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The Northern Lights Lodge: Legends and Lattes Goes Hygge

Witness me striding over to the window.  I throw said window open and lean out, startling an urchin below. (Naturally, I have a comical olde-world sleep cap on.)

"You there! What genre is this?" 

"W-why... it's traditional romance ma'am!"

I step back and dance around my bedroom in delight. A miracle has occurred. My cold, dead heart is beating once more - because I read a traditional romance novel and it was fantastic.  

Unlike Scrooge, who we are assured stuck to his new do-gooding lifestyle, I am probably not going to become a romance devotee, but in this particular case I am delighted to be proved wrong. 

Traditional romance is traditionally the stuff of Mills and Boon. Where they once had covers of men and women in various stages of their clothes falling off, contemporary romances now have covers with characters drawn in a cartoonish style, looking wistfully at each other like they are part of a the syllabus textbook for a GCSE in Pining. 

The Northern Lights Lodge [Julie Caplin] is one of a series based in various exotic locations. She writes attractive heterosexual couples finding love in Croatian Caves, Japanese Tearooms and Crumbling Scottish Castles (that couple got the short end of the straw, tbh). This one is, as I'm sure you've guessed, one for the romance reader who wants a little Scandi experience on the side, or wants a winter read without having to commit to Christmas. 

Lucy is the former manager of a luxury Manchester hotel, recently fired for gross misconduct. She is desperate for any reference, and so accepts a two month contract in Iceland, running a small lodge. Scottish Alex is a manager for a huge chain about to buy the Icelandic lodge, and he's asked to report on the hotel for the new owners, which he does by going undercover as a barman. Lucy arrives and is immediately beset by troubles - someone is sabotaging the hotel. Can they find the culprit, find true love, and keep their jobs?

I mean, yes, of course they can. But it was entertaining nonetheless. 

This book reminded me, of all things, of Legends and Lattes. The appeal of that book wasn't the fantasy world, but the joy in watching someone build something up in satisfying increments. Watching Lucy build her confidence back up, solve problems, find missing décor, create friendships with the staff, adjust menus and get a sheep out of a hot tub was joyfully small escapism, just as her trips to Icelandic beauty spots gave me the satisfaction of googling them and imagining being there whilst on my nice warm sofa.

The romance is thankfully down-to-earth. There is no pointless drama, just two people trying to work each other out. Even when the 'betrayal' is revealed (and even exaggerated), everyone acts mostly sensibly and with minimal leaping-to-conclusions or silly fighting-for-the-sake-of-drama. 

There are a couple of darker touches to be wary of - Lucy is dealing with career fallout as the result of an emotionally manipulative relationship and sexual harassment. She faces other instances throughout the book due to her unwanted 'notoriety'. This is generally handled well, with most of her support and development about those issues coming via her friendships with other women, and not by magically finding her true love.  

Perhaps it's silly to devote so much review time to a 'fluffy romance' but if this has made you consider reading something that's a bit different than your usual tastes, then, in the words of another Christmas Carol character, god bless us, everyone... 
 
[If you would like to see me tackle some actual Icelandic fiction, I'm also reading Icelandic folktales as part of my Short Story Advent]

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