I’m delighted to be sharing my thoughts on Christmas in the Snow by Karen Swan.
Paperback: 300
pages
Publisher: Pan (6 Nov. 2014)
ISBN-10: 1447219708
ISBN-13: 978-1447219705
No secret stays buried forever…
In London, the snow is falling and Christmas is just around the corner – but Allegra Fisher barely has time to notice. She’s pitching for the biggest deal of her career and can’t afford to fail. And when she meets attractive stranger, Sam Kemp, on the plane to the meeting, she can’t afford to lose her focus either. She learned to shut off her emotions long ago and only her sister and best friend Isobel knows why. But when Allegra finds herself up against Sam for the bid, their passion quickly turns sour.
In Zermatt in the Swiss Alps, a long-lost mountain hut is discovered in the snow after sixty years and the last person expecting to become involved is Allegra – she hasn’t even heard of the woman they found inside. But it soon becomes clear the two women are linked and, as she and Iz travel out to make sense of the mystery, hearts thaw and dark secrets are uncovered, long buried by the snow.
This review is going to be so hard to write because I totally adored Christmas in the Snow. So much so that I want to go and live in this world!
So many twists and turns and I fell in love with the characters as soon as they stepped in.
Legs and Iz have a fantastic sisterly love for each other and they know each other well. Legs is protective of her younger sister and there is intrigue surrounding something that happened in their childhood. My favourite part of the story is when they are in Zermatt. But I get ahead of myself.
I loved the cut and thrust of Legs job. Sam appearing on the scene eventually led to feelings of anger on my part (although Legs was harsh at one point). The Christmas dinner had my blood boiling. Honestly, my heart was pounding with all that adrenalin! I applauded Legs as she exited. What a dignified woman. I thought she was spectacular!
Zermatt was fun. Mostly. Finding out the family history information and the history of the small community of Zermatt (before the skiing tourism took over) was fascinating. I loved the glamour of Zhou’s world. Money doesn’t get Zhou what he wants though …
Those undercurrents and half-truths, I thought I knew where we headed and bang! Another layer was revealed. I’m glad my first impressions about one particular character held true.
There are poignant moments too with Legs and Iz’s mum. This feels so real. So raw. Clearing the loft near the beginning of the story was a painful ending. But also a beginning.
I loved how it all tied up. The romance and the family. The ending was just perfect.
Christmas in the Snow is a story that didn’t let me go (and still hasn’t!). I felt every emotion and loved every single thing. The writing flows and the style made it easy for me to be visual. Highly recommend you read this, no matter the time of year.
My copy of Christmas in the Snow was a Christmas gift. I will definitely be reading it again.
Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and a puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest in Sussex, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs. Her books include Christmas at Tiffany’s, Summer at Tiffany’s, The Perfect Present, Christmas in the Snow, Christmas on Primrose Hill, The Paris Secret and The Rome Affair.
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