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thisiswhyshedied's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
michaelap0511's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
leona28's review
emotional
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
4.5
I loved this book! My second Christmas book by Karen Swan and it definitely did not disappoint, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and finished it in two sittings, bare in mind both times I sat down to read this book was on a plane and it definitely transported me to Scotland!
The Christmas Secret tells the story of Alex Hyde an executive coach and business expert who changes the fortunes and futures of companies on a regular basis that she has attained a name for herself. Her waiting list of clients is months long but when a highly lucrative crisis call comes her way a few weeks before Christmas she jumps at the opportunity. This leads Alex to Scotland to help a whisky company. There she meets the enigma Lochlan Farquhar the CEO who she constantly butts heads with and can't seem to get inside his head to turn the company around. But will Alex be able to save the company? And she will be faced with a hard decision when she realises people are not what they first seem.
I adored the characters in this! Alex is a strong independent boss woman who is a little head strong at times but needs to be when she deals with executives in companies who see her just as another woman. Lochlan is at first very reserved and doesn't open up to anyone but I loved his character and you could see he had been through a lot with his history! Definitely misunderstood at the start!
You can tell that Swan really spent a good deal of time researching the whisky industry and it shows throughout by providing details that enhance the story. I found it so interesting throughout! She also added a historical element bringing in the island of Islay links with WWII and the soldiers who got washed to the island which I loved. It gave another element to the story and to the background of some characters.
Overall, I loved this one and would definitely recommend picking it up!
The Christmas Secret tells the story of Alex Hyde an executive coach and business expert who changes the fortunes and futures of companies on a regular basis that she has attained a name for herself. Her waiting list of clients is months long but when a highly lucrative crisis call comes her way a few weeks before Christmas she jumps at the opportunity. This leads Alex to Scotland to help a whisky company. There she meets the enigma Lochlan Farquhar the CEO who she constantly butts heads with and can't seem to get inside his head to turn the company around. But will Alex be able to save the company? And she will be faced with a hard decision when she realises people are not what they first seem.
I adored the characters in this! Alex is a strong independent boss woman who is a little head strong at times but needs to be when she deals with executives in companies who see her just as another woman. Lochlan is at first very reserved and doesn't open up to anyone but I loved his character and you could see he had been through a lot with his history! Definitely misunderstood at the start!
You can tell that Swan really spent a good deal of time researching the whisky industry and it shows throughout by providing details that enhance the story. I found it so interesting throughout! She also added a historical element bringing in the island of Islay links with WWII and the soldiers who got washed to the island which I loved. It gave another element to the story and to the background of some characters.
Overall, I loved this one and would definitely recommend picking it up!
amandamarie793's review against another edition
5.0
Wow.
Full disclosure- I listened to this book on Audible. The narrator was wonderful, her accent and narrating really brought this story to life. I was crying and laughing, there were emotions flying throughout the story.
This book doesn't have too much Christmas overload, it is truly a story about lovers, past and present. There are terrible, mean, spiteful people. And wonderful, warm people. There are many lessons learned, family loss, tragedies and we even get to learn a bit of local history.
The setting is the beautiful Scottish Highlands, what more could you ask for!
I am so pleased with this book! This was my first ever Karen Swan book,I've placed many more on hold at my local library and can not wait to get lost in them, soon.
Full disclosure- I listened to this book on Audible. The narrator was wonderful, her accent and narrating really brought this story to life. I was crying and laughing, there were emotions flying throughout the story.
This book doesn't have too much Christmas overload, it is truly a story about lovers, past and present. There are terrible, mean, spiteful people. And wonderful, warm people. There are many lessons learned, family loss, tragedies and we even get to learn a bit of local history.
The setting is the beautiful Scottish Highlands, what more could you ask for!
I am so pleased with this book! This was my first ever Karen Swan book,I've placed many more on hold at my local library and can not wait to get lost in them, soon.
chloeplatt's review
2.0
Quite misleading title and branding - definitely not christmassy and a surprisingly large amount of detail into business jargon and the whiskey industry!
debralewi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kitvaria_sarene's review against another edition
4.0
This one took a bit to hook me. Once I was in, it was a nice Christmas story set in a beautiful rural community. I really liked the characters, even though some of the twists between them didn't feel very natural to me. There was just too much bad drama too easily forgiven for me. While I do enjoy the kindness a Christmas story is supposed to show to get me into the Christmas spirit, it still should feel believable.
aside from that it was an interesting story I devoured in just one day (on audible) while baking Christmas cookies.
It has some real history woven in, and I felt it should have been a little bit less "fluffy" and a bit deeper, but was really just another easy chicklit. That didn't annoy me - I liked to read those especially for Christmas, but was expecting a bit more somehow...
aside from that it was an interesting story I devoured in just one day (on audible) while baking Christmas cookies.
It has some real history woven in, and I felt it should have been a little bit less "fluffy" and a bit deeper, but was really just another easy chicklit. That didn't annoy me - I liked to read those especially for Christmas, but was expecting a bit more somehow...