Maggie Knox | The Holiday Swap

The Book:

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox
Published October 5th 2021 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Date read: December 9, 2021

The Characters:

Charlie
Cass

The Plot (from Goodreads):

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. 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?

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The Review:

Thank you to Putnam Books for a #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Holiday Swap is currently tied for first place for my favorite holiday read of the season! There were so many things to love about this Christmas romance. A twin swap, a baking competition TV show, holiday cheer, an adorable bakery, decadent desserts, a firefighter, and a cute dog. Am I forgetting anything? It was all my favorite things about romantic comedies and holiday Hallmark films–but don’t worry, the story didn’t feel crowded.

I loved Charlie and Cass’s relationship. They clearly are an incredibly important part of each other’s lives, and can call on each other for even the most ridiculous of help requests. I really enjoyed how they each found ways to improve each other’s lives through their switch. Their father was a baker and instilled a love of baking in both of them. This tradition is an important part of their story.

Both love interests were perfectly suited to each twin. Despite both love stories falling under the insta-love trope, I thought the relationships developed pretty well for the two-week timespan of the book.

I was cringing for Charlie’s head injury throughout the whole book, though! She went hiking with a fresh concussion that was bad enough to take away her sense of taste and smell, and kept getting knocked around by the pup! Hopefully she doesn’t have any lasting damage, because what that girl needed was a week in bed, not a week of whirlwind activity.

I loved their town of Starlight Peak and all the sweet side characters. The epilogue left me wanting even more. I’m not sure if another spinoff is in the works, but I’d love to read one about Sasha finding love and balancing a love life with being a single mom!

Make sure your Christmas cookies are easily accessible when you pick this one up. You’re going to have all kinds of sugar cravings.