Mona Miller lives her life by platitudes: she’s just fine, thanks; all good; not a problem! Everything is right as rain—even if it’s all a lie. Everyone at the travel magazine where she works knows her as a team player (in other words, the one who won’t complain about the endless fluff pieces pushed her way). But, feeling snubbed after being passed over for a promotion, Mona jumps at an international assignment to Iceland, even though she’s woefully unprepared.
She’s determined to prove her worth, though, and her can-do attitude will scale any glacier. But the freelance photographer paired with her is none other than Benjamin Carter. Ben, her childhood best friend who understood her even when her family didn’t. Ben, her first love—first everything. And Ben, the boy who ghosted her fourteen years ago and left her brokenhearted.
There is a decade’s worth of resentment Mona needs to ignore if she wants to make it through this trip. She’ll put on her “No worries!” façade and hold Ben at a distance. But the more time they spend together, the more the ice around her heart melts. And as those old feelings spark back to life, Mona must decide if she’s willing to go on the biggest adventure of all.
Release Date: Nov 18, 2025
Heat Level: Sensual/Hot
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $10.99
Mona Miller is used to going with the flow of life. She doesn’t make much fuss. However, everything is far from fine. Her family kind of pushes over her. At work, she didn’t get the promotion or the quality of assignments that she wanted. She just resigns herself to being satisfied with what she can.
Her boss offers her a chance to prove her chance at a new writing assignment in Iceland. She has never been that far from home, and she is eager to show him that she can do it. It doesn’t matter how unprepared and scared she may be. To make matters worse, she is assigned to a ten-day trip with a freelance photographer, who just happened to break her heart years ago.
Ben is back in town to tie up some loose ends. His mother died, and he needs to gather up the house. A lot of memories are surfacing, and many of them are not good. Taking the assignment and being so close to Mona is not helping his situation. She is furious and hurt by him. There is so much she needs to know, but she puts up barriers whenever he brings up the past.
This was a hot slow burn. Clearly, Ben and Mona are very attracted to one another. They have known each other for most of their lives. They allowed themselves to become each other’s first loves, and things went sour. Trying to rekindle some spark of adult romance is very challenging through the bulk of the book, which is why I couldn’t rate it a full five stars.
Ben really did try to get Mona to open up earlier, but she became too difficult. She is very passive-aggressive, but the topic was clearly off the table. I wish the author had given us Ben’s POV, as it would have strengthened the romance. However, Ben keeps it moving, and he is the one who coaxes her to finally open up and start chasing what she wants in life.
Iceland is the third main character. The author does a fantastic job of taking Ben, Mona, and the readers on a journey through Iceland. I’m not a fan of cold weather, but I notice I want to go to the destination if the author does their research and highlights the beauty of the region.
If you are a fan of second-chance romance, then this is the one for you. The story is a cozy, sweet treat for this time of year.
~ Samantha
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