Whether Karen Swan is writing about the Scottish Highlands or the Swedish islands, her descriptions are always so very real and obviously well researched.. One feels the grandeur of mountains, the chill of the air, the beauty of forests and the fearfulness of water soaked cliffs.
Bell has been a Nanny for the Mogarts, Max and Hanna, for a couple of years, and looks after Linus and the twin girls. How cleverly Karen draws Linus, a little boy with so many fears and worries.
A phone call one morning turns the world on its head, as a message is left for Hanne from a Dr, who tells her that her husband has come round from a coma. Bell is shocked, not having known that Hanna had a previous husband, or as it turns out, the only husband.
The story develops with some heart rending moments, so very beauitfully portrayed. . I am not too sure about the alnmost complete rehabilitation of Emil, but miracles do happen.
Altogether a book that one cant put down, a book that is well written and thoroughly readable.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book. Anything By Karen Swan is on the top of my reading list.

While working for a family as a children's nanny in Stockholm Bell Everhurst answers the telephone to take a message for Hanna Mogert when the voice on the other end asks Bell to let Hanna know that her husband has awoken from his coma. As Bell knows nothing of this she is stunned and when Hanna asks her to accompany her and her son Linnus to the hospital the next day it only ends up more worrying for Bell. She feels that as this mystery untangles the family and Bell cannot escape the hurt past and present but what is in the future for all of them.
Karen Swan is a master of storytelling and I buried myself in this book not wanting to put it down. A really good read .

This was a beautiful romantic novel that I had a great time reading. The book was very well written and the characters were believable. Highly recommended!

I’ve enjoyed previous Karen Swan books but this is in a different league. The story starts very gently but builds up with layers of atmosphere and tension you can feel. The complexity of the situation seems so surreal but the way Emil’s medical issues are described and the struggles he has make it so plausible. Bell’s conflicted feelings were insightfully expressed and the whole incredible situation was reflected so well through her eyes. Sweden sounded amazing, both Stockholm and the islands which were both so well depicted I wanted to visit it all. This is a fantastic story in an amazing location, it has it all.

I thoroughly enjoyed Karen Swan's The Hidden Beach.
Bell is a young British woman, who, through her own personal tragedy, ends up living in Sweden, and nanny to a family with three children she is immensely attached to.
Friends think the parents, Hanna and Max, may be taking advantage of her love for the children, as week after week, she cancels plans to help them out.
But then she gets sucked into a personal tragedy the family suffers, and there is no going back.
The thing is, there is a twist. How can she be an impartial help in their time of need, when she appears to have confusing feelings for the one person they are all scared of?
I loved Bell's character. She is a damaged soul, who wants to get back to normality, but life is not prepared to let her.
Her relationship with the children she looks after, and especially Linus, the 10-year-old son, is heartwarming to read.
The story shifts in perspective, being told from Bell's point of view, as well as Emil, and sometimes Hanna and Max. This wasn't always clear, but with a little rereading, I would work out whose head I was in.
But a good read, finished in a day.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an arc, in exchange for an honest review.

Another good book by Karen. Romantic emotional twists and turns. brilliant author and loved that it was based in Sweden so felt like you were actually there

This is my favourite book of the year so far. I devoured the book in one sitting it was so good and a real page turner. Waking up from a coma and trying to reconnect with his family who have moved on is a heartbreaking concept especially when the past isn't how he remembers it. Set in Sweden with Midsomner as a main event I loved learning about Swedish life. Bell, the heroine has her own tragic past and a love for a family she doesn't quite belong to. I would highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

This book was phenomenal, I devoured in just over a day. It was addictive just like Bell’s relationships. She needed to be needed and loved, and gave her everything to all she did.

The start of this book has absolutely no hint to what lies ahead. The twists and turns are worth holding onto like being on a rollercoaster.

There were hints of who Emil was when you meet him again; but you do not expect the ending... down to the last page in the epilogue.

Karen Swan is a genius, she gives so much detail to all of the characters - my favourite has to be Linus. The family dynamics are complicated but make sense in the final harrowing scenes.

You need to read this!