I loved everything about this book. Yes, it was a romance but it was also so much more. The plot was a real page turner and I enjoyed every minute of reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC.

This complex story takes place in Denmark at Christmas time but can be read at any time of year. The emphasis is on the story of a painting discovered behind another, very famous one of a fictitious historic Danish painter. Darcy, a young British art history student working for the National Gallery, is tasked with finding out who the lady in the painting is and who painted her, which reveals a tangled web of secrets and lies that has far-reaching consequences into the present.

Darcy's best friend Freja doesn't want her to be alone at Christmas so gives her access to an exclusive dating app via her rich boyfriend. She swipes right on three guys but then discovers that one of them works as a corporate lawyer for the Madsen Foundation that she is seconded to. Max is a complicated character, and it took me a long time to warm to him - he's too possessive and jealous for my liking.

The men Darcy gets to know through the app are a mixed bag but seem to eat only at fancy restaurants like Noma and Geranium. Hasn't Noma closed down in 2023?

The love for art shines through and the mystery was intriguing enough to keep me interested, however, I found the historic diary excerpts distracting and taking me out of the story - thankfully there were only a couple.

This could have been shorter and feels repetitive at times, especially when it comes to Darcy and Max dancing around each other. Darcy is very traditional in dating etiquette and I discovered that I should have been sitting on the banquettes in restaurants all this time. I've been doing life wrong for years!

I usually love Karen Swan's novels but this one disappoints a little due to not being very festive and turning a nice man into an awful one, and an arrogant, moody one into a palatable one (he gets a rescue dog at the end so awww). I thought the ending was a bit abrupt and didn't deal with what will happen after Darcy's year in Copenhagen is over. A epilogue would have been a good idea!

However, it is a very well-written, partly predictable escapist read that is deeper than your usual fluffy rom-com. The supporting characters are rounding the story out nicely and Copenhagen is a fabulous backdrop setting.

I absolutely loved this book, great characters and setting with romance and a mystery thrown in, I do love a Karen Swan book!

Darcy is working on her PhD in art history and in Copenhagen for a year, working at the National Gallery. She shares a flat with her friend, who is recently very loved up and trying to find a date for Darcy over the Christmas period, so has her (rich) boyfriend sign her up to an exclusive dating agency. Darcy has recently split from someone so isn't interested, but to keep her friend quiet she swipes on three guys who she eventually has dates with - but one turns out to be someone she is involved with at work.

There is lots going on here, the different blind dates all have their issues, but Max is always there in the background, although it's a very rocky road for them both, lots of antagonism and avoiding each other, even though they're obviously very attracted to one another. Their work also causes issues as a secret painting of a woman is discovered, hidden behind a very well known painting by Denmark's greatest painter, and both Darcy and Max are working on opposite sides of what the powers that be think should happen to it, along with Darcy's task of uncovering who this mystery woman is.

I just loved the whole way the story flowed, with the current dates around the city at Christmas, and the mystery of the painting, along with the very slow burning romance with Max. A real page-turner that I would highly recommend, I couldn't put it down!

Enjoyed this book. At some parts I found it a bit slow but it did pick up further on. Thanks for an early read Net Galley.

This was an enjoyable story however I did feel it was a little drawn out in places that made me start to lose interest. Glad I stuck with it though as it was worth it.

Set in beautiful Denmark, at Christmas, this is a carefully woven tale of art, mystery, and smouldering attraction.
The gripping narrative kept me on the,edge,of my seat, as secrets are revealed in a sparkling
festive atmosphere. I enjoyed reading this story immensely.

Overall Good Read 🤓

Great read that could be read at any time, whilst the title would make me think it would be a festive read, it’s not overly Christmasy focuses mainly on the challenge at hand.

Another enjoyable book from Karen Swan, although I didn't take to it as much as some of her previous ones. This was mainly due to the man female character, Darcy an English PhD history of art student, who I liked initially but didn't take to in some of the situations she found herself in. Set in Copenhagen in the run up to Christmas with plenty of cold snowy weather. I loved the historical mystery side of the story and although it was quite obvious which man she'd end up with, it was still a good tale. Light with some quite funny humorous bits to enjoy over the festive season.

There's not much more exciting than a new Christmas book, especially one by Karen Swan.

This is going to be a generalisation but a positive one. Whenever I read festive books, they tend to be along the happily-ever-after line - snow, romance, uplifting, easy to read etc. And I love that, don't get me wrong, I'd read them any day of the week. But with a Karen Swan Christmas book, they've got that but they've also got so much depth, so many other interesting layers to them that whilst you assume it'll end in the same vein as the happily-ever-after types, there's no guarantee and it becomes really interesting to read.

As someone who was fascinated by, but not very good at, art, and oved history, I absolutely loved the plot regarding the mysterious painting of an unknown woman. I liked the romance plot and other subplots, but it was the art strand that I was so interested in.

What I will say - and this is possibly my expectations rather than a comment on the book itself - but with a title like All I Want For Christmas, I was expecting much more of a festival novel, but with life happening around it, but apart from the odd mention about people's plans for Christmas, there is no real festive feel to it. There are suggestions, such as buying a Christmas tree, but apart from that, there's no festivities. Whilst I really enjoyed it and will always recommend a Karen Swan book, but this is not the cosy festive story I was expecting from the cover.

I liked Darcy as a main character. She seemed to stumble through life, not certain of things and that endeared her to me. Her best friend is a fine accompaniment; she didn't impact the story enough for me to have a huge opinion on her but she was good to read and I loved her working off of Darcy. And then the main man Max, he is a bit...aloof maybe, confident, handsome, slightly awkward but in a way where he uses it to his advantage, sometimes cocky. My opinion on him flipped and flopped. He was charming but with a short fuse and at times I just wanted to bang his and Darcy's heads together. Then we have Aksel, the quiet, shy, handsome vet who is not necessarily all he appears to be. There are a lot of other characters, potentially a few too many although I didn't feel overwhelmed. Some are more prominent than others, obviously, but I didn't feel there were any surplus ones which is always good.

It didn't wow me quite as much as I expected. It was still really good and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm glad I've read it and will recommend it highly, but having read some of her other books, this one didn't really have the big wow moment.

Overall, I would say a very good story, I was fully invested and really thoroughly enjoyed, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to call it a Christmas novel.

In my opinion this is one of the best books I’ve read this year.
A wonderful story set in Copenhagen in the art historian world with Darcy, a PHD student from London seconded to the Danish National Gallery to finish her thesis, and Max a corporate Lawyer and art trustee ,
Things I have really liked about this book include
Location and the danish culture - well researched the reader feels like they are in Copenhagen
Characters - Darcy, Max and Freya and the many supporting characters are all strong , well portrayed and believable
Storyline - Fast moving with many twists and turns and a secondary storyline introduced as the book progresses. The two storylines are seamlessly blended together
In conclusion, a brilliant story I would highly recommend, It was a book I didn’t want to end
Thank you to Netgalley, and Pan MacMillan for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

Another fantastic Karen Swan read! I loved the academic and artworld setting, and how Copenhagen felt so atmospheric and magical. The perfect pace, and plot twists, on top of intrigue and romance. A fabulously festive read to disappear into.

So I have actually read all Karen Swan's standalone books and I am generally a big fan, but this one rubbed me up the wrong way. All I Want For Christmas sees PhD art history student Darcy going through the archives of a fictional Danish painter in Copenhagen to try and work out who the subject of a recently discovered portrait is. When she meets Max, a trustee of the foundation where she is working, she's instantly drawn to him, but wary of his playboy reputation. This was too much like The Paris Secret to really appeal to me - I don't think Swan is at her best with these cultural-historical-secrets plots. It also has precious little Christmas or wintery atmosphere. But what really got to me was how old-fashioned All I Want For Christmas felt - Swan's novels are not meant to be zeitgeisty, but this reminded me of chick lit from the 80s or 90s. There's the casual biphobia, when Darcy mentions that one of her exes was bi and left her for a man as he was always more inclined towards men (the 'closet gay' is a harmful bi male stereotype, and totally unnecessary here). There's Darcy's bizarre obsession with rules of dating 'etiquette' that would feel old-fashioned for a Gen X character, let alone Gen Z: apparently, men must pay the bill, sit on the chair not the banquette in the restaurant, walk on the traffic side of the pavement and always let women go first. She also has a weird thing about not dipping bread in soup. [SPOILERS FOLLOW] Then there's the nice normal guy who is obviously going to get dumped for the sexy unreliable guy, but to make this work, the nice normal guy has to turn out to have been secretly horrible all along, even though there was no evidence of this except that he spent too long chatting on the dating app before asking her on a date, plus the aforementioned etiquette fails. Also, why did Darcy's best friend have to get engaged to her much older boss after seeing him for a matter of months, cheerily abandoning her independent, fun life for a diamond ring? Because of all this, I really disliked Darcy and had no investment in the central romance. I'm sure Swan's next will be better, though, and I'd recommend my Swan favourites instead: The Perfect Present, The Christmas Lights and, most recently, Together by Christmas. 2.5 stars.

Karen Swan’s Christmas “romances” are so addictive. Christmas plays a minor supporting role here, the real context is Danish culture and the mystery of a long forgotten portrait, A great read.

Another outstanding novel from Karen Swan. She can do no wrong!

If you want to escape for a while, read this, you will not be disappointed.

Highly recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

Another fabulous Christmas book. I love Karen’s Christmas books. Set in Copenhagen Darcy is a PHD student and is asked to research a painting which has been discover.
As Darcy starts her research she swipes right on a dating app which leads to her meeting Max. Max isn’t what she first thinks and as they get to know each other Darcy’s painting leads her back to 1920s Copenhagen and who the mystery woman is in the painting.
The path of true love never loves smoothly for Darcy will Max turn out to be the exception?
A beautiful book full of festive spirit.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Don’t save this for Christmas, read it NOW. Karen Swan has fast become one of my favourite authors. It’s a romance-Yes- but it’s far more. I was completely enveloped in this story, the art, the history.
A wonderful read and a big recommendation from me

This was a joy of a book to read. The Copenhagen setting made a pleasant change and the story was riveting. Karen Swan never fails to please and this book would make a perfect Christmas present for someone to read on the oncoming winter nights.

So my only criticism of this book is I should have read it closer to Xmas. Made the mistake of reading it in a heatwave and now I feel christmassy

What a great book. Thanks for the opportunity to review

Karen Swan books are a guaranteed great read - I’ve read them all! Another great ‘Christmas’ read set it Copenhagen and a real page turner.

Darcy is a PHD student from the UK spending the year in Copenhagen whilst writing her thesis sharing a flat with friend Freja. With Christmas around the corner and a recent breakup, Darcy is determined to put her efforts into her thesis, Freja has other ideas and encourages Darcy to get back out there on a dating app tasking her to find 3 matches.

The art firm Darcy is with while studying discovers a hidden portrait by one of Denmarks greatest artists, putting her thesis on hold Darcy is ttasked with researching and unveiling the hidden past associated with the portrait. Working closely with the trust and family creates broken bonds, animosity and heart ache - delving into the families’ past reveals unexpected family secrets whilst threatening a new romance Darcy didn’t expect.

Thank you to Net Galley and Pan MacMillan for the advanced copy!

This novel is everything I have come to expect from Karen Swan. Loved it! A good storyline set in Denmark regarding the identity of a portrait found at the back of a painting. Following Darcy’s research and learning the history to the portrait is a good read in itself. Add the rapport between Darcy and a man on the opposing side and you get a great novel. Although Christmas is in the title, not much about the season was mentioned in the storyline. However, this did not detract from my enjoyment of this book.