Christmas At Claridges By Karen Swan

[amazon_link id=”1447219694″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’Christmas At Claridges’ is the latest book from Karen Swan.

Portobello – home to the world famous street market, Nottiing Hill Carnival and Clem Alderton. She is the queens of the scene, the girl everyone wants to be or be with. But beneath the morning after makeup, Clem is keeping a secret and when she goes too far one reckless night she endangers everything – her home, her job and even her adored brother’s love. Porofino – a place of wild beauty and old-school glamour, and where a neglected villa has been bought by a handsome stranger. He wants Clem to restore it for him and it seems like the answer to all her problems, except that Clem has been there once before and vowed for her portection, never to return.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Christmas At Claridges’ and thought it was quite an intriguing story. I did think that the title of the book and the cover of it was a bit misleading, as they implied that the story was a Christmas one, when actually the first chapter takes place on New Years Eve and the final chapter finishes at Christmas, whilst the remainder of the story takes places on the sunny island of Portofino.

The story is seen from the perspective of Clem, a pampered socialite who disastrously lets her brother and his business down and the only way to make it up to him, is to take on a new job that will result in her having to return to the island where she had left a terrible secret behind, many years ago as a teenager.

Right from the very start, I discovered that this was going to be a gripping story that held my attention throughout, as Clem battled for her family and brother’s approval, dealing with a demanding new job and lover, all whilst trying to battle the demons from her past and making sure her secret never sees the light of day. Throughout the story, there was an underlying sense of tension that leaves the reader gripped and hurtling towards the end for the big reveal. And boy, when it all came to light, I found myself a blubbering mess at the poignant end.

Even though in my own opinion, ‘Christmas At Claridges’ is not quite the festive story I expected. I still thought it was a wonderfully written and engrossing love story about family, love and secrets that will have the reader hooked.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”1447219694″ target=”_blank” ]Christmas at Claridge’s from Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.