Review: Together by Christmas

I've lost track of the number of Karen Swan books I've read over the years and I know I haven't even read close to all of them! Her latest came out last year and was her traditional holiday offering. Together by Christmas is a story full of secrets and a touch of festive magic that will keep the reader intrigued until the end.

Here's the synopsis:

When Lee first came to Amsterdam, it was with a newborn baby and a secret. Five years later, her life is approaching normal: her career as a celebrity photographer is flourishing, her son Jasper is growing up, and they are enjoying the run-up to Christmas with their tight circle of close friends.
But all this changes one morning when Lee finds a book in the basket of her bicycle – and scrawled inside it, a desperate message. Who left it for her, and why? Lee feels compelled to help and tracks down the book’s author, Sam. With an instant, undeniable connection it seems they might have a shot at a real future together.
Until her past comes calling. As the snow falls and ice thickens on the city’s canals, the secret Lee has never told resurfaces. Suddenly everything she holds dear hangs in the balance. Christmas is a time for being together – but what if the truth means she ends up alone?
Escape to the snow-covered streets of Amsterdam in this deeply romantic read, featuring twists, turns and characters you'll fall in love with.

I knew, despite the title, that this book wouldn't be super Christmassy. Swan's books never really are. They tend to focus on the lead up to the December holiday but the big day itself is a bit of an afterthought. So, when I got overwhelmed with holiday books last year, I made the decision to read this one in early 2021 instead. I think it was actually nicer to read as Amsterdam slowly became covered in snow and ice as it was snowy outside my window here in Ontario in January. As it was, we didn't see much snow in my city until Christmas Day! Lee is an Englishwoman living in Amsterdam and she still hangs onto her Christmas roots even though the Dutch don't put as much emphasis on Christmas. (A fact that was mentioned a few too many times throughout the book. Once was enough.) Instead, they celebrate Pakjesavond and the children wait for a visit from Sinterklaas. I didn't know much about the holiday so it was really fun to learn about it and see it through a child's eyes as Jasper watched a parade, left and received nightly gifts, and waited for the present giving evening.

I would have loved this book if there hadn't been SO MUCH going on. The main plot - what happened to Lee when she was a war photographer in Syria and why her former partner had gone back - was the one I cared the most about (along with her budding romance with Sam...what can I say, I'm a sucker for a Happily Ever After). Unfortunately, it was bogged down by a lot of subplots: photographing top celebrities for a magazine, a photography exhibition featuring domestic assault victims to shed light on the issue, her former partner's pregnant wife, her friend having a crush on their other friend who is clueless and a bit of a womanizer, human trafficking happening too close to home (which I totally called and was just waiting for them to figure it out), Sam's book and marketing campaign, the Elfstedentocht (a long distance outdoor skating event in the Netherlands), looking after an elderly neighbour, and just all the hullaballoo surrounding the holidays. A LOT. It did kind of work together but it felt forced at times and I just found myself waiting for Lee's secrets to finally be revealed since it had been teased through the entire book and I was on edge because her past was...well, brutal.

Lee was an interesting character and one I really liked reading about. I could see how she would be hard to read for some people because she keeps herself very walled off (I don't blame her, given what I was sure she had seen and encountered in Syria). But you could also see what she was like with the people she allowed into her life. Jasper, of course, who was the cutest little guy, but also Mila, Liam, and Noah who were her found family. She was so smart and so talented - it was interesting to read as she worked in her studio on the magazine piece (though I do wonder how professional photographers would have felt at the portrayal).

One, sort of weird, thing that didn't work for me was how Lee called herself "mannish" twice when she was with smaller women. Lee is 5'10", which is, yes, tall but as a 6' tall woman (not living in Amsterdam where there are, apparently, tall people everywhere), I would never call myself "mannish" and it didn't seem to work with what I knew about Lee either. Sure, I feel super tall and large sometimes when I'm with teeny 5' women but I still feel like a woman. A personal quirk of mine, I know, but it stuck out to me. Just like all the winking characters did (do people really wink that much in real life? I think not.) and the fact that Mila wore a "flesh toned" dress. No, she wore a peach or light cream coloured dress that just happened to match her skin tone. 

Even with the issues I had with this story, I was completely riveted. I sat myself down to read on a Saturday afternoon and didn't move until it was done (full disclosure: I had read up to chapter 11 the night before). I was so worried for what Lee had gone through in the past and what Harry, her former partner, was going through in the present. Plus, she clearly had feelings for Sam but refused to allow herself to have a healthy, romantic relationship even though there was something special there. I'm still glad I read it.

Together by Christmas is a book to get into when you want to get completely lost in the story and ignore the outside world. I'd recommend reading Karen Swan's latest novel while it's still wintery (in some parts of the world, anyway). If nothing else, you'll get to do some armchair traveling to Amsterdam!

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Publishers Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*