Christmas at Frozen Falls was not quite a fit for me- I found it lacked the holiday spirit/magic a bit. I felt like it focused on the negative quite a lot. I did enjoy the Lapland setting, though, and I loved that Dunbar included so many Sámi traditions. It is a fascinating culture, and she worked it in really well!
The narrator was wonderful- I really enjoyed listening to her, she had a great pace and handled accents well!

Christmas at Frozen Falls was a fun, fast holiday read. I enjoyed the tidbits of information on Finland that were sprinkled in & it felt more developed than a typical holiday quick romance book. I also enjoyed the characters more than I typically do with this type of book. It was a little less holiday and more travel adventure than I was expecting, but I still loved following both Sylvie’s rekindled romance and Nari’s newfound one.

I was provided with a copy of this book from
netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Christmas at Frozen Falls by Kiley Dunbar
Narrator Helen Duff
Genre - Romance
Rating - 5 out of 5 stars
Narration rating - 3 out of 5 stars

After being jilted a week before her wedding Slyvie Magnusson decides to trade in her honeymoon retreat to a resort in the frozen tundra of Lapland with her best friend Nari. They both go for different reasons Nari wants to see the Northern Lights and find a new place for her travel blog. Sylvie is going to surprise her old college sweetheart Stellan. Along the way Nari meets Stellans gorgeous best friend. From there they both kind of go their separate ways with their perspective men. As sparks fly and things steam up even in the frozen tundra they both realize they will have to leave their men soon. All to soon they are back home and wondering what to do next.

I thought the narration was not the best on this book. There was some different voices between the Swedish men and the English women but she did little to change her voice for the English women.

I would recommend this book in book format rather than audio as it took me a while to get through because of before mentioned narration problems. I loved the storyline and the ending though. So I would highly recommend this book.

A few months ago, Sylvie’s fiancé dumped her a week before their wedding. Now, with Christmas approaching, Sylvie can’t bear the thought of going on the trip that was supposed to be their honeymoon. Her best friend, Nari, convinces Sylvie to go with her on a trip to see the Northern Lights in Lapland. The resort they are staying at just happens to be owned by Sylvie’s ex-boyfriend, Stellan Virtanen, whom she never got over after their college romance. The two reconnect during her stay, with Stellan offering to show Sylvie the sights. Will this give Sylvie a chance at closure on their relationship, or could their romance be rekindled?

I loved reading a book set in Finland; it would be incredible to spend a vacation there and experience a bit of Arctic winter. I am a huge fan of second chance romances, so I enjoyed seeing Sylvie and Stellan reconnect. As happens with many relationships in this trope, there was <b>a thing</b> that happened, breaking them up the first time, but I thought it was pretty weak. I really did not get Nari’s romance with Stellan’s friend/business partner. <spoiler>They knew each other for literally less than a week, spending much of that time feeling awkward around each other, yet fell head over heels in love?</spoiler> If you enjoy cozy, clean, feel-good romances, give this one a try. Beyond that, I don’t think it will be attracting newcomers to the genre.

3.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Anyone looking for a Christmas listen?

Christmas at Frozen Falls 🎧
Author: @kileydunbarromance
Narrator: Helen Duff
Publisher: @sagaegmont
Download: @netgalley
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Thank You NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for access to this audiobook ❤️

My Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this audiobook, especially the popular culture references to Bates Motel and Sex and the City. Nari’s blog also reminds me of the Gossip Girl voice. I was particularly impressed with how Helen Duff narratored with a British and Finish accent, including the Finnish phrases. I love what Kiley Dunbar did with the cold and unique setting in Saariselkä, Lapland turning it into something beautiful and magical. I like that with this particular setting, the girls go from a bigger city to a small town to find love. The plot here does not drag on. You have a heart broken main character Sylvie Magnusson that goes from being dumped before her wedding (a little less dramatic than Sex and the City), to an extreme winter escape finding a second chance of love with an ex that “got away.” In addition, another romance blooms between her bestie Nari and a local during their winter girls’ getaway.

I do not know how realistic it would be for Stellan Virtanen to have left Sylvie the way he did, but most of the other events seem very possible. Although this book has the skeleton of a romance plot, it was not completely predictable. I highly recommend this book to those looking for a winter romance read.
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#maeroxwanders #audiobooks #audiobookreview #NetGalley #ChristmasAtFrozenFalls #KileyDunbar #HelenDuff #SagaEdmontAudio #romance #romancereads #winterromance #ChristmasReads #winterreads #Saariselkä #Lapland #Finland 🇫🇮

Thank you for the option to read this book. But the version I had is tinny and I am not able to listen to it very well. Due to this I have not added a review online and will purchase a physical copy for myself. From what I did hear this looks like it will be enjoyable and adorable story.

When Sylvie is dumped by her fiancé a week before their wedding, she is thrown into turmoil. Her best friend Nari is determined that the exotic honeymoon to Mauritius will not go to waste & starts to plan a girls holiday, but Sylvie is not sure, She was supposed to go to Mauritius with Cole, not Nari, and the setting is more romantic that friendship … but what if she could switch the holiday to somewhere completely different? And so Sylvie & Nari head off to the frozen north, to Lapland! Nari is a travel blogger & has great plans to detail the trip on her social media, whilst Sylvie realises that the place they are heading to just happens to be where her university boyfriend lived … would Stellan still live there? Would they meet again? Would he remember her? Would any of the feelings from 15 years ago still be there?
Yes, cue the slightly cheesy “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy meets girl again” story …

Overall, this book has everything that a reader would expect from a feel-good Christmas story, with the bonus of a fabulous setting, so it feels harsh to give in just 2 stars, but I found it “blah” … it was just a bit too much like all the others for me in terms of storyline (female jilted by her boyfriend just before Christmas, heads off on a holiday & meets somebody ….). Sylvie’s character development was very poor – she was supposed to be a 34-year-old teacher but comes across as the 19 yr old she was when she first met Stellan. Nari on the other hand is delightful – she is a career focussed adventure-loving single woman who loves to travel the world, not wanting to settle anywhere & I really liked the unexpectedness of her changing emotions as the days went on. Nari deserved more page-time! I liked that we managed to get a feel-good romance that is not all about the characters jumping into bed but at the same time its all a bit too predictable!

The setting of Finland/Lapland is the best thing about the book & the author has done well to capture some of the traditions from the Sámi/Lapp cultures.
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was ok but not great. She was lively but there wasn’t much differentiation between characters, accents were inconsistent and it felt a bit monotone at times. I think a second male narrator would have really helped!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the author and the publisher Saga Egmont Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook, all opinions are my own.

#ChristmasatFrozenFalls #NetGalley

History teacher Sylvie is jilted by her fiancee just a week before her wedding. When her bezzy Mary convinces

her. to go on a recuperating holiday,, Sylvie recalls an old flame from her days at university and they set off to

Finnish Lapland in the hope of reconnecting. However, many years have gone by, Stellan is surly, older and

wiser as is Sylvie. Are they able to reconnect or have they grown too far apart?. They spend Christmas

together at Frozen Falls, visiting beautiful places, enjoying the huskies and the cold.. Mostly they want to

restore the magic

This story is full of challenges and hope. It is also a cautionary tale asking us to use sentiments sparingly..

I enjoyed this book very much.

This is a SUPER cute Christmas romance read where you are constantly rooting for our main character! I really enjoyed the characters and felt like I was so invested in our main character's bad luck and really was rooting for her throughout the entire story! If you are someone who likes to binge Christmas movies and get invested in a scenery with great Christmas and winter wonderland imagery, with a ton of romance mixed in, I totally recommend this!

Sylvie has lost the christmast spirit because was dumped by her fiancee a week before their wedding. Instead of going for her honeymoon, she was staying alone in her house. Then, her best friend Nari plans a getaway trip to see the Northern Lights to get back her christmas spirit.
Turns out the destination of where they're staying belongs to Sylvie's Finnish ex-boyfriend from ages ago, Stella Vitanen.

Listening to this makes me wish I could spend my Christmas in Lapland!

This book is very well written, the setting in Lapland is perfect for a Christmas theme books. The snow, the reindeers, the view of the night sky and adorable husky puppies in this story capture my heart immediately and I know it's going to be a book I like.
I love how detailed the description about the scenery of the place, makes me feel like I'm there.

The characters are wonderful and well developed. Not only the main characters get the spotlight, there's also a love story for the side characters like Nari and Niilo.
Both love stories has its up and downs and I could really feel the emotions from each of the characters.
Although if I'm being honest, I actually like Nari and Niilo's love story more compare to the Sylvie and Stellan😂

As for the narrator for the audiobook, I like the way she delivers the story. Even though I don't really like how she change the accent when she was reading Stellan's part. The sudden change surprised me and sometimes pull me out of the story while I was listening to it.

Overall, this is a great second chance love story, I love the warm and cozy atmosphere filled with christmas spirit in this book. I have a good time listening to this audiobook!
A perfect read for fall or winter season, curled up in bed beneath a blanket with a steaming hot chocolate!

If you're looking to read a second chance romance with a magical christmas setting then this book might be for you!

Actual rating: 3.5⭐

A huge thank you to Netgalley, Kiley Dunbar and Saga Egmont Audio for giving me the ALC of Christmas in Frozen Falls in return for an honest opinion from me!

Note: Review on Instagram will be posted later on Nov 1st

Another Christmas book with the main character jilted by her beau just before the holidays so she heads off on a wintery adventure and oh! who's this hunk? I feel like I just read the exact same book. This wasn't terrible, but I didn't love it. The narrator did a great job, although some of the accents weren't consistent through the book, her voice didn't take away from the story. I enjoyed learning more about Lapland and the different holiday traditions there. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel a connection with the characters - their behaviors and emotions seemed too immature and adolescent for people supposedly in their early 30s. This one felt like it was trying a bit too hard to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free Audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the advanced copy.

I just finished another Christmas romance that I reviewed as "not satisfying" and wondered if I was just in a grinchy space. But then I read this and I got that satisfied feeling.

I really liked these people. And bonus: two love stories in the space of one! I was a little frustrated with Sylvie. She seemed to be the kind of girl that let life happen to her. She was a spectator to her own story, letting other folks determine her happiness. Her best friend, Nari, does not suffer from that same weakness. Nari writes a successful travel blog (after maturing from her first dating blog.) Nair is a take charge kind of girl, and she took charge of Sylvie's defeatist solitary holiday six months after being jilted nearly literally at the altar after a 10-year engagement. Nari spent the not-wedding night with Sylvie, helping her plan what comes next. Nari sold Sylvie's wedding dress for her. Nari got the tropical Christmas honeymoon, a gift from Sylvie's parents, refunded and convinced Nari to join her on a Scandinavian holiday. In a refreshing burst of decisiveness, Sylvie picked the hometown of her university exchange student fling...who she hasn't seen since he, too, dumped her so long ago.

Nari and Sylvie arrive at their Nordic north vacation and when they come face to face with Sylvie's ex, Stellan, and his reindeer herding friend, Niivu, there are sparks between Nari and Niivu. However the only sparks between Sylvie and Stellan are sparks of his anger at seeing her again. Not the reception she had been hoping for...

The setting is a dreamy Christmas travelogue. I definitely want to visit. Dog sleds, reindeer, buffets and roaring fires. But part of what I liked best is that the characters were believable. They had weaknesses and doubts. There was romance, but there was also resentment that had to be dealt with. Their were misunderstandings and revelations. Both relationships had ups and downs that were totally relatable.

I loved this book. There’s a light hearted freshness to the writing and it fizzes with energy and anticipation throughout. Lovable characters and an amazing setting made this thoroughly enjoyable. Great read!

I’ve since reading the book also listened to the audio version which doesn’t disappoint and brings the story vividly to life. Great listen!

Thank you Netgalley.

Christmas at Frozen Falls by Kiley Dunbar.
Read by Helen Duff.
Thanks to Netgalley
I can truthfully say I have never read a romance novel set in Finland 🇫🇮 until now. It was a pretty cute story although the main character was a little too self-denigrating but her friend made up for it. That is, except for the fact that she seriously freaks out about being older than the cute and charming Sami guy she meets. That seemed kind of out of character for her. The location made for a beautiful, charming Christmas 🎅 setting and plus there were dogs 🐕 and how cannot you not love a story about dog lovers?
4 Christmas trees 🎄

Christmas at Frozen Falls
by: Kiley Dunbar
narrated by: Helen Duff
Saga Egmont Audio

Through the writing of Kiley Dunbar and the narration of Helen Duff, Christmas at Frozen Falls is a witty, warm holiday read. With a setting from Cheshire to Finland, there is plenty of atmosphere and place to supplement the story. Sylvie's loneliness from a broken heart gives way to travel and new adventures in love. Duff's narration is skillful and engaging and captures the romantic feelings conveyed in this fun book.
Thank you to Net Galley and Saga Egmont Audio
for the advance reader's copy and the opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#ChristmasatFrozenFalls #NetGalley

I really enjoyed this audiobook. However, I felt her Finnish accents were often off place, sometimes coming across more Russian or Slavic than Finnish. This did throw me a little and my enjoyment of the story suffered.

The scenes in Finland were clearly well researched and I thought very well written. It was a great way to discover the country while staying at home.

There were other, smaller details I didn't feel were as well researched or were written with wrong information in the book.

I didn't always enjoy Sylvie as a main character, and I sometimes found her a little difficult to read.

There is only really one time of year that I choose to read or listen to cute
Romantic novels and that is if they are set in winter/ Christmas. Somehow I can cope with the chic flic vibe at this time of year, perhaps because I need a boost of the feel good factor. In the end I have occasionally come across a story worth reading. Sadly this does not make that list.
One reason maybe personal. I am not a well travelled person but my daughter spent a year in Finland and we spent sometime with her in Finnish Lapland. This book did not line up with my experience of the country as if it was just chossen as a different, all be it beautiful, setting for a rather poor romantic tale. This comment includes the accents used by the narrator which were sadly not consistent.
It's not awful. You will enjoy it if you like magazine type romantic fiction set somewhere different.

This was a cute and fun book. Kiley Dunbar did an excellent job bringing Lapland to life. I want to visit there after reading this. I liked the characters but felt more communication was needed between them.

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.