bookishblasian 's review for:

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay

4.0

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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!