I’m giving myself a pat on the back for finishing this book, as I was tempted to abandon it several times. It wasn’t too difficult at first to follow Bea’s waffling about going off to New York or staying with her current partner. But the waffling between two very different lives started to grate after a while. One of her main reasons for leaving was the sexual harassment at the hands of her boss, which she did not seem to be able to tell anyone about. In the end, I was just confused as to which life she was actually living.

This book is set over two alternate timelines - one where Bea gets on the plane to New York and the other where she doesn't, and instead goes home to everything she was running away from. Each chapter is set at Christmas and moves through the years, one section is about her life if she'd left and the other of she'd stayed.

In both timelines she is with Dom but also with AJ. She cheats on both at different times and breaks up with them both at least once and then gets pregnant by the one she isn't with while she's with the one she's with in that timeline.

Bea isn't really a good person constantly swapping back and forth between AJ and Dom. She doesn't treat either of them particularly well. It doesn't help that her mum and sister keep telling her she made a mistake leaving Dom, even though she's never really loved him like she does AJ. They won't leave it alone though and keep trying to push her together with Dom.

She can't seem to make a decision and stick to it either. She's constantly flitting back and forth between London and New York and runs away everytime something goes wrong or isn't how she thought things would turn out.

In the end though, the result is the same. She's married to AJ, has a kid whether it's his or Dom's and is pregnant with AJ's kid. They've moved to New York and Dom has come with his new gf Tiffany along with her mum, after her dad passed away.

I got lost on numerous occasions and couldn't remember which timeline I was in as there was so many crossovers, not just with scenes playing out, but dialogue as well and I don't need to read the exact same dialogue multiple times. I think it either needed to be written differently or left out entirely the second time.

I didn't like any of the characters, apart from Bea's best friends Mia and Michael. They were the only ones who tried to encourage her to do what was right for her and not everyone else. They knew she loved AJ but was settling for Dom and they tried to make her see that, but Bea wouldn't listen.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

The premise of this book sounded interesting - it was like the Sliding Door movie....where everyone wonders what their life would be like if they made different decisions. It was a good book - however as I got through each chapter, I kept on getting more confused - what am I reading? Which storyline am I on now? So unfortunately I DNF at 56% because I just couldn't keep it all straight and didn't pique my interest. It would definitely be better as a movie.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Think Sliding Doors and then this is the adventure that Last Christmas will take you on.

This story takes us back to the early 00s and I have to say I was in a very similar position as Bea, back in 2004 - at an airport, ready to start a new life in Ireland. Should I go or should I stay? Should I go back to the relationship that went sour after 6 years, to the man that said he would change or should I take the chance on a new country and an Irishman that I had recently met. I took the big step, went to Ireland and 20 years later we’re still together, married with two daughters and a miniature schnauzer lol.

Anyway this is the big decision that Bea has to take and what follows are alternative chapters of what happens if she stayed in London (with the long term boyfriend) and if she went to New York (and meet an Irishman!). The story then goes full circle that takes us through the years via the alternate timelines and boy does Bea go on an emotional rollercoaster with the two men in her life. With a touch of fate, Bea ends up with who she’s really meant to be with, despite having to make difficult decisions.

I must mention that this isn’t a cosy, festive rom-com. There are some very sensitive situations that occur throughout and my lip wobbled quite a bit. However, this was such a unique, emotionally messy, complex story, I really enjoyed it! Although having the e-arc, I actually listened to the audio and I thought the narrator did a great job, especially the emotional parts.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Bea is running away from her problems, well really just a man. She’s going New York. The book is a tangle of two men and a woman, who will she choose. It’s a cute Christmas read that makes you smile, it has sadness in it, but the book is generally happy. Enjoyed reading it. A cozy 4 star read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Will Bea choose Dom or A.J. Written across different timeliness, this is an interesting read but sometimes felt a bit repetitive when the same information was shared again. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

In this complicated and fascinating romance novel, readers follow Bea Preston along two different paths: one where she goes home to England and her boyfriend Dom for Christmas and one where she stays in New York City for the holiday. While her life in London is exhausting, New York is her dream and a huge risk, and Bea isn’t sure if following her dream is worth leaving everyone else behind. Swatman’s novel and its throughlines of fate, friendship, and love are powerful holiday messages for fans of similar dual-timeline what-if and romance novels. Not your traditional holiday romance read, Beatrice is a fascinatingly complex protagonist with her own flaws, and seeing her two different lives from her perspective really makes her relatable and complex. Her relationships with Dom, her parents, her siblings, and her friends also shine in this novel and make Bea a more complex protagonist. Bringing retrospection and what-if’s to the romance genre, Swatman’s story is complicated, compelling, and deeply relatable. With its fascinating plotline and beautiful prose and dialogue, Swatman’s latest book is an interesting, emotional holiday read that fans of the cozy but heartbreaking romance genre are not going to be able to put down this holiday season.

I received an ARC of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun Christmas book. I enjoyed it!

This was my first time reading from this author. I’ve been in a slight reading slump and needed something quick and light to get me through. I loved the back and forth between the FMC and her two love interests. It slightly reminded me of Serendipity. I kind of was left wanting more from Bea. She seemed lost and that her takeaway should’ve been to be by herself during this transitional period of her life.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

A perfect read to cosy up with on the cooler days. Imagine your life being what if. Imagine if your life had turned out a different way through one change of mind .
The book explores a number of topics and it’s told through dual time periods.

Easy to read first book from this author. Will admit I did find it a little confusing switching from each timeline, but once I got over that I thoroughly enjoyed it

Last Christmas, by Clare Swatman, is a very different take on the dual timeline telling of a tale. Bea Preston has reached her wits ends. It is three days before Christmas in 2002 and she has had events at work that have set her in a turmoil. Her partner of five years has cycled through depressive episodes over and over, and her dreams just keep getting further out of reach. So it is on this evening that Bea finds herself at Heathrow Airport and at the crossroads of her life.

Bea has dreamed of living and working in New York City, imagining herself working on a major magazine and following a lifestyle like Sex and the City or Friends. So as Bea deliberates where her future will take her as Christmas 2002 is only days away, the reader begins to witness the journey through a well told story that follows Bea’s life each Christmas from 2002 until 2010, flipping through her life had she gone to New York or stayed in London, literally showing the reader the events of the possible road not taken.

This novel deals with some difficult topics such as the events of 9/11, depression, dementia, and chasing your dreams as well as the role fate plays in our lives. This story is one of the most original books I have read. It is character driven and heartfelt in its telling. I did very much enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

Ahhh, I so enjoyed this book, an absolute belter as a Christmas read. Sliding doors with several twists for sure. Loved the main characters and how their stories developed.
Cosy up and enjoy - I did!!

Last Christmas is the story of 'what ifs' with multiple story lines playing out at the same time. Each decision has different outcomes which are explored, whilst I really liked the idea of this type of story, i did find it difficult at times to follow.

I liked the character of Bea and liked exploring her different realities based on the decisions she did or didnt make, even if it was confusing.

Right from the very beginning i was pulled in to this book and it didn’t let me go until i had, very quickly, finished it all. Each chapter was so full of goodness and at the end of each one i just couldn’t wait to see how the next one unfolded.

I loved the author’s style of writing and the way in which she wrote using two parallel stories, each with their own outcome.

The story was told over several years and each year was divided into a stay or go scenario. It was very easy to follow and i loved the way that this was written.

Last Christmas was a wonderful read and left me with a big smile on my face…….

I have really enjoyed Clare's writing in the past, but this one was not really my cup of tea. I kept getting confused and had to go back and check which chapter I was reading, the Stay or Go chapter. The main reason for this is that it's the same people that come back in the various chapters more or less, just different actions have different consequences.

Sadly the format did not work for me. I was not 100% invested because I knew the next chapter would be the other possible outcome depending on whether or not Bea had actually gone to New York that first Christmas. So all through the book I was a bit confused and knew this was only one possible outcome and therefore I was not feeling everything as much as if the book had had just one story line, so in other words if it had not been a sliding doors story.m/2024/09/09/book-review-last-christmas/

Such a great read! Highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

When I first started reading this book I thought the premise was interesting. I often wonder what my life would be like if I had made a different decision when I was younger. And here the story is showing the outcome of both decisions. I was also drawn in by the "christmas". Unfortunately, this book isn't very christmas-y so there was the first disappointment.
I found it hard to actually like the main character. I didn't like how she couldn't make a decision or have the back bone to stand up for herself. That she needed others to tell her that she was doing the right thing. I felt like I was suppose to be thinking she was so wonderful for choosing to "stay", for choosing to help Dom, for making the best of the worst situation. I didn't. But I kept reading.
The two lives became repetitive and very similar. There was so many opportunities for the different lives to take different directions but it became hard to figure out at first which one you were reading. That often took me out of the story which is a big negative for me.
I was done when we got to a point where Bea did not stop the interference from her family in her relationship with Dom. It was ridiculous that she just let that happen without saying anything. I should have been done when Bea decided to met later with a guy she met on the plane but would not give her any info about himself, including his real name. Oh well.


Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to try to read this story.

I found this book well-written but nearly impossible to follow. I liked the sliding door storyline —in theory — but couldn't keep all the storylines straight. I did finish the book and even liked many parts. But the confusing storyline was a no go for me overall.