I liked the concept of this story, with 2 people switching houses and locales for a vacation break somewhere else. I loved the descriptions of Maine and New Orleans, I think the author captured the spirit well. But I didn't take to all the characters, in particular Carys whom Greta meets in New Orleans. I think she reacted poorly to a couple of situations and I didn't feel she treated Greta fairly (though she explains herself and her reactions well, I just didn't agree with them - she could have explained why she wanted things done a certain way first instead of getting mad at Greta for them afterwards). I was a bigger fan of Ash and Truman, and rooted for them all the way. The story also deals with toxic families and early onset Alzheimer's in sympathetic ways. It's a mixed bag for me, but won't stop me from continuing to pick up books by this author.

“You can't know this yet. In fact,
we rarely know it until it's too
late to need to know it. But you
are going to be just fine."

So. Greta goes back to Maine and doesn’t mention finding someone to watch Horse and Truman doesn’t ask as the very first thing? Like, nobody wonders about her just leaving the dog she’s supposed to be watching?

That’s what I can’t stop thinking about.

Loves: House Swap, loving families, holiday cheer, queer romance. This book delivers them all! This is sure to be a holiday hit and a must-read for queer christmas cheer!

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A queer Holiday! Like all Roan Parrish books, this book involves found family and endearing main characters with pretty good communication skills. This book is lovely.

I received an arc in exchange for a review from NetGalley.

I loved this book so much. Greta and Truman are not having the best time in their lives and their friend Ramona (i love Ramona, i want a whole book about her!/ them?) suggests they swap houses for a month. The weeks that follow are basically filled with happy moments and discoveries as they find love and change their whole lives around. It was sweet, entertaining, heartwarming and funny at times. I was just hooked the whole time.
*I was sent this e-arc by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to the publisher who provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Roan Parrish NEVER lets me down when it comes to representation. The Holiday Trap is chalk full of representation and it was very much needed. While there are a large variety of opinions online about this book, I enjoyed it but didn't love it. There were parts that felt disjointed, almost, but it was definitely the perfect book to get me in the holiday spirit.

There have been a lot of great romances featuring Jewish characters recently and I'm learning so much. I also appreciated that this romance wasn't all neat. Love is messy. Life is messy. And people are certainly not perfect. Parrish captures the human condition excellently and I definitely was able to relate to this book on several different levels.

I received an arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I’m going to be completely honest, I feel very meh about this book. It had a lot of insta love, which I tend not to enjoy, unless it’s done in a way that blows me away. And unfortunately this book did not blow me away. Yes it was sweet, fun, spicy and dug into character trauma, but I don’t feel any particular way about the book. I’m not disappointed but I’m not losing my mind over it. It was an genuinely just an okay read. I didn’t find myself connecting with the characters and the writing, and when the book ended I didn’t feel any particular way about it, which is why this review has been so hard to write. 3.5 stars.

I don't usually read holiday romances, and I really enjoyed this one! Great character development and an interesting story. It was a little hard to follow with so many storylines, but still cute!

Thank you NetGalley and Roan Parrish!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc. This review is wholly my own.

This is not normally my genre, but I took a chance because I love a good holiday romance.

It is a nice, feel good story with likeable, relatable characters. This is a Hallmark movie in the making (maybe minus a little bit of the spice).

I was not a fan of the multiple narrators or POVs.

If you liked The Holiday movie with Cameron Diaz & Kate Winslet, this is very similar to that except queer & a bit spicier.

Worth a read!

This was just ok for me. I typically LOVE this author, so this may very well be a "it's me not the book" sort of thing. I think maybe the two separate stories just didn't work well for me and my headspace at the time - I couldn't get super invested in either couple and the whole book just felt a little sluggish and predictable. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a "bad" book, but it didn't live up to my admittedly high expectations for one of my auto-buy authors.

I was seriously looking forward to this book, from the first time I saw it coming out. A great premise, two people switching places, so that they can get away from the strain of their current lives. And there was so much to unpack in this book! *Side note: I do have to say that I would not call this an LGBT romcom. It didn't strike me as a romcom at all.* It is a long book, nearly 500 pages, but when you essentially have two romance novels in one book, it's going to be a long one, and very little of the book was "filler". 

Greta, whose family is...a challenge. I honestly could not figure out how she dealt with all the family dysfunction she did for so long. Her mother was controlling, even though she pretended not to be, her oldest sister was for all intents and purposes a b*tch, and her father could not be bothered to support his child. So, Greta looked to get away, see a bit of the world, enjoy some time in the complete opposite of small town Maine, New Orleans. While she was there, she not only fell in love with Carys, but also with the city, the people, the friends she made, even the plant life. And she learned that people with mature relationships don't treat their friends and family as if their thoughts and cares don't matter. The visuals of New Orleans were so good. I just loved that!

Truman, who had another bad relationship, had to leave town to avoid being hurt further by his cheating boyfriend (small spoiler: cheating boyfriend gets his in the end :) ). He swaps with Greta, heading to Owl Island, Maine, and falls in love with the small town feel, where everyone knows everyone else, where people help each other, whether it's glass jars or helping to care for family members. And of course he falls in love with Ash, who, to be honest, was struggling. Having dealt with the exact thing Ash was going through, it is a drain, it pulls everything you have to give, until you feel stretched so thin, you're not sure how you don't break. That was the place where Ash was, and Truman was there to hold his hand, and help give him a little peace. It warmed my heart so much. When you are in that place, the smallest gesture means more than people know, and Truman did all he could to help Ash stand up and find his life again. 

This book had so much heart, so much love, and such a level of caring, not just between the four MC's, but even the side characters. Muriel, Greta's plant loving friend, Ronnie and Helen, Carys's housemates, who Greta quickly found a bond with, outside of Carys. Truman meeting the restaurant owners that Ash would be working with on their new project (now THAT was funny stuff). Ramona who was the one that put the swap into place for them. And both Truman and Greta learning how to be mature adults, engage in relationships that are not toxic. 

This book had real emotions, and connection between all the characters, main and side, and it was hard sometimes for me to remember I was reading a book, and not living some of that life myself. It broke my heart a bit in many places (hence, the not a romcom), but definitely put it back together again.

I definitely recommend this one. It's a great holiday read.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

This was a delightful story yet very full of family and life dramatics. That necessitated a house swap from Maine to New Orleans. I love a house swap story my fav holiday movie The Holiday which was more about a change of scenery and life around the holidays than the actual holiday.

Similar to that these two characters both were feeling heartache and stifled by parents. Switching places they were able to meet someone they never would have met otherwise. Luckily they both had a mutual friend that suggested the swap so they are all now a huge connected found family. I loved a LGBTQ found family.

I love when characters have baggage they have to unpack, sort and decide to keep or get rid of. Not everything is bad and we are all products of our upbringing.

Greta's family is Jewish and I loved how her new friends made her welcome by making latkes and kugel.

Thank you sourcebookscasa and netgalley for e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

The moment fall approaches and the temperatures start to drop, I start craving certain comforts - pumpkin spice (yes, I’m basic), cinnamon, a big batch of chili on the weekends, and hearty cheese-dominant casseroles. And then, inevitably, holiday movies start beckoning. Top of the list is The Holiday; the warm fuzzies, meet-cutes, and cozy vibes always do it for me.

That’s one reason I jumped at the chance to read The Holiday Trap, a lighthearted romcom that takes the central plot device in The Holiday - a house swap initiated by two characters dissatisfied with their present circumstances - and puts a modern spin on it. It’s a LGBTQIA+ love story times two, set in New Orleans (Truman, who just discovered his boyfriend has a husband and child) and on an island in Maine (Greta, who longs to escape her suffocating family), and I happily read it over the course of a day.

The overall plot is, like most romcoms, fairly predictable - especially the will-they-or-won’t-they components - but the writing is good and funny at times, and the characters are diverse and lovable. Greta and Truman feel a bit more fleshed out than some other romcom characters because we get to see what really drives them, what they’re passionate about, and it’s surprisingly relatable things, like bullet journaling (hey there, I love it too, Truman!), or a slight obsession with a fantasy novel series.

The novel also delves into family dynamics, showing the many ways our families can hinder or bolster us. And how they shape who we become, for better or worse.

Although the story takes place over the holidays, I didn’t get a strong holiday vibe; it felt like it could’ve been set at any time during the year. There are mentions of Chanukah and Christmas, but the feeling of immersion in the holidays was missing. That said, much of the book reads like a love letter to New Orleans, so it hits the mark from a travelogue standpoint. (Whether or not it’s believable from other angles is another story - I still can’t wrap my brain around how Greta somehow magically eats a pulled pork sandwich - topped with coleslaw - WHILE walking a Great Dane. Impossible.)

Overall, The Holiday Trap is an enjoyable jaunt with a memorable cast of characters. I’m glad I got to spend a day with them!

3.75/5 stars

4.5⭐
R for some queer steamy love!

If you want a cozy book to get you in the mood for holidays featuring beautiful queer characters, look no further! Billed as a queer version of the movie The Holiday, this book hit all the rom com notes for me as Greta and Truman swapped houses between Maine and New Orleans. And as a former New Orleans resident, I loved the representation of some of my favorite areas in the city too!

This book gave me all the feels. Truman's adorable optimism and Greta's found family after living in a very heterosexual town were just beautiful representations of people finding their place after different internal struggles. I just wanted to hug Truman so many times in this book as he realized he was worthy of love and I was so happy as Greta learned to stand up for herself to her family.

While at times the romances were a little underdeveloped and instalovey because it had to balance between the two characters, I fully enjoyed this book. I wanted a happy pick me up that made me feel good and it completely delivered. Plus I got the Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations too. If you want a fun queer holiday read this fall/winter, I would definitely pick this book up!

“Greta Russakoff loves her tight-knit family and tiny Maine hometown, even if they don’t always understand what it’s like to be a lesbian living in such a small world. She desperately needs space to figure out who she is.

Truman Belvedere has just had his heart crushed into a million pieces when he learned that his boyfriend of almost a year has a secret life that includes a husband and a daughter. Reeling from this discovery, all he wants is a place to lick his wounds far, far away from New Orleans.”

If you’ve always loved Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz in The Holiday, but thought, “It have been better if they were queer.” this book is for you.

The characters are adorable and kind and slightly disordered, and so diverse, you’d be hard-pressed to not find SOMEONE relatable.

Solid 6.5/10.

Thanks to NetGalley, SourceBooks Casablanca, and Dreamscape Media for the ARC.

The Holiday is one of my favorite movies. This book is now definitely one of my favorites.

Greta is from a big family of girls living on Owl Island, Maine. During a holiday event her family sets her up to be part of the auction for dates. Greta is mortified and pissed that her family would do that. They totally don't understand because she's queer. Greta vents to her friend Ramona.

Truman has been dating Guy for a year and decides to surprise him at his house. When he finds out Guy is married. Truman is heartbroken and complains to his friend Ramona.

Ramona decides that they should swap houses for a month.

I just adored this book. It's a big book and I was able to read it in settings and was sad when I it ended. There are so many great quotes and I just loved it so much.

LGBTQIA+ Romance Book??...I'm in!!!🏳️‍🌈

Greta's life in The Owl Island is not what she wanted. Truman's decisions made him hate himself for staying in New Orleans. They want to leave their house and stay away from their life for some days. But cannot. As the former have to take care of plants and the latter, a dog.

But now, how about a house swap??
Brilliant. No need to stress about plants and pets. Both of them gets what they want.

Live the lives of Truman and Greta through The Holiday Trap. A sweet romance with a touch of perfect spiciness🤌

Ahhh😩😩 A perfect romance book after a long time. I loved all the characters. I loved the story. I loved everything.

🌼 Multiple Character POVs
🌼 Dog Parents
🌼 Double dose of queer love
🌼 Plant Mom

I totally loved the idea of house swap. But I don't think it will workout in India. Even if it happens, we will land in a house with their families😶..and it will become a family swap🤧 So...No, thank you.

The cover totally makes sense. It conveys a lot of story.

I would totally recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

This one is basically the movie The Holiday but make it queer. We have Truman and Greta as our main characters here, but for a romance we’re used to having only one couple as the *main* couple. In The Holiday Trap, we follow two couples and both get equal treatment. I think it worked for the most part, and we do get two complete romances here, but I did find myself wondering what a full book for each would have looked like.

Overall I liked both romances and the side characters in each romance, but there was a lot I wanted to explore that we didn't get to.

This book was really cute and I loved it. I feel in love with the characters pretty quickly. It was definitely a cute Christmas book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of The Holiday Trap by Poan Oarrish. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for providing an ARC to review.

The Holiday Trap was an easy and sweet read. The Holiday Trap introduces us to two unlucky in love characters who agreed to switch houses to escape their problems. Greta and Truman, and their love interests, were likable, and I was very invested in their HEA. I did feel that the plot was simplified since it was split into two smaller stories. But I could overlook this negative. I enjoyed this book and gave it a solid 3.5/5.