Category: Contemporary

Title: The Holiday Swap
Author: Maggie Knox
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Viking
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A feel-good, holiday-themed romantic comedy about identical twins who switch lives in the days leading up to Christmas.

All they want for Christmas is a different life. 

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 assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix. Will the twins’ identity swap be a recipe for disaster, or does it have all the right ingredients for getting their lives back on track?

Review:

Charlie Goodwin is a judge for a TV reality baking show, but when she gets hit on the head on set, she gets a concussion, along with losing her senses of taste and smell. She needs to keep this job because it could lead to another cooking show. Meanwhile, in their hometown, her twin sister Cass is struggling to run their family’s bakery while also dealing with a toxic ex-boyfriend who won’t go away. Charlie and Cass decide to trade places so that Cass can properly judge the baking show and Charlie can use her confidence to run the bakery and deal with Cass’s ex. Soon after they switch lives, Charlie falls for Jake, the new firefighter in town, and Cass likes the physicians assistant Miguel. Now they not only have to run each other’s lives, but also figure out how to start a relationship while living as their sister.

I’ve always loved stories about twins. The Mary-Kate and Ashley movies and TV shows, and The Parent Trap movies were my favourites as a kid. This situation made for the perfect switch. Cass and Charlie were both experienced bakers, but Charlie’s sense of taste and smell were so important for judging the TV show that she couldn’t keep her job if she stayed there. They were both able to make changes in each other’s lives, though not all of them were for the better.

This was a fun holiday read. There were lots of baked treats, so make sure you have some handy while reading. The Christmas scenes were brief, as it was mostly about the days leading up to Christmas. However it still had a festive feel!

The Holiday Swap is a fun holiday rom com!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Have you read The Holiday Swap? What did you think of it?

Title: A Holly Jolly Diwali
Author: Sonya Lalli
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

One type-A data analyst discovers her free-spirited side on an impulsive journey from bustling Mumbai to the gorgeous beaches of Goa and finds love waiting for her on Christmas morning.

Twenty-nine-year-old Niki Randhawa has always made practical decisions. Despite her love for music and art, she became an analyst for the stability. She’s always stuck close to home, in case her family needed her. And she’s always dated guys that seem good on paper, rather than the ones who give her butterflies. When she’s laid off, Niki realizes that practical hasn’t exactly paid off for her. So for the first time ever, she throws caution to the wind and books a last-minute flight for her friend Diya’s wedding.

Niki arrives in India just in time to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, where she meets London musician Sameer Mukherji. Maybe it’s the splendor of Mumbai or the magic of the holiday season, but Niki is immediately drawn to Sam. At the wedding, the champagne flows and their flirtatious banter makes it clear that the attraction is mutual.

When Niki and Sam join Diya, her husband and their friends on a group honeymoon, their connection grows deeper. Free-spirited Sam helps Niki get in touch with her passionate and creative side, and with her Indian roots. When she gets a new job offer back home, Niki must decide what she wants out of the next chapter of her life–to cling to the straight and narrow like always, or to take a leap of faith and live the kind of bold life the old Niki never would have dreamed of.

Review:

When twenty-nine year old Niki is suddenly laid off from her job, she decides to do something uncharacteristic and fly to India for her best friend’s wedding on a spur of the moment vacation. She arrives in India in time to celebrate Diwali before the wedding. Niki meets Sam, a London musician, and is instantly attracted to him. The attraction is mutual so they decide to go on a group trip with the newlyweds. However, on that trip, their whirlwind romance is threatened when they have to come to terms with their different lifestyles.

This was a book about celebration. It wasn’t necessarily a Christmas novel, because only the final chapters took place during Christmas. Niki celebrated Diwali, and most of the novel was about her friend’s wedding. There were different kinds of celebrations, and they all gave the story a very festive feel.

I flew through this book. It was fast paced and exciting. It wasn’t steamy but I loved the romance. I fell in love with the characters and I really want to know where their story is heading next!

A Holly Jolly Diwali is a fun, festive romance!

Thank you Berkley Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Have you read A Holly Jolly Diwali? What did you think of it?

Title: Meet Me in London (Meet Me #1)
Author: Georgia Toffolo
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: HQN Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 28, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fans of Josie Silver’s One Day in December and Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze will adore watching Victoria and Oliver’s pretend engagement dissolve as their very real chemistry threatens to upend all their carefully laid-out secrets. Set against the most charming London backdrop, Meet Me in London is an irrisistable seasonal treat!

What do you do when your fake engagement starts to feel too real… 

Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.

Oliver Russell’s Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His family’s new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well-meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her over the holidays—a girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion…something to keep his mother from meddling while he focuses on the business.

When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoria’s past are exposed, will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking for…?

Review:

Victoria Scott is an aspiring fashion designer who works in a bar in Chelsea. She’s worried that her neighbourhood will be under threat from the big department store moving onto the street. Oliver Russell is the CEO of that department store. When he meets Victoria, he realizes she can help solve his major problem: she can pretend to be his fiancé at their opening night so his mother will stop asking him about his nonexistent girlfriend. Victoria agrees when Oliver offers to showcase some of her designs at the opening of the store. However, things get more complicated when they start to fall in love. Victoria has to keep the secrets of her past, which would ruin any possibility of a relationship with Oliver.

This was a fun holiday romance. I was rooting for Victoria and Oliver the whole time. Though they had many differences in their lives, they had powerful chemistry. There were some serious moments in this romance. Victoria had been in an accident when she was younger that left her with physical and emotional scars. Oliver also had to deal with his sick father, who could no longer work like he used to.

I would have liked to see more of an explanation of Victoria’s past. Also, Oliver’s family was very present in the story, but Victoria’s wasn’t, though they didn’t live that far away. I also would have liked to see a bigger conclusion or even an epilogue. I’m curious to see what other characters would have thought of the ending.

Meet Me in London is a sweet holiday romance!

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

About the author:

Where to buy:

• BookShop.org
• Harlequin 
• Barnes & Noble
• Amazon
• Books-A-Million
• Powell’s 

Have you read Meet Me in London? What did you think of it?

Title: The Matzah Ball
Author: Jean Meltzer
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Mira Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: September 28, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Oy! to the world

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret: she loves Christmas. For a decade she’s hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from her family. Her talent has made her a bestseller even as her chronic illness has always kept the kind of love she writes about out of reach.

But when her diversity-conscious publisher insists she write a Hanukkah romance, her well of inspiration suddenly runs dry. Hanukkah’s not magical. It’s not merry. It’s not Christmas. Desperate not to lose her contract, Rachel’s determined to find her muse at the Matzah Ball, a Jewish music celebration on the last night of Hanukkah, even if it means working with her summer camp archenemy—Jacob Greenberg.

Though Rachel and Jacob haven’t seen each other since they were kids, their grudge still glows brighter than a menorah. But as they spend more time together, Rachel finds herself drawn to Hanukkah—and Jacob—in a way she never expected. Maybe this holiday of lights will be the spark she needed to set her heart ablaze.

Review:

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt has a secret career as a bestselling Christmas novel author. She has to keep it a secret because her father is the well-known Rabbi Goldblatt. Rachel also has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which she also keeps a secret because people often think that’s not a real condition. When her publisher decides they want a more diverse, Hanukkah themed story, she has to find inspiration. Jacob Greenberg was Rachel’s boyfriend at camp when they were twelve-years-old, until he broke her heart and humiliated her in front of everyone. Jacob returns to New York to put on the event of the season: The Matzah Ball. Rachel has to find a way to get a ticket to the Matzah Ball to find the inspiration she needs to save her secret writing career.

This was such a fun holiday rom com. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Hanukkah themed rom com, but I loved learning about these traditions. One important theme of the story was shame. Rachel was ashamed of her success as a Christmas novelist because she was Jewish. Christmas brought her joy, and it isn’t shameful to enjoy certain holidays, whether they are part of your religion or not.

Rachel was also ashamed of her illness because of how other people perceive it. Her condition is invisible, which always makes it more difficult for others to believe when they can’t see it for themselves. It’s important to remember that there are invisible diseases and conditions, so people shouldn’t be judged for their symptoms even if they aren’t visible.

The Matzah Ball was a wonderful holiday rom com!

Thank you HCC Frenzy for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Have you read The Matzah Ball? What did you think of it?