Title: The Holiday Swap
Author: Maggie Knox
Genre: Romance
Published On: October 5, 2021
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Source: ebook
Pages: 352
Synopsis:
A feel-good, holiday-themed romantic comedy about identical twins who switch lives in the days leading up to Christmas–perfect for fans of Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze and Josie Silver’s One Day in December.
All they want for Christmas is a different life.
When chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses a lot more than consciousness; she also loses her ability to taste and smell–both critical to her success as show judge. Meanwhile, Charlie’s identical twin, Cass, is frantically trying to hold her own life together back in their quaint mountain hometown while running the family’s bustling bakery and dealing with her ex, who won’t get the memo that they’re over.
With only days until Christmas, a desperate Charlie asks Cass to do something they haven’t done since they were kids: switch places. Looking for her own escape from reality, Cass agrees. But temporarily trading lives proves more complicated than they imagined, especially when rugged firefighter Jake Greenman and gorgeous physician assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix. Will the twins’ identity swap be a recipe for disaster, or does it have all the right ingredients for getting their lives back on track?
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
The Holiday Swap was a lovely surprise. It was just the light, entertaining romance I needed at the moment. If you’re a fan of Hallmark Christmas movies, you’ll love this one!
“Cass Goodwin stood at the bakery’s counter, looking at the proofing baskets lined up, trying to calm her rising anxiety—the dough needed her to relax. If she let her emotions surface, the dough, and all of today’s progress, would be ruined. She knew it sounded superstitious and maybe even silly. But Cass had been doing this her entire life; she knew what worked, and what didn’t. And making sourdough while upset never worked.”
Maggie Knox, The Holiday Swap
This romance is squeaky clean, which sometimes can be a turn-off for me. It’s not that I need my romances to be ultra-steamy, but I typically find clean books to be less realistic or too cheesy. Maybe overly dramatic. Okay, so the twin-swapping storyline may not be grounded in reality, but it was fun and I didn’t roll my eyes once.
It was also light on the Christmas theme until the end. In fact, the only thing that really made the story holiday-ish was the holiday-themed recipes. Oh, and the fact that the reader knows it’s set 12 days before Christmas. But, once again, I didn’t mind it being lighter on Christmas since I was reading it in October.
I think this was my first twin-swapping storyline, which may be why I enjoyed it so much. And the fact that our identical twins were both bakers had me salivating throughout the story. I was hoping to discover some recipes at the end of the book. Maybe they’ll include some in the final print!
Also included are some furry friends, which always enhance a rom-com for me.
I did find myself confused by the twins on a few occasions, especially when they were together, which wasn’t often. Thankfully, through most of the story we find one twin in L.A. and one in their picturesque hometown of Starlight Peak, which helped to keep these stories straight. I do wish the sisters would have each been given names that started with different letters. ‘Cass’ and ‘Charlie’ didn’t help me quickly differentiate them.
And there were a few instances when I felt like I was being told something instead of shown, but I was able to move past the moments without a second thought.
It really sounds like I shouldn’t have enjoyed this one as much as I did, but it gave me warm, fuzzy feelings, it never dragged, and I was always happy to pick it back up. I’m wondering if it will turn into a stand-alone type series, because there were a few side characters that I could see getting their own books, as well.
This first book by the new writing duo, Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley—jointly known as Maggie Knox—was pure fun and I look forward to reading more by this talented team.
Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating: (3.75 stars)
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Levels inspired by The Well-Read Librarian from Sourcebooks
About the Author(s)
A Song For A Book
For The Holiday Swap I wanted an upbeat song but with hints of melancholy. I settled on “We Need a Little Christmas” by Ages and Ages. It’s featured on a holiday collaboration album that I’ve enjoyed for several years. I thought it captured just the right tone.
…So climb down the chimney
Turn on the brightest string of lights I’ve ever seen
Slice up the fruitcake
It’s time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough
For I’ve grown a little leaner
Grown a little colder
Grown a little sadder
Grown a little older…
And we need a little snappy
“happy ever after”
Need a little Christmas now
Have you read The Holiday Swap? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I have been leaning towards romances with a bit more steaminess to them since recently. Like you, I find those a bit more realistic and who doesn’t love a spicy romance? Haha! THE HOLIDAY SWAP sounds like great fun to read, Dedra! Thanks for the review!
Yes! I’m all about a spicy romance. Which is why I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. 😉
Great review! Sounds like a fun Hallmark holiday romance 😍 I love that steamy levels rating that you included in your post!
Yes! It’s super light and entertaining. And you just reminded me that I forgot to include what inspired my steamy levels. I’ll have to add that. I didn’t come up with that on my own. 😉 And I don’t use it all the time because I’m also afraid it might dissuade people from a book. I tend to overthink things. Haha!
I am loving these holiday books lately, and this one made me grin from ear to ear. The name swapping was awkward at first when I was reading, but I got used to it. I find as I get older, I am ok with the squeaky clean romances. Fade to black and no graphic scenes are ok with me. I am also a Hallmarkie, so this instantly appealed to me.
It really did help kick off my holiday reading in a great way! I’m even more excited for all the Christmas-y books ahead. I don’t really watch Hallmark movies, although I’d probably enjoy the Holiday ones. I think because I know I’d be watching them alone, and we end up watching all the traditional holiday films instead. 🙂
I haven’t watched TV since 2019, but Hallmark movies were the few things I did watch back then. I am a sucker for the heartwarming stuff.
Maybe it was a blessing that this wasn’t a steamy read. I don’t think I could read a twin swap book where there had maybe been some sexy times between people before a swap. That might get weird. I remember hearing about a book like that recently.
Oooh, I agree, but no chance of that here. One twin had ended a relationship and one was single when they swapped. 🙂