The Perfect Present

For 99p I thought I'd give this book a go and it is by far the best book I've read in some time.

Laura is a jeweller, living in a small village with her loving boyfriend Jack and being big sister to her best friend Fee. The book opens with a letter from Laura's mother to both Laura & her twin sister Lily aged 6 as she prepares to die. No mention of this is made throughout the book as it focuses entirely on Laura and her mysterious new client Rob who commissions Laura to make a charm necklace for his wife Cat's birthday. He wants her to speak to the 7 main people in his wife's life and make a charm for each representing the essence of their relationship. Laura initially says no but when payment for the necklace allows her to make her boyfriend Jack's xmas wish come true she reluctantly agrees.

In order to learn about Cat she finds herself pulled into the lives of this impossibly glamorous couple and their circle of friends and not only does Laura find out much about them but also begins to reveal much more about her past than she's previously been prepared to explore.

This book is the first in a while to have me gripped and making me want to rush back to my kindle app to keep reading. The characters are so varied, some instantly likeable, others not so much and some hiding a great deal that the story drip feeds nicely.

It is wonderfully written, engaging and was the best buy I've made in ages so I'd highly highly recommend this one.

Karen Swan's books have so much more depth than many others in this genre. All of the characters are strongly written, there will be some surprises, the plot is not predictable and it's more about the growth of the heroine than the romance. What I like particularly is that she doesn't do two-dimensional baddies. Yes, the “rival woman” turned out to be very far from perfect, but she had a traumatic past as well, and the charming surface image was still true. In so much “women's writing” the rival woman or erring boyfriend/husband is so ridiculously selfish and cruel that it isn't credible that the supposedly intelligent hero or heroine could possibly have stuck with them. Laura's boyfriend is lovely, he just isn't the right one. I have read a few of Karen Swan's books and she hasn't disappointed me yet.