Just finished reading “Holiday Swap” by Maggie Knox. What a sweet feel good book. It was such an easy read and thoroughly enjoyable!

It’s about identical twin sisters, Charlie, who lives a flashy life in LA and Cass, who still lives in their small town.

Charlie suffers an injury and asks her sister to swap places with her. The story is cute, sweet and maybe a little predictable but still very enjoyable.

Although, I pretty well knew what was going to happen, I still enjoyed it and would recommend as a nice feel good story reminiscent of a Hallmark Christmas movie.

Charlie co-hosts a reality baking show in LA. Her twin sister Cass runs the family bakery in a small town. When Charlie hits her head on set and loses her sense of taste and smell, they decide to switch places for ten days. Cass is fleeing her ex who doesn't seem to understand that he's her ex and Charlie is vying for a solo host gig. Life switching shenanigans ensue plus the addition of two enticing men.⁠
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The Holiday Swap is a sweet romance with endearing characters, engaging plot and seasonal setting. Expect dual POVs from both sisters as they maneuver each other's lives as well as a love interest. This one is silly, fun and perfect for Hallmark Christmas lovers. Pick this one up when we get close to the holidays for mouthwatering baking, small town charm and warm fuzzy feelings.

A Hallmark movie mixed with the twins-switching-places trope would be one quick way to describe this book. I’m not really fond of the kind of sentimentality found in Hallmark Christmas-themed stories. That said, the pacing was good, and the story’s twins Cass and Charlie pulled me in. Their professional and personal lives’ drama was interesting, but also predictable. I could feel plot points coming well in advance so this book wasn’t as enjoyable as I’d hoped.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.

What an adorable holiday romance! 🎄🎅🏻

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙎𝙬𝙖𝙥 follows identical twins Charlie and Cassie who switch places to help each other during the days leading up to Christmas.

The characters were very well written and I just loved them all, well except for one, haha! And Miguel and Jake were very swoon worthy!

The pace of this book was perfect and those food descriptions made my mouth water. I wanted all the desserts and goodies!

This was such a fun adorable read that I couldn’t put down and that ending was perfectly reminiscent of a feel good holiday Hallmark movie!

I highly recommend grabbing this one to curl up and read over the holidays!

A delightful twin swap/double romance with all the best holiday vibes!

Charlie is a 28 year-old pastry chef working in Los Angeles on a reality baking show when an on-set accident leaves her with a concussion and no sense of taste or smell. Fearing that this could be disastrous for her career, Charlie convinces her identical twin sister Cass who runs the family bakery in a small California mountain town to switch places with her for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. (Mom and Dad are currently out of town on a well-deserved vacation in Cabo or this scheme would never work. ;) )

Unsurprisingly, swapping places is complicated and hijinks ensue plus there's mouthwatering holiday baking, new romances with a physician's assistant named Miguel and a firefighter named Jake and the two sisters discover what matters most. The Holiday Swap is a light-hearted, sweet, feel-good rom-com - perfect for the holiday season!

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

LOVE LOVE LOVED this new holiday romance by Canadian duo Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley writing as Maggie Knox! The best news is that they're already working on another holiday story for next year!

I absolutely couldn't get enough of this twin swap story about baking sisters Cass and Charlie who switch lives for a week. Cass fills in for her sister as a judge on a reality baking show and Charlie takes over their family bakery during the holiday rush. Both sisters learn their lives were missing a little something and find love along the way.

Full of small town charm, very reminiscent of Stars Hallow from Gilmore Girls, lots of delicious baking recipes and some swoon worthy love interests. This was the perfect holiday read and is sure to delight anyone who loves Hallmark holiday movies. The epilogue at the end was chef's kiss perfection and there is also a great author interview included. Wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful feel good story! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!

Such a fun, sweet romance! And, of course, it's double the fun and the sweetness because it's a twin swap story. The twin swap premise drew me in--I can't remember the last time I read a twin swap story, and I knew trouble would ensue, which it does. Every time I picked this up, I craved sweets, thanks to the delicious recipes both Cass and Charlie were always creating. Miguel and Jake made great leading men, but I think what I loved most about this book was the swap and how Cass and Charlie each grew as people (and in their careers) as a result of it. Truly a Hallmark-style romance with an ending as sweet as the treats you'll read about! A big thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the digital ARC!

DNF 1⭐️

I know I am in the minority here, but this book did nothing for me. I made it 21% in, was trying to go further, but it did not keep my attention at all. My mind kept wandering, I kept having to read the same paragraphs again and again, and I am sorry to say I was bored reading it.

The plot of the story sounds so good, and the synopsis does a great job of making it sound like something that is typically my thing, but the characters were not interesting, I did not find myself drawn in, and no matter how I tried to talk myself into continuing, the desire not to was very strong.

Having said that, just because this book wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for you!!! By all means, give it a read and form your own opinion!!!!

A sweet Christmas read filled with delicious desserts and delicious men. A good pick for those lovers of Hallmark Christmas movies.

After a hit to the head, Charlie has lost her sense of taste and smell and is panicked. As a classically trained pastry chef/tv show host competing for her own show, this is a disaster ! Unwilling to lose her dream, Charlie calls on her identical twin, Cass to take her place. Cass is a baker at the family’s Woodburn Breads Bakery in the small town of Starlight. Cass just ended her 10 year relationship and it’s not going well. Cass jumps to help her sister and escape her ex.

Christmas is days away, and both sister’s realize filling each other shoes is harder than they imagined but don’t want to let each other down. Another unexpected complication emerges when Cass and Charlie each meet a man from their sister’s life and the attractions are immediate !

A fun read by Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley who together are Maggie Knox. Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC.

Identical twins switching places what could go wrong??? Plenty! Mishap causes the switch and keeps happening to both of the them. This would make a delightful Hallmark Christmas movie

Cass and Charlie are identical twins. Cass runs a family bakery in a small town. Charlie is on a cooking show on television in Los Angeles. Charlie suffers an injury resulting in loss of her sense of taste and smell, which does not work for a judge on a cooking show. The twins decide to trade places for the days leading up to Christmas. And, the fun begins…..

Naturally, things don't go smoothly even though they manage to fool co-workers and the people in the small town. Love interests get in the way for both of them.

This is a fun and entertaining read. It has some humour, interesting relationships, and a peek at behind the scenes on cooking competitions on tv. There is also a good dose of drama! I was sorry that there were no recipes included. Some of the goodies sounded delicious!

Holiday Swap is the perfect book to read leading up to the busy holiday season. It would be easy to pick up and put down as time allows. It would get the reader in a festive mood.

And the ending made me smile. My eyes might have even been leaking a little bit.

Solid 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book.

Great book. A switch for one week that change life. Follow Cass and Charlie from Hollywood to their native small town in an adventure full of surprises. Family, friendship and love all mixed up.

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for an arc of The Holiday Swap im exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute Christmas read! I loved the characters and reading about all of the food! Give me all of the baked goods! Both authors writing blended together so well- I’m looking forward to reading more from this duo! I only wish that more time was spent on the development of the romantic relationships, it felt very fast and we were more so told about the feelings than necessarily seeing them develop.

I definitely recommend this one for those looking for a cute Christmas read and a closed door romance.

This was a cute holiday romance that was the epitome of a Hallmark movie. With identical twins, Charlie and Cass switching places to help one another out, mishaps are sure to ensue.

There is a small town element that I absolutely spoke to my small town holiday romance loving ways and I really enjoyed how the ending wrapped up the various storylines and brought everyone together.

Also, the amazing baked goods that were described in the story made me crave them and I was disappointed there weren’t any recipes at the end of the book so that I could try some out for myself!

Overall, a great light hearted and quick read for the holidays.

This was a joyful little story to read, and makes me yearn for Christmas time.

The switch between identical twins is something I’ve only ever seen in movies, and reading it was a little confusing, but the heartwarming feeling I got from it made it worthwhile.

It's a cute and adorable book, with lovely characters and truly heartwarming story.. Loved..

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

<b>Warm, Endearing Christmas Romance</b>

What you need to know about “The Holiday Swap”:
✔ Kissing-only Romance
✔ Dual Point of View: Cass & Charlie (no POVs from the male main characters)
✔ Twin-swap Romance
✔ Charlotte “Charlie” Goodwin, ambitious pastry chef, co-host of reality baking show: Sweet & Salty
✔ Cass Goodwin, Charlie’s identical twin sister, baker in her family’s bakery in the small town of Starlight Peak
✔ Christmas x baking romance
✔ Hallmark-like
✔ Complete Standalone

Charlie Goodwin is the co-host of Sweet and Salty, a reality baking show which is filming its Christmas episodes in Los Angeles. She has a few allies on the set but horrible co-host Austin is after her job. She has an accident on-set and hurts her head after which she loses her sense of smell and taste.

Cass Goodwin, Charlie’s identical twin sister, lives in their hometown of Starlight Peak. Starlight Peak is a few hours from L.A. but has snow-capped mountains and is a quaint and festive small town. Cass is a baker at her family’s bakery. She is trying to get her parents to retire and leave the bakery in her capable hands. The twins sent their parents on a whale watching trip as part of their scheme to get them into a retirement frame-of-mind.

As part of the town’s Christmas celebrations many families get one of the special Christmas Starlight Loaves from the bakery on Christmas Eve. Cass is stressed out. Add to that a boyfriend that she’s just made an ex just won’t clue in that they are broken up.

Charlie calls wanting to swap places so that Cass can take her place on the TV show as the twin with a working ability to taste and smell. Charlie wants to win a spot on a new baking show so everything depends on her performance. Even so, Cass doesn’t have to think about it for very long before saying yes.

They swap places with Charlie working at the bakery and Cass stumbling her way through working on a reality baking show.

Cass and Charlie each get a do-over in a way and a taste of another life. I loved this concept and wished for a twin of my own so I could experience it. Perhaps without a concussion and less stress.

You get two love stories in The Holiday Swap as Charlie shakes up Cass’ life in Starlight Peak and meets firefighter Jake. Cass also starts dating Miguel, the physician assistant who treated Charlie after she hit her head.

Things grow complicated with these fresh relationships as both Cass and Charlie are lying to these men about who they are.

During the swap, both Cass and Charlie gain some new perspective on their own lives and each other's situations.

The Holiday Swap is a warm, endearing romance about finding yourself while you’re pretending to be someone else. It’s a wee bit silly and can be overly dramatic but it's ultimately a nice bit of Christmas cheer that would make a good present for your Mom or Grandmother.

WRITING STYLE: 3/5
PLOT: 3/5
WORLD-BUILDING: 3/5
PACING: 3/5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 3/5
ROMANCE: 3/5
HEAT: 1/5

I received an e-ARC of this book, my opinions are 100% my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I will probably be reading this again this holiday season! There are a few movies that have a similar plot or twin switching shtick like the Parent Trap, The Princess Switch or It Takes Two, but come to think of it, I don’t think I have ever read a book with that as a plot line!

Speaking of movies, this book is very similar to the Princess Switch, what with the baking and the twins (well I suppose in the Princess Switch, they’re not twins, but I digress). There are no princesses in this book, but they do switch for a work-related crisis. One twin lives in a small town and the other lives in LA, and then they pull a switch-a-roo.

A feel-good romance for sure that I think this book will be 2021’s In A Holidaze (Christina Lauren)!

The Holiday Swap has all the ingredients for the perfect holiday, feel-good romance. I loved it!

It was a Christmas Hallmark movie...in book form (I would love to see it adapted on the screen).

The Holiday Swap is the first offering from Maggie Knox which is the powerhouse duo of Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley. Perfectly paced for a holiday read, it strikes the right balance between banter and charm, complete with a dusting of decadent baking. With themes of sisterhood and empowerment, this book is a gift (and perfect for gift-giving).

Complimented by two festive romances and a delightful small-town setting that's like living in a snow globe, The Holiday Swap is the quintessential seasonal rom-com to give you all the Christmas feels.