4 stars

It's Christmas in July!

I was craving a holiday book to read this summer, ad when I got accepted to read this book, a Roan Parrish book no less, I was over the moon! I've really enjoyed Roan Parrish's books in the past so I was very excited to dive into this one!

If you've seen the move The Holiday and loved it, then this book is perfect for you! It is very reminiscent of that movie, following Greta and Truman who do a house swap with each other with Greta ending up in New Orleans and Truman in Owl Island. The book follows both of these characters and their discoveries of love ad themselves while living in a new place.

This book had it's fair share of cute elements, steamy elements, and also serious elements that are mentioned throughout the book that we discover about the characters.

Out of the two, my favourtie couple has to be Truman and Ash! I love a good creative bullet-journaling character and a shy florist coming together!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the earc in return for an honest review.

This was a cute, enjoyable read. It grabbed my interest quickly and I was invested in the characters throughout and never felt bored or had to push myself to keep reading. There were some things that didn't work for me, but overall I'd definitely recommend it as a low stress read, with the caveat that it does have some piercingly sad elements surrounding caring for an elderly family member and dealing with dementia. Romance wise, I'd say the spice level is medium. There aren't a lot of sex scenes but the ones included are pretty spicy. I always appreciate when books show there isn't just one way to have sex and all different kinds of sex can be hot and meaningful, and this book did a great job of that.

Things I loved:
-I really liked Truman, Ash, Greta, and most of the side characters
-Loved all the plant talk and descriptions
-Really enjoyed the scenes in New Orleans. Both locations felt a little like armchair travel. Very much enjoyed feeling like I got to "visit" someplace new
-The author mystery plot line was really fun. The cave scene was PERFECTION.
-Appreciated the way Greta's arc was mostly about gaining agency over her life
-A lot of the family dynamics rang really true for me personally
-This was a quick read, as I mentioned above I never got bored, which is somewhat rare for me as a reader

Things that didn't work as well for me:
-The whole bit with messages from Ramona (the shared friend of the two people who switch houses) added nothing for me.

-The pacing and dual storylines mostly worked well for me, but at one point, something huge has happened with one of the couples and then we switch to the other couple and it was just hard to care what was going on with them because it felt way more low stakes.

-So I really liked Greta and seeing her fall in love with New Orleans. But the romance between Greta and Carys didn't really work for me. This might be a me thing, because I just didn't like Carys all that much and I'm more of a slow burn person. But we also don't get to know her that well. I think their romance would have worked better as a dual POV so I could better understand Carys. As it was, I don't know much about her and it never really felt like she cared that deeply for Greta. When there's suddenly some gushing lovey-dovey stuff towards the end from Carys it felt so out of character because we haven't seen that side of her at all. I just didn't feel like these two people were uniquely suited to one another and never got the impression Carys was in love with Greta.

-I also had real issues with some of the confrontations Carys and Greta have. I think I understand what the author was going for, and having family members with boundary issues, I can imagine scenarios where Carys's reactions would be absolutely justified, but that didn't seem like the case here. Carys isn't at all emphatic about what she wants, and her reactions to not getting exactly what she wants seem so overblown. With the ice cream scene for example, Carys shows no flexibility, or willingness to make new traditions that include Greta. She seems to expect Greta to be a mind reader. I found it baffling. In both instances, if instead Carys had been very clear about her boundaries and why those boundaries mattered to her beforehand, and then Greta had gone against her wishes feeling that she knew best, then it all would have made sense to me. As it was, I just felt like Carys was apt to blow up at Greta for very little reason and it really made me uneasy. (Greta and Carys's romance not working would have been a bigger issue for me, except that I loved every other aspect of Greta's arc, and really loved her falling in love with New Orleans, so I cared less about the romance)

-I was also annoyed that we get this whole take on how whatever people say they want you should believe and you need to respect people's boundaries and then immediately afterwards, we have Greta telling Truman to disregard what Ash has said because she knows he doesn't really mean it?!!! And I don't want Greta involved in Truman and Ash's love life and holding interventions. I want them to be adults and talk to one another themselves.

-The ending felt a little too neat. Especially the plot around Ash's mother. I wish we'd seen that there are still a lot of challenges but that having a partner in dealing with them lightens the load, rather than it seeming like everything was suddenly easy breezy.

Overall, recommend as a cozy, cute read that I really did enjoy, even if not all the elements worked for me.

3.5 / 5
Really like this LGBT version of "The Holiday". It was refreshing to see all this representation and so well done!
Loved Truman and Ash story; like A LOT. If it was just their story I would've given it more stars for sure. It was just so sweet, adorable, and real. Ash situation with his mother was so sad but at the same time, it felt very necessary to talk about such topics.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy Greta and Carys story. But...for me, it just dragged on for too long. I didn't vibe that much with all the sub-plots and all those secondary characters. I appreciated seeing so many important topics being discussed; however, I feel like Carys was speaking as if she were a therapist all the time.

I loved the first 3/4 of this book, but it kind of lost me at the end. For starters, Carys became so controlling it started to feel like gaslighting. The ending also went on way too long & wrapped up way too easily. The one thing I did appreciate was that Greta & her family being Jewish didn’t feel like tokenism nor did it feel like they had to explain to others how Judaism worked as if they had never heard of Judaism before.

The Holiday but make it LGBTQ+?!?! YES PLEASE!!! I was so excited to get this book. Absolutely thrilled. The concept was more than promising.

Greta and Truman are both having issues in their own lives due to love and relationships. Mutual friend Ramona saves the day. What if they switch a la The Holiday? Truman to Maine and Greta to New Orleans. What ensues is the perfect mix of a love story with both having the time and peace to also find themselves in the process.

Truman is the hands down best character of this story and many before it. Hes just so damn sweet kind, and loveable. Watching his relationship progress with Ash was magic and you truly can't help but root for him. While we also get to see Greta fall in love herself, her story of finding herself and overcoming everything that was holding her back was the very best thing we see her do. While admittedly some parts of the book did drag a bit, as a whole this book was just lovely. The gender representation was done perfectly and this is probably the most diverse book I've had the pleasure of reading. Grab this one as soon as it comes out, crank up the a.c., and snuggle up with a hot cocoa while you pretend the holidays are near. I promise you won't be disappointed!

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Roan Parrish, and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this eARC.

Christmas/Hanukkah in July entry 2.

I love a house swap concept - isn't it the dream to make one big change and just feel all the rest of the puzzle pieces of your life fit right together? Greta and Truman both need this life shakeup, and when they swap houses (in Owl Island, Maine and New Orleans), EVERYTHING CHANGES! This was a lighter-than average Roan Parrish, but there was still some angst.

5 stars for the inclusion of a pet pig. I did wish the stories had interacted slightly more, maybe? But really, I thought this was so fun. I've never loved New Orleans more!

Also, I've had aa headache all day, and finally perking up a bit to read the last part of this helped.

Think "The Holiday" but an LGBTQ+ version! Told in back-and-forth dual perspectives, this romance novel was super adorable and fun starting with absolutely precious meet-cutes as Greta and Truman, respectively, met their dream partners during a Christmastime house swap experiment. It's super cute, however, was a bit slow to start but eventually gets easier to get sucked in once you're hooked. And, um, fair warning, um, yeah, there's some steaminess in vivid detail.

I really enjoyed reading it, but it also didn’t blow me way. Because there are two storylines it didn’t feel like we got to spend enough time with either of them. I also would have liked the stories to be more connected to each other. To have both characters interact more with Ramona and have more interactions with Ash and Greta.

The Holiday is my favourite holiday movie, and this book sounded so much like it. Not to mention that Roan Parrish is one of my favourite romance authors. So I've been VERY excited to read this, and I had such a good time with it.

When Truman finds out his boyfriend is actually married with a child, and when Greta's mum and sister sign her up for an auction where she gets "sold" to go on a date with some guy, even though they know she's a lesbian, they both decide they could use some time away from home. Enter a mutual friend, and their house swap is quickly arranged. Truman goes to the island in Maine where Greta lives to take care of her MANY plants, and Greta goes to Truman's place in New Orleans to take care of his Great Dane, Horse.

What I loved most about this wasn't just the romance, even though both romances were just SO lovely. It's that outside of the romances, both Truman and Greta finally get a chance to pause and contemplate about their lives so far and if those are actually working for them. They get to figure out if something should change, and they learn that they're in charge of their own lives and are allowed to ask for what they want and make choices for themselves. So outside of a lovely double romance (both m/m and f/f), we also get a really introspective, inspirational story about going after what you want in life and not molding yourself into what other people want.

I’m on the fence.

I was expecting a cutesy queer version of The Holiday (the Kate Winslet movie), which technically we sort of get. Greta wants to escape from her overbearing family who have zero understanding about how hard it is being queer in a small town, and Truman wants to runaway from his heartache over learning his ex-boyfriend has a husband and a child. Thanks to their mutual friend's idea, they switch homes for a month for a change of scenery.

I was on board and here for it, but I just didn’t click with it. I struggled to like Greta, although I really loved Truman, and felt like his storyline was much cuter and enjoyable than hers. Others than that I liked it, but it didn’t blow me away or make me swoon like I anticipated.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great read and i was smiling all through. Greta and Truman are so alike and different in many ways but they’re both deserving of love and watching them get that love was so satisfying. Also house swapping is apparently the best way to find love now.

A woman who has been stuck in her tight knit family in a tiny hometown is finally making a change after her family crosses too many boundaries and a man who has had his heart crushed by a recent boyfriend in a horrific way decides it’s time to recover, both of them share one thing in common, or rather one friend in common, and said friend has offered them the solution to their problems: trade homes for a month! Greta Russakoff loves her family and her small Maine hometown, but they don’t understand what its like to be a lesbian living in such a small community, and they really don’t understand space. So when her family puts her into a auction for a date without her consent its the last straw. Greta needs a break away from it all and when she tells her friend Ramona, she tells her to do it, finally take the leap and leave...but Greta needs someone to look after her houseplants, they’re the only thing she truly loves. Truman Belvedere has just found out that his boyfriend of almost a year has a secret, the fact that he already has a husband and child. Reeling from this Truman needs to get far far away from New Orleans, so when he confesses to his friend Ramona, she offers a solution, Truman and Greta house swap for a month, both of them will get to experience a new place and change. Over the winter holidays each of them will get a chance to meet new people. fall in love, and discover new things about themselves and the places they are staying at. Greta finds herself falling for a tour guide of haunted places named Carys and really falling in love with New Orleans as she finally has breathing space away from her family. Truman finds himself falling and befriending a florist who also happens to be Greta’s friend named Ash. Both of them will have to decide if this new place is the perfect place for them and if they’ve finally made a home for themselves. This was a super cute LGBTQ read with a touch of holiday magic and romance!

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I really, really enjoyed this book. It was sweet, romantic, funny, and charming and I found it hard to put down!

this was a cute read but not something I would rave about. it depends what someone is looking for if I would recommend.

Despite having no idea what this one was about, I picked it up as soon as my ARC request was approved. The holiday concept caught my eye immediately, and even though it's the middle of summer, a Christmas book always hits. Sadly though, this one didn't end up wowing.

And I think the reason this struggled was the dual plotlines. I get it, this is a house-swap novel, we needed both perspectives. But while this works in movies, it didn't translate well to a book. As soon as one couple had an adorable moment, we'd get dragged to the other.

And it felt like we were constantly being dragged into Carys/Greta's story. They just weren't as compelling. I liked the gardening, and I liked some of the interactions, but Greta's utter inability to hold a conversation with Carys bugged me. Plus, I didn't care at all for Greta's family issues.

Truman and his partner (forgot his name, whoops) were adorable. The floral shop was the cutest setting, and all of their ideas to make it productive were fun. I loved them, but I couldn't rate a book I only liked half of higher. Not my book, but one I can see doing well

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review