The Post Box at the North Pole - Jaimie Admans - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Jaimie Admans

GENRE: Romantic Comedy

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: If only I had managed to read this in time for Christmas! This was a heartwarming read, albeit with minor writing issues. My quest for a beautiful and magical Christmas story of 2021 finally ended a couple of days into the New Year.

Story:

Sasha Hansley isn’t a big fan of Christmas, though she loved it as a child. After her mother passed away, her dad left her in the care of her strict maternal grandma. As such, Christmas memories became dull rather than magical. But now, after all these years, Sasha has received a phone call from her dad all the way from Norway, asking her to come urgently to help him out at his Christmas-themed holiday village as the doctor has told him to slow down after a heart attack. Homebody Sasha, who hasn’t ever left the UK and hates travelling, has no choice but to leave for Norway, where she works along with her father’s right hand man, Taavi Salvesan, to get the holiday village up and running again. When she discovers sacks of letters written by children to Santa, she unknowingly sets into motion a complete image transformation for the little village. Will Sasha finally rediscover the magic of Christmas?

The story is written in the first person perspective of Sasha.

What I loved about the book:

😍 To the ladies and gentlemen whose romantic thoughts centre around human males: May I present to you the potential fictional crush of your dreams, Taavi Salvesan! A gentle giant in the true sense of the word, Taavi is tall, muscular, gorgeous, intelligent, sensitive, caring, practical, humorous, hardworking, sacrificing, and a great cook. At the same time, he is also emotionally broken, too independent for his own good, and loves to hide under the blanket excuse of "I’m fine". I loved his character and the way his heart-breaking past is shown to affect his present. His vulnerability under his physical strength was his biggest appeal.

😍 Matching Taavi’s persona wouldn’t have been so easy but Sasha does a pretty good job. Her character is also portrayed very realistically. Though she is pint-sized, she is strong of will and heart. A lovely complement to Taavi.

😍 If you ever make a checklist of what a Christmas romance should contain, this book will tick every single item on that list. It’s perfect for the season.

😍 This is the third book I’ve read in the recent past that happens to be set in the Arctic Circle. And of the three, this book tackles the Arctic the best. The storyline merges the cold weather and the winter wonderland kind of feel without taking it too far. Not to forget, the Northern lights make their presence felt strongly and wonderfully.

😍 The book is a very quick read and yet it depicts the main characters and their emotions quite well. As the focus stays primarily on Sasha and Taavi, their characters are quite appealing.

😍 Every chapter begins with a child's letter to Santa. And these range from cute to hilarious to outright bossy! I loved every single one of these.

😍 In addition to the above mini-epistles, there is a whole track related to the letters that children from across the world send to Santa. This track too was heartwarming, even if exaggerated at times.

😍 There is a whole sub-segment about reindeer and this was so good! Perfect for Christmas!

What I found okayish about the book:

😕 The secondary characters don’t get paid much attention throughout the story. It is mainly Sasha and Taavi. A bit more background or detailing about the other characters would have helped. Also, there are certain story elements that are left dangling. While I agree that they weren’t the prime focus of the main plot, it would have been nice to have received closure, especially on the arc connected to Taavi’s family. The father-daughter relationship between Sasha and her dad didn’t come out as believable because of this same incomplete approach.

😕 There are many repeated phrases or actions in the character sketches. Sasha’s raised eyebrows and her giggles, and Taavi’s strong arms and his blushing cheeks, find a mention in almost every chapter they are in. There can be too much of a good thing!

😕 A few scenes in the final quarter went somewhat over-the-top (either in terms of believability or in their saccharine sweetness.) I know I should ignore this factor considering the story and the genre, but the logical side of me still wants to complain about it. My rating was a more-or-less steady 4.5 until the final quarter.

What I disliked about the book:

😢 This story has spoiled all chances of me enjoying any future family vacations with its description of the Christmas village. Nothing will ever match up to the extraordinary picture I built up in my head about this Norwegian Christmas destination. Sigh!

Overall, it is still a pretty good holiday romance, offering you the right combo of Norwegian chills and Christmas warmth. If you ignore the minor writing issues, it’s a gorgeous story set in a gorgeous location. Do try!

My thanks to HQ, HQ Digital, and NetGalley for the ARC of “The Post Box at the North Pole”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.