Book Review - Christmas by Candlelight by Karen Swan

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Title: Christmas by Candlelight

Author: Karen Swan

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Macmillan

Publication Date: 26th October 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Snowed in for the holidays, old truths rise to the surface. Christmas by Candlelight is a cosy Christmas story from Karen Swan, bestselling author of The Stolen Hours.

It’s three days before Christmas and starting to snow when high-flier Libby and her new boyfriend reluctantly attend her university reunion on the way back from a wedding in Yorkshire.

Hosted by Archie Templeton - the heartbreaker of their group - at his grand family estate, the night is a great success until they go to leave: the road is now impassable and they’re given a bed for the night.

At first, being snowed in together is fun as the old friends wait in high spirits for the farmer to clear a path. But as hours pass with no news, everyone grows restless.

Then the power goes out . . .

Hunkered down together by candlelight, they reminisce about old times - and tensions soon start to rise. Secrets from the past begin to unravel and Libby is confronted with a truth she has long tried to deny.

My festive reading never feels complete until I've read a new Karen Swan Christmas novel. Every single one of them is amazing, and they always feel completely different and this was no exception. 

Within the first 10% of the book I was already so engrossed within the pages that I very almost missed my tube stop, I definitely had no recollection of the stops between where I got on and started the book, and where I was aiming to leave the tube. 

There is just something about Karen Swan's writing that draws me in every single time, and I was transported into Libby's life, both the present day story, and the much harder to read sections from when she was at uni and what happened to the friendship group back in the day. 

Libby has always felt as though she doesn't quite belong in the group, but that's not even part of the reason why she hasn't seen any of them in 9 years, but she did agree to attend this reunion. 

But Libby was only intending to stay for dinner, and then head back down to London, but mother nature had other ideas, and what then happens, would be for many authors the setting for a rising body count, and a really claustrophobic thriller - instead what we have is a group that are forced together in close proximity, and having to make the best of the situation.  But still with some atmospherically spooky things going on and an element of danger. 

I loved seeing how the group dynamics changed, how secretes have a way of coming out, both from the past and present, and generally just enjoyed every last second of this book.  Had I been able to, I'm confident I would have read this in one sitting, as it was I was reaching for it at every opportunity. 

So much to love contained in these pages, and I'm already looking forward to next Christmas and hopefully another epic Christmas story from Karen Swan. 

Thank you to Macmillan and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.