Out of the Christmas books I’ve read this December, it was the better one of the lot. Some surprises here and there I didn’t guess

Three days before Christmas, rising legal star Libby and her colleague/part-time boyfriend, Max, head to a once grand country house in Yorkshire, for a long-overdue reunion with her former university friends. Libby has been avoiding this moment for nine long years, especially since she has history with the complicated lord of the manor of this crumbling mansion, Archie Templeton.

Libby is happy to see her former friends, but all the old feelings of inferiority that used to plague her soon come flooding back, despite the fact that she is now a very different person to the quiet, straight-laced student they remember. She does not know how to behave around Archie, and it is very difficult to know how to negotiate the relationship dynamics among the group when she has not been close to them for a long while. Fortunately, this is only going to be a flying visit... or is it?

While the housemates have been catching up, the snow has been falling outside, and it becomes clear that Libby and Max are now snowed in. Despite making the best of a bad situation, tensions amongst the group soon start to arise, and when the power goes out, their candlelit reminiscences turn to the secrets they have been keeping. It is time for Libby to make some choices about the things she has tried so hard to forget.

The novel unfurls in two timelines - one following the events around the housemates during their final days at Durham University, and the other what happens after Libby arrives at Archie's mansion in Yorkshire. At first glance, this begins very much in cosy Christmas rom-com country, with friends falling back into former relationship patterns, and romantic yearnings from years past bubbling back up to the surface. However, as Swan moves back and forth between 2014 and 2023, things take a surprising turn.

Underneath this glittery, snow-bedecked cover, Swan gradually builds layer upon beautifully crafted layer, incorporating some heavy themes into the domestic dramas of these characters, which she handles with a deftness that is very impressive. A sinister element subtly emerges that links past and present, and the timelines come crashing together in an unexpected way that delves into the history that lies between those who have bonded through intense experiences, and the lengths they will go to in order to protect the ones they care about.

This is a book that ticks so many boxes. It has all the emotional content you need to make the tears flow; bags of romantic suspense; the punch of a cracking psychological thriller; and a story that cleverly explores love, family, friendship, expectation, and the different faces we show to the world. It is not your average Christmas read, but it is an absolute corker!

A heartwarming take of friends reunited at Christmas

Libby is due to meet up with her old housemates, days before Christmas, for the first time in nine years. Love, heartbreak, trauma and fresh starts occur as they find themselves snowed in and past issues are brought to light as the powerlines go down.