This is a really cute fantasy holiday novella! The specific details of the fantasy part are hinted at in the beginning, and I enjoyed figuring out what I could of the town's mystery before we got the official explanation just before the main conflict. (I was only right in a few of the more obvious specifics.) It appears that this is a standalone story, though I'd happily read more in this world if I discover that it's part of a series. ( )

This cute story most definitely has a Norse God vibe going on. I liked the mix of fiction and fantasy it worked well in the story. Likeable characters and a sweet romance makes this book the perfect quick read for the holidays. ( )

This is a wonderful, charming fantasy novella. I love the Tasmanian setting and how the snow at Christmas in summer isn't exactly unrealistic. It makes it feel like this could almost be real... (I'm writing this review in December in Tassie, with the latest snow being only last week).
A highly enjoyable read and I would love to see this expanded into a series. ( )

Merry Happy Valkyrie by Tansy Rayner Roberts is a Christmas-themed novella set in a strange small town in Tasmania. I'm not usually one for Christmas-themed stories or capital-R Romance but I made an exception because I wanted something lighthearted and I am a fan of Roberts' work. As it transpired, it's heavier on the fantasy than the romance, so that worked out well for me.i

This was a fun read. Lief is a meteorologist who has been sent to cover the freak weather that frequently strikes her home town. Except she knows that the snow in northern Tasmania in December is more due to magic than any natural meteorology. (Northern hemisphere readers should remember that it is summer during December in southern Australia.) Lief's job isn't so much to cover the strange weather but to stop anyone noticing just how strange the weather really is. And there are camera crews to dodge and carefully direct.

This was a really enjoyable tale. Aside from the inherently amusing premise of trying to hide magic snow from reporters, Lief has family obligations to feel guilty about and exes too feel awkward (or not) around. The underlying premise of why there is weird snow was also really interesting, though I won't spoil it here.

I highly recommend this novella to fans of feel-good fantasy stories. I think fans of Christmas stories will also enjoy it, but I think those who feel ambivalently or negatively about Christmas will still find much to enjoy here. It's not sappy and any Christmas cheesiness is relatively minor.

4.5 / 5 stars

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