Reviews - The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

596 reviews for:

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch

Julia McKay

3.6 AVERAGE

opal_s's review against another edition

4.0

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

abbers1026's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

jelkebooks's review against another edition

3.0

lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I received a galley of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was honestly a really fun and quick read. I mean it, I absolutely flew through this one. I also just overall had a really fun time reading it. It definitely gave me the Christmas vibes I was looking for, but ultimately I just kind of felt fine about it. I don't think this is one that's going to stick in my head for very long.
Let's start with what I liked about this book! I loved the friendship between Holly and Ivy. I just loved how their friendship was the centering force behind this book. I also just think it is a really strong friendship in general, and I truly loved it. I also loved the contrast between the two different vacation settings. I just loved going back and forth between them. I also really liked the cast of characters, and Larry in particular stole my heart (need a book about her and her fiancéé asap).
Now, what I didn't like about this book was the romances. To be fair, I also didn't really dislike them. I thought they were cute enough, and the set ups for them was quite interesting as well. My problem was more so that in between all of that I just thought they were extremely underdeveloped. That made it so I could never really get fully invested in them, and also just made this book fall a bit flat for me. I don't know.
I definitely would still recommend it for those who want a really fun, quick, palet cleanser this Christmas season. It's great for that. However, don't expect too much from this, I guess.

Content Warnings

bookishblasian's review against another edition

4.0

I am 100% already in my holiday romance era and loving it! This book reads like the most idyllic, cheesy Hallmark movie and I mean that in the best way. Ivy and Holly are two besties who look alike, have holiday names, and both happen to dislike Christmas. When Holly is dumped on her wedding day, she offers up her nonrefundable honeymoon to her bestie Ivy. Instead of getting the name changed on the reservation, she gives Ivy her ID to check in as her. Let’s just pretend this isn’t utterly ridiculous lol So while Ivy is taking Holly’s place on her honeymoon, Holly is going to the winter cabin Ivy had booked for her solo weekend art retreat. I loved both settings in this book. There’s something so cozy and Christmas authentic about the eco cabin. And then I also loved the idea of Christmas in Hawaii. Holly encounters an old high school frenemy aka the owner of the cabin. Ivy ends up meeting a cute bartender who helps her out of a sticky situation (Holly’s ex fiancé showing up on his honeymoon with the girl he cheated on Holly with). We basically get two adorable love stories in one. Yes, it’s very insta lovey. But it’s Christmas (coming from someone who doesn’t typically do insta love)!! Anything is possible at Christmas. It’s adorable watching Holly and Aiden reconnect. And even cuter watching Ivy and Oliver act like they don’t like each other when they so clearly do. Both stories were very fluffy and sweet and I ate them up. It is technically open door, but it’s all very surface level and doesn’t go into much detail. My only issue with the book happens towards the end. A heartbroken Holly calls Ivy crying her eyes out, begging her best friend to come home to help with her broken heart. Broken heart or not, this felt super selfish to me. Not only that, she fails to call Ivy back when she realizes she was overreacting and her heart isn’t broken after all!! And then has the nerve to get upset with Ivy when she learns about some stuff Ivy was keeping from her (for her own good). I also wasn’t crazy about the third person writing, even though it was also dual POV. Aside from that, I really did enjoy this fluffy holiday romance. Oliver and Aiden are both top tier MMCs. This book would make a fantastic movie. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

pathfindernicole's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny

ktmags's review against another edition

3.0

emotional funny lighthearted fast-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: No

jensensenson's review

4.0

Wowowowow this book was SO cute!! I loved the back and forth of the stories and the cohesiveness of the storylines. I loved the friendship between the two female lead characters! I love loved the relationships of the people around them. I am so glad they didn’t hyper focus on the ex fiancée but focused on the new guys. Honestly, my only wish is that 1) it was longer and 2) we got just a bit more romantic scenes between the couples. Maybe also a bonus epilogue. But overall? The perfect book to kick off the winter season!