Blame It on the Mistletoe by Beth Garod is joy in book form, featuring all the staples -- lights, carols, pantomimes, international house swaps -- of a truly magical Christmas.

If the popular Christmas movie The Holiday were a contemporary YA novel, Blame It on the Mistletoe would be the result. The story follows festive-to-the-extreme Holly and social media star Elle as both girls face challenges this holiday season.

While Blame It on the Mistletoe is a lighthearted Christmas rom-com, the story has something to say about themes of home, family, tradition, and influencer culture. As Holly learns to embrace change, Elle learns the pitfalls of online stardom. A Christmastime life swap is the perfect chance to build friendships and find new meaning in the holidays.

Blame It on the Mistletoe was the book I didn't know I needed, and though I read my copy in August, I expect it to join my list of December rereads -- a tradition Holly would approve of!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with this eARC.

Cute YA Christmas book, definitely would make a great gift for the teens in your life.

Definitely not the most believable book I've ever read. Probably one of the more unbelievable with a very far fetched plot, but I have to say it was still cute. Still enjoyable. Very sugary sweet. If you're down to suspend your disbelief for an afternoon, I really think this would be a cute choice. I do wish the characters had been a bit more distinct. Sometimes it got a bit hard to follow who was speaking and who we were paying attention to.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for this ARC.

BLAME IT ON THE MISTLETOE follows American social media influencer Elle and her British Christmas-enthusiast fan, Holly. When Elle shares that she’s looking to swap holidays with a fan, Holly jumps at the chance to escape her suddenly changed world.
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This was a nice read! It’s filled me with Christmas spirit, even though I’m reading it long before Christmas! 🙊 It made me yearn for hot chocolate, snow fall and Christmas music. I loved watching both of the girls grow and get back on track to appreciating what Christmas is all about— family, friends, love. The relationships in this book were all wonderful— the family relationships, friendships (new and old) and the romance. I really enjoyed the idea of the girls switching for Christmas, but I didn’t feel much connection to the social media competition itself. It felt like it was mostly off page. I’d have liked to see even more of Elle and Holly interacting in person, these two are going to be besties for life. 👯‍♀️
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3.5 stars, BLAME IT ON THE MISTLETOE by Bath Garrod is available November 2, 2021!
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Thank you to Sourcebooks FIRE and Netgalley for sending me an eARC to review.

This was a cute Christmas book, definitely for a YA audience. The switch between characters did get a bit confusing at times, as Elle and Holly came across as similar characters. The reveal of what Nick was hiding seemed anticlimactic. It was fun to read a Christmas book in August and it was a nice weekend read.

Dnf @ 50% I just couldn’t really get into this one. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I think that the social media elements were kind of convoluted and the characters kind of stale. And the romance like wow, bros before hoes man. It was totally unbelievable that these two high schoolers who don’t know each other would switch places like that.

Such a cute festive read and it's made me so excited for Christmas! Fans of the film The Holiday will love this novel!!

This was cute, and the side characters were great! I liked seeing the different holiday traditions from the UK and the US and how they compared.

A cute Christmasy read!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

Great read, but I think it is aimed at a younger audience than me though. I liked the UK/US cross over and all of the different christmas traditions.

Blame it on the Mistletoe tells the story of Holly and Elle. Holly is a British girl who is Christmas obsessed. She's currently recovering from a break up and is determined to have the Best Christmas Ever. Elle is an American social media influencer who needs to gain 15k followers or else she must delete her account. The two girls decide to swap places for the holidays and what unfolds is a lot of Christmas fun!

Overall this book was very cute. Even though it's currently August the Christmas spirit shined through. It was interesting to see each girl grow through her experience of swapping places for the Christmas season. All of the side characters were a lot of fun and I felt they added nicely to the story. My biggest issue with the book, though, was that I kept forgetting which girl was which. They were both too similar for my liking...and with the constant POV swaps I would find myself having to remember who was who. I was also a little confused by Elle's status as a social influencer. She didn't appear to have much of a following (I know some of this is explained) and I really didn't understand why she had the followers she did. What exactly was her brand? And the whole plot with Elle's brother and grandmother didn't really add anything to the book. But like I said the story was very fun and the romance was sweet.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ARC.

Blame It on the Mistletoe is such a fun, sweet and festive read, bound to get you into the holiday spirit (even if like me you read it in August 😅).

This is a tinsel-filled, sugar packed YA story, with a wonderful contemporary flare, filled will all the teen angst, drama, character growth and development any good YA book needs. Add in all the Christmas magic and you'll get a festive, glittery story that - like a perfect cup of tea or peppermint hot chocolate will leave you with a deep sign and the warm fuzzies.

4.5 stars and a kiss under the mistletoe

YA, Christmas chick lit, formerly titled, All I Want for Christmas, re-released as Blame It on Mistletoe

This is a Christmas comedy told from the dual point of view of two teenage girls. Elle lives close to New York City, and Holly lives in a small village near London. Elle is a social-media influencer who is determined to gain 15,000 new followers during the month of December. She decides the means to her goal is the attention-garnering ploy of swapping places with one of her followers for a week over the Christmas holiday. She picks Holly, who absolutely adores Christmas. Holly sees the swap as a means to achieve her own personal goal. She is determined to make this the best Christmas ever, in spite of the fact that her mother is going to sell her family’s home, and her boyfriend has just dumped her. A trip to America is a gift from the blue that she is positive will allow her to salvage her Christmas from disaster.

This is a fun, G-rated, chick-lit, girl-power, Christmas comedy with a touch of romance that will make an enjoyable addition to the holiday reading list of teens and adults alike. The tone is bright and breezy, and the two protagonists are quite sympathetic. Fans of the Christmas movie, The Holiday, will find an enjoyable homage in this teen version of that pleasantly schmaltzy plot.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review.

Give me everything that says Christmas and I'm up for it. There is a reason why Christmas is supposed to be the best time of the year where anything to everything is possible. The festivity in the air is magical and equally magical was this book. This is a story that revolves around Holly and Elle, a Londoner and a New Yorker who happen to lead very different lives and have different aspirations and priorities. Let's say something happens and both of them have to swap their lives for a week! You'd love to read to find out why and how exactly this swap happens. Everything in this book is feel good and I loved it. Anyways, coming back to it, both Holly and Elle want their Christmas to be special for different reasons and the reasons are hilarious as well as heart warming. After the swap happens, both our girls learn more about each other and their families and learn about the true meaning of Christmas and celebrations. Not to mention that Holly is an organized chic and can't function without her lists and is a whole mood of Christmas herself while Elle is an Instagrammer, a star, who has had bad experiences in the past and there is a stark contrast between her online and real life. Some characteristics of the social media are touched deeply and I couldn't agree with them more. What makes the Christmas setting more special is that it takes place in London and Manhattan and we get a real life glimpse of what actually goes down during Christmas there. The descriptions make it a wholesome experience for a reader who hasn't been to London and New York and I bet readers would definitely add Christmas in London on their bucket list after reading this one. Their is love, bonding, friendship and all things best in this book and reading it was the best decision because I couldn't stop smiling throughout the book. Reading this was like watching a Christmas Hallmark movie and I can't wait for Christmas already. So if you're looking for a feel good rom-com and happy reading experience altogether, brownie points for the Christmas festivities, then this is the book for you. I loved it. I should also mention that their were some legit laugh-out-loud moments and I'm super grateful for them. Thank you for providing me with the e-ARC.

Blame it on the Mistletoe is such a sweet Christmas romance. It is told in first person from dual povs. Ellie is a social media star and swaps places with Holly who loves Christmas. Both girls have romances and they were so cute. This is the perfect holiday romance.

Sweet, feelgood, heartfelt YA Christmas story : Young adult version of Holiday movie with Tweet Cute vibes definitely a great formula for brightening your mood with inspirational holiday spirit!

Elle lives in the states with her family who frequently moves to different cities at each year because of occupational hazard, trying to build her social media account after she lost her last one because of harmful trolling. She also has to do something about rekindling her relationship with her brother Nick: they seem like getting more estranged lately.

Elle’s newfound popularity foe her lip syncing ability gave her enough admirers in the past and now she befriends the popular girl of the school which encourages her to a big challenge to join a competition which requires for her to attract at least 15k more followers’ attention. She accepts the challenge and connects with one of her British fans: our other narrator Holly, such a great admirer of Christmas spirit, who writes her future self Christmas cards, having hard time to deal with her mother’s boyfriend Colin ( they also named their dog with the same name) but two things happen to push her to swap places with Elle: a painful betrayal of her boyfriend and her mom’s decision about their house she finally finds out!

Yes! Two girls take risks to switch places and experience Christmas in different cities, different continents, different environments: what could go wrong? Some obstacles and some quiet hot romance! Are you all in? If you say yes, go blind! Keep your Christmas spirit high!

I have a little hard time to connect with the characters and their motives in the beginning but when swapping process started, the story’s direction changed and I enjoyed it more!

It’s one sit, fast pacing, soft, heartwarming reading that I truly needed!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This is a fast-paced, fun and festive British YA Contemporary read. It was very easy to like both Elle and Holly, and to root for them to get everything they wanted as they swapped houses for a week; one living close to New York City and the other living close to London. Friendships, family, and the holidays were the major themes throughout, and there's just enough slow-burn YA crushes-to-maybe-dating, so there's something for every reader!

When I saw the comparisons to Tweet Cute, I knew I absolutely had to read this book, and wow, I was not disappointed!

This book honestly feels like it was written just for me. I'm not even exaggerating when I say I couldn’t put it down. The life swap plot was so fun and I loved getting to see what was happening from each girls perspective. Elle and Holly were both so relatable and realistic and all around such great characters to follow! Seeing them grow throughout the story was so wonderful and I LOVED their respective romances. I was so invested in both of their stories and I was really rooting for them the entire time.

I cannot tell you how much I recommended this book. It's short and sweet and a sure way to get you into the holiday spirit! The Christmas playlist at the end is a nice touch as well.

While it took me a bit to get into this book it was a read in one night book. I absolutely loved Elle and Holly. They took unfortunate circumstances and made them into amazing trips. Honestly it went amazing and I kind of wish there was more at the end! What happens next!
A definite read for those who love The Holiday!

I have to admit, I began this and immediately was like I will not like this. It starts off with a bang and little context, but when it was all said and done… thoroughly enjoyed and wished it was Christmas the entire time!

Wonderful characters and a plot reminiscent of the ever-enjoyable The Holiday. Would not hesitate to recommend to a friend or student for a wholesome, fun read!