Midnight in the Snow by Karen Swan is a story of love, betrayal and secrets. Set in the Austrian Alps, film director Clover Philips is set on exposing the flip side to a story involving Kit Foley, a snow boarder and ex-surfer. The catch is he can't stand the sight of her.
Karen Swan is the master of the slow-burn story that suddenly picks up pace and has you hooked until the very end. Midnight in the Snow doesn't disappoint and is a perfect winter read.
With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

There’s a bit of the Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid about Karen Swan’s latest novel, Midnight in the Snow and I am totally here for it. The surfing, the glamour, the location and the simmering tension, all make for some great escapist reading.

At 480 pages long, this is not a quick read, but it demanded my attention throughout. What I love about this author is how great she is at conjuring a sense of place and writing really three-dimensional characters, some more likeable than others!

With thanks to Headline for gifting me a digital copy to review – I really enjoyed iT.

Karen Swan has written a beautiful novel that shows just how much research went into the writing of this book. She seems to have fully immersed herself within the topics she is writing about, describing them perfectly so that it is easily understood by her readers.

After winning an award for her previous film, Film Director Clover and her two friends/film crew set out o undertake a sequel, trying to unravel the mystery of what really happened in the tragic accident Kit Foley caused. Kit on the other hand, seems to have been manhandled into dealing with her presence and tries desperately to avoid her.

Swan’s telling of each scene draws you in and you become emotionally attached to the characters, and as a result I ended up binging the book. Once I had fully got into the storyline I found that I needed to know Kit’s secret and how it would all end between them. At times I wanted to knock their heads together, and other’s I wanted to cheer them on. This novel is a great christmas tale, that can be read at any time if the year!

Clover Phillips is a successful filmmaker, particularly after the documentary she made about champion surfer Cory Allbright, the accident he had during a surfing competition, how his rival Kit Foley was involved and all the consequences of it on Cory's physical and mental health. Clover wants, for herself and for Cory's family, to understand what happened, who Kit Foley is and why he behaved the way he did.. And yes, who is Kit Foley? That is what she finds out by filming a documentary about him in the Alps, in the run up to Christmas. What she finds out might not be what she had in mind when she started.
Built on a couple of true stories, the book takes us into the world of surfing and snowboarding, and of course into the mountains, the snow, all the atmosphere around it, and some Christmas spirit. The characters are interesting and colourful, and I particularly liked Clover's colleagues and friends Johnny and Matty and the closeness between the three of them. For me, however, this was not her best Christmas book because there was not enough emphasis on Christmas and everything around it, and I did find the plot a bit contrived and predictable. Nevertheless, I love to read Karen Swan's Christmas books and I enjoyed this one overall.

I loved this story set in the worlds of snowboarding, documentary making and surfing. Clover makes documentaries and has just made one documenting how a surfing accident affected Cory and his family. Now she's looking for her next subject and decides to try and get the point of view from Kit Foley, the surfer who caused Cory's accident. But Kit is famous for not giving interviews so when Kit's sponsor invites her to come and interview him, she jumps at the chance.
I loved how she manages to capture the vibe of snowboarding and surfing, informing about the sports and how making a documentary works. The story's threads pull together in a plausible way making a satisfying ending.
Recommended

There is nothing I love more than a Karen Swan book set in the Alps (Christmas in the Snow is my favorite by far!). Midnight in the Snow is another to add to that list now; this one had so much story development and character development throughout that I just couldn't put it down!

I read a few reviews about people giving up in the beginning and I agree that this took a bit longer to get into; however, once everything started coming together, it was totally engrossing. With the snowy setting, a character that needs redeeming, and a unique dive into the world of surfing and snowboarding, this is up there with my favorite Karen Swan books.

I really didn't like this book at the start. All the celeb name dropping at the opening award ceremony didn't interest me and I was super close to putting the book down and starting another. Before I did I checked the description of the books and realised I was no where near the actually story so I persevered through a lot of uninteresting nonsense and i'm glad I did!

Last night I couldn't put it down, sat up to midnight finishing it then stayed awake another hour thinking about it. I see now that the first few chapters (maybe 5) are relevant to the story and they set the scene, but they don't flow with the rest of the book which is actually really great.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book

At first I found the novel a little confusing. But you need to persevere. The winter wonderland itself is worth it. Austria is especially beautiful during the winter months.

This is my first book by this author and I'll definitely be looking out for more. She sets a story in the Alps of Austria and takes you on a wild ride. But firstly you're thrown under a wave at the start then transported to the Alps and the world of snowboarding and spectacular tricks.

As I said stick with it. It's exhilarating and lots of twists and turns. Kit is a surfer turned snowboarder and Clover wants to make a documentary to understand Kit's drive. But truthfully there was an accident and Kit knows what happened and Clover is seeking the truth.

That's all you're going to get. Read this. You won't regret it. Even for the scenery.

Karen Swan’s books have become a comforting and safe space for me over the past year. I always look forward to picking her newest book up and I’ve not once been left disappointed. Midnight in the Snow is definitely at the top of the list!

Synopsis:

The story follows the award-winning movie director Clover, who rose to fame when she filmed the documentary about Cory Allbright, a surfer whose life went downhill after an accident, because of a controversy with his rival, Kit Foley.

Now that Kit has been labeled as the bad guy, he has decided to retire from surfing and make his debut into snowboarding. And Clover is the one tasked to document his journey now, all whilst she is struggling to hide her personal bias.

My Thoughts:

I loved everything about Midnight in the Snow. The beginning is very captivating and I was instantly pulled into Clover’s world, where she has just become the star of a documentary. We get to meet her in the spotlight and outside of it, and find out two different Clovers for a little while.

“An ending doesn’t have to be happy for a new beginning to spring up; it will follow anyway, just as surely as the sun chasing the moon.”

Then, very soon after, the plot thickens, and she’s on another adventure, filming another documentary. Only this time around, she is filming the “bad guy”. Trying to keep her personal bias aside, Clover and her crew members are determined to film his story and be as neutral as possible. However, once they meet Kit and his team, they realise nothing will be that easy.

Because Kit is terrible and rude, but also very dedicated to his sport. You never know where you stand with him, and he seems like he doesn’t care about anything else but winning. And as a former competitors, I have met many Kit’s in my life, and I can completely understand the determination to be the number one, and the arrogance that sometimes comes with it.

“When you already are more, where is there to go? What becomes of your humanity? The need to win comes at what cost? And are the sacrifices worth it? Because it seems to me, that when we reach for the sun, we always get burned.”

Karen Swan’s writing is as captivating as always.And it’s not only Clover and Kit that get the spotlight. We meet so many different characters that we end up loving equally as much. Their stories and their paths are very beautifully written, and they cross in a very calculated manner. I ended up loving a lot of characters that I didn’t like at the beginning. The more I get to know them throughout the book, and understand why they made the choices that they did, and why they are the way they are – it left me with a heartwarming feeling in my heart.

There is, as always, a little bit of mystery behind the story as well, and I greatly enjoyed discovering the clues and solving the questions.

With Midnight in the Snow, you are in for an adventure, trust me! You’ll be heading up and down your own emotional snowy slope and enjoy every single moment of it!

I found this book a little confusing to begin with, but this was worth digging into. The Author's note shows how much research goes into each book.

The settings were all so different - opening with awards nights to Cory's home and then to the snow, where we meet Kit. It was very interesting to go into the world of the film industry and the background of how the crew worked together, and how invested they were to get the story. And the ending of Kit's story was not an expected one.

Finding out about the world of snow-boarding and surfing, and the similarities and differences, was fascinating.

Every book Karen Swan writes are all so different and have so many twists and turns, I would recommend this to anyone. They need to strap in and be ready for a fast-paced story.

Am an avid fan of Karen Swan & have read many of her previous books, so was pleased to be given the opportunity to read Midnight in the snow. However, I couldn't really 'get into' this tale at all. Struggled to adhere to the main character & the setting. so sadly, this one wasn't for me

So I always enjoy a Karen Swan book but I'm afraid to say that this was my least favourite, although she sets the most perfect beautiful scenes as always I just didn't really get absorbed in the story like I usually do. I do still however love this author and will deffinatly still be reading any new books that are released, maybes it was just the topic - snowboarding- that I didn't enjoy.

I really enjoyed this . It wasn't at all what I expected, but it also was exactly what I expected!
I wasn't sure I liked Kit or Clover really for alot of the book, but I warmed to them as they found themselves and found out more about eachother.
I particularly liked the attention to detail and the indepth description and technical information on the sports, both surfing and snowboarding.


I voluntarily read and reviewed this book,all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily.
The author clearly demonstrates how the press and reporting can influence the general public, and the picture she paints of Clover did not engender any sympathetic feelings from me. The descriptions of the snowy, alpine scenes were very good, and the author describes the world of the super-rich very well. There were some clever twists to the story, and also some elements of predictability.
I found some parts of it difficult to appreciate, with the names of specific snowboarding moves / jumps and chess positions meaningless to me. I thought Clover's behaviour was unacceptable at times, for example, having been provided with free board and accommodation why would she choose to spoil someone else's chess game, not once but twice! Her obvious bias towards Corey and his family was unexpected and unappealing in someone who is supposed to be an investigative reporter. There were a few instances of the characters getting completely drunk, and there is a great deal of bad language used throughout the entire book.
This book is likely to appeal to the younger reader, hence my rating, but there were too many negatives for me to enjoy it.

Clover Phillips is a filmmaker whose most recent documentary has been winning awards left, right and centre. Her film tells the story of top surfer, Cory Allbright, and how an accident caused by his rival Kit Foley lead to horrific mental and physical injuries. When Cory loses everything, Clover is compelled to find out why Kit did what he did and sets out with her team to film him in his new snowboarding endeavour in Austria. Kit is more than reluctant to take part in this project and is cold, standoffish and rude. But as Clover gets to know him, she is drawn to him and is desperate to find out his secrets and to find out the causes of his actions.

This is an addictive read and a real page turner. I have never liked the criticism levelled at “chick-lit” and this book is an example of why it shouldn’t be looked down upon. Some of the plot points are a bit predictable but it is so well written and is really detailed too - the author clearly did her research. I really liked Clover as a character and the “supporting cast” were also pretty well rounded. I think I might have preferred a more realistic ending but I’m sure plenty of others would disagree and it certainly was heart warming.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. It’s a lovely wintry read with a bit of Christmas thrown in for good measure. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a really good read. Easy story to follow, charming setting and great characters. Really enjoyed it.

If I had to nominate authors who made the covid lockdowns more bearable, Karen Swan would definitely be on the shortlist. Noone writes gorgeous atmospheric locations quite as well as Swan does, which makes all her books unique armchair travel experiences. For her Christmas themed novel MIDNIGHT IN THE SNOW, she has chosen the winter wonderland of an Austrian Alpine ski resort to provide a magical backdrop, and it doesn’t get much better than this!

One reason that makes Swan’s books so irresistible to me is that her world is not only vastly different to mine, but she also makes her stories stand out by choosing a strong female lead who ends up embroiled in some type of mystery, be it family secrets or, in this case, an old rivalry with tragic consequences. In MIDNIGHT IN THE SNOW, our main protagonist is Clover Phillips, a documentary filmmaker who has won multiple awards with her film about tragic surfing legend Cory Albright. Cory’s career was cut short after a surfing accident, caused by former friend and sporting rival Kit Foley during a surfing championship. Vilified and forced out of surfing, Kit Foley has since reinvented himself as a champion snowboarder, set to compete in the upcoming snowboarding championships in the Alps. Clover, on the hunt for a new project, is intrigued when Kit’s sponsor asks her and her team to make a documentary about Kit’s side of the Cory Albright incident, which he has never spoken about. And thus Clover is thrown into the world of competitive snowboarding and sporting rivalry.

I love it when I learn something new whilst immersing myself in a novel, and I appreciated getting a glimpse into the world of competitive snowboarding. Swan’s love for the sport and her knowledge of the wintry slopes shone through as she provided vivid imagery of the mountains in winter, as well as their dangers. Swan also never fails to surprise me by drawing me into a completely different social scene. Zell am See in winter is not only a stage for the stars of winter sports, but also a playing field for the rich and famous. I could vividly picture the luxury ski “cabin” providing a temporary home for Clover and her team and enjoyed every minute of it, even more so since this sort of luxury is firmly out of my league in real life. Swan has a way of setting the scene which paints a colourful backdrop, and her characters are all authentic and engaging. As the dialogue flowed effortlessly, I became more and more intrigued by the mystery at the heart of the novel.

As someone who generally does not read romance novels, I thought that I should point out that Swan’s novels are so much more than that. Whilst there usually is a romantic element (often an enemy-to-lovers theme), there is also mystery, intrigue and drama, with the romantic element slotting seamlessly into the story in a way that does not detract from the main plot. So don’t be afraid to give Swan’s novels a go, even though romance normally isn’t your jam.

All in all, MIDNIGHT IN THE SNOW is an intriguing, atmospheric tale that offers the same exquisite armchair travel as all Karen Swan novels. If you have been missing travel as much as I have, you will be pleased to find yourself instantly transported to the winter wonderland of the Austrian Alps, the perfect setting for a Christmassy read (or any time, really). With a mystery surrounding an old rivalry between two sporting greats, and a subsequent tragedy that cost the life of one of them, the book provided plenty of intrigue to keep me turning the pages. If you haven’t discovered Karen Swan’s books yet, I fully recommend picking this one up for an immersive escapist read with a wonderful atmospheric setting.

Unfortunately could not get into this story and gave up about 20% in. Struggled with the characters and the story theme. Not one for me I’m afraid.

I have read many of Karen’s books over the years and the majority of them I have really enjoyed so I was looking forward to this one and it didn’t disappoint . Karen’s books are always thoroughly researched and it shows in her writing. In this one the Austrian Alps and Swiss resorts come alive to the reader. with an insight into the film making, and competitive sporting lifestyles of the surfing and snowboarding world .
The book had many complex engaging characters, The two main characters Clover and Kit in particular. They had many different layers which unravelled as you read their back story . The different relationships were explored thoroughly , especially between Clover and Kit who had a hate/ hate relationship
This book was one of my top reads of the year, a captivating read which brought out a maelstrom of emotions in the reader. One strong message was that there is always two sides to a story.
Pure escapism! I Loved it
Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Karen for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

I have read many of Karen Swan’s books before and always loved them – this one is based around the snowboarding and surfing world, neither of which appeal to me if I’m completely honest, however…! Karen obviously does so much research on her subject and sets about creating a story that you want to read even if the sport doesn’t usually interest you. I learnt a whole new vocabulary about half pipes and jumps!

This book did not disappoint! There were gorgeous descriptions of the snowy landscape of Austria as film maker Clover sets out to make a documentary about one time surfer Kit and the conflict he had with fellow sportsman Cory who was the victim of a terrible, life-changing accident.

The plot was well thought out with many twists and turns, and the characters were strong and convincing. There were a few occasions when Clover would do something or act in a certain way and I didn’t think it was believable but this is a work of fiction after all, and therefore the characters can do what they want, even if I don’t approve!!

For me personally it could have been a shorter book, it felt like I was reading a lot about the waiting around that the film crew did, but I know that it was all integral to the plot and that we needed to read that to understand the frustrations they felt – however, it did feel like there was a lot of it!