⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -NetGalley ARC

<b>Description:</b>
Lonely-hearted waitress Katie Smith has nowhere to go for Christmas, and a huge crush on her gorgeous diner patron Juan Martinez. So when Juan asks Katie to pose as his girlfriend for holiday festivities at his family's winery, Katie leaps at the chance…that is, until an accident lands Juan in a coma right after giving his folks the "news" Katie knows she should tell the Martinezes the truth, but when they immediately embrace her, Katie is reluctant to let her fantasy of a family holiday go. And then there's Juan's brother, Mateo, whose smile tugs at her heartstrings just right—and who tells her perfect Juan might not be everything he seems.
Second son Mateo Martinez loves his brother, but Juan's plan to "rebrand and expand" Los Cielos Cellars has cost their family too much and put its entire tradition in jeopardy. Katie seems to understand, but she's still committed to Juan…even when Mateo starts to wish her gentle heart and beautiful smile were committed to him instead. With the winery at stake, secrets on all sides, and Juan due to wake up any day, can Katie and Mateo follow their hearts to a Christmas miracle, or will this mix-up ruin their chances?

This book reminded me of While You Were Sleeping, but with a fun Puerto Rican holiday twist. It’s everything you want in a romantic Christmas book. A close knit family, holiday traditions, a heartwarming storyline, and interesting characters that will have you wishing you could jump inside the pages to spend Christmas with them. Atmospheric and emotional. It tugged at my heart strings a few times and I’m not ashamed to say I may have even got a little teary eyed. Highly recommended!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This was just ok for me. Felt a little juvenile and I did not vibe with any of the characters. Maybe it’s me and not the book.

This is a cute "while you were sleeping" romance that has cozy holiday vibes and a funny and loving family setting. A great holiday read.

Oh sweet gingerbread, this was just wanted I wanted! There's something about holiday reads that are rooted in big, boisterous families, a chaotic 'problem', and of course the sprinkling of romantic yearning.

A terrific kick-off to my yearly deep binge of holiday romances and *only* holiday romances for a solid 4 months. I don't have any idea on how Ginny Baird managed to make every single character, even in the 'heartbreak' or tense moments, so freaking lovable but it was certainly accomplished. Honestly, I don't blame Katie one bit for jumping at the fake girlfriend when it resulted in a winery family filled with Christmas magic and love. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and this took such a fun spin on it while also completely ripping it apart for how it typically flows and remolding it.

Kate is a waitress at a diner and has a huge crush on Juan, one of her regular patrons. When he asks her to be his fake girlfriend for Christmas to get his family off his back, she immediately agrees hoping this will be her chance with him. He makes her promise to not tell anyone about their secret. However, that secret gets a lot more complicated when Juan gets hit by a car crossing the street and ends up in a coma, right after texting his family about his new girlfriend Kate. She gets wrapped up in all of the family time and plays along pretending to be his girlfriend until he wakes up, because a promise is a promise. Only she starts to develop feelings for his brother as she spends more time with Juan’s family.

This book reminded me so much of the classic rom com While You Were Sleeping and I was here for it. In fact, immediately after finishing, I texted my sister (another rom com loving queen) and told her she needed to read it, because what could bring joy like While You Were Sleeping but make it Christmas and Latinx characters? Literally, nothing. This is the holiday book I didn’t know I needed and I had a smile on my face throughout reading it. I FLEW through it because it brought me so much joy and I didn’t want to stop. I fell in love with the Martinez family and wanted so badly for Kate to be able to be one of them. I loved all of their family traditions and all of the nods to Puerto Rican culture throughout the story. This might end up being my favorite holiday read this year!

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Yes,yes this was was like a good While you were sleeping 90s romcom movie. Super sweet and extra cute book

This is two of my favorite 90s rom-com movies meshed into one. I absolutely adored this book! I fell completely head over heels for Katie and Mateo. I love Ginny Baird and I will always buy her books because it is a guaranteed to be a great read that will reel you in and take you for a ride. This book is one of my favorites of hers. 5 out of 5 read!!!
I just reviewed The Holiday Mix-Up by Ginny Baird. #NetGalley
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A cute and cozy story that definitely reminded me of While You Were Sleeping (a movie I love!). Would recommend for someone who likes a “closed door” story, a light read and enjoys Hallmark movies.

I want to thank NetGalley, Ginny Baird and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Sourcebooks Casablanca for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

The Holiday Mix-Up explores what if While You Were Sleeping was set in a vineyard. I absolutely love that movie so it was fun to read and see the story again told in a different way but it was fairly predictable since it was so similar. I enjoyed it though, it was a cute read and the characters were charming. And as with the movie, the family was truly the star of the show.

Overall, I admit it was cute. To be honest I liked Katie. In fake dating tropes I can find the FMC's decisions to be hard to read through but this time I honestly enjoyed Katie's POV. I won't lie the insta-love did throw me off. Like why are you instantly attracted to your brother's supposed girlfriend?? Freak. Anywho...it did what it needed to do. :)

This was a fun reimagining of While You Were Sleeping. I love that movie so I was excited to read this book. I really appreciated the differences and changes the author made to make this book not feel like an exact copy. Most of the book is quick and enjoyable. However, it drags toward the middle/end and feels a bit longer than it needs to be. The relationship development is missing a bit for me, especially since it felt so long. But everything wraps up nicely and I especially enjoyed the characters! 3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my very own.

3 stars - This book was a cute holiday romance. but not too exciting. The romance between Katie and Mateo was not very convincing because she fell for him very quickly. I thought the Martinez family was lovable. The ending was predictable.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book had me at the description of While You Were Sleeping meets The Wedding Date - and it lived up to the hype. This was a light-hearted fall read that I would recommend for any rom-com lover.

I wanted to like this book and I am always grateful to receive an ARC. This book was so tired-I felt no empathy for the main characters.

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

I absolutely love When You Were Sleeping - so any remake is a win in my book. I enjoyed the author's take on this book and edition of the Puerto Rican culture. In this take, the "coma" brother asks our heroine (begs) for her to fake-date, so her plight of being taken in by this lovely family and not wanting to admit the truth - is a lot more understandable.

2.5 stars rounded to 3 for the sake of this rating system

I received this book from Netgalley to read and review and I was really excited by the premise, only to be let down by the writing. 'Show, Don't Tell' means nothing to this author, apparently, as everything was overexplained and stated in plain words instead of demonstrated to us through actions and emotions. None of the characters were particularly likable. The holiday season is a short one -- spend it reading better books.

A remake of When You Were Sleeping, The Holiday Mix-Up is a light-hearted, sweet Christmas romance. I really enjoy the build up of tension between Matteo and Katie and Abuela,Titi Mon and Pia, the women of the Martinez family, are all top-tier secondary characters.

A sweet Christmas romance.

Katie has had a crush on Juan for awhile. One day he asks her to come home with him for the holidays with his family and pretend to be his girlfriend. Katie agrees. She has no family left and no plans and she hopes helping Juan will cause him to finally have feelings for her.

But things do not go as planned. Juan tells his whole family he’s bringing Katie home for Christmas and then he gets into an accident and winds up in a coma, and then Katie meets the entire family who thinks she’s Juan’s girlfriend.

Because Katie is actually the one to save Juan during his accident, his family invites her to lunch to thank her. But Katie gets pulled in deeper and deeper as they keep inviting her to family events.

The thing is, Katie is having so much fun with Juan’s family. She doesn’t want to mislead them and she also doesn’t want to loose them.
But she’s falling for Juan’s brother Matteo which is complicated by the fact that she’s pretending to be his brother’s girlfriend.

There’s drama but never too much to make for a light, sweet story.

I can’t blame Katie for loving this family.

This was a quick, enjoyable read.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley, thanks!

This is such a fun holiday rom-com! Think While You Were Sleeping meets The Other Zoey, with Puerto Rican flair.

Waitress Katie has a massive crush on diner patron Juan, so when he suggests she come see his family for Christmas as his fake girlfriend, she’s all in! Maybe this is their chance, and it can become something real.

Except before their fake date can happen, he’s injured and is placed in a coma. His terrified (and amazing, I love them) family takes her under their wing while he recovers— and she’d promised him not to spill their secret. So why does it feel so wrong to lie to them?

Especially when Mateo, Juan’s brother, is quickly becoming the real man of her dreams. But how can she ever be with Mateo if he thinks she’s with his brother?

I love this story, and Mateo’s family. Katie only wants to do the right thing by everyone— and to have a family, after losing hers. And Mateo is so scared of being hurt. Firmly gripped in reality, Mateo is more dubious than most, especially given Juan has a tendency to be overly optimistic. Even so, Mateo immediately takes to Katie, and it’s magical.

Think yearning, forbidden love, a business that needs to be saved in time for Christmas— this has it all! I’m a sucker for forbidden love, and it’s excellent here.

How these two are meant for each other is obvious and well written. The slow burn works perfectly, and the ending is more than satisfying. This is a sweet holiday read that’s perfect for the season! If holiday romances are your thing, you have to add this to your list!