Quick Synopsis

A feel-good, holiday-themed romance about identical twins – both bakers – who switch lives in the days leading up to Christmas.

Publisher’s 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?

Book Review

The Holiday Swap is a Hallmark movie in book form, for better or worse. So you know the plot: big city woman goes to a small town and falls in love with small town firefighter/bookseller/etc. This book just adds the opposite as well since there are twins.

The publisher has billed The Holiday Swap as a romantic comedy – as they do; however, I would say that it was light on the comedy. In fact, I can not think of a single time I even smiled or chuckled due to humor. But that is not a deal breaker for me. I just want publishers to stop creating expectations that will not be fulfilled.

Because the main characters in The Holiday Swap are twins, Maggie Knox has built in twice the romance. Still, the book has plot other than the romance – as I prefer. The romance was enjoyable albeit a bit cheesy (see: Hallmark movie). However, I found that some of the conflict in the book felt artificial and trumped up. That is what bothered me the most. The lies went on too long, and it started to feel immature. I was beginning to become frustrated with the characters for not getting it over with already. So, I guess I would say that the plot stalled a bit too long.

The only other issue I had with The Holiday Swap was the fact that it just skims over a serious concussion. I almost felt like it was medically negligent in doing so. I can sit here and talk about how serious they are or just say that with the extent of the main character’s concussion she would not have been able to do much of the things she does in this book.

Regardless, The Holiday Swap was somewhere between okay and enjoyable. If you are looking for something deep or with a romance with some depth, this is not it. If you are looking for a Christmas romance that is light, fluffy, and clean, this is a decent option.

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