Christmas in Iceland: A festive novella of second-chance love, holiday traditions and wintry Reykjavik

by Victoria Walker

Isak Magnússon is facing his loneliest Christmas yet. With his family abroad and his friends settling into domestic life, he finds himself wandering Reykjavik's Christmas market alone, searching for some holiday cheer among the twinkling lights and falling snow.

Emý is back in Iceland for the holidays, dog-sitting while her parents cruise the Mediterranean. After years of building a life in America, she's looking forward to a quiet few weeks at home with no expectations or complications.

When they run into each other, five years of distance dissolve in an instant as memories of their relationship come flooding back—the good, the bad, and everything they left unsaid when Emý moved across the ocean.

As they navigate Reykjavik's cosy cafés, wander the snow-dusted streets and embrace Icelandic Christmas traditions, those familiar feelings become impossible to ignore...

138 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2025

Reviews

[Lee-Anne Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely romantic Christmas novella featuring Leifur's unreliable-but-come-good brother Ísak, bumping into an old flame at a Christmas market. It's a classic tale of burgeoning romance against a ticking clock, set amongst the gorgeous snowy and fairylit backdrop of Reykjavík at Christmas - as satisfying as a good, warming glass of glögg, as we know we can expect from Victoria - wonderful!

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so magical and christmassy! The perfect read to get into the christmas spirit! This can be read as a standalone or part of the Icelandic romance series <3

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Wished it was longer but what a lovely Christmas read. Pls pls pls can we have a full novel of their next steps (no spoilers)

[Kayleigh-Ann Pullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

very cute lil story ... wish they'd made it longer

[Tracey Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant story. Love the writing style.

[Kendra Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging, festive short story with a good dollop of will they/won’t they. The scene-setting made me want to book a trip to Iceland!