Scan barcode
A review by themermaddie
The Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels
3.0
this is a classic queer romcom that i could easily see loving on the hallmark channel. if i were to tag this on ao3 i'd probably say: fluff, mild hurt/comfort, fake dating, himbo x lesbian friendship, mentioned emotional abuse, less angsty than i was expecting. this is a sweet holiday romance that's easily bingeable and i sped through it.
ellie and margot are sweet together, and i really liked the family dynamic added in with the fake dating trope; the trope was very cute when changed up to be about the fake bf's sister, although the premise did make me think it was going to be a bit more forbidden romance vibes rather than just a secret. they're both such lesbians bc they uhaul almost immediately and the whole story takes place over one week. their interactions are fluffy and convincing (albeit a bit vanilla) enough to root for them, but i think i loved getting to know the rest of ben and ellie's family best. i love a picture perfect family finally dropping their pretenses around one another. also the english countryside/holiday/christmas markets vibe was lovely and very atmospheric, it's very peak romcom. most importantly i liked how all the characters seemed to interact so the romance wasn't just in a vacuum; ben/margot was so wonderful, and the katie/ellie reconciliation at the end was a lovely surprise.
i did kinda feel like their voices were a bit younger than their supposed 30 something year olds, especially during the whole bit when ellie still thinks margot's bad news; every time she tried to catch her out with some kind of sneaky plan it felt like teenage hijinks, not the actions of a woman supposedly trying to prove to her family her newfound seriousness. it also didn't help that both narrators were so... posh. look, i know it's cheshire and all but like damn, something about it made it sorta inherently insufferable lol.
overall, a very fluffy lesbian christmas read! very inoffensive, well structured, just a little bit deeper than a hallmark movie (esp in its depictions of emotional abuse and uneven family dynamics), but a lovely read all the same.
ellie and margot are sweet together, and i really liked the family dynamic added in with the fake dating trope; the trope was very cute when changed up to be about the fake bf's sister, although the premise did make me think it was going to be a bit more forbidden romance vibes rather than just a secret. they're both such lesbians bc they uhaul almost immediately and the whole story takes place over one week. their interactions are fluffy and convincing (albeit a bit vanilla) enough to root for them, but i think i loved getting to know the rest of ben and ellie's family best. i love a picture perfect family finally dropping their pretenses around one another. also the english countryside/holiday/christmas markets vibe was lovely and very atmospheric, it's very peak romcom. most importantly i liked how all the characters seemed to interact so the romance wasn't just in a vacuum; ben/margot was so wonderful, and the katie/ellie reconciliation at the end was a lovely surprise.
i did kinda feel like their voices were a bit younger than their supposed 30 something year olds, especially during the whole bit when ellie still thinks margot's bad news; every time she tried to catch her out with some kind of sneaky plan it felt like teenage hijinks, not the actions of a woman supposedly trying to prove to her family her newfound seriousness. it also didn't help that both narrators were so... posh. look, i know it's cheshire and all but like damn, something about it made it sorta inherently insufferable lol.
overall, a very fluffy lesbian christmas read! very inoffensive, well structured, just a little bit deeper than a hallmark movie (esp in its depictions of emotional abuse and uneven family dynamics), but a lovely read all the same.