To Risk It All

When Lily Wootton's hard-won academic future is ripped away by a shocking betrayal, she flees London for the far north of Finnish Lapland, searching for quiet, healing, and a reset under the blaze of autumn Ruska.

In the small village of Äkäslompolo, Lily throws herself into helping organise the beloved Ruskamarkkinat Autumn Fair. But the new coordinator is Joak Lindström — the uncompromising local environmentalist she shared one intense night with at her sister's wedding, a man who's kept her at arm's length ever since.

With days to go, the fair's main sponsor abruptly pulls out. The only lifeline comes from Andersson Mining, the powerful family business pushing for a quarry that threatens reindeer grazing lands — and the very people Joak has spent years fighting to protect. Worse, Lily is tied to the Anderssons by marriage, making her the last person Joak wants on his team.

As the village fractures and old wounds surface, Lily and Joak are forced into close quarters, confronting what they think the other stands for… and what they truly want. And when an unexpected family reckoning lands in Joak's lap, the stakes turn painfully personal.

Against a backdrop of golden birch forests, crisp fells, and impending first snow, To Risk It All is a slow-burn, second-chance Lapland romance filled with small-town drama, family secrets, and the kind of love that asks you to be brave enough to begin again.