REVIEW: Secret Nights and Northern Lights by Megan Oliver

In Secret Nights and Northern Lights by Megan Oliver, Mona Miller spent her childhood doing two things: dreaming of traveling the world and writing (award winning) stories about it; and dreaming about her best friend since kindergarten, Ben Carter. She thought she had a long romantic future to look forward to with Ben until he ghosted her when they were seventeen. Mona has since used her heartbreak and anger to fuel her drive to succeed in travel journalism. And she does have a job at Around the Globe magazine in NYC. But her assignments are far from the spectacular trips she expected. Fluff pieces are all Mona can get–and she knows part of the issue is her people pleasing demeanor. So, when the chance to do a piece on Iceland lands on her desk, she agrees without getting the all-important details of who will be traveling with her. Or why she was chosen in the first place.

‘That’s the thing about old wounds; sometimes you’ve spent so long patching them up or pretending they didn’t exist in the first place that you forget how deep they cut.’

Mona is completely shocked that it’s her ex-boyfriend Ben who is the freelance photographer hired for the job. They haven’t seen each other in fourteen years. Surely she won’t be expected to take her first international trip for the magazine with Ben. But her boss is adamant that Mona will play nice with the award winning photographer and produce the best article she’s ever written. And she’s determined to do just that. But it’s complicated. Ben was everything to her back in the day. As much as she wants to keep things purely professional, their attraction is still simmering between them, all day every day. Not to mention the elephant in the room about their last night together and what pushed Ben to take off. Mona doesn’t want to rehash the past. However, as their time in incredible Iceland is coming to an end, she knows they need to talk things out. Because she has the feeling that they were brought back into each other’s lives for a reason–to have a second chance.

“You’ve saved me from the dark more times than I can count. You’ve kept my secrets and made me feel safer than anyone ever has. I know your heart, Ben, and it’s gentle and kind and good.”

Iceland worked its wondrous magic in SECRET NIGHTS AND NORTHERN LIGHTS. The land of fire and ice was the perfect backdrop for this second chance romance to blossom and secrets from the past to be revealed.

“Why are you so afraid to let me be in your life again? If you say you trust me?”
“Because I trust you with my life, Ben. But I’m not sure I trust you with my heart.”

CW: View Spoiler »Child abuse & neglect (historical), domestic abuse (historical), anxiety, panic attacks « Hide Spoiler

Debut author Megan Oliver most definitely did not do things by half measures when she wrote SECRET NIGHTS AND NORTHERN LIGHTS. She went all in with the layered history between main characters Mona and Ben and amped up the tension when they eventually saw each other again–fourteen years after Ben ghosted Mona. It was complicated as all get-out. And mistakes were made. But once their friendship began to rekindle, it was clear that all the feelings and closeness they had once shared were still as strong as ever.

Told strictly from Mona’s (narrative) POV, the thirty-one year old travel writer worked her way into my heart easily. She could be awkward and got into predicaments where Ben had to come to her rescue more than once, but Mona was such a sweetheart that those things honestly just made me chuckle. I think her situation at work–being a people pleaser who got overlooked while getting more than her fair share of assignments piled on–will be relatable to many readers. As will Mona’s hang up over Ben. He was her first everything after having been best friends since kindergarten. Then he vanished. I knew after seeing him as an adult and how wonderful a guy he was that something big (or bad) must have happened for him to take off.

I won’t spoil the big reveal of Ben’s past. But Oliver did a great job of conveying all the emotions not only Ben went through but also Mona during those teen years and beyond. She wrote their scenes together with such depth that readers will be hard-pressed to not feel like they are right there in Iceland, seeing all the magnificent sights with our couple while watching them get closer. Things ended on a sweet, wonderful note thankfully. But I honestly wonder if there will be a second interconnected novel about Mona’s best friend and roommate, Jacklyn. Things were left up in the air about a potential romance for her. I, for one, would love to get her story.

QOTD: What destinations are on your bucket list? Is Iceland one of them?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: November 18th, 2025 | by Berkley |

Childhood best friends and first loves are reunited on a make-or-break work trip to Iceland, with old feelings coming to the surface in this charming romance from debut author Megan Oliver.

Mona Miller lives her life by she’s just fine, thanks; all good; not a problem! Everything is right as rain—even if it’s all a lie. Everyone at the travel magazine where she works knows her as a team player (in other words, the one who won’t complain about the endless fluff pieces pushed her way). But, feeling snubbed after being passed over for a promotion, Mona jumps at an international assignment to Iceland, even though she’s woefully unprepared.

She’s determined to prove her worth, though, and her can-do attitude will scale any glacier. But the freelance photographer paired with her is none other than Benjamin Carter. Ben, her childhood best friend who understood her even when her family didn’t. Ben, her first love—first everything. And Ben, the boy who ghosted her fourteen years ago and left her brokenhearted.

There is a decade’s worth of resentment Mona needs to ignore if she wants to make it through this trip. She’ll put on her “No worries!” façade and hold Ben at a distance. But the more time they spend together, the more the ice around her heart melts. And as those old feelings spark back to life, Mona must decide if she’s willing to go on the biggest adventure of all.