Together by Christmas

I have to say, I love Karen Swan. I rush out twice a year to my local Costco and make sure I’m one of the first to snag whatever glorious creation she has come up with next.
This book did not disappoint. It was absolutely MAGICAL.
This book sucked me in right from the prologue. Like being a kid with their face glued to the window waiting to see a glimpse of Santa Claus when he does his yearly drive by on the fire truck in our neighborhood. I was practically drooling.
I love the way Karen Swan writes. The way she illustrates her settings is amazing. So elaborate and lovely. Her descriptions are so rich. It feels like I am right there living it with the characters. Part of their conversations, part of the scenery. It makes me want to travel to Amsterdam and experience it in person to see if I would even notice of any differences and I seriously doubt that. That is how exquisite her writing is. The way she gets into people’s characters and mannerisms from culture to culture is extraordinary and unique. Her research must be extensive, or she is just THAT good.

This story follows Lee, a former war photographer as she navigates single motherhood with PTSD. As she explores new and old relationships, we slowly discover what had happened back in Syria while Lee brings her ‘change the world’ mentality into her own modern day events.

The ending of this book was a mixture of unveilings. Some I came to on my own, and some I didn’t think of at all. It was perfect. I found myself smiling warmly as I turned the last page.

I loved this so much, and I can’t wait until this surfaces as a paperback so I can add it to my collection as well as buy a copy for all my book loving friends!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Karen Swan, and Pan MacMillan for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I needed some time to write my thoughts down for this one and I’m not even sure I will be able to articulate properly how I felt during and after. What an incredible story. Most definitely not a fluff story or your typical Christmas story, this one is so full of heart and hurt and characters overcoming very difficult and challenging experiences.

This is without a doubt Karen’s best Christmas story. I love all of them and they sit on my shelf, but wow. My chest physically hurt when reading it and I was just floored by it. I didn’t even read for a couple of days after I finished because I had such a book hangover and was emotionally wrecked. I honestly can’t say anything more specific for fear of spoiling aspects of the story, but definitely read this book. Like yesterday. I cannot wait to proudly display it on my shelf along with her other books, and she’s set a high bar for herself and her next book!

The thing I like most about prolific Karen Swan is her ability to write intriguing protagonists in different settings. Take her latest heroine, Lee, in the captivating TOGETHER BY CHRISTMAS by Pan McMillan. She is a Pulitzer prize-winning war correspondent photographer now living in Amsterdam with her son Jasper. I’ve never visited Amsterdam. Now it’s as if I’m there. Five years have gone by since Lee’s grueling assignment in ravaged Syria (haven’t been there either but I think I’ll pass) which gave her PTSD, though she does her best to hide it. Besides taking care of her kid, preparing for her latest showing of her sought-after pictures and sleeping with some of her male subjects when she happens to shoot them for a popular magazine, nothing really sets her motor going, until she finds a book in the basket of her bicycle with a note inside that will eventually change the course of her life.
I actually managed to read this wonderful novel despite being in the middle of a move. All my books are already packed, so hurray for my Kindle and Karen Swan. I love how the story just grabs you and stays intriguing all the way through. I really connected with the heroine and I so wanted her to succeed despite her hardships. I admit I’ve never been too keen on political issues but I did find the topic rewarding in this case. Writing about Syria and everything around it made sense for the protagonist to be pushed on a brick of a nervous breakdown, if I can call it that. But luckily she does find the strength to pull through. I hope I did not spoil things too much but it really is just a smidge of what this novel is about. You’ll be too caught up in the plot to care anyway.

I’m so glad to be back on the Karen Swan wagon after missing a couple of her recent books from her impressive backlist but I plan to pick them up as soon as we get settled in. In the meantime I think I’ll re-read this one. So go on, get yourself a copy of TOGETHER BY CHRISTMAS and see what an impressive Holiday read this turns out to be. And don’t get fooled by the light-hearted look of the cover. The story definitely goes deeper than meets the eye.


My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

It just wouldn't be Christmas without an absorbing holiday read from Karen Swan, and Together by Christmas ticks all of the boxes for a decadent holiday treat. This one is unique, unexpected, and thoroughly addictive.

Lee is a former war photographer and single mother making a life for her young son in Amsterdam, while simultaneously struggling with the effects of PTSD. When she finds an anonymous plea for help in a book that has been left in the basket of her bicycle, it is the beginning of a chain of events that will bring the book's author, Sam, further into her life, and a mystery that will have Lee questioning the safety of the haven that she believes she has established for herself and her son in Amsterdam. At the same time, she must find a way to reconcile herself with a past that she has tried so desperately to leave behind.

There is so much to love about this multi-layered story that will transport you to the Netherlands, and immerse you in the festive atmosphere and traditions of the season. This is not your typical and predictable holiday fare. It is substantive and exquisite, and you do not want to miss it. Thank you Karen Swan for this perfect holiday gift.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this wonderful ARC.

I am a huge fan of Karen Swan’s books. Sometimes I just want a fun romance/light drama with a happy ending. There is some angst and conflict of course but in the end everything is resolved in a positive way. This is exactly what happens in this book. I picked it up hoping for a cute/sexy romance. I was shocked to find that the main character in this story was a former war photographer who survived some incredibly horrific things in war zones. This made her a character that was not immediately likable but as her story unfolded and I learned what she had endured she became much more sympathetic.

The terrifying event that precipitated her retirement takes place in war torn Syria. I was completely blindsided by descriptions of the people and landscape of Syria and the horror of the war. This was particularly awful for me since I once worked in this area before the war. I am familiar with most of the towns and cities mentioned, although they are unrecognizably changed. I am heartbroken by what has happened to this land and its people and for my own mental health I have tried to avoid watching news or reading anything about what has happened there. To be honest if I had known this story involved war torn Syria, I would never have picked it up. This is likely not to be such a big issue for most readers but for me it was excruciatingly difficult. To be clear the sections of this book about the war zones will be uncomfortable for anyone to read. The atrocities are unfathomable and horrific.

My personal connection to this area made this especially difficult for me. I did continue and managed to finish the book and in the end I am glad that I did. I did get the happy ending I was expecting and hoping for, even if the journey was rockier than I was expecting. My personal experience strongly coloured my perceptions of this book, but I do want to warn readers that there is fairly graphic violence including sexual violence. Anyone with sensitivities might want to prepare themselves or avoid this one altogether. The characters and the story are really good, and the conclusion was satisfying and happy, but it was not the easy light read I was expecting. Your experience with this story will likely be completely different than mine and I do believe that most of Swan’s fans will enjoy it but be aware that there is a darker taint to this one and it may not be the fluffy read you are looking for.

Thank you Pan Macmillan for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

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.*

Set in Amsterdam, Lee and her son Jasper are enjoying there time with friends preparing for Christmas. But there is much more to learn about Lee’s life and past.

This was a unique Christmas book, it had tons of layers and story lines. There were many interesting characters. I was pleasantly surprised by it. I would recommend you read it this holiday season!

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for a ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Together by Christmas was so much more than I had expected. The last line in the description says, "Escape to the snow-covered streets of Amsterdam in this deeply romantic read, featuring twists, turns and characters you'll fall in love with." Yes, it is a romance, but the characters are dealing with a lot of baggage from their past, and trying to move forward while dealing with the ramifications of what happened in Syria when photographer, Lee Fitch, and war correspondent, Cunningham, worked together. Five years later, Lee is living in Amsterdam with her son, Jasper, aka Jazz. She is happy with her photography, her son and her friends. When she finds a book in the basket of her bike, there is a plea inside asking for help. Lee wants to know more about the book, the author and the distribution, so she tries to track down Sam. This leads her into a relationship with Sam, when she has vowed not to get involved with anyone. Things don't work out as planned and even though it is Christmas time, will Christmas magic prevail?

I really enjoyed this book. Lee suffers from PTSD, and has a lot of nightmares. I love how Jasper tries to help her with that. He is adorable and all the Christmas festivities he participates in really bring in the festive feeling. Lee’s backstory is slowly revealed through her memories and also through sessions with her psychologist. It was easy to see why she wanted her life to be insulated, and was happy with her small group of friends. The story is set in Amsterdam, and I enjoyed seeing how they celebrated the holidays, with all the customs they participate in. There were a lot of lighthearted moments, but also some serious themes. The story touched on PTSD, rape, war, family abuse, anger issues, and trafficking. For me, I like happy, festive Christmas stories, and although there were many of those in evidence, the heavier side of this story pulled it down a bit for me.