Lila works as an employee at the Bookwork Inn's gift shop. Her focus is earning enough money to prepare for college next year but with so many part-time employees vying for extra work hours during the holidays, plus a new employee coming, Lila has limited options.
In comes Teddy, the nephew of Bookwork Inn's owner, Lou Velasco. Lila was curious about her boss' nephew, and it would have been awesome to have a new friend to work with, right? When Teddy and Lila meet for the first time, their first impressions of each other are not good. Lila would have wanted to limit her contact with Teddy. But when Lila is tasked to train Teddy at the gift shop, Lila's nerves and patience are tested further as they clash in so many ways. From how to organize the souvenir display to rearranging Lila's prize location - the Free Library, Lila's Type A personality clashes with Teddy's "out-of-the-box" ideas/suggestions. The result is a boatload of frustrations, misunderstanding, extra banter, and much later completing the list of Mission: Holly*.
*You have to read the book to know what's it is all about!

Top 5 Reasons to read The Holiday Switch.

1.) Filipino cultures represented!
Filipino culture, respect, family, and love are peppered throughout this small-town story, which echos the spread and importance Filipinos place these elements on their daily lives. The type of business and occupation is honest to Filipino migrants, like the health care, customer service, and hospitality industries. Filipino communities are formed and grow to connect with other Filipinos in the area and take them further on as "family" - blood-related or otherwise. By instilling many familial bonding moments in the book, the author makes readers appreciate the sense of belonging that is impossible to miss in Filipinos. There were many, but some examples are: Christmas decors come out at the start of the "ber" months (i.e., September, October, November), titles to elders or older people (related or unrelated) for respect, parental summons are taken "drop-everything-and-come-home), the food preparation for "Noche Buena," etc.

2.) Women empowerment exemplified.
Women empowerment, especially Lila's boss, Ms. Velasco, a Filipino-American, turned small businesses into success stories.
Where do readers get woman inspired replies like "Do you mind doing the honors of opening, and I'll woman the registers?" and
I love how the author portrayed the Filipino women in the book in a positive and empowering light. Some of them become the family's breadwinner on certain occasions, like Lila's mom - a nightshift nurse. These are also the "new heroes" ("mga Bagong Bayani") of the new generation - in the Filipino culture.

3.) Simple yet complicated characters slowly leaving their "safe space" to grow.
I love how the author created characters that make us want to know and understand where each is coming from. Lila and Teddy act like how traditional and conservative teens would act - they are caring, respectful and knows a lot of karaoke songs. The growth is slow and starts as an enemies-to-friends approach with forced proximity but later becomes more like opposites helping each other with attraction flourishing. All this was cohesively well since both Lila and Teddy understood their families and cultures.

Lila's secret is more conflicted between being true to herself and wanting to please her parents. In Filipino culture, elders are treated with the utmost respect and their rules and taken as "law." Anything condoned or forewarned by parents are to be taken like the commandments. I relate to Lila's dilemma of wanting to be independent in preparation for college and balancing to be a good daughter and role model for her family. Most Filipino parents highly regard a professional career as the pinnacle achievement for guiding their children. Lila thought that her path was clear - towards a professional career, without realizing that maybe things have/had change. Lila's angst and internal struggles are front-and-center. As the story progresses, more "signs" start showing her an unexpected alternative career path.

Teddy's secret is another story. He makes it seem so much complicated than if he was truthful from Lila's eyes. Lila (and the readers) does not see the messy things behind why Teddy's reaction to coming to help his aunt's Christmas shop was not as joyous as the season. At first, when I found out Teddy's secret, I was okay with it. BUT what happened was the more he spilled his SECRETS (yes, there is more than one or two!), a snowball of many things that heightened my anxiety because some are pretty dangerous and a massive deception! I was so confused about how to feel about Teddy's secrets - I stand more that he should be true to himself and face the truth early on before digging him in a big hole in the end. These secrets implode at the end, but it would have been nice, maybe a quick POV switch on what happens to Teddy's side after everything like a bonus epilogue - even if it's to wrap things up, but the author did not dive into any discussion.

4.) The chemistry between Lila and Teddy grew true and organically.
Note: Filipinos are very conservative. How they handle relationships and attraction verge to the traditional side, wherein parental approval and permission is need before technically any courtship (wooing) can happen. Some readers outside the culture will find this very archaic and foreign. Thus, when everyone discovered Lila and Teddy's relationship, things got a bit hairy from the elders' POV.
Also, the relationship's pace is a slow build, given the initial impression and reaction. The characters are given more time and ample space to grow and learn about each other deeper. I have to keep remembering that this book is a YA book, written from a Filipino culture's perspective, so a more conservative and respectful approach.

5.) Supporting characters are all loveable, genuine, and very supportive!
From the family to friends, they all help Lila realize that maybe her talent and passion is something entirely different from what she first thought of or what she thinks others want for her.
Lila's sister, Irene, is the typical annoying younger sister but she balances being the snooping sister - spilling Lila's secrets to their parents but also the enabler in the end. Irene provides entertainment and comic relief while keeping Lila on her toes with her many antics.
Lila's friend, Carm, is the "best friend" who pushes Lila out of her comfort zone. She also started Mission: Holly, an incredible adventure to strengthened their friendship before heading out to college - kind of a "last Christmas to remember" before "growing up."
Before I wrap things up (get it? holiday gift wrapping), Catherine "Cath," Lila's mom, is the best! Although she and Lila have their miscommunication/ misunderstandings, Tita Cath had an open mind and heart to listen to her daughter(s) to see how best she could help. She sealed the deal for me in turning the story around, and with Tita Cath, Lila's dad was "on board" with their new strategy.

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Overall, I highly recommend The Holiday Switch as an early holiday read for YA enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, coming of age, accidental switches, and second chances tropes.
Although this book is from Lila's POV, the story worked very well! I like the book's pacing - giving enough time for character introductions/background, world-building, and personality development.
I connect to many of the elements in this book, especially the dilemma of adhering to family beliefs while still being true to one's ambitions and passion. The Christmas festivities mirror how my family celebrates the holidays, which made me smile so many times. It will let other readers better understand Filipino culture and tradition. The message of family and the holidays rings loud and clear in this heartwarming story.

Shoutout to Filipino writers! I always look forward to books that bring out representation. I don't always get books that represent my complex background, but I would always jump at the chance when it does. Everything in this book genuinely represents the Philippines and makes me giddy to read it. I cannot wait to see more works from the author!

Question Time: How would you have handled your secret in the end if you were Lila or Teddy? Write it in the comments if you can, and let me know.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to TBR & Beyond Tours, Tif Marcelo, Netgalley, and Underlined for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Shout out to having Filipino-American main characters. It was great to see this, especially in a lighthearted type of contemporary YA novel, something that I really needed to read lately. It also makes me think about what would happen if I were to accidentally switch phones with someone. But would I even be able to get into their phone? Would I know their password or code, or would it be based on their fingerprint like mine is?

Interesting, interesting.

I thought it was a cute story. It was nice to see how it ended, and to see how Lila and Teddy end up learning more about one another and figure out that maybe they don’t need to be enemies like they believed. I also liked that it took place in a “Christmas” town, especially coming from someone who has never been surrounded by Christmas before. It sounded like a dream!

Are you all of nothing in your love for the holiday? I’m not a huge Thanksgiving person, so normally as SOON as it hits November 1st, I’m ready for all the Christmas cheer. Thanks to reading so many amazing advance reader copies, I always tend to start getting into the mood a little earlier & 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 was just a perfect book to fall for and get me even more excited about the upcoming season! Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours for having me on tour and the #gifted copy! This title released 10/5 from Get Underlined and it had me making my own holiday bucket list for this year I absolutely adored it.

I’m obsessed with Lila as a main character. A secret book blogger for her Tinsel & Tropes website, I adored the idea of her focusing on holiday reads, and really enjoyed seeing pieces of her writing incorporated into the book as well. The writing style of Marcelo shines in this book, especially in the voice of those blog posts, they were one of my favorite parts!

Lila Castro enjoys working at the Bookworm Inn in her small town of Holly, New York. It was part of the setting of a beloved holiday movie, Holiday on the Lake, which was filmed in the town, and which sees tons of tourists every year. Lila prefers stocking her Little Free Library at the back of the gift shop, and keeps a secret blog of holiday romance books. When her boss's nephew, Teddy, arrives to help out with the gift shop at the inn, Lila is fairly annoyed with him. He's a bit pompous, doesn't work very hard, and is a constant thorn in her side. Lila is a fan of the movie (since it's a genre she prefers) and Teddy has never read the book or even see the movie. Since the Filipino-American star, Remy Castillo, will soon be visiting the town, Lila and her best friend set out to complete a bucket list of all of the activities from the film, even though some of them cost a bit more than Lila can afford on her gift shop salary. She's hoping to get into the college of her choice, and her parents want her to become a doctor. She's not too sure. As her path crosses Teddy's more and more, and they accidentally switch phones and read some telling texts to the other person, Lila becomes more irritated with Teddy, but also comes to find him rather attractive and not that hard to spend time with. Will Lila's Christmas plans be able to include a real life romance along with the hot cocoa and candy canes?
Strengths: This definitely reads much like what I expect the Hallmark channel Christmas movies are like ( I watched Mistletoe & Menorahs (2019) and wasn't impressed, although if there were some of these filmed in the 1980s, I would totally watch them ALL for the fashions alone), BUT has some culturally diverse characters front and center, which is good to see. Lila's close knit family was a lot of fun, and her desire to make them happy by studying medicine in college even though she really wanted to be a writer was true to life. Holly is an interesting town, and it's fun to see all of the different businesses that are dependent on the movie. The romance is fine, and the phone switch adds a bit of a twist. A lot of my readers ask for Christmas stories, and they are especially in demand by some of my Somali students. I think that Christmas in the US is a fairly secular holiday.
Weaknesses: A teenager with a blog? Was this set in 2010? Given the number of book review blogs that I've seen go belly up in the last fifteen years, this seemed highly improbable. I have also never been a fan of the romantic trope where they two characters don't get along at first.
What I really think: While I was a huge fan of this sort of book when I was in middle school, I worry that I shouldn't hand these to young, impressionable girls. "Romance is BAD! Don't waste your time," the bitter, old me says, but then the readers just turn around and recommend all of the Angela Darling books to their friends. I'll purchase this one, because it will get checked out frequently, especially when I can't keep enough holiday books around!

This is a cute holiday rom-com set mostly in a bookstore between a young girl who is secretly keeping a book blog and writing, despite her parents wanting her to go to medical school, and a boy who is staying with his aunt, the shop owner, in the little town of Holly, New York, and working at the bookstore while he tries to figure out what to do with his future. The romance is very tame and sweet. I love the fact that the main character is writing book reviews of holiday romance books for her blog. Great book to put you in the mood for Christmas.

This was a super cute holiday YA romance. I loved that the MC was a book blogger. It really touched my heart. I loved how it navigated making decisions for college and how those decisions are affected by family sometimes. Her and Teddy were super cute together and it was the cutest enemies to lovers in a small town. This was super cozy and swoon worthy .

A perfect, fun holiday read! I've never felt so represented in a book until Lila. I really enjoyed the writing, atmospheric setting, cute romance and all the bookish/book blogger references!

Read my full review here: https://thecaffeinatedrareder.wordpress.com/2021/10/09/book-tour-review-the-holiday-switch-by-tif-marcelo/

A charming YA holiday romance. Lila is the hardworking oldest kid in her family, and she's determined to get into a good college and not be a financial burden on her parents. She's got a part-time job at a local inn's gift shop, and secretly writes a holiday book blog on the side. But her plan for extra work hours over the holidays is thwarted when the owner's nephew comes to visit and takes a job at the inn, too. Not only that, but she's expected to train the extremely (cute but) annoying Teddy herself. You can probably see where this is going, especially when the two accidentally switch phones and learn something about each other. Teddy has secrets of his own, and neither he nor Lila have been completely honest with the people they love.

Marcelo has written a lovely story about family, first love, and finding your own place in the world. Set against a backdrop of a town obsessed with Christmas, and including Lila's family's own traditions, this is like a comforting cup of cocoa. The holiday content was a little over-the-top for me (for example, Lila only swears in Christmas words), and not all the storylines panned out, but overall it was pretty cute.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Okay, let's get it out of the way. I loved the book reviewing angle so much. Not only did it intrigue me, but you can tell a lot about a person by the way they write. By what we reveal in a review. You can see the things that resonate with us, the vulnerabilities we have. This element totally stole my heart. But what's more, The Holiday Switch is full of character work and charm. On paper Lila and Teddy seem so different.

Lila is efficient and dedicated to her work, while Teddy is passionate and curious. But what they find is that they're not so different after all. I instantly identified with Lila's annoyance at Teddy's lateness and so it was easy to fall into her character. I loved how invested Marcelo is in telling Lila's story. It's not necessarily about this romance between them - I mean that's an element - but it's firmly rooted in Lila's perspective. In her family, in the ways she isn't sure what future she should pursue.

You guys really need to check this book out 😍

An original romance about a bookish Filipino-American girl who crosses paths with the innkeeper's aggravating nephew--but when they accidentally switch phones, their newly discovered secrets draw them together.

It was really short and quick romance I didn't know I needed in my life!! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It'll make you crave for winter and Christmasy mood.

The character building, dialogues, Chemistry everything was really good.
It's a YA rom-com with enemies to lovers trope.

I got a weather alert yesterday that winter was going to arrive early- and pull out all the stops. So I don’t feel too bad about letting some holiday reads in early and helping you build your holiday TBR!
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Although I admit I was very tempted to include a pumpkin or two in this picture.
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The Holiday Switch by Tif Marcelo was not what I expected from the title. I thought two people would be switching places during the holidays. What I got was a book about two young people who were actually being their most authentic selves, but keeping a ton of secrets- during the holiday season in a quintessential holiday town, Christmas cookies and tinsel and all the trimmings.
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The switch here is not their lives or locations but their phones. You know, those device’s that hold our lives, essentially, and our secrets. When Teddy accidentally grabs Lia’s phone from under the counter at the gift shop, where they are both working during the holiday break from school, they both have a chance to learn more than they wanted to know about the coworker that aggravates them.
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This was a fun, quick read that says a lot about keeping secrets, about friendships and a new romance. Enemies to lovers, although this is very PG rated, is such a fun trope.
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Lia, our main character is delightfully bookish, she will resonate well with all of you fellow book lovers and book bloggers!
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This book has me excited about the upcoming holiday season, I will just need to get my fill of pumpkin spice lattes first.
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The Holiday Switch was able to get me into the holiday spirit early this year!!! One of my favorite tropes is enemies to lovers and the romance between Lila and Teddy was painstakingly cute. If you love curling up and reading next to the Christmas tree, then this will be the perfect book to do that with!

As I am typing this, I am delighted by how meta this situation is. I’m reviewing a holiday book about a girl who reviews holiday books & lives in a town dedicated to a holiday book/movie. This is a cute, quick semi coming of age story that will delight lovers of hallmark & lifetime Christmas movies.

This YA romantic comedy is a great representation of diversity, but also a large range of personalities within its characters. It touches on subjects of being true to who you are, and being flexible with life changes without hammering the lessons into the reader. It allows the reader to ingest the ideas presented but wrapped up in a pretty present (pun intended)

To some (me included) it is never too early for the holidays!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Holiday Switch

Author: Tif Marcelo

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: Filipino MC, love interest and side characters, Gay side character and side m/m romance, small F/f romance hinted by side characters

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, winter holiday season themed

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: October 5, 2021

Publisher: Underlined

Pages: 272

Recommended Age: 13+ (Romance, Sexual innuendos)

Explanation of CWs: Romance throughout the book and some small sexual innuendos.

Synopsis: Lila Castro is ready to take on her last winter break of high school. The snow is plentiful, the mood is full of holiday cheer, and she's earning extra cash working at the cozy local inn. But her perfect holiday plans crash to a halt when her boss's frustratingly cute nephew, Teddy Veracruz, becomes her coworker. When they accidentally switch phones one afternoon, they both realize they've been hiding things from each other. Will their secrets--and a dash of holiday spirit--bring them closer to love?

Review: I really liked this book! It was probably one of the more perfect winter holiday reads I've read and it was filled with so much Hallmark like tropes. The character development was good, the world building was great, and it had very good Christmas puns. The book is a great enemies to lovers romance and I loved how it was a love letter to bookworms. The book also did well to point out the lack of POC focused media for the winter holiday season, so I'm ready to see publishing improve on this in the future.

The only issue I really had is that the book was tropey, but it was fun tropes so I didn't mind it as much.

Verdict: it's so cute and fun!

Do you know what is better than a book about books? A rom-com about a secret book blogger based in a town obsessed with Christmas!

With Christmas just around the corner, all is well in Lila Castro’s world. She’s got an early acceptance from her choice of college, her best friend has prepared a bucket list full of holiday things to do in their hometown and she’s all set to celebrate the second anniversary of her secret book blog, Tinsel and Tropes(kinda makes me want to rename my page!). Enter Teddy Veracruz, the infuriating yet cute nephew of her boss, Ms. Velasco and Lila’s world is tossed for a roller coaster ride!

Here are my top 5 reasons to read The Holiday Switch:

1) Enemies to lovers romance that will have you melting like a snow cone

2) The female MC writes book reviews on her blog and the male MC actually follows book bloggers (and we get a glimpse into her blog time to time)

3) The whole of town of is obsessed with the holiday season (people even swear in holiday language – Son of a snowman!!)

4) Super endearing and supporting side characters (including annoying siblings)

5) While the plot is totally predictable and done-to-death, unless you’re a scrooge, this happy cutesy romance with a happy ending will warm you right up for the holiday season!

This was a really sweet and fluffy holiday romance, perfect for fans of To All The Boys or Dash & Lily! I always appreciate a book loving main character, and I really liked that there was a lot of diversity in the main cast. I wasn’t expecting anything really deep from this, and in fact, I liked that it didn’t go too emotional - sometimes YA novels can be SO heavy, and it was a relief to read one that didn’t feel like an emotional gut punch. This was exactly what it said on the tin, and I loved every minute of it. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s in exchange for my honest review!

I realize Christmas is still 80 days away. We still have Halloween and Thanksgiving to do. Some of you probably think I'm jumping the gun on the most wonderful time of the year.


To those who think that, I say, "Bah, humbug."


We watch Christmas movies all year here. We started re-watching some of our seasonal Hallmark faves in August. There is no such thing as too early for Christmas entertainment here!


Because of that, I was thrilled to receive a copy of Tif Marcelo's YA Christmas romance The Christmas Switch from NetGalley and Random House in exchange for my honest opinion.


Overview:

Lila lives in Christmas-obsessed Holly, New York, the setting of the greatest Christmas romance book-turned-movie of all time, Holiday by the Lake. (Sidebar: Tif Marcelo needs to write that book, too, because I need to know if the hype in Holly was worth it!) She's muddling through her senior year of high school, working and preparing for college, but she keeps secret from her privacy-focused family- she writes a holiday book-themed blog. (Sidebar 2: I also want to subscribe to this imaginary blog.)


Teddy stumbles into Lila's life at work and really messes things up for her. After mixing up their phones, the two become secret keepers for one another, and of course, romance blossoms. As they grow closer, new exciting opportunities arise for both of them but also create some great conflict in their relationship.


My Rating and Rationale:


For the first quarter or so of this book, I wasn't feeling it. I just didn't see the potential and I thought the setup was weak. They switched phones. So what?


Then, the characters began developing and I was hooked. I felt bad for doubting the power of this story! It was a truly delightful Christmas read!


Despite my early misgivings, this book was a solid five-star read. I ended up falling in love with Lila and Teddy and the whole sweet town of Holly. I adored the concept of Lila's book blog and her journey to discovering that she is a writer in her heart. I learned a lot about Filipino family life from this book, which was an unexpected bonus. I also appreciated that it was a clean read that I am not ashamed to share with my daughter and her friends.

I am ready for the holidays. The stories, the fun, and the family. Tif Marcelo has added to the holiday spirit with The Holiday Switch.

I love the main characters Lila and Teddy. They are young, living life, and finding their way. They love their families and do not want to disappoint them but are also trying to do things their own way. I liked that they were not a quick and easy couple. They did not quite see eye to eye but as time went on they learned to work together, help each other, and discover that they are more similar than they think.

The book is quick and fun to read. It is a Hallmark movie in the making. Whether you are just starting your holiday Christmas book reading list or have one a mile long The Holiday Switch should be on your list.

This is a fun holiday teen book. I liked how the main character had a book review blog , reviewing only holiday books. I also thought the setting_ a resort town that was built up around a movie- was cool. And, lastly, I haven't read many diverse holiday books (the main characters are Filipino American). The plot seemed overly-dramatic with the secrets piling up, but really, I should have expected exactly that with a holiday teen romance. I'd recommend this to teens and people that love holiday stories.

I don’t know about you, but there’s something that I love about books with book blogging main characters. It always feels like the author is giving us a little thank you for the part that we play in the bookish community.

If you haven’t read The Holiday Switch, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about, because the blurb for some reason doesn’t mention this fact: Lila Castro (the main character) is a book blogger. She has been anonymously blogging for around 2 years using a website called Tinsel & Tropes (HOW CUTE IS THAT!?). The book includes several of her blog reviews as part of the story, and it made me feel so seen. It was one of my favorite parts of this adorable novel.

The plot follows a romance that is brewing between Lila and her new coworker Teddy. It starts off as a bit of a hate-to-love situation, with Teddy showing up and taking the hours that Lila had needed in order to save up money for college. However, their relationship quickly warms and turns into one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Most of their communication happens through flirty/banter-filled text messages, and I am a HUGE sucker for text conversations in romance novels. On top of that, this book has great Filipino American rep, realistic characters and character relationships, and the perfect cozy holiday vibe.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading The Holiday Switch. It is a festive and heart-warming read that you won’t want to miss!