Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Christmas Swap

A cute Love Actually readalike, got me out of a slump when I saw it suggested for me on Spotify. I really enjoyed the setting. The characters felt a little unlikeable at first but maybe I'm just not a huge fan of enemies to lovers. There was a bit more of a tone of "oh I'm enjoying this delicious holiday treat more than I should!" than I care for so I tagged fire a minor trigger of fatphobia because I prefer my holiday books to just describe the delicious food and be free of ANY hint of guilt over it.

Definitely recommend for fans of light, queer, holiday romance who enjoy enemies to lovers and/or fake dating, and stories that are wrapped up and a neat and tidy "happily ever after" bow.

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njh_books's review

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hopeful relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was really hoping for a cute cheesy queer Christmas story and it was that at times, but it fell flat quite a lot as well.

I did enjoy the POV switching, was fun.

Misti the dog was great. Give me a book on Ben and Roberta as kids and now having reconnected.

The book also examined aging & memory issues as an older person and abusive relationships well and had some insights that were touching and well-written.

The ending with Ellie just asleep in Margot's arms was cute, but just felt kind of strange with all the other chaos around at that exact moment. The ending felt rather rushed...

Actually, a lot of these major scenes felt rushed or cut off to quickly, to the story's detriment. While I did see some bonding before Ellie and Margot got together, it still was quite quick and kind of left you wondering why they we into one another (besides the physical attraction).

The epilogue, to me, read like a bad summarize the last year of your life in two pages...it was lackluster, not really satisfying, and could've been left out (don't get me started on the vegan cheese in the burrito part).

Probably won't ever read again, but did at least one Christmas-y read this year...

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

If you're looking for a sapphic Christmas story that's just a bit surface level, this is a lovely seasonal read. It's easy to see where the plot is going, and of course everything works out. It honestly reads kind of like a Hallmark Christmas movie, and I'm okay with that becuase that's exactly what I was looking for!

I do wish some of the characters were a bit more developed, and I had a hard time telling the difference between Margot and Ellie's voices from time to time (even with them having different narrators). They did have pretty good chemistry as a main couple, though.

Also, the side plot about trying to figure out how the dog got pregnant was hilarious and I'm honestly glad I read it just for that.

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dominiq_ec's review

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

LOVE! I’m embarrassed to say this is my first adult sapphic romance novel, and for the first time in a while, I felt that everyone in this novel handled conflict appropriately. Boundaries were respected, space was given, and all involved parties were as transparent as they could be. And I loved that this novel wasn’t about identity. It truly was about finding/creating a social circle, which was refreshing. I have hopes that the Gibson parents will lessen their perfectionist stress on their kids.

Also, I called Grandpa Mo’s black pony mystery, Mitsi’s not-so-immaculate conception, and

Roberta/Bobbi coming back

!

My favorite characters were Ellie AND Margot, Grandpa Mo, and Ben! I’ll fist fight Taylor and day, any time :)

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bookishmillennial's review

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challenging funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

Narrated by: Kim Bretton, Emma Fenney

Okay, I didn't read the premise when I began listening to this (thank you Libro FM for the ALC - providing this honest review on my own accord), but once I caught on to the plot, I immediately thought, 'Is this not Kiss Her Once For Me?' Look, I know KHOFM is not the absolute first of its kind, but the similarities were just wild. One of the characters is even named Ellie and this is marketed towards Alison Cochrun fans. WILD choice, that's all.

Anyway, besides this being the UK version of KHOFM, I thought it was an entertaining enough listen! We get the dual first-person POV of Margot and Ellie. Margot is recently single (just broke up with her longtime girlfriend Taylor), and Ben needs someone to bring home for the holiday, so his parents will get off of his back about "finding his person". They agree to fake date, but the moment that Ben's sister Ellie meets Margot, she is suspicious of Margot and her intentions. Margot is also navigating a rollercoaster of emotions as her ex Taylor texts her throughout the holiday, and Ben acts as a listening ear and friend to Margot, validating her experiences.

I don't want to spoil how everything obviously goes to shit and "the gig is up" but it gets quite messy. However, I love mess! It's very funny (when it doesn't include me!). I thought the side characters of Ben & Ellie's family were sweet & relatable; I thought the family dynamics felt familiar & realistic (though I recognize all families are super different), & wouldn't mind sitting down to hang with them! I also enjoyed how Margot recognized how her friendships were affected by her toxic romance too, & she tried to salvage things with her friend Nikita. Overall, I can see this becoming others' holiday faves, fit for the 25 Days of Christmas marathon on Freeform.

This is closed door/fade-to-black.

cw: emotional abuse, toxic relationship, alcohol, bullying, cursing, gaslighting, stalking, classism

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bambooboy's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Light, enjoyable. My main issue is that--and I know I'm in the minority here--I cannot take British accents seriously. They're very goofy to me, especially whatever regions these narrators are from.

I saw some complaints about the shallow way the author touched on verbal abuse but I am glad they did not have a huge subplot about it. It would have made what was a fun, light, enjoyable read very depressing.

I did enjoy the inclusion of it, however, as it's a good sign for LGBT lit. For so long we have been trying to be treated as human, and as such any signs of abuse etc. wouldn't be given the spotlight, so cis/het readers wouldn't have anything to use as evidence of our unworthiness; it's also depressing to read about sad LGBT relationships after all the bury your gay tropes and doomed trans cautionary tales we've been given historically. For me, the inclusion of this dimension to Margo shows we are on our way to wholly human portrayals of LGBT characters. Not doomed, not perfect.

Also, the "Margo is my straight girlfriend" plot point was kind of weird. Why couldn't Margo have said she was bi? Bisexuals listen to girl in red, too!

I can't believe I welcomed in spooky season with a Christmas-themed romance! Very enjoyable. Would have read it even faster if I had had a text copy, such was my desire to devour.

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alexfromistemor's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thanks so much to Alcove Press and NetGalley for this eARC

This was a very sweet book. There were definitely shades of Kiss Her Once for Me with the fake relationship over the holidays, but at the same time, it was done in a very original, unique way (i.e. not for money or anything, just out of embarrassment and family insecurity). I like that the author didn't try to force the lie/Ellie's investigation into Margot's gold-digger nature for longer than she did, as I could have seen that getting very tiresome to read.

This book also does a very good job looking at emotional abuse. At one point, it's a little like the signs were being copied from a info website about it, but thankfully, the emotions of it, and the chaotic nature, the uncertainty, all of that is handled beautifully.

Something unusual for me here is I need to give a shoutout to a supporting character before mentioned either of the mains: Ben is just soo sweet! I was a little concerned that at some point he might try and make his fake relation with Margot into the real thing, even though she was 'a raging lesbian' (her own self description). But no, he was just a wonderfully positive example of non-toxic masculinity, and just an incredible friend.

Our two leads Margot and Ellie were great. That said, it did get a little on the nose at times just how perfect/in-sync the two of them were (i.e. just how often one would says something they love, or think it, and then the other would talk about their love of it). I do have to agree with another commentator about how much Ellie seemed to infantilize Ben. Finally, Ellie says she never guessed Margot's sexuality...really? Really, Ellie? She lists one of her favourite musical acts as Girl in Red...that didn't clue you in at all? ;P

This is definitely the most PG friendly romance I've read in a while, at least from a spice-level standpoint. The affection among the characters is limited strictly to kissing (I don't think there's even a mention or hint of interest in anything heavier than that). This is fine, of course, but if you're looking for a romance for the sex scenes, this is a skippable book.

One other minor complaint: This book felt pretty long. For as low stakes as the drama was, it felt like a bit much to go through every single day leading up to Christmas, plus Margot & Ben's initial set up and the epilogue afterward. I might have shaved some of that down a bit.

In the end, a cute holiday rom-com. 4 stars.

It should be noted that the eARC for this title was only available as a pdf with very small font, making the reading of it so frustrating I almost gave up a couple times. This is the fault of the publisher, not the writer.

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