A week before Sylvie’s Christmas wedding, Cole calls the wedding off. It is too late to get a refund on the honeymoon so Sylvie and her best friend decide to book a trip to Lapland. Sylvie met an exchange student from Lapland at the university fifteen years ago, felt a connection, but lost track of him. She wonders if he is still single, and will be happy to see her. I loved the Christmas spirit, the magic of the country and the resort of Frozen Falls. The setting is created for a memorable holiday experience, the characters are well developed., the love story is heartwarming. I loved this book and the escape to a foreign land!

In a Nutshell: Meh!

Story:
Sylvie has been dumped by her fiancé of ten years a week before their wedding. The upcoming Christmas season leaves her with dread at the thought of being alone and frozen at home instead of on her honeymoon. Her best friend Nari, a travel blogger, plans a trip for them to see the Northern Lighrts. Sylvie realises that the place they are planning to visit happens to be the hometown of her old-time Finnish ex-boyfriend Stellan. Guess what happens next.

I feel like a Grinch writing this but this Christmas romance fell flat for me on many counts. I fell for that oh-so-adorable cover, the idea of “Frozen Falls”, and of course, who doesn’t like a good old Christmas romance! Well, the cover is still beautiful, the falls do make a lovely (albeit brief) appearance in the book. But the romance is boring and tooooooooooo predictable.

Where the book clicked for me:
The locale. Having the story set in Finnish Lapland is its biggest plus point, All the info about the lifestyle, the saunas, the frozen falls, the freezing weather, the attention to warmth, the Sámi traditions.. was a treat to read. Not to forget the Northern Lights. (I must admit: at times, it felt like the author had a checklist of Finnish specialties she wanted to include in the story and checked the boxes one by one as she progressed with the book.)
The book is not smutty or steamy. (That’s a plus for me but might be a minus for some others.)


Where the book could have worked (much) better for me:
The characters are so unidimensional that you can almost guess every plot point beforehand. Sylvie was the most irritating character. To put it bluntly, she was dumb. Engaged ten years to a guy who keeps pushing the wedding ahead and with a stupid bitch of a mother and she still doesn’t understand how toxic the relationship was? But within a couple of days in Lapland, everything became crystal clear to her?!??! She is a History teacher who knows in detail about Neanderthals but thinks that there are Yetis in Lapland!!! (What the…. ?!?!?) I must add, Sylvie is thirty four, not exactly a young woman wet behind the ears. There was a time when I used to read romance novels regularly. What was common to most of them was that the heroine was in her early twenties, sweet, innocent to the point of being idiotically naive at times, and looking for and/or jilted in love. The only difference between those days and these days is that the heroine is now in her early thirties. But the extra decade of life doesn't seem to correspond to extra maturity.
There is hardly any sizzle between the romantic pairs or any buildup of romance. In Sylvie’s case, it is like long-lost love, still has feelings, still unsure, more feelings, more insecurity, and so on until all ends well. In Nari’s case, who loses her heart to Stellan’s best friend, the track is exactly the same except for the “long-lost love” part.

Now to the audiobook. Many a time, a pathetic reading experience can be salvaged to a certain extent by a fabulous narrator. Unfortunately, though the narrator of this book is vivacious and brings a lot of warmth to the chilly story, her accents for the male lead characters were a bit wonky. Stellan was Finnish and Nari’s beau was Finnish Sàmi, but they both sounded sometimes Russian, sometimes Italian, and sometimes, plain old American. I have no idea of what the Finnish accent actually sounds like but the lack of consistency was distracting.

Overall, this would be a good choice if you want a light-hearted brainless romance set in a fabulous and novel location. Don’t expect too much sense or thrills from the story though.

2.5 stars from me. Rounding up because (1) Maths rules, and (2) Finland rocks.

My thanks to Saga Egmont Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “Christmas at Frozen Falls”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook. Sorry this didnt work out better.

This book starts with the main character Sylvie who has just been dumped by her fiancé of 10 years. Sylvie’s best friend Nari is a travel blogger and not wanting to leave Sylvie alone for Christmas, the pair end up in Lapland, Finland.

I have never been but I have seen gorgeous pictures of this winter wonderland. This book gives a beautiful description of all of the wintery magic and scenery.

Add in Northern lights and Christmas lights, glass dome cabins and crackling fires, a resort with a spa and full service restaurant,
Champagne and dark cherries dipped in chocolate, reindeer drawn sleighs and husky puppies…oh, and 2 handsome men….it can only equal one thing!!! ❤️❤️❤️

This was a super cute, festive, heart warming romantic read that Hallmark movies are made of. It was the perfect way to get ready for my Christmas reading TBR!

𝘊𝘰𝘻𝘺, 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦!

I’m loving all the small town holiday romance stories and this book was a joy to listen. A second chance romance full of festive feeling, reindeers, lots of snow, Christmas magic and adorable husky puppies.

Thank you sagaegmont and NetGalley for this ALC.

Christmas at Frozen Falls Audiobook by Kiley Dunbar Author Book Page releases October 31, 2021.

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘓𝘪𝘵, 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

I listed to this on audio, and I will say it louder: I LIKE BRITISH NARRATORS!

This is another one of those cheeky little stories with travel and love and second chances woven in the midst. Sylvie has a terrible breakup and takes an adventure with her bestie. It just happens that it is where Stellen owns and runs Frozen Falls resort.

Stellen’s quiet brooding confuses Sylvie repeatedly as they enjoy the beautiful northern lights, Lapland, and the surrounds.

If you are looking for a British Christmasy novel without the steam, consider this one!

Based on the description, I think I had a different image of the book in my head. I was disappointed that there were so many curse words and sexual comments in the first part of the book. Because of this, this book would not be a good fit for my audience.

I loved every bit of this book. The narrator did an excellent job. I loved the rekindling of a college relationship and the way the characters developed.

I was in the mood for a rom com with a bit of Christmas mood and so I decided I needed to read this cute book and feel festive!

Sylvie Magnusson was planning to spend this holiday season somewhere beautiful enjoying her honeymoon. However she is going to spend Christmas alone and in Cheshire, as her ex fiancé, Cole, decided to dump her six months ago, but a week before the wedding! A real charm, this one! Right about when she finally decides to cancel the trip, her college friend Nari saves her for making the biggest mistake ever. Nari is not going to let her best friend spend Christmas alone and being miserable, just because her stupid ex got cold feet. So she transforms whatever that honeymoon trip was going to be, to a dream trip to the Finish Lapland! She wanted to travel there in order to see the Northern Lights, so why not do it with her best friend and do her best to cheer Sylvie up!

So, Nari asks Sylvie to pick the actual resort they are going to visit, and Sylvie realizes that Saariselka, a resort village in Northen Lapland, is the home town of Stellan Virtanen, her gorgeous Finnish ex boyfriend from her college days, before she met Nari. Sylvie remembers how great they were together, but she also remembers that one day , Stellan left England without a word and she never saw him again. So, she decides to actually visit the place, not knowing if he will be there or if there will be a chance for them to meet, after all these years. But when the two friends arrive in Frozen Falls resort they find more than snow and spa facilities. They find two beautiful men willing to show them around, they find hospitality and Husky puppies to cuddle.

I loved the friendship the two girls had. The one was always there for the other, supporting and ensuring she takes the right decision. I also liked the fact that Nari was actually a travel blogger, so we got to see some of her posts on her blog and how she described and planned everything! Sylvie grew up to be a history teacher, which made me think she was an adult with a settled mind and all. Reading the book I realized that she had not yet found herself, something she did throughout this story though!

The romance part was not so easygoing for me. I understand that Sylvie and Stellan were very cautious with the steps each of them took towards the other. It was visible that there was a sparkle there, from both sides, but not until everything was out in the open, did they left themselves free to express their feelings. And that was not all the romance we had! Nari falls for Nillo, Stellan’s friend. That romance starts really quick and lovely, the love at first sight kind. Somewhere in the middle we see it becoming cold, as they realize their differences and they are not sure how this should move forward. I wasn’t very fond of how that part progressed, but it was really cute either way!

There were different point of views in the story, which allowed for the reader to get to know more of the characters. It really added to the story itself. The narrator did a really good job bringing the story to life. I found that Nari’s voice was different when it was in her own POV than when it was in Sylvie’s POV. I cannot tell if someone else noticed it, but I would prefer it was the same all the way. One other thing that a really good idea for the audiobook, but didn’t sit well with me was the Finnish accent. I liked the fact that the narrator tried to show the difference between English spoken by British people and English Spoken by Finnish people. It was really good and useful in order to understand at once who was talking. However, it didn’t remind me the accent of my Finnish colleagues so it felt a bit strange for me.

Overall, this was a cute Christmas love story to read!

This book is expected to be published on October 31st 2021.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the opportunity to listen and review this audiobook. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Christmas at Frozen Falls by: Kiley Dunbar
Thanks to Saga Egmont Audio and NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this advanced reader copy of this book all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Sylvie was just dumped at the altar a week before her wedding. Instead of getting off on her Honeymoon she’s sitting at home freezing. In order to get Sylvie out of her funk her best friend Nari plans a trip to see the northern lights. Much to her surprise she ends up in the town of her ex-boyfriend Stellan. Can she leave Stellan behind and forget about him? It was such a cozy listen as we enter closer and closer to winter.

Sylvie's finance decides he can't go through with the wedding. Since he's a pilot, he jets off to leave Sylvie with all the wedding plans to cancel. One of those plans - their Christmas honeymoon in Mauritius. It happens that Sylvie's best friend Nari is a travel blogger and talks her into still going on a trip. Instead of the sunny beaches of the African island though, they exchange the tickets for a place that couldn't be more different. They decide on Lapland, Finland. It's then that Sylvie remembers Stellan the Finnish exchange student she fell in love with during university - unfortunately shortly after she told him she loved him he caught a flight home without even saying goodbye.

This is probably the least Christmasy, Christmas book I've read so far. Other than being set at Christmas and elves at the airport, there really isn't much Christmas mentioned. So if you are more interested in a wintery romance, this would be a good book for you to pick up.

I broke my rule about books with animals and started to worry when it is hinted that something happened to Sylvie's dog Barney. If you are like me and cry when books have animals, then let me assure you that it isn't too bad. We don't experience the problem first hand and it is more about making us hate her ex more. And it gives Sylvie and Stellan something to reconnect over.

While the ebook and print editions came out in 2019, it's now being published as an audiobook. (Funny, I had never heard of publisher Saga Egmont before and now this is my third or fourth book from them.) While the audiobook is well done (just like the others I have listened to from this publisher), I did have a little trouble with the characters' accents. I thought Sylvie's friend's name was Mary but then I noticed in the Goodreads description that her name is Nari. When narrator Helen Duff is reading the narration I didn't have as much trouble with her accent. I also didn't have trouble telling the characters apart when they spoke.

Since I read Christmas romances more for the Christmas magic than for the romance, I wasn't as thrilled with this book. But it is a solid story that any romance reader will enjoy.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Monday Oct 25 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/10/4-more-books-to-add-to-your-christmas.html

A perfect festive listen.
What more do you want when you get your heartbroken by your fiancé of 10 years than trip with your bestie to see the northern lights? Oh, how about reconnecting with your first love who happens to run the place you’re staying in?
Lovely narration that allowed the listener to become immersed in the story which is a great Christmassy romance filled with interesting characters. Although it follows the standard type of plot line the book, and how it was read, held my interest from beginning to end.
A heartwarming story set in spectacular scenery.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I enjoyed this book. Perfect for the Christmas season that is around the corner. I will say that I loved the narrator the only part that I didn't like was when she tried to do a different accent..it was a bit on the annoying side.

Is it christmas yet? If I wasn't already in the christmas spirit, I sure would be after listening to this one! I love books with travels to other countries and if it's somewhere I've never been, even better. This was the romantic christmas get away, I needed.
One thing, I will say, is that I was really confused about what some of the characters names were. First off, we have Nari, who I thought was called Mary throughout the whole book and it wasn't until after I read some of the other reviews (to find the name of another character), that I found out her name was Nari. Second, we have Stellans friend. At first I thought his name was Milla, and he was I girl, making me super excited about women loving women relationships in an otherwise very straight book. Then I found out he was a man and then I thought I heard Milo as his name (pronounces in the scandinavian way - pronounced like Milla, but just with an O in end). And now reading the othere reviews, I find out that his name was probably Niilo/Neala/somtehing.
Overall I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a (as we would say in Denmark) hyggelig book to read over christmas!

An absolutely gorgeous book! Perfect for any time of year but especially wonderful in the run up to Christmas.

Kiley Dunbar is one of those authors who you can rely on. You know that when you see her name on the cover you are in for a treat of a read and Christmas At Frozen Falls doesn’t disappoint. It has all her usual hallmarks, romance, sadness, laugh out loud moments and great characters

Review in 10-ish words: Cute, festive and better than a Christmas movie! 4/5

Synopsis:
Sylvie is heartbroken when her fiancé of ten years leaves her. She dreads the idea of a lonely Christmas with her parents (as adorable as they are) and equally despises the idea of going on her beach would-be honeymoon.

Sylvie's best friend; Naree pulls through with an epic trip to see the northern lights! Lapland may be a Finnish, snowy paradise... but she also remembers its home to her old uni boyfriend; Stellan.

My thoughts:
I was not excited for Christmas this year. I am away from home again, I am living overseas and I just wasn't getting into the spirit-
This book fixed that and then some! It calls for boozy hot chocolates and fuzzy blankets.
I loved Sylvie and her relationship with Naree. I loved how much of the setting of Lapland we got to see in the book. If anything it has moved Finland up on my holiday wish list!
It's soppy in the way that all romance reads are. This one is fairly tame and is more so a 'romcom' kind of read in my opinion, don't go into it expecting heavy spice.
The ending dragged on a teeny, tiny bit. But otherwise, an enjoyable read.

I Would recommend for a cold, wintry afternoon over the holiday season <3

The narration for the audiobook is STELLAR.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a complementary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

I have to admit I requested this thinking it would be a fluff listen while I wedding prepped. I was so wrong. The characters are wonderful and the storyline could not be any more lovely. I literally could not stop listening.

Sylvie a bride, basically left at the alter, converts her honeymoon to a dazzling Christmas vacation with her best friend up inside the arctic circle. While planning she realizes an old flame lives in the area.

Cue Stellan a hunky, romantic, and caring man who runs the resort that Sylvie is staying at. I’m guessing you can figure out if they rekindle their love. However, the strong voices each character brings to the table are what make this book unforgettable that and the long list below for a perfect winter warmup.

Husky sled rides

A reindeer herder

Christmas magic all over the place

The quite that snow brings to the world

A glass cabin for watching the northern lights

Genuine growth in every character

4.25 stars

This was a cute, feel-good, slightly angsty holiday romcom. The characters were fun, and I enjoyed seeing a bit of development in them. I also liked the setting of the story- it added some fun and informative elements. I like a festive story, but I also appreciate that it wasn’t overloaded with Christmas-y details (because, as much as it’s my favourite time of year, I like when books work year-round). If you’re in the mood for something sweet with a nice, happy ending, check out this story. I know I’ll be looking for other books by this author in the future as well.

I loved this book. We follow Sylvie who was dumped weeks before her wedding and her best friend Nari as they rearrange Sylvie's honeymoon to go to Lapland over Christmas. There Sylvie and Nari both connect with guides of the resort and go on the adventure of a lifetime. The guide Sylvie connects with is her ex boyfriend from college who had been studying abroad for a semester. This second chance romance is beautiful.

First off, the descriptions of Lapland, the food (as different as it may be), the culture, and the landscape have me dreaming of a visit. It was incredible. All I want to do now is buy a ticket to Lapland, take a dog sled ride, stay in a log cabin in the middle of the snowy forest, and experience a world completely different than my own. If a book can convince me to add a place to my "places to travel" list then it is off to a good start.

We have a second chance romance between Sylvie and Stellan that just makes your heart melt. I loved the two of them together and the back story of each of the characters made them seem so real and helped to build the believable chemistry between them. Nari's romance was adorable as it was sudden. unexpected, and was an opposites attract.

The Christmas element of this was perfectly done. It wasn't forced into every chapter, it was simply a holiday that was present in the story. If you want to be transported to a new part of the world and read about 2 cozy love stories this is the book for you.

I felt at home with this book straight away as it had quite a few links to my real life, I currently live in Manchester and I use to live in Lincolnshire (there is a character who was born in Grantham). There’s just a special little buzz you get when the places are really familiar to you as you can really picture yourself in the character’s shoes.

Kiley always creates amazing characters and Sylvie and Nari weren’t any exception, the book is focused on Sylvie but we get a few chapters from Nari’s point of view to which is really nice as you get to know both characters independently. I especially liked Nari’s blog chapters as it felt like I was one of her readers having a nosey at her life.

I’ll not say too much about the two hunks but you just know they’re the kindest giants out there. As we see their relationships with the girls developing you can see that their hearts are in the right place and you can’t help but love them a little bit.

Frozen Falls as a resort is one thing but when we see the falls that the resort is named after it’s just mesmerising. Kiley description created an amazing vision in my head and I really felt like I was standing there looking at it myself. And then throw in the northern lights, the roaring fire and I would have happily been transported there instantly!

I really enjoyed listening to this book and being able to fully escape from the real world for a few hours at a time, especially when I wasn’t feeling the best. I can see myself reading this in years to come and will be crossing my fingers that Kiley will be writing another Christmas book soon 🤞🏻

What a unique and enjoyable romance novel!
This book had unique, flawed, and lovable characters that truly came to life in the gorgeous setting of Lapland. Every Christmas story should be set in such a beautiful place. The descriptions of the scenery came to life, and I think that's what really captivated me and brought the story to life. The characters didn't grab me, at first, but I came to love them all. While you know you're going to get your festive happy ending, the book's conflict was handled very well; Not too outlandish or inconsequential. All in all, I enjoyed the cozy winter read! If nothing else, read it so you can close your eyes and pretend to be in Finland!