This is another deal I’ve found recently on Audible and a book I’ve had in my Netgalley queue for quite some time. When I think of Karen Swan books I think of authors similar like Victoria Hislop. I enjoy how atmospheric the story feels with the depth of feeling between characters.

The story follows main character Charlotte who travels to Spain to assist as a wealth counsellor after it’s revealed that the estate of the failing Mendoza is going to an unknown young woman with apparently tenuous connections to the Mendoza family.

As I said I love Karen’s writing for the atmosphere and description of settings so I enjoyed soaking up the Spanish vibes in this one. The story is tense with the main plot but also with Charlotte and her love life.

The last book I read from Karen was The Last Summer which was a historical romance that I really enjoyed and I’m planning my next read to be The Greek Escape.

I love Karen Swan’s books and I have read almost all of them. This one was a little disappointing for me. I found myself skim reading some of it. There were a lot of characters to keep up with. I enjoyed the chapters flicking between past and present day, but it was hard to keep up with everything that was going on. I was surprised at the ending but was a good conclusion to the story. I would still read her further books. Thank you for accepting my request.

Absolutely loved every single page of this book, which is my standard reaction to Karen Swan's books. I'm yet to find one I didn't enjoy. Can definitely recommend

I do enjoy Karen Swan books. I like the family drama with depth.
I listened to this one as I am STILL in a reading slump. I must say the the narrator did an excellent job, had a fabulous Spanish accent that I wouldn't have done it any justice.
I liked the dual timeline and finding out about the atrocities in the Spanish Civil War.
I found the main characters very likeable and there wasn't lots of slushy romance, it was a good solid story.

Another enjoyable book by Karen Swan which takes you to the beautiful setting of Madrid. Charlotte is a wealth counsellor and when she is flew out to Madrid to sort out an issue with one of the most prestigious clients she finds herself faced with secrets that need uncovered dating right back to the 1930's .
A beautiful story that is set in the present day and 1930's and is perfectly wound together to tell a story of love, war and heartbreak.

Interesting story and I liked the dual time line aspect. Characters were believable and engaging. I would recommend this book

I really enjoyed this book and learning something new. The book is split between two timelines, the present and the time of the Spanish civil war which I know nothing about.
One of Spain’s richest men is dying and had suddenly changed his will to leave all his money to a woman no one has heard of. Charlotte has been sent in by the families bank to investigate who this woman is. She hires a historian to research the family.
The story kept me gripped and I loved the characterisations. The author brings the time of the Spanish civil war to life and the horrors people suffered.
Definitely worth reading if you like family sagas.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this book and found it fascinating as it showed how different factors can affect the the paths one follows through life. Recommended to those readers who enjoy reading about historical facts.

Dual time line story set between the Spanish Civil War (just before WW2), and the present day.

Karen Swan is one of the few authors that I will read these dual time line type books from, since she manages to tell a wonderful story without too much in depth historical detail.

I was hooked from the prologue and needed to know how it all fitted together, and there are surprises especially in the historical time line all the way to the last few pages.

I enjoyed Charlotte's character and have never come across a wealth counsellor before, so learning about her professional life was really interesting, as was the mystery of just what Marina's connection to the Mendoza family was.

Charlotte's private life on the other hand was messy, and I'm not necessarily convinced by how that portion of the story resolved itself.

I certainly know more about the Spanish Civil war than i did before, and I really was drawn into the story.

Very well written, I was spellbound to know more at all times as the pages kept on turning.

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

Charlotte is a wealth advisor and in the throes of her grand wedding plans when she is asked to go to Madrid to find a woman who is to become the beneficiary of the massive fortune of Carlos Mendoza. Charlotte sets off sure that she is going to find that the woman is a secret mistress and will be able to be bought off for far less money...... but how wrong can she be! As she investigates the beneficiary she is drawn into a story of family history and secrets going back to the Spanish civil war...... and how will she feel about her upcoming wedding when she meets up again with an old flame in the course of her research?

Another great story by Karen Swan the dual timelines with present day and Spain in the 1930s worked very well and I was fascinated by the historical part of the book, definitely one that I couldn't put down and would highly recommend

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
A very good read and one I can highly recommend to others.
I could not put this down.
Thoroughly enjoyable with an amazing cast of characters that you cannot help but engage with.

An intriguing book, but at times quite hard to follow.
This book has a duel timeline. It is set in the 1930s covering the Mendoza family and the Spanish civil war , and London in the present with Charlotte.
Charlotte is a wealth councillor and has been asked by the extremely wealthy Mendoza family to help them.
Carlos the patriarch of the family is dying and has bequeathed an extremely large bequest to a lady , Marina Quincy.
The family assume she is an ex mistress of his and enlist Charlottes help to find her and uncover the secrets in her past.
A lot of very difficult subjects were covered in this book and Karen portrayed them very well.
The London side of the book had Charlotte dealing with a rude and controlling fiancé, her wedding in a weeks time and having to fly to Madrid ! No pressure then.
The end of the book brought the two stories together in an explosive and poignant finish
Did I enjoy this book ? Yes I did. It was worth persevering when all is revealed in the end .
Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Karen Swann for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

This was a captivating read, I just couldn’t put it down. I was so totally immersed in this book, that I was unaware of things happening around me. The story fluctuated between two main timelines, around 1936 in Spain and the present day. There were also flash backs to Charlotte’s university days. Charlotte Fairfax was the main character and a good number of her actions were related to her troubled home life. I must admit I had only a vague knowledge of the Spanish Civil War but this plays a major part in the 1930s flashbacks. Charlotte is due to marry in a couple of weeks but work and a face from the past causes her doubts. This is the type of book where the characters stay with you. Highly recommend this book. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another new to me author and first read for me.
A beautiful description of Spain in the 30's , Madrid and everything about the civil war, wealthy families and how they used to live their lives in that times.
I must admit that I was a bit confused or better said frustrated with the two different time traveling as the story is told once in the 1930 and then in present. There are so many different things happening today but overall I could see why the author chose to make this story like this. It's a more interesting and unique story, with characters that want to be a bit out of the box in their time and rebel against their family's rules.
There are some twists and turns that are adding to the story a few moments that will definitely remain with me for a while and also made me go back and research.
Overall was a good story with well written moments and interesting characters to say at least.

Soon-to-be married wealth councillor Charlotte Fairfax becomes involved in the mystery surrounding the sudden bequest of a dying man to a woman unknown to the rest of his family. The story is told with a dual timeline, switching between 1930s Andalusia and modern-day Madrid. Dark secrets and tragic pasts are revealed in this absorbing summer read.
I had previously read two of Karen Swan’s winter novels, Christmas in the Snow and The Christmas Secret, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. This was my first of Karen Swan’s summer reads. In comparison the winter novels, The Spanish Promise is heavier with dark, complex issues and lighter on romance. I was a little disappointed in the lack of romance, but there is instead strong, passionate, complicated love.
I was more interested in the 1930s timeline and not so invested in the modern-day characters. I did like that Charlotte was a complex, troubled and flawed character. However, I didn’t really enjoy the interactions between Charlotte and Nathan, a past flame who reappears in her life. I can understand the intentions in the way their chemistry is written (due to their history together), but I didn’t really warm to either character as I had done with the characters of Swan’s other novels.
For me, the strongest aspect of the novel is the interweaving of the narratives, and revelations of the past for the characters in both timelines. This was wonderfully done, with exactly the right details being revealed at the perfect time.
I found this to be a very moving novel, enhanced by the thorough research that must have been done to write this story. I previously knew very little about the Spanish Civil War, and the novel’s exploration of history through a fictional family has made me keen to explore this area of Spain’s history. It was a very dark time and so can be a little hard to read at times, but every detail in the novel is there to create a powerful story.
I recommend this book to anyone who is intrigued by dark secrets and strong, complex, flawed characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This was an advanced copy from netgalley - thank you

I've not read any previous work by this author but, my, I will in future!!

Quite an epic !! - I think the cover doesn't fully represent the contents - very much a 'don't judge a book by its cover' for me. Yes it is a romance, but against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, makes this much more than that

Really loved this !!!

Love and tragedy all mixed together - a fantastic holiday read but also would make a great book club book - so many things to be discussed here

Would highly recommend this and will absolutely be looking out for this author in future - I wish I could give it more than 5 stars !!

The Spanish Promise is set in two different times. In the present day, Charlotte, days away from her wedding, travels to Madrid to uncover a mysterious bequeathal, while in the 1930s, Nene is growing up in a Spain on the verge of civil war.

This is an engaging, beautifully written book which draws you into the world's of both characters. Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. A highly enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book, one part set in the era of the Spanish Civil War and the other in present times. I enjoyed reading about Charlotte and her wealth management skills, not sure if that kind of job even exists, I do hope not. She thought she was in love with the man she was about to marry but on a job assignment, she is thrown together with a man that she has always thought of as the love of her life. The other aspect of the book takes you back to before the Spanish Civil war and gives an insight into why it started and also the cruelty of it. There is so much to the book, I really enjoyed reading about the Spanish countryside and the capital city of Madrid as I am a regular visitor.

I was expecting this book to be a romantic novel only but it is so much more. Romance.... Yes but an indepth story around the Spanish civil war. A great read.

Enjoyable read. Flowed beautifully. Well written.
Thank you to both NetGalley and and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review