*I was sent a copy of The Holiday Swap in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Maggie Knox*  

Synopsis: 

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?

Review:

The Holiday Swap was a fun romance set around the Christmas period. Although with this being said it wasn’t massively festive, especially considering that the story begins twelve days before Christmas. I do think that if the whole story was set in Starlight Peak it would have felt way more Christmassy as there’s nothing more festive than a small town. 

I absolutely loved the bakery setting and it would have been nice to spend more time there with it open and serving customers. That may sound boring to other people, but I love those types of scenes as they feel so festive and that is the main reason why I like reading these types of books. 

All of the sections that included baking or the making of food were really fun and if I’m being honest, made me hungry. All of ‘Charlies’ creations for Sweet & Spicy sounded incredible and were one of the most Christmassy elements of this book. The show format sounded really exciting and was something I would actually want to watch. 

There were a few plot holes and inconsistencies throughout, however, these didn’t ruin the enjoyment of the book. 

My main issue with the book was not understanding how these people that have known the twins for almost a decade didn’t realise they were being each other. Especially Cass’s ex-boyfriend who has known both twins since high school so surely he can tell them apart?  

Also, Jake’s grandmother says to ‘Cass’ that she knows they are really good friends yet when he texts ‘Cass’ it goes to Charlie’s phone. How did she give him her number without it being strange or questioned? If they were such good friends wouldn’t he already have her number? If I’m remembering correctly you don’t actually see them meet up before the swap so maybe they did switch phones but I don’t think they did. 

Both points of view sounded pretty much the same so it did get confusing at times, especially if you put the book down mid-chapter. I would often forget who’s pov I was reading until the actual setting was mentioned. 

The romance was cute at times, and I did like the parings. Even though they were predictable, but hey this is a festive romance so it was expected. It gave me massive The Holiday vibes and I’m glad that it had such a happy ending. 

The Holiday Swap was a fun quick read that is perfect for lovers of The Holiday. Although not overly festive this is a great transition book into the Christmas month that will leave you eagerly looking for your next festive romance fix. 

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