I’ve read all Karen Swan’s books and they’re a perfect escapism to the modern world. The Hidden Beach is no different.
Bell works as an au pair to a family in Sweden that appear like the perfect family. Seven year old Linus and twins Elinor & Tilde.. One day she takes a phone call asking her to let Hanna, Linus’s mother, know her husband was awake. Hanna’s husband has been in a coma for seven years and has now suddenly woken up asking for his family. Bell has to help Linus and the rest of the family deal with the repercussions of the husband waking from a coma.
It’s a great story with likeable characters and stunning locations.
Thanks to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#TheHiddenBeach #NetGalley

Karen Swan never disappoints me. Her locations are always mindblowing, characters spot on and storylines smart. This delivered on all aspects and I recommend it to long time fans and newbies alike.

Bell is 26 years old and works as a nanny for the Morget family in Stockholm – Hanna, her partner Max, twins Elise and Tilde and Linus. She’s happy with her job and she loves the children, often going above and beyond, working overtime. But it doesn’t bother her, and she can relax with her best friends. However, one day, this beautiful world is broken when Bell answers a phone call that Hanna’s husband had just awoken from coma. After 7 years. Only then the web of lies and secrets she’s lived in and didn’t know about starts to untangle and pull the family apart.

The characters have depth to them, and each of them have their own story to tell. I didn’t always understand their decisions and had conflicted opinions about them but this only made them so much more real for me. I loved Bell, she was easy – going but she also knew what she wants and her love for children was special, they really were in good hands, I think there wasn’t a thing she wouldn’t do for them to protect them and keep them safe.
Linus’s trauma and heartbreak in this book is incredibly well written and handled. His confusion, uncertainty, being torn was so brilliantly captured that you will really fell for this boy.
You can’t not like the characters, no matter what. Emil tried really much to be unlikeable but he was such a complex character and there was so much more to him than meets the eye. Maybe it’s not easy to warm to him immediately, but quickly you start to feel sorry for him, for all that has happened to him and seeing how much he has lost. I didn’t approve all his decisions, but I also understood that he has suffered a traumatic head injury and lost 7 years of his life – just imagine it, everything and everybody moving on and you staying at the same place as 7 years ago.
I didn’t know what to think about Hanna, she was like enigma to the end of the story. She seemed deceitful, don’t you think? Almost her every move and decision took me by surprise and no, I didn’t warm to her but I fell for her, and please just wait till the end with judging her.

As usual, the plot is complex and also filled with mysteries. The author brings the setting effortlessly to life again, showing us the beauty of Sweden in all its glory, with beautiful islands and traditions. Also, I always adore the career paths she chooses for her characters, they’re so different and refreshing.

Perhaps it wasn’t Karen Swan’s best offering, I missed this „something“ that makes her books always so outstanding, nevertheless she is one of the few authors on my auto – buy list and I’ll buy her new release any time, without reading a synopsis, because I know that no matter what, with or without this „something“, I am for a real treat, for a brilliant and thrilling roller – coaster journey filled with emotions, with a gorgeous setting, where you always think that the world is simply better and nicer. The book was slow in places and this is probably this what bothered me too much, as we very often are caught up in the descriptions of places, and as beautiful as they are, I wanted more action. Don’t get me wrong, I got my action, some of the events took my breath away, but the slow story – telling takes us away from the climax, from the adrenaline – rushed situations. Nevertheless, when something happens then it happens 100%, with the speed of Formula 1 car.

„The Hidden Beach“ was a captivating read exploring family dynamics, loss and grief, thought – provoking and evocative and you’ll be asking yourself all the time what would you do in the same situation and will be happy that you don’t have to decide. This is what I like in Karen Swan’s novel, that she’s not shy of writing about difficult and taboo things without judging them herself. The story is full of surprises and twists and often you simply don’t know what’s going to come, as the author takes you on a rollercoaster and heart – wrenching journey.
It was multi – layered and sometimes dark but it also felt real and genuine and discovering those long – buried secrets and seeing all the relationships, old and new, developing and unravelling was captivating and thrilling. The writing style just sweeps you on a journey and you don’t want to leave the characters’ world. It is another great read from Karen Swan, clever and complex and I truly recommend it to you.

This is Karen Swan at her best. A beautiful story, following her characteristic arc but with so many touching and page-turningly unexpected details that the reader is captivatingly engaged by every page. The outcome is never in much doubt, but the method of getting to it is brilliantly conceived.

I absolutely adored this book! It was encapsulating, enthralling and exciting to read with love, humour and heartache.

Bell is a nanny in Sweden for Linus and his three year old twin sisters while Hanah and Max lead their busy lives until one day everything changes when she takes a telephone message from a hospital to say that Hanah's husband has woken up..... so who is Max? Emil has been in a coma for seven years following an accident and now wants his son Linus back and his wife! Bell is therefore sent with Linus to visit his father on his luxurious private island and imagine her shock when she finds out he is the man she recently had a one night stand with and who she cannot get out of her mind...... how will this summer pan out.

Another great book by this author, lovely setting with the archipelago of islands that sounded amazing and plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing. Perfect summer read.

Another Karen Swan smash hit! Because I love Karen’s books I had high expectations and this didn’t disappoint at all. Combining some elements of a mystery along with romance and relationship woes, The Hidden Beach has some fantastic multi faceted characters and is a fantastic page-turner.

The Hidden Beach is a compelling story that sweeps you away to the islands of Sweden where you become involved in the lives of Bell Everhurst and the Von Greyers family for whom she works. Their world is turned upside down when a miracle brings the past into the present and sets off a whirlwind of emotions. These put a strain on relationships old and new and long-buried secrets come to the surface.

It is expressive and vivid and the characters are complex, confused, troubled and intriguing. It tells a tale of life, loss, love, friendship, secrets, infidelity, forgiveness, heartbreak and romance.

The Hidden Beach is a thoughtful, charming tale by that is absorbing, entertaining, and perfect for any sunny day.

An engrossing story set in Sweden in an area that I would now like to visit. The story itself involves illness, family and friends, told mainly through the eyes of the nanny. It does have romance twisted through but somehow that fades into less importance than the other aspects of the tale. A definite ‘can’t put it down’ read.

I usually love Karen Swan novels but I could not relate to many of the characters. I liked Bell and as she is faced with the twists and turns of looking after a child whose father has woken up from a coma after seven years, I wanted her to have a happy ending but despite knowing the backstory of her love interest, Emil I wanted to tell her to just walk away and leave the other characters to deal with it. The dynamics felt off throughout. and not the romance I was expecting.
Karen Swan's talent for locations shines and I could easily visualise being in Sweden.

This was a great read - characters who came to life and really well written. The interaction between Bell and the family she worked for was great. Definitely recommended.

Another great story from Karen Swan. The Hidden Beach is set in Sweden and tells the story of Bell who works as a nanny to Linus and his 3 year old twin sisters. They and their parents Hanna and Max seem to be the perfect family but a phone call for Hanna is the beginning of a traumatic time for them all.
Bell too has her secrets and has experienced tragedy. Her life is even more involved with those of her employers than she realises - or wants.

I have read several books set in Scandinavia recently and this is my favourite. It is very well written with lots of twists and turns which make the storyline very unpredictable. I won’t give away any spoilers but I will say that I really recommend reading The Hidden Beach this summer.

This was my first Karen Swan book and I really enjoyed it. I loved the fact that this wasn't just a romance, it was thriller-y and kept me guessing until the end what was going to happen and to whom. Great fun!

Wow! For the first time in a long time, I've come across a book that I have found so difficult to put down (and not just figuratively). I've read almost 300 pages in one day. I was involved in a Tandem Collective readalong, so I have to thank them for my physical copy of this book. The premise of the book is so interesting - you've moved on with your life and your husband, who has been in a coma for 7 years wakes up. What do you do? An almost impossible question. I think Hanna handled it terribly, but she kind of came good in the end...
Bell was a fabulous narrator and I really wanted her to find happiness.
The ending was completely unexpected and I'm still not sure how I feel about it, except that it felt kinda right?!
This book is totally original, gripping and sensational. The writing style is simple but I loved the structural use of past and present times/memories. I loved it! I will definitely be reading more books by this author in the near future and hope they can live up to this one!

Brilliant book. Fantastic settings. Likeable characters. A great book to sit in the garden on a sunny day.

Karen Swan’s latest release, The Hidden Beach, is a brilliant story about heartbreak, family, and starting fresh. I always jump at the chance to read a book by karen swan but it took me a little while to get into the story but then I was hooked! The characters will stay with you, long after you have finished reading. Bell is the nanny and she is rather taken advantage of by her employer Hanna. Bell has a kind heart and loves the children she looks after. There is so much in this story, the description of the city and the islands for the summer retreat, really makes me want to visit there ( Sweden). Then, there are Bell’s exuberant friends and something that has happened in Bell’s past, from which she hasn’t fully recovered. Ididnt ;like the character Hanna, she was definitely ‘me first’, the way she handled her husband’s recovery with her son, Linus was shocking. There are flashbacks to provide the background to the present day. which is a good way of getting the past and the present day connected. This has family relationships and all the joy and heartbreak that can bring, romance and a few surprises but definitely a happy ending. I went through a whole gamut of emotions reading this book! I want to thank netgalley and the publishers to have been given a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it.

Good storyline. great charcters, the story flowed really well, and it was a fun read. I sat and read this in the garden and it was a great way to while away an afternoon.

Ah, another lovely story from Karen Swan this time in a part of the world I know nothing about and has given me the yearn to find out more. An interesting subject matter, how does life affect those who have been in a coma for years and then come back to those they left behind when they wake up? There were some unexpected twists to the story, was it going to be a happy ending? It certainly didn't look like it at one point. I truly felt for the 3 children in the story and poor Max. All in all a great story with a sweet ending, I loved it!

thank you to NetGalley and Pan for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

I found this an interesting book. Sweden is an unusual setting for a novel. The descriptions were colourful and the characters were engaging and likeable.. I would read other books by then author.