How to find yourself again when you’re at your lowest…

Synopsis

To look to the future, you first have to face your past…

With Christmas just around the corner, Molly Bliss has almost hit rock bottom.

After the heart-breaking loss of her parents, an escape to Iceland to spend the holidays with her sister Claudia is a chance for her to find solace and focus on her neglected relationship with her boyfriend Howard. But when Howard ‘misses his flight’, Molly is forced to rethink her whole outlook on life.

Surrounded by her family, Molly has never felt more alone. With ongoing family tensions rumbling and a surprising connection with old flame Leifur and his friend James, Molly realises she has an opportunity to rediscover who she really is.

While exploring the wild beauty of Iceland, a fragile hope seeds itself in Molly and alongside the life-affirming experiences and new friendships that are forged, she’s forced to question why she ever put her own dreams on hold.

Will Molly allow grief and disappointment to destroy her chance at happiness, or can new love sparkle as the land of fire and ice begins to work its magic?

My review

Molly Bliss isn’t herself ever since losing her parents. With Christmas just around the corner, visiting her sister Claudia in Iceland may perhaps give Molly peace and perhaps it will even reignite the fire between her and her boyfriend Howard.
But when Howard decides to not fly off with her and ‘catch a later flight’, and even manages to ‘miss’ that one, Molly has to think about what she wants from her life.
Once in Iceland, Molly has the chance to not only reinforce her bond with Claudia and Claudia’s family, but she also makes new friendships and even meets an old crush of hers.
The beauty of Iceland is also the perfect opportunity for Molly to rethink about her own future, and think of why her dreams aren’t worthy of pursuing. And perhaps the cold and snow of Iceland can warm her heart towards a man too?

I am not a person that loves the cold! So while I for sure want to visit Iceland and see all the beautiful things there, the cold is holding me back to put my dream into actual plans. And yes, I know you can layer up for visiting the place, but have you ever seen Bambi struggling on ice? Well, that’s me in snowy circumstances, even when there is no ice involved!
So I will just enjoy reading books that take place in a magical country! 

Reading about Molly and all her struggles absolutely broke my heart. I could feel her pain and sense of loneliness emerge from the pages.
I could only try to understand the devastation she was feeling after the loss of her beloved parents. And I could comprehend how it also affected her relationship with Howard. 

Now, the less is said about that idiot the better… I know that it has to be hard living with a person who is still grieving, but Howard didn’t make an effort at all through, and he even did the most terrible thing someone could do!
So I was glad that his presence was rather short-lived! 

It was so sweet to see the two sisters reconnecting again. Molly and Claudia couldn’t be at a more different phase in their lives, yet the love between the siblings is so palpable.
Claudia, as the bigger sister, wants to protect Molly, she wants Molly to be happy and she wants Molly to succeed in realizing her dreams.
But the literal distance also put somehow an emotional distance between the two… 

For sure discovering the wonders of Iceland together with Molly, Claudia, and new/old friends Molly made was wonderful. I could just envision myself what they were all seeing.
But for Molly the journey to Iceland was more a journey to self – discovery and overcoming her grief. Slowly Molly sees that in fact she isn’t that alone in the world, and that even if her sister lives in another country, they can still be there for each other. 

Molly also starts to see that her dreams are worthy to be pursued. Why shouldn’t she follow her passion and take that chance? It’s better to have tried and failed than just take the easy way out… 

Of course Molly has also a love interest in this book. And I am not going to spoil anything, but I was glad to see that the author followed my line of thinking! 😊 

This was a cold story, literally, but with so much warmth in it. Molly goes through a great journey, from feeling lonely and lone to finding love from her family (even if it has been always there), to finding love in new friendships, finding herself, finding courage again and even finding love in other matters of the heart. 

Kate Frost wrote once again a great story about characters that you will like from the start, even if they have a sad story of their own to tell. A great story about a physical journey but mostly an emotional journey, making you understand that there isn’t a strict timeline for grief, but there is always time to chase your dreams. And that even if you don’t feel it, you are loved and surrounded by people that care and have your best interest at heart!