3.5 stars

This story is told from multiple views. We have Robyn, the ostracized aunt who owns a vacation lodge in Lapland. Her story is sort of the inducement for this book as a whole, but we don’t hear from her all that often. Robyn has found her HEA in love, but has always yearned for a connection with her niece Christy. Christy is married with a young daughter and has always wanted to spend Christmas in Lapland, it’s something she and her best-friend Alix grew up talking about. Just as she’s about to make this dream come true, she finally opens her eyes to see there are problems in her marriage and in her life that need to be addressed, throwing her orderly life into a tailspin. She asks Alix to take her daughter Holly on to Lapland as planned, with Christy and her husband to join them in a few days. Alix is single and likes it that way. She doesn’t think she’s good at relationships so doesn’t ever take the chance of catching feelings. She’d do anything for Christy, including taking her 4-year-old to another country and spending time with the one man that could possibly get through that wall she’s put up.

Where Alix is Christy’s best-friend, Zac is Christy’s husband’s best-friend. Someone Alix has been avoiding for over 5 years, ever since Christy and Seb’s wedding. And let me tell you, Zac is one of the most patient and kind people you’ll meet. He’s wonderful with Holly, understanding with Alix even when she doesn’t deserve his kindness, and really is able to look at things in a way many don’t take the time to do. Meaning as much as Alix tries to push him away, he never gives up. Not in a creepy way. He’s not pushy. But he’s there when she needs him. He understands her even more than she understand herself. The days these two spend together as Holly’s substitute parents are days they both come to realize some hard truths about themselves.

Christy’s need for order and perfection has driven her husband to keeping secrets. Not the secrets she at first fears, but it’s still not an ideal situation. Theirs is a story of love that is maybe taken for granted, and maybe not trusted as much as it should be. Their relationship was a whirlwind which has led Christy to have deep rooted fears of what that relationship is built on. They skipped past some of the “getting to know you” stuff they should have done at the beginning of their courtship. Christy is determined to fix things, but first she needs to learn to let go of other things.

While I look at this story as a romance, after all the relationships of Alix and Zac as well as Christy and Seb are key to the entire book, one of the main storylines is the lifelong relationship between Christy and Alix. Things were said and done back when Christy was getting married that has altered the ease and camaraderie these two always had. The women are finally ready to face these issues and only hope their friendship can weather the storm that is to come.

The setting is almost a whole other character in parts of this book. A Christmas wonderland of snow, northern lights, reindeer, and sled dogs. The author does a beautiful job of taking the reader to Lapland. I found myself really wanting to vacation there myself.

There is sweet chemistry between all of these characters. I found myself drawn into their world and rooting for all of the relationships to work out. But I also found some areas of the story to be a bit slow and frustrating. For the most part, it was an enjoyable read.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

You can find an excerpt of this story on my blog, All In Good Time.