In Bright Midnight by Karina Halle, It’s been almost eight years since Shay Lavji last saw her ex-boyfriend Anders 
Johanson, when he broke her heart and went back to his home country of Norway. Even with the horrible way things ended, she still thinks of him from time to time. Particularly now that Shay is planning on traveling to Norway as she backpacks her way across Europe. She didn’t set out to see Anders. But they meet again literally as she steps off the train in the gorgeous country. And from the way Anders is treating Shay–with kindness and a bit of awe at them crossing paths–she knows she’s going to cave and let him help her find her way around his home turf. Even though she knows better.
‘I want to experience this country the real way, off the beaten path, in the villages, with the locals.
With my ex-boyfriend.
Who now happens to be a Nordic god.
I just can’t decide if he’s Thor or Loki.’
Things have always been super intense between Shay and Anders. That holds true close to a decade after their last interaction. As Shay begins to familiarize herself with Norway, Anders can’t help but remember what captivated him about her in the first place–and can feel the same emotions swimming under the surface. But his life isn’t really his own to dictate. And getting into anything serious with Shay would be a bad idea considering Anders spends weeks at sea running his family’s fishing boat and the rest of the time helping out on their farm. What would he have to offer Shay? She’s a woman who deserves everything, including a stable family and all the attention a guy can lavish on her if he’s lucky enough to win her heart. As much as he wants to be that man, Anders isn’t sure he has what it takes.
‘Shay was the only thing holding me together, a girl that loved me with all her young heart, and yet even she wasn’t enough to keep me from total destruction.’
Bright Midnight took readers on a globe-trotting journey, ending up in Norway for an angsty, passionate second chance romance that had its fair share of ups and downs. Which is exactly what I would hope for in a Karina Halle novel.
‘What if you fall in love, lose the guy and then later on in life, many loves later, you realize that first love was the only one to really stick. Then what?’
Trigger Warning: View Spoiler »
Second chance romances are my catnip so I couldn’t wait to tear into this newest standalone by Karina Halle. It definitely hit all the bells and whistles with a ton of self-reflection and growth, intense feelings between Shay and Anders, a rich and detailed backstory peppered throughout, and lots and lots of heat. But I have a feeling this won’t be the story for everyone. If you have a serious aversion to certain elements in romances you might want to check the trigger warning above. Otherwise, I think readers will be completely taken with the dynamic between Anders and Shay.
It’s always interesting to see main characters in the present day and to then get glimpses of them in the past so we can see how much they have learned and grown over the years. In this case, Shay and Anders were a short-lived but highly volatile couple in high school until it all fell apart in a very serious way. She was a naive young woman who wanted to feel loved and included in someone’s life. He was a troubled young man rebelling against family drama he didn’t approve of.
It felt like Halle created the perfect storm for them–in both timelines, actually. During the present day, Anders and Shay were in their mid-twenties. And neither were happy with where they were in life. Anders was thrown into the family businesses, fishing and farming, and still holding on to his memories of Shay. And she was trying to find her way, backpacking across Europe. (You might remember seeing Shay in Racing the Sun a few years ago!) But when they saw each other by chance in Norway about eight years after their breakup, sparks flew immediately. It was intense, scorching hot, and probably not a good idea to try things again. But as with all of Halle’s romances, the sense of them belonging together was absolutely palpable. Which was honestly what got me through the more controversial parts of their tumultuous story.
Karina Halle’s books always have solid, interesting plots but it’s the characters and the emotions they sort through that draw me in every time. That couldn’t be more true of Bright Midnight. Its introspective storyline about grief, acceptance, letting go and starting over will be sure to touch the heart of any romance fan.
QOTD: Are you a fan of second chance love stories? If so, do you have any favorites you can recommend?
Book Info:
Publication: Published May 6th 2021 | Karina Halle |
From the New York Times bestselling author of Where Sea Meets Sky and Racing the Sun comes a wildly romantic STANDALONE about a young American abroad in Norway who runs into the man who broke her heart eight years ago.
After years of bartending her way across Europe, Shay Lavji has seen almost everything the continent has to offer, but there’s one country she hasn’t crossed off her bucket list yet: Norway. It’s not that she doesn’t want to visit the land of the midnight sun—far from it; she’s obsessed with the culture and is dying to see the majestic fjords for herself.
What she’s not dying to do is run into her Norwegian ex-boyfriend, Anders Johansson, who broke her heart in America eight years ago before returning to his ancestral home. The last time she saw Anders, he was a cocky, rebellious, and tortured teenager who couldn’t stop himself from pushing all of her buttons—both good and bad. But Shay isn’t going to let Anders stand in the way of her wanderlust, and besides, it’s a big country, right?
She doesn’t count on Anders seeking her out the moment he learns she’s on his home turf. When Shay sees him again, she’s shocked at his transformation into a bearded, tattooed farmer and fisherman who values family over everything else. Is it possible that time has tamed this former bad boy? Shay wants to believe that everything can be new and bright again under the summer sun, but she knows, when it comes to Anders, the darkness is never too far behind.
