"Maybe we're all just works in progress."
I do not think I am the type of reader who likes cheesy casual novels or holiday books like The Holiday Swap.
When Chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses her critical ability to taste and smell. Meanwhile, Charlie’s identical twin, Cass, is frantically trying to hold her own life together back in their quaint mountain hometown while running the family’s bakery and dealing with the breakup that just won't end. With only days until Christmas, a desperate Charlie and Cass do something they haven’t done since they were kids: switch places. But when rugged firefighter Jake Greenman and gorgeous physicians assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix, will the twin’s identity swap be a recipe for disaster or for getting their lives back on track.
I have chosen some outstanding books with Book of the Month (a monthly book subscription where you pick from five books specially chosen for that month), and sometimes, I pick out a book like this. Before I get into my review, I want to say that THIS BOOK IS NOT BAD! It is probably a lovely Christmas/Holiday read with two relationships in two hilarious situations. It is just not my cup of tea.
If you, the reader, switched places with your identical twin sister for 12 days to save her career, would you fall in love with a handsome firefighter? If you, the reader, switched places with your identical twin sister for 12 days to save her career, would you fall in love with your hot doctor? Switching spots with an identical twin is not a new concept, and I love seeing what different films, shows, and books do with it to make it their own. Getting characters back into their everyday lives after the events of the switch is always challenging for me to accept. Most of the time, to me, it feels like a last-minute effort by the author to wrap up the story with a happy ending. To be honest, I skimmed through the last 100 or so pages of this book, so all I know about the conclusion is that the last chapter is set one year in the future, and the twins live happily ever after with no conflict. The duo authors of this novel, Karma Brown and Marisa Stapley, focused on the idea of the switch and not coming back to reality. This is a casual holiday read, so it makes sense that there isn’t severe conflict or drama, but I can’t get behind the book’s content.
This book is very confusing when it comes to names if you haven’t read it yourself. The twins switch places and go by each other's names. Both of their names also start with a C. Sorry if it gets a little confusing.
Let’s start with Charlie and Jake's relationship. Charlie takes over Cass’ life in their parent’s small-town bakery. Charlie meets Jake, already friends with her twin Cass before the switch. It gets weird when Jake starts falling in love with “Cass,” who is actually Charlie pretending to be Cass. They fall in love because the novel wouldn’t be satisfying if they didn’t. So, Jake falls in love with Charlie, but he thought it was “Cass.” How did Jake not notice that he was talking to the twin of the person he had known for so long? I'm sure that Cass has mentioned her identical twin sister before, so it just baffles my mind that this small town wasn’t going into detective mode as soon as “Cass” almost burnt down the bakery. Maybe it’s just me, but if my best friend had a twin sister, I feel like I would know the difference between her and her twin sister.
As for Cass and Miguel, I do not like their relationship. Cass goes from her small town bakery to taking over Charlie’s life as a reality baking show host. Charlie’s annoying co-host Austin and her are competing for a new hosting job. Cass takes Charlie’s place because she hits her head and loses her taste and sense of smell. Cass, who is now “Charlie,” falls in love with the doctor Miguel who took care of the real Charlie after hitting her head. I wish that Miguel was not her love interest. From the beginning, I wanted Cass to fall in love with the co-host Austin who usually hates Charlie. It would be hilarious to see a connection between them and have Cass explain to Charlie what she would have to deal with when she gets back.
I am determined to read something else before the end of the year because there is no way that I can let this be my last book of 2021. Maybe other people really like this book. It has a 3.8/5 on Goodreads, so some people must like it. Personally, I won’t be choosing another cheesy romance on Book of the Month for a while.
As I was skimming through the last 50 pages, my dad told me something along the lines of:
“There are so many amazing books out there, so don’t waste your time reading ones you don’t like.” I know there are people who can’t start something and not finish it. I am not one of those people. So, if you don’t like a book about halfway through, don’t finish it. Find something you enjoy instead.
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