I was so excited to take part in the The Christmas Swap read-along with One More Chapter, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. This was my first read-along with OMC and it was so fun and interactive. Having so many people posting and reading along with me, including Sandy Barker! OMC encouraged us with book discussion question, photo prompts, and trivia but my favorite part was the live with Sandy.
Think about the movie “The Holiday” but on steroids. Other reviewers have said this was a “hug of a book”, “like a cup of Christmas tea by a cozy fire” and I couldn’t agree more. Readers are taken to Melborne, Australia, Oxfordshire, England and Denver, Colorado when 3 friends that met when their families were on vacation in Maui when the friends were children, swap where they spend their holiday.
Chloe, from Melbourne, is bummed that her parents decided to travel for holiday so she travels to Oxfordshire, England and spends time with Jules’ parents. She also ends up meeting the boy next door that happens to be someone she already knew existed.
Jules who desired a white Christmas decides to travel to Denver, Colorado where she learns a lot about herself and builds self confidence by navigating Lucy’s loud and opinionated family.
Lucy who wants to spend some time in a warm, exotic location sets off to spend Orphan’s Christmas with Chloe’s friends, including a wine maker that changes the path Lucy is headed.
All three girls discover so much about themselves when they were out of their normal element and able to look at what they really want out of life and learn to understand their friends in a deeper way. I fell so in love with these girls and their stories but maybe even more with those beautiful locales. I was able to picture myself in each place by the beautiful writing as Sandy spilled her heart onto the pages for us to enjoy. The Christmas Swap was a delightful story and everything I look for in a Christmas story.
I gave this 5 stars and would have given more if I could.
Thank you One More Chapter, Sandy Barker and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Army of Readers 