I absolutely adored this book - seriously it was so unbelievably good. I did contemplate if reading a book with Christmas in the title was a bit random in September but I am so glad I pushed that thought to the side and read it whilst enjoying the late summer sunshine.

Chloe, Jules and Lucy are best friends in their early thirties. They first became firm friends aged 11 whilst on holiday with their respective parents and that friendship has grown over the years despite them living in different continents. Chloe lives in Australia with her best friend and workmate Ash, Lucy lives in a flat in London and Jules lives in Colorado. When Chloe announces in one of their face time calls that her parents are going on a cruise for Christmas, the girls hit on the idea of a Christmas Swap. Jules goes to Australia, Chloe to Lucy’s parents in wet England and Lucy to Jules’ parents log cabin in the snowy depths of Colorado. It’s a Christmas they certainly won’t forget!!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

3*
I enjoyed this book. I was hooked when I first started reading it. It’s about three friends (Chloe lives in Australia, Lucy in England and Jules in Colorado). They first met when they were 11 in Hawaii and ended up being best friends ever since. Chloe, being upset that her parents were going on a cruise over Christmas, suggests a Christmas swap, meaning Chloe would go to England to spend Xmas with Lucy’s parents. Jules would go to Australia to spend Xmas with Chloe’s friends, and then Lucy would go to Colorado to spend Xmas with Jules’ family. All three girls meet guys (all gorgeous of course) and the love story’s start. Each chapter was focused on each girl. Near the end of the book it got boring. I think it needed more hot romance, more intrigue, and for one girl (I won’t mention whom) the love story didn’t end the way it should’ve. Oh well....it was a fun romance read. Light and fluffy.

Thanks @netgalley for the ARC
#thechristmasswap

Like the other reviewers, it reminds me of The Holiday movie! Cute, uplifting read where everyone gets their happily ever after.

The May Ladies, Lucy, Chloe, and Jules meet when they are 11 and in vacation with their parents. Now they are in their 30s, and swap their Christmas and with each other. Fu of instant romance, gorgeous scenery and no drama, it's a cute christmas read.

I do love a Christmas book, so this is absolutely brilliant as you have three wonderful Christmas days in very different locations to enjoy, plus three gorgeous men to share them with!
Such a fabulous idea for a festive read, I loved seeing all the different traditions and places as we shared Christmas across the globe!
As always I found myself completely engrossed in the book, Sandy is so skilled with her descriptive writing.
I just adored this gorgeous book so much!

The Christmas Swap (Sandy Barker)

I know, I know. It’s a little early for a Christmas story since it’s barely September, but I love it! I love a good, heartwarming story.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chloe, Jules and Lucy have been friends since they were kids. Now, they live on three different continents and as Christmas approaches, they each realize they want something new/different. So Lucy heads to Colorado, Chloe to London, and Jules to Melbourne. Little did they know their lives would be forever changed!

Thanks to @netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review!

#netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreview #bookreview #thechristmasswap #sandybarker #fiction #christmas

Sounded interesting. I'm sure people will enjoy this book, but it is not for me. Was a bit simplistic, ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

When I read the description for this book, I immediately thought of the movie "The Holiday" with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black. The book is like that - but possibly even better (I thought so)!

This book explores three wonderful locations of Melbourne Australia, Beckenridge, Colorado and a small village in Oxfordshire England. I loved the Colorado setting because I have family near there and have lived in Colorado. So, that was another thing that drew me to this book.

This book involves a holiday swap between three women from the mentioned locations who met when they were 11 and stayed friends into adult hood. We also get to read about their love interests, three swoon worthy men - the snowboarder, the film star and the winemaker.

I loved the locations and characters in this book. It was a great holiday read and one I will definitely share! It would make a wonderful holiday movie!

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Three friends who met in holiday whist at a kids club, swap homes and family/friends for Christmas.

This book is an absolute treat, not one but three Christmas romances. The story is told from the three different women's point of view and the fun adventures they get up to during the Christmas period.

Very funny, very sweet and perfect reading when your snugged up and drinking hot chocolate (with rum)

Lots of will they, won't they moments to make you feel excited and warm. Loved this book, I do hope there is a follow on book

Lucy, Chloe and Jules, a.k.a. The May Ladies Club, have been BFFs since they met on a trip to Hawaii when they were 11 yo. Twenty something years later they realize that they never had the Christmas experience they always longed for, so they decide to swap Christmases so Jules can have her Australian sun and beach Christmas, Chloe her traditional English Christmas and Lucy her snowy one in Colorado.

“The Christmas swap” is a fun and feel good Christmas romance and, while it certainly awoke the Christmas spirit and made me wish I could live some of those experiences, it felt like it could have been so much more. The three storylines were quite similar so that made me lose interest sometimes.

Yeah, I know this is a romance story but, with three different characters in three different gorgeous locations, I feel the plot possibilities could have been endless, but instead they were all three insta-romances that, truth be told, were a bit unrealistic. I would have love for some variety or even some different kind of romance.

Out of all the three girls, my favorites were Lucy and Chloe, although all three were likeable. The three guys were all boyfriend material (shocking!...and quite unlikely), so the romances felt quite easy, as if they didn’t have to clear any big hurdles to reach their happy endings.

The location descriptions were quite enticing and I loved to read about some different Christmas traditions.

Light and easy read that will make you wish Christmas was already here!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a feel good Christmas romance that promises Happily Ever After, but it’s how you get there, that is the pleasure of this story.

The story begins with 3 eleven year old friends who form the May Ladies Club. Lucy from Oxfordshire England, Chloe from Melbourne Australia and Jules from Boulder Colorado. As the girls grow up they become BFFs, so close that they often travel together and speak with regularity. It is during one of these conversations that they decide to “swap Christmases” with each other, so that can each experience the kind of Christmas they have longed for.

For those of you familiar with the movie “the Holiday” and find the premise similar, the Author addresses this through direct references to the movie. Whilst on the surface there are some similarities in that each of the girls, though successful in their respective fields and lives, are all in place where they are stuck and not sure how to progress, in many ways this story deviates and stands on its own merits.

The characters are all very likeable. Out of all of the lead characters, Jules was the only character I felt ambivalent about. Each character is so well written with depth, including the background and secondary characters, that you feel that you know them well.

To me, the best part of this story, is how well described each of the Home towns are, and written with such affection, that by the end of the story they are now on my bucket list to travel. They are also not the usual places that you find written about in novels, so that in itself is a delight. As this was the first time I’ve read any of the Author’s books, I decided not to learn about her background until after I finished the story. Initially, it was difficult for me to guess her nationality by her writing and descriptions, but I guessed Sandy to be a Melburnian, reasonably early on in the story. Whilst all of the places had specific details by those who have been there, as well as a few stereotypes and the generic kind of trivia you find in a Lonely Planet book, it felt for the most part like a love letter to the fair city of Melbourne. That said, each of the places felt like places you could easily love to visit and spend time there.

I genuinely enjoyed this story immensely and her back catalogue is now on my TBR list.

Thank you to Sandy Barker, One More Page-Harper Collins and NetGalley for the copy of the book. I am voluntarily reviewing this ARC and all opinions are honest and my own.

So this is like the film The Holiday but on drugs.

We have the fabulous locations of Melbourne Australia, Beckenridge, Colorado and a small village in Oxfordshire England.

We have three women - one who has always dreamed of a white Christmas, one who has always wanted a traditional family Christmas, and one who likes Christmas but hates the cold and wants to break out of a rut. All three have been best friends since they met age 11 on holiday and despite living at opposites ends of the world, they have kept in touch and have holidayed together plenty.

Then there are three incredibly sexy men, the snowboarder, the film star and the winemaker.

As you may have guessed from the title, all three women swap Christmases, and stay with the family or friends, of each friend, allowing them all to have the Christmas of their dreams.

The action alternates between the three women, the differing locations and I loved seeing how each of them spent the fesitve period and few days afterwards.

You can expect amongst other things from this book, snow, Winter Wonderland, a Christmas fair, embarrassing relatives, horse riding, wine, winter sports, being papped, and a great deal of laughs and happiness, and instant chemistry.

Now I'm not going to tell you who goes where, or what of those things happens where, but suffice to say I loved all three story lines, even if I could have done with drawing a diagram of who is who and where they went and normally live - as my head just couldn't retain it all at the same time!!

Although our three leading ladies are all lovely, it was the men in this story that caught my eye, and I can honestly say I'd happily have all three of them as book boyfriends at the same time!!

I loved the location details, and just well everything about this book. I think it would make an even better film than The Holiday too, and would be a lot easier to keep things straight if you are watching! So please big film companies, or Hallmark, put this on the big screen!

Easily my favourite book from one of my favourite travel romance authors!

Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

**I received and voluntarily read an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

It's a quick read, nothing really new or original, but still a nice romance for when you're in the mood for a happily ever after book. Very much like "The Holiday", but not so close as to be a copycat. At times, there were a few odd word choices on the part of the author, but nothing overly annoying.

Festive Armchair Travel.....
A festive romance with a tried and tested theme. A house swap and some festive armchair travel as the book takes us from Oxfordshire to Colorado and to Melbourne. An enjoyable and escapist read with a likeable and colourful cast of characters.

I love Sandy Barker's books because I'm always whisked away someplace nice. This is serious armchair travel. Three best friends, three very different Christmases set in England, a snowy Colorado, and the beachy city-scape of Melbourne, AU. The characters felt full fleshed out, and were very distinct. I thought the life situations the characters found themselves in were very realistic. I especially connected with Jules. But this novel is more than that. Each character discovers something about themselves, and I came away feeling that there is more than one way to define family. This book has all the festive feels one could hope for in a Christmas book. One to read!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I was excited to read this book.

I loved the way it was set - with the three characters and how they came together and continued to stay in touch as their lives progressed.

The three romances were loveable and each had their own issues to overcome. .

The focus that Sandy gave all three Chloe, Lucy and Jules was really good in how their stories entwined with each other.

A feel good Christmas book.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book This book is about three friends who live in different parts of the world decide to swap houses. I thought this book was a quick read and I enjoyed the many characters in the book. I am excited to read Sandy Barker's next book.

I was looking forward to this book because I love the coziness of the Christmas season and the synopsis sounded like an elevated version of The Holiday with the addition of a third quirky character. I struggled to click with Jules, who to me felt a bit like an afterthought to make the concept somewhat different than The Holiday. Chloe and Lucy were stronger characters who salvaged the story for me. I did not appreciate the fatphobic/dangerous diet culture references in this book. While this is a reality for many women, it felt like an unnecessary and frankly problematic additive. I felt this book was a bit too long, but overall enjoyed the story and thought it a fun read to get me in the premature Christmas spirit.

Thanks yo netgallery for the chance to review This book
I really wanted to like this book and gave it longer than i wanted to try and Get into the story. Sorry to say it really didnt hold my attention
The idea of christmas swap really appealed (i love the film The Holiday) but this just didnt do it for me 😞

2.5 Stars

Going into this book I was really excited. The holiday is one of my favourite Christmas films and so this sounded right up my street. I really loved 2 out of the 3 Christmas romances but the other just seemed to be there for filler. I really feel that this would have been so much better just focusing on Chloe and Lucy, and developing their stories more. While I did enjoy this book, there were lots of problematic diet culture references (such as characters exclaiming how fat they were going to get or saying they better run extra to earn the calories at dinner) and I just didn't think there was any need for this.

Overall an OK book, just nothing special.

A really good chick lit! Loved the story and the interlinking stories too! Was a little predictable but a good read