Christmas at Tiffany's by Karen Swan

Morning, all! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for Karen Swan's Christmas at Tiffany's.

When Cassie's ten year marriage falls apart in the worst way imaginable, her longtime friends are there to help her pick up the pieces. Each offers up their city and home for four months, giving their friend a full year to travel, work, and find the real Cassie. Her trip begins in New York, where she's thrown headfirst into the competitive and catty fashion industry. From there it's off to Paris and finally London. Along the way she'll find romance, new friends, and a Cassie who's been missing for so many years. 

I know you're probably wondering what I'm doing reading a Christmas book in October. Well, it's not actually a Christmas book - the title is more than a little misleading. Nope, Christmas at Tiffany's is a pretty straightforward lighthearted read for any time of year.

This was the first time I'd read anything by Swan, and I do believe this is her first US release so that would make sense. I really enjoyed it!

First off, the characters are lovely. Cassie and her friends - Suzy, Kelly, and Anouk - grew up together and only really split apart when Cassie married straight out of college (actually quitting before graduation to get married). They lead extravagant lives and they each have very distinct views and personalities - that they inflict on Cassie! But everything they do is out of concern for their friend.

Christmas at Tiffany's is a bit light and breezy. It's on the long side at almost 600 pages but the story moves along so effortlessly that I didn't even notice. In fact, I read all of Cassie's New York adventures in one sitting. When I finally had to set the book down to eat supper, I couldn't wait to get back to it and see what was in store for the friends next!

I do have to point out how fabulous the settings are in this book. In addition to creating a bevy of lovable (and unlovable) characters and a story that really does tug at your heartstrings, Swan so perfectly and elegantly brings to life the various locales Cassie travels through in her journey to find herself. Christmas at Tiffany's is an all around fun and heartwarming read, one that makes me seriously hope that more of Swan's titles will get picked up for US release in the near future.

Rating: 4/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Karen and her work you can find her on the web here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.