While I enjoyed following the two stories, I think it made it hard to fully develop each relationship since only so much time could be dedicated to them. Despite that though the book followed two sweet love stories and one great friendship story. Bonus points for the most hate-able ex possible being included! It was nice to switch between the two locations too, switching between the warmth and the cold helped distinguish the two stories.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Holiday Honeymoon Switch
by Julia McKay

dual POV
forced-proximity
holiday-themed
second-chance-romance
minimal spice

Dumped before her wedding by her fiancé, Holly swaps her Hawaiian honeymoon plans for Ivy’s winter cabin in the Hudson Valley. Meanwhile, Ivy takes Holly’s place in Hawaii.
I only feel like it wasn't enough time to focus on both storylines but great Christmas feel
overall I enjoyed it

a hallmark movie in a hawaiian setting. need i say more?

thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an arc!

3.75 This cute book reminded me a bit of the movie the holiday and I really had a fun time with it. In this book we follow two friends Holly and Ivy, Holly engagement breaks off the day before the wedding instead of going on her honeymoon Holly decides Ivy will go on the honeymoon while she will take her art trip to Ny. Trying to help her best friend Ivy agrees and heads to Hawaii. The two friends discover what they want in life and find some romance along the way. I really thought this was a cute entertaining book there were a few slow points that made me lose interest in the middle but overall I enjoyed the writing characters and pacing. This is my first book from this author but I would definitely pick up more from her in the future. I would like to thank net galley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch is hands down one of the cutest books I’ve ever read! This story was a such a rollercoaster of humor and love. I absolutely LOVED Holly and Ivy’s friendship, they were so in sync and their bond was the true heart of the book. These two are literally "bury-the-body" besties, reminded me of Mary Ann and Wanda from the song Goodbye Earl! Their dynamic was hilarious and heartwarming.

When Holly’s fiancé leaves her with a nonrefundable honeymoon, she convinces Ivy to switch places with her and go in her place so she can work on her art. Holly’s decision to escape to Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin for some much-needed healing was very relatable. We all need a little get away here and there to heal! The plot twists with Holly's ex-fiancé had me turning the pages faster and faster!

The romance in this book was so swoon-worthy. I especially loved Holly’s encounters with her rugged, glow-up high school rival turned Airbnb host. The chemistry between them would light a fire in any furnace and Ivy's holiday escape to Hawaii turned out to be much more than she expected, thanks to a super-hot hotel bartender who saves the day in the most unexpected and charming way.

This book is 5 stars without a doubt!

Loved the dual stories going on and how each friend found love when not looking for it. The hilarious situations in Hawaii - I could just see jumping behind bushes and got such a great kick out of it.

Then the old school rivals... but make him all grown up, hot and successful. So many things going on in the book but they all made sense together. Having the best friends on 2 very different adventures made for a very fun read.

All I want for Christmas is a super smutty, well written, not cheesy, fun holiday romp. Sadly, this wasn’t it. This book was decent enough…but “decent enough” won’t compel my body to produce enough dopamine to make me feel happy and alive. Bah humbug!!

The main characters here are named Holly and Ivy. Insert roll eyeball face here. Holly is planning a big dumb wedding to a big dumb frat boy with lots of red flags (the biggest being that she doesn’t really like him that much). He dumps her the night before the wedding and Holly tells Ivy to go on her honeymoon in Hawaii, while Holly goes to upstate NY to stay in Ivy’s holiday Airbnb.

Before you get too sad for Holly and her lame ass upstate NY vacay- the airbnb owner is a totally hottie who just happened to go to high school with Holly AND had a huge crush on her. What are the odds??? In about 17 seconds Holly is all “Frat Boy Who?” and immediately inserts herself into the little upstate town like she’s lived there for her whole life. Calm down bortch, you’re on vacation. In Hawaii, Ivy tries not to get down and dirty with a babelicious bartender/photographer/surfer/gypsy (he prob has an std), but eventually gives in and turns her vacation into a sexcation. Honestly, nothing much really happens besides theses two women finding vacay snacks and going to town on them, but it was still sorta boring bc I am dead inside and apparently need a lot of filth wrapped in tension tinsel and heated by giant yule logs to feel anything this holiday season.

If you have a soul and like a sweet little holiday romance with zero tension, you may enjoy this one.

Smut- 1.78 stars
Romance- 3.21 stars
Story- 2.98 stars
Expecting a cheesy Christmas romance to hit all the dopamine receptors- neg 6.83 stars

This romcom had a super unique setup and I actually really loved that it jumped back and forth between two different love stories, as well as their friendship! This gave me the best holiday/winter vibes with there being two completely different locations and it makes me want to take a tropical vacation. This gave me hallmark movie vibes.

"The Holiday Honeymoon Switch" by Julia McKay offers a fresh spin on post-wedding cancellation chaos. When Holly's fiancé calls off their wedding, she and her best friend Ivy swap their planned holidays. Holly retreats to Ivy's booked cabin in the Hudson Valley for solitude, while Ivy takes Holly's nonrefundable Hawaiian honeymoon.

The switch becomes complicated when Holly's ex appears at the Hawaiian resort with his new girlfriend. Determined to protect Holly from further hurt, Ivy keeps this development secret, even as she finds herself homeless at the resort – until a sympathetic bartender steps in. Meanwhile, Holly's retreat is disrupted when the cabin's owner turns out to be her high school rival.

McKay skillfully balances both storylines, weaving them together while vividly depicting both locations. Her rich descriptions transport readers from Hawaii's beaches to the Hudson Valley's serene landscape.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam.

A fun holiday dual POV read.

At times felt a little to insta-love and had me hoping for a little more depth from both main characters and their storylines.

Cute holiday romance. Liked the dual point of view. Loved the characters names! Perfect for a holiday romance. I liked that it wasn’t just your typical romance but also about the love of a friend

This was a cute but predictable friends to lovers tale. Enjoyable and gave me "The Holiday" movie vibes.

This book had so much potential as a dual point of view holiday romance, but sadly fell short for me.

A lot of my issues with the book had to do with the writing style. I felt like the dialogue was lacking in both quality and depth and there was so much left unsaid between the characters. The storylines moved way too quickly with both friends falling in love in less than a week - impressively quick even by hallmark movie standards. There were also a couple of details that didn’t add up…

Overall, this one just left a lot to be desired.

I really wanted to love this one, I loved the synopsis and The Holiday is one of my favorite holiday movies, but it fell flat for me. Ideally I would've enjoyed this more if it had been split into separate books.

I loved The Holiday Honeymoon Switch! Granted, reading it right after my return from Kauai during December, to cold in the PNW probably didn't hurt. I got ALL the feels from this book. A wholesome story of friendship and love, it's the perfect holiday treat. From warm beaches in Hawaii, to romantic cabins in the woods, this has a little of everything.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this arc in return for my honest review.

Pub date: 08 October 2024

I’m so torn on how I feel about this book. On one hand I loved the female friendship aspect but on the other hand I felt like the book was at least a hundred pages to long and wish that this book could have been split into two stand alone novels in order to have more plot and character development. As someone who loves the movie The Holiday, I feel like I had higher expectations for this book and it just fell short for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Sometimes Insta-Love works, and sometimes it doesn't. This was one of those "it doesn't" books for me!

The start of the book was amazing. The plot starts with Holly's fiance leaving her because he felt they were only marrying each other because it was safe and what others wanted. Holly in her despair wants to switch New Year's trips with Ivy so that Holly can spend time in solitude and Ivy can draw the beach for her art retreat. I feel in many books recently the love interests are clique or unlikable, but I loved the main characters and the love interests in this story. Plenty of characterization made each character have their own quirks and faults, making the plot move along smoothly. However, I did not feel the chemistry between the characters. The relationships in the book felt forced to keep the story moving. Therefore, the plot felt forced as the relationships had to solidify by the end of the story for both characters to have a happy ending. Overall, the story was cute and had amazing characters, but it felt rushed and forced.

I wanted to love this one since The Holiday is one of my favorite movies, but I think it was a lot to fit in 300 pages. I wish Holly and Ivy got separate books because then it wouldn't feel rushed or insta-lovey. Overall it was a cute holiday read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Putnam books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review!