Jo always seems to be right on the mark as far as frienship goes and the relevance of always being prepared to look after others before your own needs sometimes. Working together achieves more than can be done alone sometimes. Iceland sounds wonderful, no doubt it will be on everyone's list of places to visit. I can't wait to see where she takes us next. May be a recipe book of all the places she has visited so far??????

Another cracker from Jo Thomas. A beautiful setting and wonderful characters to put me in the festive mood. I loved the stories of the three women and the reasons for their visit to Iceland. Each such strong characters but facing big decisions in their lives. The enforced slow down was the perfect time for the three of them to reconsider the important things in life and I loved how they reconnected with eachother too.
Jo describes the harsh reality of the winter in this part of the world beautifully and it sounded idyllic ( although a little cut off for me )

Freya, Joanne and Meg are in Iceland to see the Northern Lights for their late friend Laura's 40th Birthday. On hunting the aurora off the beaten track an unexpected landslide leaves them stranded in a remote Icelandic village.

I loved the setting of the book and it's so descriptive you can almost feel the cold and taste the smoked salmon and rye bread!

It highlights the bond of friendship and community spirit and there's a little bit of romance thrown in too.

A nice inspiring winter read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.

Jo Thomas has really out surpassed herself with this book as just simply fantastic so well written you feel you are transported there. The characters are brilliant and you just want to keep reading more. Full of finding yourself and friendship and plenty about Christmas and loved ones that are missed. It's well worth more than five stars as so brilliant from start to end.
Four friends made a bucket list years ago and they want to for fill the bucket list even though the main friend has passed away. So Freya Meg amd Joanne all go to see the Northants lights on what would have been Laura's 40th birthday. They are only meant to be there for 3 days as they have commitments back home. Problem is when they are out they didn't think an avalanche would hot and they would get cut off. They soon find a community and support each other and find out who they really are and what they all want from life and will it be the busy lives they all have or will it be very different. A very warm and heartwarming read.

A lovely visit to Iceland. Enjoyed the scenery, the surroundings, the food and the characters. Laura has died, her three friends Meg, Joanna & Freya are fulfilling one of her bucket list adventures and are ‘In search of the Northern Lights’. The village they end up in is filled with wonderful people. Another brilliant Jo Thomas book.

I like this unusual take on a Christmas read where the girls are going on a holiday in memory of their friend. Not an obvious romance initially, but the way things blossom are particularly unusual and despite the cold climate, warms your heart.

I swear I say this with every book from this author, but boy can she describe food. My stomach growls reading these descriptions every time.

A great tale, that is perfect for Christmas reading and pure escapism.

Three friends visit Iceland in memory of their friend who died and had Iceland on her bucket list.
After travelling to see the northern lights they get snowed in and end up in a remote cottage where they help the owner deliver food to the near village.
I found the whole book unbelievable from the beginning when they paid a stranger where they could see the lights when they got told they wouldn`t see them for the bad weather, to them going out with food for the village when its only stated to being snowed in as if people in Iceland didn`t have a supple of food just in case, and not one character likeable.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC

What a beautiful book that will leave you grinning from ear to ear.

Laura started a bucket list while she was on a hen weekend with her 3 friends, sadly Laura died and the others needed to complete the list for her. One of them was looking at the Northern Lights. They set off on a trip to Iceland and when they get out to look for the lights, the weather had another idea.

This book is all about friendship, community and love. All the characters are very well written about and loved the ending. The descriptions of the landscapes of Iceland are beautifully written. It makes you want to jump in a plane straight away.

Highly recommend this Christmas book, easily readable in one sitting.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy for an honest review. 5 stars

Keeping a Christmas Promise is the story of three friends who travel to Iceland in search of the northern lights to celebrate the life of their friend Laura who has passed away. It was the one thing on her bucket list she never got to do.
Freya, Meg and Joanna arrive in the middle of a huge snowstorm and are determined to see the lights so hire a car and go in search of them.
An avalanche makes the decision to give up and return to the hotel impossible. Spotting a farm in the distance Freya heads there for help. Little does she know she is about to change the path of her whole life. Petur isn’t happy when he thinks Freya is someone else.
Petur takes the girls in along with Frankie who they’ve literally bumped in to the way, life is very different in Iceland and Petur and the rest of the community teach the girl how a small village look out for each other.
Freya is slowly learning to remember the happy times and in turn learns to move forward.
A beautiful story set in an amazing place made me want to see more snow and look forward to winter.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for an ARC of this lovely book

Brilliant. I loved the setting . Jo Thomas never disappoints . Friends go to Iceland to follow a dream of one their friends who died of cancer. Her dream was to see the Northern Lights. It’s a lovely story of getting lost, beautiful food and communities helping each other. I loved it . The horses in the snow. Just beautiful . You just escaped for a while.

Thank you for letting me read this book early. It is the first one I have read by Jo. The book was both sad and happy delving into the characters lives. It makes me want to go to Iceland even more. Will definitely be reading more from Jo Thomas.

I received a free copy of, Keeping a Christmas Promise, by Jo Thomas, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. When Freya's friend dies at a young age she promises to go to the northern lights for her. Sounds simple, but it does not end up that way , Freya and her friends are stick in a blizzard in the middle of nowhere, in the cold. I enjoyed reading this book by the heater, because it made me cold, a delightful read by Jo Thomas, love, laughter, friendship, and bucket lists.

This was such a lovely holiday and the best way to remember someone who was close to them! Loved the scenery in Iceland and the community who pull together! A lovely Christmas story.

What's not to love about this book, snow, Christmas and keeping a promise to a dying friend, loved everything about this book from the characters to the descriptive scenery and landscape of Iceland, we follow 3 friends each with their own problems in life who go to Iceland to fufill a promise they made to their friend Laura who sadly passed and that promise was to see the lights, after an avalanche stops them returning to their hotel after searching for the lights they find help and hope on a farm and end up helping in the community and making new friends along the way while they wait for the road to be clear again, it gives all 3 friends a time for reflection and they come to realise that the life they lead isn't the one they wanted or hoped for
Wonderfully written and so descriptive, I fell in love with the characters and the landscape, couldn't put this book down

Three friends make a pact to see the Northern lights when the 4th friend in the group dies. However things as in life don’t run smoothly which challenges the friends to reevaluate their lives. It’s a great storyline with wonderful characters who you can relate to as well as escape with. A book once you start you don’t want to put down. Don’t wait for Christmas.
Thanks to Jo Thomas for another great book and her publishers. Also thanks to NetGalley. An easy 5 stars.

Three friends stranded in Iceland! The three women go to Iceland for a short break, in memory of the late fourth member of the group. Her wish had always been to see the Northern lights, and the three were determined to do tis for her. An avalanche cuts them off from their hotel and they become part of another world, stayingin a small village, mixing with the locals and even rescuing an elderly man. This is beautifully written, descriptions of the snowy land, the frozen waterfalls, the extreme cold are all so well drawn. The three girls change gradually from high flyers into more real people, living for others rather than for themselves.
Any Jo Thomas book is always good but this one is magical. Thank you for a review copy which I very much enjoyed.

Three friends travel to Iceland at Christmas to fulfil their friend's bucket wish to see the Northern LIghts.

Freya is a London chef, working in a Michelin starred restaurant, only her love for their lost friend would have persuaded her to go on holiday just before their new restaurant opens in the run-up to Christmas (which honestly I can't believe would ever happen).

Meg is about to get married for the second time, if her friends and ex-in-laws don't driver her crazy first.

Joanna married well and her Christmas is delivered (like Margot Ledbetter in the Good Life). Fancy cars, houses, holidays, food and wine, she has it all.

But when a last minute attempt to see the Northern Lights leaves the trio stuck on the wrong side of an avalanche the women may need to celebrate a simpler Christmas with the Icelandic villagers of this remote village.

I enjoyed reading this but about two-thirds of the way through I found it hard going. The endings were signalled and it felt like we were limping towards the end. And of course the problem with a book dragging is that you start to see faults, like the Icelandic artist Pétur who seems happy to see his village atrophy rather than embrace change. Also the slow pace meant I felt I was being preached at about the villagers way of life.

I enjoy Jo Thomas books, but they seem to be very idealistic and a bit naive at times.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book, the way the author brought both the characters and landscape to life made it incredibly easy to read and visualise the story as I went along. It's left me with a yearning to visit Iceland myself and see if I can find the village described as it sounds such a wonderful place to live with an idyllic Christmas where everyone came together to help each other and celebrate.
Seeing, through Freya's eyes, the way all the characters dealt with their issues and found their way to their own happy places made a lovely story as did seeing how each character's lives and choices made an impact on Freya in deciding her own fate.
This book has left me with a lot of warm fuzzy feelings, just what I want from a Christmas Romance!

I love Jo’s books and this one was no exception. I particularly enjoyed it as I am going to Iceland this December and it gave me a feel for what it could be like! Not the snowed in bit, but the gorgeous descriptions of the land and the food and traditions! The characters were well described and believable and I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Another fabulous book by Jo Thomas.

To carry out the wish of their friend Laura, who wanted to see the Northern Lights, which she had on her bucket list, before she passed away, three friends are going to Iceland.

But, they didn’t expect to be involved in a crash whilst looking for the lights, and then having to stay in a village following an avalanche.

A really touching story, not too Christmassy, but one in which they each realise what’s really important to them.

Reading this, I felt that sometimes we need to step back sometimes, and think what’s important to us.

It was interesting reading about the Safe House, about a community looking out for each other.

I now really want to visit Iceland.

I recommend this book.