Publication date 17th September 2018
About the book
‘Climbing out the window in her dress and tiara wasn’t exactly how Frankie imagined her wedding day…’
Runaway bride Frankie Ashford hops a plane to Norway with one goal in mind - find her estranged mother and make peace with the past. But when a slip on the ice in Oslo lands her directly in Jonas Thorsen’s viking-strong arms, her single-minded focus drifts away in the winter winds.
When it comes to romance Jonas knows that anything he and Frankie share has an expiration date - the British heiress has a life to return to in London that’s a world away from his own. But family is everything to Jonas and, as the one man who can help Frankie find the answers she’s seeking, he’ll do whatever it takes to help her reunite with her mother.
Now, as Christmas draws closer and the northern lights work their magic Frankie and Jonas will have to make a choice...play it safe or risk heartbreak to take a chance on love.
Runaway bride Frankie Ashford hops a plane to Norway with one goal in mind - find her estranged mother and make peace with the past. But when a slip on the ice in Oslo lands her directly in Jonas Thorsen’s viking-strong arms, her single-minded focus drifts away in the winter winds.
When it comes to romance Jonas knows that anything he and Frankie share has an expiration date - the British heiress has a life to return to in London that’s a world away from his own. But family is everything to Jonas and, as the one man who can help Frankie find the answers she’s seeking, he’ll do whatever it takes to help her reunite with her mother.
Now, as Christmas draws closer and the northern lights work their magic Frankie and Jonas will have to make a choice...play it safe or risk heartbreak to take a chance on love.
About the author
Darcie Boleyn has a huge heart and is a real softy. She never fails to cry at books and movies, whether the ending is happy or not. Darcie is in possession of an overactive imagination that often keeps her awake at night. Her childhood dream was to become a Jedi but she hasn’t yet found suitable transport to take her to a galaxy far, far away. She also has reservations about how she’d look in a gold bikini, as she rather enjoys red wine, cheese and loves anything with ginger or cherries in it – especially chocolate. Darcie fell in love in New York, got married in the snow, rescues uncoordinated greyhounds and can usually be found reading or typing away on her laptop.
Author Social Media Links
Twitter: @DarcieBoleyn
Website: https://darcieboleyn.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @DarcieBoleyn
Website: https://darcieboleyn.wordpress.com/
My Review
Firstly how magical is that cover! It has got to be one of the most stunning covers I have ever seen! The colours are gorgeous! So after seeing that I was so so excited to get stuck in and read it!
Love at the Northern Lights is the best book I have read it has got to be my favourite. I absolutely loved it! Every single page was a pure joy to read and it made me so happy. I had tears in my eyes so many times - a mixture of happy and sad ones so prepare the tissues!
Frankie was a fantastic character you just love her from the first page, she is a girl I would love to be friends with, she is so kind and friendly and I just wanted her to find her happy ever after and she so desperately needs it! Oh and Jona's! Hubba Hubba he is amazing! I think I have fallen in love with him!
The Northern Lights is something I would love to visit and see and I absolutely loved hearing about them in this book and I thought it was the perfect location for this book - So Romantic!
Such a magical romantic book!
Extract
Just as Frankie was heading down the drive, she heard the crunching of gravel behind her. She turned around and her heart plummeted.
Grandma!
In hot pursuit.
She thought about speeding up but knew that would only delay the inevitable showdown, so she’d just as well grit her teeth and take it on the chin here and now.
She let go of the handle of her suitcase, pushed her shoulders back and watched as Grandma approached, surprisingly fast in her three-inch heels and lavender two piece, her antique pearl and peacock feather fascinator bobbing on the side of her head.
‘Frances!’ Grandma’s chest heaved as she reached her. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m… I’m leaving.’
‘Don’t be so beastly! You can’t leave… this is your wedding day. Oh blazes! What have you done to your beautiful, beautiful dress?’ Grandma pressed her veiny hands to her mouth in horror, and Frankie saw that her long nails matched the colour of her suit.
‘Grandma, I can’t do this. It was a mistake. I thought I could, but marrying Rolo isn’t what I want.’
‘What you want?’ Her grandmother chuckled. ‘Jolly good, Frances.’
‘Why is that amusing?’ Frankie put her hands on her hips.
Her grandmother’s slate-grey eyes bored into hers. ‘This wedding is a union of two families. It is a demonstration of our wealth and a joining together of two names that mean something in this country! It is not about a spoilt little girl and her foolish dreams. Wake up, Frances, and stop acting like some seedy romantic.’
Frankie’s legs were trembling as she stood there trying to be brave in the face of her grandmother’s wrath. Throughout her entire life, she’d given in to this woman, allowed the matriarch to bully her into doing whatever she wanted, even allowed her to destroy her own dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Grandma’s word had been law and Frankie had rarely questioned it. And where had that got her? She was twenty-nine, in a career that had been a compromise because she’d needed something outside the home and family, and she’d agreed to marry a man she didn’t love. She didn’t know her own mother and had even allowed Grandma to prevent her from trying to find out more about her.
Frankie was, she had to admit it now, terribly unhappy.
‘I’m sorry. I just can’t.’
Grandma’s face turned red right up to the roots of her white hair – that sat in a style she’d copied from the Queen, and that she’d had for as long as Frankie had known her – and she raised her hand. Frankie instinctively stepped back, fearing a physical blow or that Grandma might grab her arm and drag her back to the house, but instead it was a barrage of words that hit her full force, and a shaking finger that cut through the air between them, the lacquered nail at the end like some sort of blade.
‘If you go now, Frances Ashford, you will be leaving everything behind. If you embarrass me by walking down that drive and putting me in the awful position of having to explain where you have gone, then I will never forgive you. I will cut you from my will, throw you out of my house and you will be penniless. Do you hear me?’
Frankie glanced down the driveway to where freedom beckoned, then she glanced up towards the stately home where a lifetime of unhappiness awaited, then, finally, she met her grandmother’s cold gaze again.
‘You can do what you like with your money. I truly am sorry that you will be embarrassed but I can’t see another way of dealing with this situation. If you like, I’ll stay and face people. I’ll tell them why I can’t marry Rolo and let them see me… like this.’ She gestured at her stained gown. ‘Is that what you want?’
Grandma’s lip curled and she bared her teeth.
‘Get out of my sight! I should’ve known you’d end up being as much of a disgrace as your mother!’
Frankie opened her mouth, a thousand recriminations on the tip of her tongue, but she knew that venting them would make nothing better. Grandma had never listened to what she had to say; why would she start now?
So she pulled the handle of her suitcase up again, lifted her chin then set off down the driveway, trying to ignore the insults that Grandma muttered in her wake, and trying to ignore the ache in her heart.
Grandma!
In hot pursuit.
She thought about speeding up but knew that would only delay the inevitable showdown, so she’d just as well grit her teeth and take it on the chin here and now.
She let go of the handle of her suitcase, pushed her shoulders back and watched as Grandma approached, surprisingly fast in her three-inch heels and lavender two piece, her antique pearl and peacock feather fascinator bobbing on the side of her head.
‘Frances!’ Grandma’s chest heaved as she reached her. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m… I’m leaving.’
‘Don’t be so beastly! You can’t leave… this is your wedding day. Oh blazes! What have you done to your beautiful, beautiful dress?’ Grandma pressed her veiny hands to her mouth in horror, and Frankie saw that her long nails matched the colour of her suit.
‘Grandma, I can’t do this. It was a mistake. I thought I could, but marrying Rolo isn’t what I want.’
‘What you want?’ Her grandmother chuckled. ‘Jolly good, Frances.’
‘Why is that amusing?’ Frankie put her hands on her hips.
Her grandmother’s slate-grey eyes bored into hers. ‘This wedding is a union of two families. It is a demonstration of our wealth and a joining together of two names that mean something in this country! It is not about a spoilt little girl and her foolish dreams. Wake up, Frances, and stop acting like some seedy romantic.’
Frankie’s legs were trembling as she stood there trying to be brave in the face of her grandmother’s wrath. Throughout her entire life, she’d given in to this woman, allowed the matriarch to bully her into doing whatever she wanted, even allowed her to destroy her own dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Grandma’s word had been law and Frankie had rarely questioned it. And where had that got her? She was twenty-nine, in a career that had been a compromise because she’d needed something outside the home and family, and she’d agreed to marry a man she didn’t love. She didn’t know her own mother and had even allowed Grandma to prevent her from trying to find out more about her.
Frankie was, she had to admit it now, terribly unhappy.
‘I’m sorry. I just can’t.’
Grandma’s face turned red right up to the roots of her white hair – that sat in a style she’d copied from the Queen, and that she’d had for as long as Frankie had known her – and she raised her hand. Frankie instinctively stepped back, fearing a physical blow or that Grandma might grab her arm and drag her back to the house, but instead it was a barrage of words that hit her full force, and a shaking finger that cut through the air between them, the lacquered nail at the end like some sort of blade.
‘If you go now, Frances Ashford, you will be leaving everything behind. If you embarrass me by walking down that drive and putting me in the awful position of having to explain where you have gone, then I will never forgive you. I will cut you from my will, throw you out of my house and you will be penniless. Do you hear me?’
Frankie glanced down the driveway to where freedom beckoned, then she glanced up towards the stately home where a lifetime of unhappiness awaited, then, finally, she met her grandmother’s cold gaze again.
‘You can do what you like with your money. I truly am sorry that you will be embarrassed but I can’t see another way of dealing with this situation. If you like, I’ll stay and face people. I’ll tell them why I can’t marry Rolo and let them see me… like this.’ She gestured at her stained gown. ‘Is that what you want?’
Grandma’s lip curled and she bared her teeth.
‘Get out of my sight! I should’ve known you’d end up being as much of a disgrace as your mother!’
Frankie opened her mouth, a thousand recriminations on the tip of her tongue, but she knew that venting them would make nothing better. Grandma had never listened to what she had to say; why would she start now?
So she pulled the handle of her suitcase up again, lifted her chin then set off down the driveway, trying to ignore the insults that Grandma muttered in her wake, and trying to ignore the ache in her heart.
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