Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Twenty-five years ago, Freya and her three best friends created a bucket list. The future seemed bright, full of hope . . . But now they are travelling to Iceland in memory of the friend they've lost, determined to fulfil her dream of seeing the Northern Lights at Christmas.
They didn't count on an avalanche leaving them stranded! Handsome local, Pétur, comes to the rescue, showing them how the community survives the hard winter. With Christmas approaching, Freya and her friends throw themselves into the festivities, decorating and cooking for the villagers using delicious local ingredients.
But will they manage to see the Northern Lights? And can Freya's own dreams come true, this Christmas?
Many thanks to Random House UK via NetGalley for my copy of Keeping a Christmas Promise to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
Jo Thomas in my mind is the Queen of Christmas fiction and her latest fabulous Christmas delight, Keeping a Christmas Promise, is another gem of a read that whisks you away to the land of fire and ice - Iceland. Initially, I found it a little slow to get going and it took me some time to familiarise myself with the characters but once the trio of women find themselves stuck in a remote town that has been cut off thanks to an avalanche and storm, well then that’s when everything really got going and I found myself totally immersed in the wonderful, heart-warming and inspiring story that unfolded. Freya, Meg and Joanna have finally made it to Iceland fulfilling a wish that their friend Laura had hoped to do before she turned 50. They want to do what Laura couldn’t as she passed away from an illness that took away all her hopes and dreams.
On the weekend long trip they are desperate to see the Northern Lights and want to make sure their promise to Laura isn’t broken. But each woman arrives for the getaway with excess baggage and worries and the trip doesn’t go as seamlessly as they had planned. External pressures, for some in their professional lives and for others in their personal, means their heads and hearts aren’t always focused on the trip. But when the girls set off on the beaten track to find the lights they run into trouble when a storm hits and a woman named Frankie crashes into them. They have no choice but to find shelter with the gruff and at times inhospitable Petur and their few days in Iceland stretch well into a week in the lead up to Christmas Day as the small town they find themselves in is cut off. Forced to work together with the townspeople and cut off from all modern day technology, it’s a chance for each of the three women to confront what they have been pushing aside and at the same time unease starts to simmer in the village. Can they do anything to help?
Freya was the character who I feel went on the greatest journey and it was a joy to read about as I got sucked into a world of cold, wind and snow with lots of scrumptious food thrown in. Not to mention the hot springs that feature too. Really as you read this you’ll find yourself thinking god a trip to Iceland doesn’t seem that bad at all. Freya is a chef working in a Michelin starred restaurant who is brilliant at her job, always 100% dedicated and she is so passionate but really she is just cooking someone else’s ideas. Why can’t she be brave enough to let her own creative juices flow as she has such ingenious ideas when she comes to food? She works all the available hours and is always under such immense pressure. Even now cut off from the world she is fretting that she won’t be back in time for the restaurant’s Christmas tasting menu and for the big day itself. She tries to leave work behind her for the weekend and just be with her friends but you can tell she never really switches off that work is always there at the forefront of her mind which prevents her from living in the here and now.
Freya has a secret hurt and pain thanks to her ex Mark, who is also a chef. She feels like she is always playing catch up and in a race to be better than he is but how can she show off her creative flair and talent whilst working for someone else under said persons constraints? As she works with Petur to deliver food and supplies to the villagers she meets a whole range of characters who teach her some important life lessons and perhaps this unexpected adventure was meant to happen for her to realise her life needs to venture in a new direction and she needs to go back to basics. The inclusion of the women at the safe house and of course the special story behind Knutur who lives in a shack on the beach all help in inspiring Freya and allowing her to see the bigger picture. Was Laura leading them to Iceland to see beyond the narrow confines of their lives to something much bigger out there? Really the Lights weren’t a priority but they do add a touch of magic and sentiment to the overall story.
Meg and Joanna feature more on the periphery of the story but still were worthy inclusions as they form a solid trio with Freya. Meg is divorced but about to marry for the second time. The only problem is the excess baggage she is bringing with her in the form of her ex mother-in-law. The wedding is days away and she is fretting that despite all the time and preparation gone into it that the road won’t be cleared and they won’t be able to leave Iceland. Joanna’s first marriage broke down and now she is married to a rich man much older than her. She has the perfect life and every last detail regarding Christmas has been planned and perfected but behind this wonderful life is Joanna just living a façade and things are not as happy as how she presents them to the world? Meg and Joanna’s stories are tied up nicely at the end but I would have loved to have just a little bit more from their point of view.
The sense of community and working together just radiated from the pages of this really enjoyable book and Petur is at the centre of it all. At first I thought he was rude and very stand offish but underneath the exterior he presents to the world I did think he had a heart of gold. He put the wellbeing of others and the community as a whole before his own needs and as more information came to light about what was potentially going on in the little village I felt Petur really came into his own. The reasons for his behaviour became clear and I found I was on his side. As Freya gets to know him better, the things she learns from him and the various residents of the community help her to grow herself and given she can’t rush back to the restaurant she is made to stop, think and contemplate everything in her life and that perhaps going back to basics and why she loves food and cooking will help her find the right path she is meant to be on in life. Even letting in some friendship and love might help her to realise that life is precious and that she had come so far only to get stuck in a vicious rut. She needed to look back as well as forward.
Jo Thomas has such a way of bringing her settings to life. She uses such rich and vivid imagery to absolute perfection that you feel as if you have travelled alongside the characters to the country being explored. When in reality you may have never visited there before and really you haven’t left the comfort of your sofa. Also the use of food in her books adds so much to the themes and issues being developed and although when you first think of Iceland, a range of gastronomic delights from this country wouldn’t instantly spring to mind, Jo still worked her magic and made the reader realise how much this unique country has to offer. All the wonderful things Iceland has to share with the world are explored and developed so well against the backdrop of three women fulfilling one last promise to a dear departed friend. By the time you finish this you won’t just think of Iceland as being a country that is super expensive or cold but instead its heart and soul has been brought to life through a fabulous, engaging read that is ideal for the festive season and the cold winter months ahead. You must make sure that Keeping a Christmas Promise is at the top of your Christmas reading list this year.
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