One thing that I like to try and do, to the extent possible, is extend my trips or vacations in some way by any means possible. That is not to say refusing to go home or go to work or re-enter my normal life routines, or anything. Rather, it means simply taking time to go through pictures and sort out my favorites, as one example. Or to watch movies or such things or read histories on the places which I just visited, to kind of mentally stay there and artificially extend my visit a bit.
Or in this case, to read a book which helped to make me feel like I was still, on some level at least, in Iceland, exploring.
Indeed, there are differences, of course. I was in Iceland for a short duration. Really, only a couple of days. The fictional Rachel in this book is there for several weeks, even something like a month. Also, she visits during the winter, while my visit came during late spring, with summer fast approaching. So there certainly were some differences.
Yet, it almost brought me back to my admittedly brief adventure in Iceland. That made me feel almost (not quite, but almost) like I was still at least partly on vacation, exploring Reykjavik. And that helped me to enjoy the book more than I normally would have.
Admittedly, romance is not my typical genre when I read books. And make no mistakes: this is a romance book. In fact, it kind of had a feel almost of a Hallmark kind of movie, the ones which my girlfriend often watches. But it was not a bad book, and the characters were written with rich interior lives, so we got the sense of them feeling like real people. That is to the credit of the author, Victoria Walker.
Before I go any farther, however, let me give the usual warnings to stop reading if you intend to read this book, because there will be spoilers ahead.
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this story already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning.
The main character is Rachel Richards. She lives in London with her boyfriend, Adam. They do not enjoy the most exciting or sensational love life. Yet, what they have seems like a stable relationship. Both are working full-time jobs and seem to be getting opportunities for advancement. Rachel works for a store chain call "Snug" (hence the title), and has just gotten an opportunity to be in charge of setting up a new store. But this store is in another country, in Reykjavik, Iceland.
It is not necessarily an easy decision for her. She thinks about how Adam will take it before committing. But when Adam actually does seem less than enthusiastic, she realizes that there is a double-standard at work. She is always happy for him when he gets promotions or opportunities, but she does not feel the same level of support from him, and feels that he should be more understanding. In short, he is being selfish, standing in her way of progress. We get the impression that there maybe always was friction between them, but she is only waking up to it now. Regardless, she decides that this is too important and goes to Iceland.
Adam does promise to visit her for a weekend during her stay in Iceland. Before she leaves, he gives her a wonderful night that makes her feel that things are okay with them again. Yet quickly after she arrives, she begins to see odd behavior from him, leading her to suspect that he is in fact cheating on her. The last straw is when he cancels the trip to visit her in Iceland. After that, she is determined not to give him the power to disappoint her and break her heart anymore. She will confront him and give him an ultimatum.
Meanwhile, her stay in Iceland has been wonderful. She ran into some setbacks in preparing the store, but she adapted and it is beginning to come along wonderfully. Also, she has gotten the chance to explore Iceland a little bit, and met a travel agent, Jonas, who she cannot deny having an attraction to. He seems to feel the same way. There is a real connection there, although Rachel knows that it cannot go anywhere, since she is still with Adam.
Despite being in Iceland for only a matter of weeks, it begins to feel a bit like her life in London is far away and long ago. Of course, that is mostly an illusion. But she realizes that her life there has become chaotic. For now, she is enjoying life in Iceland and will think about London and her problems there as they arrive.
Also, she has met someone, almost by accident. While trying to capitalize the chance to get familiar with Iceland, she meets Jonas, a tour guide. He seems very kind and she feels an instant attraction to him. Then, when they keep bumping into one another, they inevitably connect on more than just a business level, beyond just guide and tourist. Despite Rachel's misgivings about how this could be perceived, since she has not yet broken things off with Adam yet, she still feels that it is harmless to go out with Jonas. But it soon turns into something a bit more serious. That, despite both of them understanding that there really appears to be no hope for any kind of a serious or long-term relationship.
What's the saying about relationships?
It's complicated, right? This one sure is.
And it gets even more complicated when Adam shows up suddenly, surprising Rachel. Once again, she feels torn. Especially when she finds out that Adam is not even really in Iceland for her. With his work, he had orchestrated a takeover of the Snug franchise. Meanwhile, she had agreed to lunch with Adam so that they could discuss things. But somehow, this leads to a confrontation with an injured Jonas, who has just hurt his arm during one of his trips and will be sidelined for a while from work. Adam acts like the overprotective (and threatened) boyfriend, sending Jonas off. He looks hurt, and not just because of his physical injuries.
This proves to be too much for Rachel. She finally ends it altogether with Adam. But Jonas seems to be trying to avoid her. It is during this time of isolation that she realizes that she wants to be with Jonas. And in the end - surprise, surprise - they get together in a romantic way, in one of the heated natural pools of Iceland, and under the Northern Lights, to boot.
What a romantic ending.
Again, this genre is not the one I usually would go for. But despite this feeling a bit like one of those somewhat cheesy Hallmark romance movies that my girlfriend sometimes watches, this was an entertaining book. Well-written. Also, it allowed me to feel like I was sort of extending my own exploration of Iceland, even if this time, it was in black and white print.
Recommended.
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