Synopsis

Dear Santa,

I wish I could believe in magic again.

From, Sasha.

Sasha Hansley hates Christmas. As a child, it was her favourite time of year, but ever since the tragic death of her mother, it has completely lost its magic.

But when she gets an unexpected phone call from her eccentric estranged father, she’s forced to dust off her snow boots.

He has been running a Lapland-style Christmas village in Norway and after suffering a heart attack, he is on strict doctor’s orders to slow down. Eager to reconnect with her dad, Sasha books the next flight out there. Only she has never actually been on a plane before, let alone to the Arctic Circle.

Met at the runway by drop-dead-gorgeous Taavi Salvesen, they sleigh ride through the snow with the Northern Lights guiding their way.

When Sasha uncovers sacks of unopened Santa mail – letters that children and adults from all over the world write to Santa every year – she realises that she can send a little bit of magic out into the world by replying to some of them.

With Taavi on hand to help, will Sasha rediscover her own excitement for Christmas and find love among the letters?

The Post Box at the North Pole is like one big romantic mug of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and a splash of Christmas magic! Fans of Holly Martin, Sarah Morgan and Heidi Swain will love this novel!

My review

Christmas Magic, that doesn’t truly exist, right?

Everyone loves Christmas, but Sasha Hansley is the exception. She used to loved it, but that love died together with the tragic death of her mother.
Her estranged father is the adventurous type, going from one place to another, doing even dangerous things, while Sasha has never been on a plane.
But her father suffered a heart attack and needs to slow down. So Sasha packs up and flies over to the Arctic Circle, all the way to Norway.
Not only is Sasha surprised  when at the airport it’s not her father waiting for her, but Taavi Salvesen with a sleigh.
But she is also surprised when her father appears to be running a Lapland style Christmas village, a failing one…
While her father and Taavi embrace the whole Christmas Spirit, Sasha struggles with it. Until she starts reading letters children over the whole world wrote t Santa. With the help of Tav, will she start to rediscover her love for Christmas again?

I’m a sucker for Christmas stories, and this one surely stole my heart!

Sasha initially is a woman I pitied… she had a job, working with dogs only because her friend gave her it. and when someone else is in the picture, she is being discarded.
She has no contact with her father, only the strict necessary. I found it a rather sad picture, because I saw how lonely Sasha was, even if she deserved so much more.
When her father calls, after suffering a heart attack, her kind character emerges. Because even if the contact is a strained one, and she has never been on a plane before, she doesn’t hesitate to help out her father.

I understand the passion someone can have for Christmas, but Sasha’s father went totally next level. Of course, running a Christmas Village has to be done by someone truly into it. but I have to admit, I felt Sasha’s frustrations when her father just refused to take things slowly and kept on Ho Ho Ho – ing!
However, further along in the story, his pain is also very clear and I felt how the past and the guilt kept hurting him.
I was happy that he had the help in the form of Tav…

Oh Tav… if only fictional characters could be real. He is just how I would imagine the perfect Norwegian Alpha Man!
But he is even better than the typical Alpha Man! He also has been hurt (even literally), giving him that vulnerability that made me swoon. But for him, the Christmas Spirit and Magic is something real, and he wants to show Sasha the Norwegian way to celebrate Christmas.
He has trust issues, but with Sasha this big man starts to melt and he becomes even more perfect than before!

All characters have their own issues. Sasha having no real purpose and being alone, Tav with trust issues and just avoiding people as much as possible, and Sasha’s father and his guilt and trying to make amends with Sasha…
Having such characters elevates this story to a higher level. Because they all are processing their issues, and it’s not just a ‘silly’ problem, but heart – breaking ones…

I am not a fan of the cold, or the snow (I can enjoy it from the inside of my home although!) but when Sasha lands in Norway, and the scene she sees before her, it’s just magical, making me want to see it for myself!
The sleigh, the reindeers (I absolutely adore Rudolph Number Three!), the whole Christmas Village, the Northern Lights, for me, it was all magical!

On a funnier note, I loved reading those small snippets of letters that children wrote to Santa. Some were typical, asking for material stuff or the newest games, but those who made me melt were those unselfish ones… I am always amazed how perceptive children can be, and how altruistic. And Sasha also realizes this and it was sweet to see how she wanted to do the extra effort for those kind of letters!

Despite the cold, this was a real heart – warming story, showing characters that learn to trust, love and open up again.
The setting is magical, the characters loveable, and all doing their utterly best to make things works. Life is not always a straight path we follow, but we have hurdles we have to jump over. But those hurdles allow us to understand what truly matters and that a hurdle isn’t always the scariest thing.
I fell in love with all the characters, the location, the reindeers and the passion that emerges from everyone having a spot in this wonderful, magical tale!