This was a lovely book - slightly predictable at times, but equally twists and turns that you didn't expect, from Nats and Tom's history, to the marriage of Natasha and Rob, and Duffy's travels. It was all brought together very satisfactorily with an unexpected result with the marriage of Natasha and Rob.

I loved the mixed timelines in the story as this brought depth to all of the characters and the reasons why they acted like they did.

Karen's books always have a twist in the tale, but always have characters that make you learn things - this one about climbing and painting as a start!

I couldn't recommend this enough and want to see the picture of the cow jumping over the moon!

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for approving me for an ARC of this book. I had an Audible credit and decided to use it on this book, especially once I learnt that Kristen Atherton was the narrator. I have listened to a few books narrated by Kristen and she always blows me away with her exemplary voices.

This book is told in a dual timeline, focusing on Natasha and Duffy. Our present-day story involves Natasha’s child, Mabel, and her lost toy. When a social media post, asking for help to find it, goes viral Natasha learns that it is in the hands of Duffy, who is on a hiking expedition. We then skip back a few years to Natasha and the night of her hen do where she meets handsome Tom and finds her world is turned upside down.

Initially, I was confused with the two storylines and wondered what relevance they had to each other. Let’s just say that it became clear very quickly where this story was heading and I was here for it! The romantic in me loved the idea that you can know someone by just meeting them and feeling that magnetic pull.

Natasha was an interesting protagonist. As a mother, I related to her and her inconsolable child, if I was in her shoes I would have done anything to find Moolah again too. Her bond with Mabel and natural mothering instinct was beautiful to read but I felt that she had lost her own identity. Her marriage and astonishing home didn’t seem to make her happy and I desperately wanted her to see the light and forge a new path for herself and Mabel.

When Duffy entered the scene, it was clear that there was more to his hiking expedition than he let on. He seemed to have a lot of emotional baggage and I often found myself wondering what the end result of his hike would be. I loved his touching responses to Mabel and his ability to engage with her even when he was miles and miles away.

What started as a slow burner soon ramped up to a tense and climactic ending for both Natasha and Duffy. Whilst the romance elements were a given I hadn’t expected a lot of the other twists and action that were packed in towards the end. Karen Swan had built a foundation that made you love the characters and care about their outcomes, in those last moments I was holding my breath and struggling to hold back the tears during that phone call. I shall now be devouring the rest of Karen Swan’s collection!

Another amazing read from Karen Swan. A mixture of romance, heartbreak, a travel log of Nepal and the Himalayas, and the danger of extreme mountaineering. Wonderful, enthralling reading. The best book I have read for ages.

I’m a huge fan of Karen Swan’s writing and The Christmas Postcards is another beautiful story.
I’ve been transported from the wilds of the mountains in Nepal to the provincial countryside of Somerset and all the emotions in between.
I loved the connections between the characters in this one - that idea of knowing someone even after a few hours meeting always hits the romantic in me. I loved seeing Natasha grow in the story and Mabel sounded a little angel. Full of love, friendships and being brave this is another 5⭐️ from me.

What a lovely festive read.

Natasha is married to Rob but is their married life all it seems.
Their daughter loses her beloved toy, Moolah, while on holiday. It falls into the hands of a man called Duffy who ends up taking it to the Himalayas with him.

As they keep communicating through social media, their lives start to overlap.

Will they all have their happy endings.?

5 stars!!!

This has to be my favorite novel so far by Karen Swan! Once again she takes the reader into a wonderful world of love, anguish and human endeavours.

Natasha and Duffy are superb characters, showing that first instincts about love and soulmates are often right and should be listened to. Heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking, a lost child´s toy becomes a lucky mascot to a mountain climber (Duffy) who ends up writes beautiful postcards to the toy´s owner l Simply raced through this one as I was captivated from the very first page.

My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Oh our absolute QUEEN of destination fiction has done it yet again! It's been an absolute blast buddy reading this this month - especially with a few newbies to Karen!
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It's no secret how much I adore Karen Swan's books and this one is no exception.
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Told in three key destinations over two timelines and two points of view, we're introduced to Natasha our female lead early on. She's en route home from a make or break holiday with her husband, Rob when they make a pit stop in Vienna. All hell breaks loose though when they over sleep and their daughter, the adorable Mabel, accidentally leaves her favourite toy behind.
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After an all out social media assault, involving Harry Styles (yes you read that right), Natasha miraculously tracks Mabel's toy down. It's off to Nepal. On an excursion up arguably the most dangerous peak in the world.
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I LOVED the setting of this book. I think it might even be my new favourite. It was so incredibly well researched and SO tense! As always, Karen has also written a very likeable and strong female lead.
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A quick word on Karen's Christmas books. Don't be put off dipping in now. They always feature a nice Christmassy element but it's never so Christmas that you can't read it anytime of the year. They're a nice warm up to the season!
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Of course I recommend this. I recommend all of Karen's books. They're brilliant. I have no idea what genre they are - with romance, suspense and in this case a bit of festive cheer thrown in!

Karen Swan books are always a guaranteed good read but this is her best one yet. I felt instantly connected to the story and premise of a lost toy cow being the inciting factor. My daughter had a cow as described in the book and she lost it. The heartbreak was hard to deal with so I could under Nats need for it to be returned.
The attention to detail and abitility to bring locations to life worked perfectly with the Himalayas. Rock climbing is never my things but I could imagine being there with Duffy.
The chemistry between Nats and Tom melted my heart and kept reading to see if they could get their happy ever after. A must read for the festive season.

The Christmas Postcards is my now my favourite KS book to date. I read this with a bunch of friends, and we were all obsessed by the writing, plot and characters, I think we all pretty much read ahead of schedule.
Fantastic storyline, as soon as the pieces start coming together, you literally gasped. The dual timeline was fantastic, and you could feel the tension during both times.
Favourite character, TOM!! I think we all want Tom in our life! Least, we all know Rob! What a twist there.....!!!!

Absolutely brilliant book! It's got me in the mood for more Karen books!

I will not cry in public, I will not cry in public! These were the words I kept saying to myself as I just finished this book whilst sat in a cafe, oh boy the ending is SOMETHING ELSE! The intensity of the last ten or so chapters is just incredible and you just blot out to rest of the world to find out what’s going to happen to both Duffy and Natasha.

There were a few little twists in here, a couple of which I guessed pretty early on but I didn’t see the big one happening and it took me a bit off guard as it also meant that maybe me previous predictions could be correct…

Natasha was a character that I liked from the start, the start in the forest created a fondness with me - I love the likes of Go Ape and climbing but I think I’d have rather be Tom and getting to work in the outdoors rather than freezing on the high ropes. You could tell that Natasha was fighting a lot of inner demons but that Mabel was and will always be her priority, no matter what her thoughts were saying Mabel would always come first.

I wasn’t quite sure on Tom, I have to say I started to find him very pushy and arrogant, I mean when someone says no then you stop fighting… regardless of if you think they’re making a mistake. But then his kind hearted-ness when Nats was struggling was compelling…

Duffy’s adventures were intense and I did get quite panicked a few times at what was coming next for him, I could just picture the images he was sending to Mabel though and that was just so cute! Although there was a certain part where I could have punched him wondering what he was thinking!

Overall, I was grabbed hook line and sinker by this book, I was a bit daunted at first because it is a chunk but I absolutely flew through it as I didn’t want to put it down. My only thing was that I wouldn’t really call this a Christmas book as I think the title and cover made me think it would be a lot more seasonal whereas in reality there were only a couple of connections.

This was my first Karen Swan book (I know!) but I will definitely be reading more, she just captured me and drew me into this world. Plus that intensity at the end…. Boy I need more of that! (Although maybe not the public tears 😂)

The story splits between Natasha and Duffy. Natasha is on the hunt for her daughter's beloved lost day and we see her travel to see if she can recover it.

Imagine if you are faced with your past once again? Imagine if the love you have always had isn’t the truth. Plenty of twists In the book.

I expected this book to be more festive but enjoyed the chapters split between Natasha and Duffy.

A more unusual Christmas story from Karen Swan but still a great read. Following Natasha’s love and life kept me turning the pages. Fate was obviously destined to throw her and Duffy together and reading how the story line enfolds, Swan manages to keep the readers interest very well. I loved the descriptive writing of travelling to the Himalayas and the struggles that climbers can encounter. You could also feel the bond that was growing between Duffy and Mabel as he kept her informed of her beloved toy. Not a traditional Xmas story but a good read.

I've only read one other by this author so I'm not sure if all her books are the same but I loved that like "Midnight In The Snow' this was set in a world of extreme winter sport. This adds another fascinating edge to the love story and lends itself to some great supremely driven, fearless and intense characters. I did find Duffy's chapters a bit melancholy but necessarily so for the character and plot development. The love connection was also unrealistically convenient (or maybe fateful). But I loved it. It was one of those stories that instantly draws you in and you don't want to end.

A really lovely feel good tale with the slightly unexpected element of peril.
The story splits between Duffy and Natasha- who are tied together by Natasha's childs lost toy.
Duffy is in the Himalayas, trekking and climbing to try and find answers and finish a family quest...Natasha just wants her daughters stuffed toy back.
As the story unfolds the complexity of Natashas family life and the trauma of Duffy's loss wind together through 2 continents via electronic postcards sent by the toy to the little girl via her mums phone and the power of social media.
This book will have you rooting for both characters to find the strength they each need and smiling at the flashes of joy the postcards bring to both parties.

This has possibly just become my new favourite Karen Swan book. It had me hooked in right from the very beginning and I really enjoyed the journey through. Great characters, great storyline add as always perfectly written.

If you are looking for an incredibly slow type of romance. This is for you. Over half way through is when this novel begins to make progress.

I usually enjoy Swan’s novels however this one is another let down.

The novel begins with a few people’s point of views which is confusing as it also changes date. Not only are you keeping up with the dates, but also the characters as you are only beginning to get to know them.

It wasn’t as structured which makes for a non-enjoyable read for myself.

“The Christmas Postcards” is a thought provoking and heartfelt story of the power of love that which can be lost in an instant and eventually found again. A story of bereavement, friendship, the need to belong. Although a Christmas novel it isn’t one that gives much of a Christmassy feel to it. It is a wonderfully told story primarily set in December but without much of the joy and warmth of the season. The story is about Natasha who meets a man at her hen doo that makes her question everything including the love and safety that she has found in her husband to be.

Four years later happily married, with a small child and a husband that works away from home a lot Natasha begins to question the life she chose all over again. A second honeymoon to fix all the problems they have begins the next stage in their journey together. Their daughter leaves her favourite toy behind and it is found by a daring rock climber, Duffy, who chooses to use it as a mascot rather than find it’s owner. The missing mascot goes viral and Duffy decides to send photos of the toy on holiday to the distraught child. These photos become laminated postcards of the arduous trip Duffy is on and bring joy to Natasha and her daughter.

There is a lot of technical information about mountaineering in this book. It is very well researched and means the dangers Duffy is in seem real to the reader. I was very invested in a happily ever after so ploughed through the more technical aspects waiting for the next postcard myself.

The Christmas delights are there hidden inside the pages the love of a mother, son, brother, friend the simple joys of an image a fairy tale and the “Cow that jumped over the Moon”

I do enjoy Karen’s books and this was so warm and festive I throughly enjoyed it. I felt sad when I finished it as it was so good to read. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This is a heartwarming story by Karen Swam. I found it to a bit different from her other books.
On Natasha's hen weekend she net a guy called Tom who she instantly gelled with, he tried to persuade her not to get married but the wedding was the following week and all booked and paid so Natasha goes ahead with her wedding.
A few years later Natasha and husband Rob and their toddler daughter are on holiday in Vienna and as they are late for their flight back they leave the daughters soft toy she loves behind.
Natasha eventually turns to social media to find the toy and her post goes viral.
A man called Duffy who is climbing mountains in Nepal has the toy and is using it as his mascot. Eventually he contacts Natasha and they correspond.
This was a book I couldn't put down. I didn't understand what Duffy was trying to do so had to keep page turning to find out.
It seems fate has a way of making things happen, sometimes at the right moment but not always and needs a little help to get it right. Loved this book.

Wow, what a fantastic read….. I was transported to the cold mountains and taken along a beautiful heartfelt ride.

I would recommend this to all my friends

Another cracking book by Karen Swan