When snowboard queen Kaitlin Bouvier gets a weird text from her friend Tyler — who has been missing for months — she tracks him to Iceland, where a volcano is threatening to blow any second. She’s been in love with Tyler since childhood and the two shared a few very steamy nights last summer in Italy, giving Kaitlin hope that there might be a real chance for them.
Unfortunately, Tyler is as elusive as the wind. When the volcano does erupt, Kaitlin is trapped in Reykjavik with a group of young travelers who each have their own reasons for being on the road, including the very sexy, very smart grad student Gabe Walsh, who teaches her how hot her blood can boil. She tells herself he’s just a diversion — there’s no way their crazy lives can work.
This book totally took me by surprise, I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. Somehow, I thought that there would be a whole lot of drama, some hot moments and then Kaitlin would realize that Tyler wasn’t the guy for her anyway, but not before he woke up and realized that he wanted her after all.
Well… that’s not what happens, lol, at all, and I’m so glad, because this was such a sweet, romantic and tender story, about love, friendship, knowing oneself and realizing that following your true passion is the most important thing, even if you have to fight to do it.
I found the writing simply wonderful. It was simple, while at the same time painting clear pictures of what was being described, and I was suddenly fascinated by Iceland, and now I really want to go there – even in winter. I also loved how the connection between Kaitlin and Gabe was described, it felt like some kind of magical thing.
The main POV is Kaitlin’s, but we get small glimpses of Gabe and Tyler’s POVs, and I’m glad we do, because they allow us to know what’s going on on the guy’s heads, which is especially helpful in Tyler’s case. Against my initial thought, I liked Tyler too, and I would like to know more about him and maybe read a book about him finding his way.
Kaitlin and Gabe are both wonderful characters, and even though the book is quite short and spans a very short time period, I was surprised by how well rounded these two characters were, and how much chracater growth there is. The romance is clearly instalove – there’s no way around it – but it is so well done. They complement each other nicely and you can’t help but root for them.
I really really enjoyed this book, and I’m sure I’ll pick up more books by Lark O’Neal soon.
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