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kdailyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pregnancy, Blood, and Grief
lunep's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol and Medical content
Minor: Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Cursing
wavephase's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Rating: Teens and Up
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Category: F/M
Relationships: Charlie Goodwin/Jake Greenman, Cass Goodwin/Brett Linklater, Cass Goodwin/Miguel Rodriguez
Characters: Charlie Goodwin, Cass Goodwin, Priya Basu, Austin Nash, Sasha Torres, Nathan, Sydney, Miguel Rodriguez, Walter Demetre, Thomas Goodwin, Helen Goodwin, Sharon Marston, Jake Greenman, Faye Christie
Additional Tags: Twins, Trading Places, Christmas, Baking, Concussions, Strangers to Lovers, Small Towns, Hollywood
Original Language: English
Stats:
Published: 2021
Words: ~92,400
Chapters: 25
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Category: F/M
Relationships: Charlie Goodwin/Jake Greenman, Cass Goodwin/Brett Linklater, Cass Goodwin/Miguel Rodriguez
Characters: Charlie Goodwin, Cass Goodwin, Priya Basu, Austin Nash, Sasha Torres, Nathan, Sydney, Miguel Rodriguez, Walter Demetre, Thomas Goodwin, Helen Goodwin, Sharon Marston, Jake Greenman, Faye Christie
Additional Tags: Twins, Trading Places, Christmas, Baking, Concussions, Strangers to Lovers, Small Towns, Hollywood
Original Language: English
Stats:
Published: 2021
Words: ~92,400
Chapters: 25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Misogyny, and Medical content
Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Blood and Pregnancy
atamano's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Toxic relationship
kelly_e's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Title: The Holiday Swap
Author: Maggie Know
Genre: Holiday Romance
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: September 30, 2021
T H R E E β’ W O R D S
Cozy β’ Whimsical β’ Cringy
π S Y N O P S I S
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's assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix.
π T H O U G H T S
I wanted to read The Holiday Swap last holiday season, but just never got to it. This year I made it a priority, making sure to read it before picking up Maggie Knox's latest release All I Want for Christmas.
What I like:
β’ the premise. Twins swapping places for 12 days sounded like such a fun and creative idea.
β’ the dual setting/dual perspective. The small family run bakery and a TV baking show contrasted worlds nicely as did having identical twin perspectives.
β’ the cooking/baking. It's no surprise I love books that involve food, so that aspect was what kept me going.
What I didn't like:
β’ double the romance. Maybe one romance would have worked, but two just felt unrealistic. It was highly unlikely both twins would end up in a romance in the opposite place at the exact same time.
β’ the lying. It wasn't just the deception of swapping places. There were just so many lies, and eventually it felt redundant.
β’ lack of festiveness. This didn't feel like a holiday read to me, apart from it taking place during that time of the year, which was disappointing.
The Holiday Swap is filled with mishaps and witty dialogue where everything ends tied up with a bright shiny bow. I've read a handful of 'holiday romances' this month, and I'm starting to think they may just not be for me. But of course, I'm going to try another one...
π R E C O M M E N D β’ T O
β’ Hallmark movie devotees
β’ fans of Cake Wars
π F A V O U R I T E β’ Q U O T E S
"We don't always know how to ask for what we want."
Author: Maggie Know
Genre: Holiday Romance
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: September 30, 2021
T H R E E β’ W O R D S
Cozy β’ Whimsical β’ Cringy
π S Y N O P S I S
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's assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix.
π T H O U G H T S
I wanted to read The Holiday Swap last holiday season, but just never got to it. This year I made it a priority, making sure to read it before picking up Maggie Knox's latest release All I Want for Christmas.
What I like:
β’ the premise. Twins swapping places for 12 days sounded like such a fun and creative idea.
β’ the dual setting/dual perspective. The small family run bakery and a TV baking show contrasted worlds nicely as did having identical twin perspectives.
β’ the cooking/baking. It's no surprise I love books that involve food, so that aspect was what kept me going.
What I didn't like:
β’ double the romance. Maybe one romance would have worked, but two just felt unrealistic. It was highly unlikely both twins would end up in a romance in the opposite place at the exact same time.
β’ the lying. It wasn't just the deception of swapping places. There were just so many lies, and eventually it felt redundant.
β’ lack of festiveness. This didn't feel like a holiday read to me, apart from it taking place during that time of the year, which was disappointing.
The Holiday Swap is filled with mishaps and witty dialogue where everything ends tied up with a bright shiny bow. I've read a handful of 'holiday romances' this month, and I'm starting to think they may just not be for me. But of course, I'm going to try another one...
π R E C O M M E N D β’ T O
β’ Hallmark movie devotees
β’ fans of Cake Wars
π F A V O U R I T E β’ Q U O T E S
"We don't always know how to ask for what we want."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Body shaming
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
βTime heals all things. If time fails, try cake.β
β½ The Holiday Swap reminds me a bit of The Princess Switch, as it's a fun, romantic story that features baking in some capacity π Here it's twins Charlie and Cass switching places, as their personal lives are in disarray. Both of them love baking, but they have two very different careers. Charlie is a baker on a famous reality show, but her co-host is a major jerk and she cannot wait to show him who's better. She's driven and smart ... but a freak accident leaves her without her ability to smell and taste. That's why she's desperate for her twin to take over! Cass is a passionate baker at their small home-town bakery, but an awful fallout with her ex leaves her shaken. She's all too happy to switch and get out of town!
β½ The switching, ensuring chaos and baking really sold me on this! I loved seeing Cass and Charlie's bond and their difficulties with impersonating each other. Getting out of their lives also made both of them realize that their current life might not be what they really want. The romances were super cute as well, though there is of course the typical lying involved due to the switching trope. I still had a great time with this book! The only issue I had was with Cass' ex and how easily his toxic behavior was forgiven in the end.He spends the entire book harassing Cass (who's later impersonated by her twin) and stalking her (such as showing up at her work), because he refuses to accept their breakup. It's creepy and downright predatory, but in the end, Cass forgives him so easily even though he didn't show he had changed.
β½ The Holiday Swap reminds me a bit of The Princess Switch, as it's a fun, romantic story that features baking in some capacity π Here it's twins Charlie and Cass switching places, as their personal lives are in disarray. Both of them love baking, but they have two very different careers. Charlie is a baker on a famous reality show, but her co-host is a major jerk and she cannot wait to show him who's better. She's driven and smart ... but a freak accident leaves her without her ability to smell and taste. That's why she's desperate for her twin to take over! Cass is a passionate baker at their small home-town bakery, but an awful fallout with her ex leaves her shaken. She's all too happy to switch and get out of town!
β½ The switching, ensuring chaos and baking really sold me on this! I loved seeing Cass and Charlie's bond and their difficulties with impersonating each other. Getting out of their lives also made both of them realize that their current life might not be what they really want. The romances were super cute as well, though there is of course the typical lying involved due to the switching trope. I still had a great time with this book! The only issue I had was with Cass' ex and how easily his toxic behavior was forgiven in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail
theespressoedition's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Ugh. Just ugh. This book was so disappointing - and that in and of itself is disappointing too.
I had this on my list last holiday season and didn't get a chance to pick it up, so I prioritized it this year, requesting it on Libby almost a month in advance to make sure I got to it during December. It was such a letdown.
It was like The Princess Switch movies on Netflix - but not even the kinda cute and cheesy first one... like the utter cringe of the third one. Twins switch spots, they each fall in love (instantly, of course), and chaos ensues. I was over it before it even began. Not to mention that I didn't enjoy the narration style of the audiobook. Maybe if I'd read a physical copy, I would've liked the story more? But I don't think so. It went about 300 pages more than the story even deserved.
If I could go back and tell myself to DNF after the first few chapters - that it doesn't actually get more interesting - I would. I kept holding out hope that it would be more entertaining, but I just kept getting frustrated and wishing it would end already. Oof.
Definitely not one I'll pick up again.
I had this on my list last holiday season and didn't get a chance to pick it up, so I prioritized it this year, requesting it on Libby almost a month in advance to make sure I got to it during December. It was such a letdown.
It was like The Princess Switch movies on Netflix - but not even the kinda cute and cheesy first one... like the utter cringe of the third one. Twins switch spots, they each fall in love (instantly, of course), and chaos ensues. I was over it before it even began. Not to mention that I didn't enjoy the narration style of the audiobook. Maybe if I'd read a physical copy, I would've liked the story more? But I don't think so. It went about 300 pages more than the story even deserved.
If I could go back and tell myself to DNF after the first few chapters - that it doesn't actually get more interesting - I would. I kept holding out hope that it would be more entertaining, but I just kept getting frustrated and wishing it would end already. Oof.
Definitely not one I'll pick up again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
bookcrushin's review against another edition
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? Yes
3.5
This is an adult holiday/christmas romcom that has lots of heart and lots of fun. There are two twin sisters, and the plot follows them in two very different locations, a small town bakery in Canada and a LA baking TV show and when the twin sisters swap roles for a bit, both realize that they are better off together than apart. Plus swoony romances. Very hallmark movie and lots of oopsy daisy, adults probably shouldn't pretend to be each other for more than a phone call especially not a week! lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcohol
theoverbookedshelf's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Misogyny
s_hatton29's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Medical content, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
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