As a fan of Sarah Morgan’s books, I’m sorry to say that there is very little to recommend this story other than the stunning Lapland setting with the Aurora Borealis taking center stage. It’s an amalgamation of tired tropes: female friendship that takes a back seat when one gets married, estranged siblings, horrible parenting with its inherent emotional crippling, and poor communication that leads to major misunderstandings. The pace is slow, the characters are dull (except for precocious 4 year old Holly), the chemistry is tepid, and the ending just sort of fizzles.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from HQN through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I am woefully behind with my October ARCs, but I didn’t want this one to end. Both Christy and Alix face some heavy realizations about their lives and relationships, with each other, and with men. I thought the character development was good. I adored the setting, perfect for a Christmas story, Lapland in Sweden. It has snow, sled rides, the northern lights, and dogs, sheer perfection. I loved the story and all the prickly issues thst were finally sorted out. Christy learns to be less rigid and Alix to be more trusting. Trust me when I say don’t be rigid, get this book as soon as you can.

I usually love all the books by this author but had trouble with this book. There were too many characters and I had trouble getting into the story

Holy crap, this book is good. I was expecting a light, feel-good Christmas read and instead I read a story that grabbed me by the throat and legit had me tearing up a couple times. Alix is such an amazing, complicated, damaged yet beautiful character. Coming from a pretty dysfunctional family myself, her reactions and responses in light of her emotional abandonment as a child felt so realistic. I wish we'd gotten to hear a little more of Zac's perspective, but that complaint is so minor; I really liked his character too. Christy and Robyn's stories were good too, but Alix had me reading up until way too late last night. This was a story I'll be thinking about for awhile.

*I received a review copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

I enjoyed the character relationships and the description; however the main issue that kept the aunt and her niece from connecting was absolutely ridiculous to the point that I wanted to throw the book against the wall (except it was an eBooks and would have ruined my kindle.) It seriously ruined the book for me ... and the massive immaturity at the end between to the 2 friends.

I really enjoyed this book. It makes me look forward to Christmas this year. I love the character Holly. She's very talkative and always asks questions. I like how they describe the places they went. I am grateful that netgalley let me read this in exchange for an honest review