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A review by beate251
All I Want For Christmas by Karen Swan
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC.
This complex story takes place in Denmark at Christmas time but can be read at any time of year. The emphasis is on the story of a painting discovered behind another, very famous one of a fictitious historic Danish painter. Darcy, a young British art history student working for the National Gallery, is tasked with finding out who the lady in the painting is and who painted her, which reveals a tangled web of secrets and lies that has far-reaching consequences into the present.
Darcy's best friend Freja doesn't want her to be alone at Christmas so gives her access to an exclusive dating app via her rich boyfriend. She swipes right on three guys but then discovers that one of them works as a corporate lawyer for the Madsen Foundation that she is seconded to. Max is a complicated character, and it took me a long time to warm to him - he's too possessive and jealous for my liking.
The men Darcy gets to know through the app are a mixed bag but seem to eat only at fancy restaurants like Noma and Geranium. Hasn't Noma closed down in 2023?
The love for art shines through and the mystery was intriguing enough to keep me interested, however, I found the historic diary excerpts distracting and taking me out of the story - thankfully there were only a couple.
This could have been shorter and feels repetitive at times, especially when it comes to Darcy and Max dancing around each other. Darcy is very traditional in dating etiquette and I discovered that I should have been sitting on the banquettes in restaurants all this time. I've been doing life wrong for years!
I usually love Karen Swan's novels but this one disappoints a little due to not being very festive and turning a nice man into an awful one, and an arrogant, moody one into a palatable one (he gets a rescue dog at the end so awww). I thought the ending was a bit abrupt and didn't deal with what will happen after Darcy's year in Copenhagen is over. A epilogue would have been a good idea!
However, it is a very well-written, partly predictable escapist read that is deeper than your usual fluffy rom-com. The supporting characters are rounding the story out nicely and Copenhagen is a fabulous backdrop setting.
This complex story takes place in Denmark at Christmas time but can be read at any time of year. The emphasis is on the story of a painting discovered behind another, very famous one of a fictitious historic Danish painter. Darcy, a young British art history student working for the National Gallery, is tasked with finding out who the lady in the painting is and who painted her, which reveals a tangled web of secrets and lies that has far-reaching consequences into the present.
Darcy's best friend Freja doesn't want her to be alone at Christmas so gives her access to an exclusive dating app via her rich boyfriend. She swipes right on three guys but then discovers that one of them works as a corporate lawyer for the Madsen Foundation that she is seconded to. Max is a complicated character, and it took me a long time to warm to him - he's too possessive and jealous for my liking.
The men Darcy gets to know through the app are a mixed bag but seem to eat only at fancy restaurants like Noma and Geranium. Hasn't Noma closed down in 2023?
The love for art shines through and the mystery was intriguing enough to keep me interested, however, I found the historic diary excerpts distracting and taking me out of the story - thankfully there were only a couple.
This could have been shorter and feels repetitive at times, especially when it comes to Darcy and Max dancing around each other. Darcy is very traditional in dating etiquette and I discovered that I should have been sitting on the banquettes in restaurants all this time. I've been doing life wrong for years!
I usually love Karen Swan's novels but this one disappoints a little due to not being very festive and turning a nice man into an awful one, and an arrogant, moody one into a palatable one (he gets a rescue dog at the end so awww). I thought the ending was a bit abrupt and didn't deal with what will happen after Darcy's year in Copenhagen is over. A epilogue would have been a good idea!
However, it is a very well-written, partly predictable escapist read that is deeper than your usual fluffy rom-com. The supporting characters are rounding the story out nicely and Copenhagen is a fabulous backdrop setting.