the repercussions of the video blow over, so she heads to the Wild Zone -- a destination winter resort in Finland for people who love extreme travel and want to experience Northern Finland's coldest and darkest months. She's there to help resort owner Tommi prepare for the opening of the resort. But Lucy knows little about staying safe in the extreme temperatures of Finland, and several times has to be saved from her naive actions when venturing out and discovering the area.

Tommi is rather rough and gruff with Lucy, but as they get to know each other better, you can see a gentler, more caring side to him. He truly loves the outdoors and northern Finland, and after reading a while, you begin to see that he's much deeper than you're led to believe when you first meet him. (Not only does the reader discover this, but Lucy does too.)

At times, the book moves a little slowly, but perhaps it's the way the author gives us full insight into the characters of Lucy and Tommi, both who are more complex than we originally realize. I liked delving into their personalities and watching Lucy grow past some of her immature behaviors (like the overdrinking), and I liked seeing how her newfound maturity helped her and Tommi grow closer together.

My favorite aspect of the book? The description of the lifestyle, food and customs of Northern Finland. The author did a great job of convincing me that a winter retreat to remote Northern Finland should be on my travel bucket list!

Oof- this one is hard to review. On one hand I really like a lot of things, but on the other I also felt like a lot could have been done differently so it would have been more enjoyable overall.

For starters I LOVED the Finland setting! I could picture it so vividly in my mind and I found myself constantly looking up the food mentioned and images online to really immerse myself in the book!

But that’s really about where my love ended.
I struggled with Lucy, the MC. I had the hardest time rooting for her when it felt like she was willfully stubborn and unwilling to do what she needed to to rectify things. I tried to empathize over and over but it just.. couldn’t. Add in the fact that all the other characters were also a bit bland and I struggled though this one.

Despite the happy cover, this book did have some more serious undertones (grief, internet trolling, alcoholism, and so on..) but the emotional punch I was so desperately craving always just fell a bit short.

All in all this was 3 ⭐️ it was good, definitely one I’d recommend if it sounds good to you, but I can see how it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me the chance to read this one. All opinions are my own!

This was such a great and surprising read! The book has way more depth to it than I anticipated. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

❄️ I wanted to like this one but I really just couldn’t with this book primarily due to the main character Lucy. She had some serious issues and was dealing with some pretty major life hang ups and as a result just couldn’t get our of her own way. Instead of being written as someone you feel compassion for, it was just frustrating to see her continue to make bad choices and then not understand why everything was turning out horribly.

Even more frustrating was the romance going on during all of this. I literally have no idea how Tommy could have fallen in love with Lucy despite her addictions and continued mess ups. She continued to mess up his business and make bad choices but he somehow was smitten with her. She did turn it around a bit towards the end of but it seemed a little too late.

I will say, Wild Zone sounds like an amazing place- I was cold just reading about it 🥶 but all the activities sounded amazing and definitely made me want to visit Finland someday.

⭐️⭐️ / 5
Takeaway: with an unlovable main character at the helm, it just didn’t do it for me.

An easy winter read with a gorgeous, snowy backdrop, complete with the Northern Lights! The main character, Lucy, is a talented DJ but her destructive behavior lands her in trouble many times. I enjoyed her interactions with the other characters like Tommie, Skye, Rudi and Johanna. My favorite part of the book had to be Gurta and her pups!

When Lucy goes viral (and not in a good way), she needs to escape, and when a friend gives her the opportunity to escape to the Arctic Circle in Finland, we get to travel with her.

I love armchair travel and I found the location fascinating, beautiful, but also slightly scary. Lucy is not very responsible when she first arrives at the resort and it takes her some time to start taking the location and the risks seriously.

I adored the connection between Lucy and Tommi, Tommi was definitely the Finnish strong and silent type, but I loved the humour that shone through as they both warmed to one another.

There are some serious subjects covered including the horrors of internet trolls and alcoholism but it was sensitively handled.

Meet Me Under The Northern Lights is the perfect read for the winter months, snuggled up with a hot drink.

I was so looking forward to this, but sadly didn’t enjoy this as much as I wanted to. It wasn't bad , it just wasn't that interesting. I couldn’t make a connection to our leading character at all, and the romance just lacking for me. Overall it just isn't a book I could connect with and so I can’t recommend this to others when I couldn’t enjoy it myself

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I’m not sure how I felt about this book. I loved the setting and learning so much about Finland. I’ve already looked up recipes for most of the foods mentioned. All that aside, the story itself just wasn’t for me. I didn’t like Lucy; despite being told what she has to do, REPEATEDLY, to make things better, she just doesn’t. Her self-destructive behavior was annoying and got old even before she got to Finland. The story moved so slowly and it was a struggle to finish it.

I very much enjoyed this lovely book. Liked the heroine, and the writing flowed well.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights, and this book only highlighted that even more. What a perfect cozy winter read! Very light-hearted and it was great to see so much of Finland/Finnish traditions. 4/5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It was sweet and fun and funny. If you love Hallmark you will love this book. Great writing, a Great story, and great characters. I look forward to reading more by this author.

On my, Meet Me Under the Northern Lights by Emily Kerr was a fab, fab book. I was hooked from the start and I read it in one sitting as I could not put it down. The vivid description made me think I was there too. Glad I wasn’t as I’m sure Finland will be freezing right now. I’m looking forward to Emily’s next book.

I enjoyed this tale but found it a little predictable. Written in a very easy to read style which would make it an ideal holiday read. Took me a while to finish as it wasn't a book I was desperate to get back to.
Lucy is exposed as a radio dj and ends up going to Finland to escape the wave of media attention that is troubling her. She is found a place at the Wild Zone..where she meets the difficult to please manager/ owner Tommi. After many misdemeanors Lucy stays at the Wild Zone, where she finds her niche and builds a relationship with Tommi....until her past catches up with her....

This was a great wintery read. Very easy to read and I soon got through it in an afternoon. Loved the characterisation and plot. Nothing ground breaking for me but I did enjoy it

This was such a fun holiday read! I loved the characters and the setting and everything about this. Will definitely recommend to those looking for something new to read for the holidays.