Jaelyn reviewed Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels
Review of 'Christmas Swap' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
(I missed posting the review last year- putting it here a year late!)
Next on my queer Christmas romcom list, it’s fake dating a guy at his countryside mansion to please his parents but then falling for his sister. Which is an identical set-up to Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones which I read last year. But thankfully beyond that set up they’re fairly different.
Margot has just come out of an abusive relationship and any friend she had that wasn’t through her girlfriend she neglected long ago. So when a business connection Ben asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend so he doesn’t show up his parents’ perfect Christmas, she goes for that rather than be alone.
But while they orchestrate the perfect fake relationship to fool his family, she falls for real for his sister, Ellie. That is, after Ellie spends …
Next on my queer Christmas romcom list, it’s fake dating a guy at his countryside mansion to please his parents but then falling for his sister. Which is an identical set-up to Make You Mine This Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones which I read last year. But thankfully beyond that set up they’re fairly different.
Margot has just come out of an abusive relationship and any friend she had that wasn’t through her girlfriend she neglected long ago. So when a business connection Ben asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend so he doesn’t show up his parents’ perfect Christmas, she goes for that rather than be alone.
But while they orchestrate the perfect fake relationship to fool his family, she falls for real for his sister, Ellie. That is, after Ellie spends a few days trying to reveal Margot as a golddigger after her brother’s money. Queue midnight rendezvous by the lake as they seek romance away from prying eyes. That’s not going to go wrong, right?
There are some interesting strands throughout, such as Margot coming to terms with the emotional abuse she suffered, grandpa’s deteriorating mind, Ben’s long lost childhood love and the perils of vegan baking. It’s a sweet story for Christmas that hits some warm but meaningful notes.
