Snug in Iceland by Victoria Walker
Series: Icelandic Romance #1
Published by Ever After Books on October 1, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Pages: 234
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
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Rachel Richards is stuck in a rut. Her boyfriend Adam barely notices her most of the time and her life in London isn’t as exciting as it should be. When the company she works for, Snug, asks her to oversee the opening of a new store in Iceland, she jumps at the chance for a change of scenery. Exploring Reykjavik with the help of Icelandic tour guide Jonas, Rachel discovers that life is out there waiting to be lived. As she falls in love with Iceland, she begins to see what is important to her and wonders whether the life she left behind is what she wants after all…

Look at that cover. Iceland! Romance! Snug in Iceland had all the makings of a story made for me. Well… buckle up, friends, because I have things to say. And it’s going to be a big mash of words because my head is all over the place. There’s no organization to this review, and I might repeat myself. There also might be some spoilers. A book that does this to me is not worth it, trust me.

Things I Liked:

• The cover.
• The setting. In theory (more on this later).

Things I Didn’t Like:

• The heroine, Rachel. I couldn’t stand her. She’s a major, major doormat. Her boyfriend walks all over her and she absolutely lets him. She has no spine whatsoever. She’s boring, and she’s extremely bland. There’s absolutely no substance to her.
• I have no clue what Jonas is like. He seems nice, but there’s nothing to him. He’s a fuzzy blur against a snowy background. That’s it for me.
• The romance between Rachel and Jonas was never developed to a satisfying place. Rachel should have broken up with her boyfriend, Adam, way earlier, because I just kept getting annoyed at the double standard. She suspects Adam of cheating on her while she’s been emotionally cheating on him and even kissed Jonas. But Adam is the only one who is doing something wrong, even though she’s stringing him along while trying to decide if she should dump him. Furthermore, I highly doubt she would have even dumped him if a better option hadn’t come along for her to switch over to, and that made me lose whatever respect I had for her (if any). It’s ok to be alone if you’re unhappy with your partner. You’ll be ok not in a relationship. The back and forth of  “oh, but Adam but also Jonas but oh no, Adam and I have been together for so long, but wow Jonas is so hot” got very old.
• I can probably now write on my resume that I am qualified to open a retail store on my own. There was page after page after page of what was essentially a how-to manual for working retail and managing a new store opening. I was amazingly bored with it all. Why the floors must be restored instead of replaced, how to stock a stock room, how to interview creators, how much stock to order, how to set up shelving, the scientific reasons for why a cash register should be placed here instead of there, which throw pillows should be seen through the window from the outside, money and expenditures, bottom lines, why companies are acquired by other companies, and on and on. There was more time spent on work related conversations and explanations that on anything any reader would actually want to read about, such as romance, scenery, feelings, and character development. And oh my gosh, it took forever for us to learn how to unlock the tricky front door of this store. Why do I need to know the intricacies of unlocking a door?!
• I thought the title “Snug in Iceland” sounded so cute and cozy! I was looking for a snuggly read with cuddling by the fire and snowy landscapes. Imagine my disappointment  when I discovered that “Snug” is the name of this retail store and there’s nothing snuggly about it. It’s like naming a book “Home Goods in Canada”.
• This book takes place in Iceland. I should feel like I’m in Iceland! There was so much that could have been done with this stunning setting. The heroine rides long distances in a car, with no descriptions of what she’s seeing. She goes sightseeing, but no visuals are provided about what anything looks like. When Rachel finally sees the Northern Lights, we get a sentence or two about the green ribbon across the sky. That was IT, after the entire book built up hope that she would see them before she left. There was absolutely no creative writing whatsoever.
• There were no descriptions of anything. I have no idea what Rachel or Jonas look like except that they’re hot. A knitted hat got more description than anything else.
• SO basically, there was no depth.
• The writing is just not good at all. The actual sentences and word choices were not good. The dialogue was flat, cliched, and emotionless. We’ve established that the descriptions were non-existent. There was also no character development, no sense of who anyone was or what their personalities were like, and the plot was extremely empty. The same things keep happening and he same things keep being said.
• Other reviewers have indicated that the author seems to have done no research on Iceland apart from going there on vacation. I can’t speak to the validity of that, but I did feel that more could have been done to capture the culture and beauty of Iceland. I felt like I was reading a book set in London, and London is fine. Bu London is not Iceland.
• The ending is very rushed and unsatisfying. Obstacles that had been there, preventing Jonas and Rachel from being together, simply melt away as soon as a little thought is put into their situation. It was a simple, basic, very frustrating ending. But at the same time, I was so glad it was over.

Well, there you have it. There’s a lot more I can say, but I’m tired of thinking about this book. I would not recommend Snug in Iceland, and I’m interested in finding another book set in Iceland that will do for me what I wish this one had. Any recommendations for me?