I love Christmas stories and this one did not disappoint. It has all those Rom-Com/Hallmark type Christmas feels to it but with a YA setting. The combination of USA and English setting was also really fun to be a part of. As a primary fantasy loving reader, this book has made me realize that I may actually like contemporary fiction if done like this!

Thank you Source Fire for the gifted ecopy.

This was a cute YA holiday rom com. Two teens swap places for the holidays - one to try to have the best Christmas ever and the other trying to win a social media follower contest. There was a bit of teen angst, and a lot of holiday festivity. A cute read for the season, but nothing spectacular.

This was definitely one of the best books I have read this year... I did managed to finish this book within a few hours. It was captivating and difficult to put down.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND

THIS IS SO CUTE.
I love christmas and I love rom coms and I especially love christmas rom coms. This was exactly what I wanted it to be, that being an adorable and fluffy story about christmas time and a princess and the pauper-esque plot. It reminded me of the vibe of 10 blind dates by Ashley Elston, another christmas rom com I adore. Overall very sweet and cute and I am very pleased.

This was a really cute book with a unique plot and good writing, but was definitely geared toward a younger audience… Most likely high schoolers, but would also be appropriate for middle schoolers. There was a huge focus on social media and the main plot was centered around a contest to get the most followers, ending up in a “life swap” between the two main characters during Christmas week. While it was cute and would also make for a great Netflix Christmas movie, it was too much on the YA side for me.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Super cute! Blame it on the Mistletoe is very The Holiday but make it high-school influencers (though I'm not too clear if their platform is sort of... Instagram? TikTok? Instagram but people actually use the Reels or whatever they are?) It does VERY much read as an Old writing teen characters, though (and I say this as a fellow Old). It's a little cringe and a little cheesy at times (but so is The Holiday, so basically that's just staying on theme!)

If you like Hallmark Christmas movies but make it YA, this is the book for you. I especially loved Holly and how just wonderful and pure her love of all things Christmas is. I sort of guessed the relationship plotlines from the jump (they're pretty obvious) but I still really enjoyed reading them anyway. I do wish we'd gotten a little bit more about Holly and Noelle's moms. I mean, they both gave their daughters Christmas-y names, there's a story there!

I'll definitely keep Holly's golden rules of Christmas in mind this season - 1) Never say no to a novelty hot drink. 2) Never wimp out of the high notes of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey. Ooh, and the playlist at the end gave me some great new songs to add to my own Christmas playlist! Cheers!

Ok this was all the sorts of adorable holiday magic I was hoping for!! I love it when a Christmas book features a character who is over the top obsessed with Christmas traditions just like I am. I even take a few new ideas away from it! But this book wasn’t without its bumps in the road. To be honest, I actually didn’t like one of the perspectives so much that I struggled to get into the book in the beginning. I kept reading, hoping for redemption… thankfully I got my Christmas wish

This is a dual perspective book about two girls, living on opposite sides of the world, who switch lives for the holiday season. Elle is on a mission to gain Instagram followers before the end of the year. She enters into a competition with 4 other Instagrammers, and needs to gain 15,000 new followers to win. So, she decides to go big and switch lives with one of her followers! Enter Holly. Christmas obsessed and equally obsessed with Elle, her holiday traditions are falling apart around her as her life changes. She decides to switch with Elle so she can have her magical Christmas in New York, which is something she’s dreamed of her whole life.

Of the two perspectives, Holly was hands down my favourite! She is such a sweet, honest, and warm person. Her friends and family are everything to her. She thrives on traditions and the people around her. I could just tell that she was such a loving person and I wanted to be her friend! She is also a huge planner, making lists for everything, which is sooooo me!

And then there was Elle. To be honest, she annoyed the living hell out of me for over half the book. She was just SO obsessed with Instagram. It’s all she focused on. It wasn’t until the last third of the book when we finally learned her personality…. That’s how bad it was. I know. The whole point of the book was this competition, but still, I couldn’t get a handle on her personality in any way until the end. When we finally got a grasp on who she was as a person, I wanted more! I finally appreciated who she was, what she was like, and what she wanted out of life. But that first part felt excruciating honestly!!

I loved all of the Christmas traditions in this book! Because we have people in the US and in the UK, we were shown the different things they did, foods they ate, and attractions that can be seen. Now I want to go to the UK for the fun and beauty and the US for the food! Not sure of a few of the things they eat in the UK…. Well aside from Cadbury chocolate and Quality Street chocolate because that’s the ONLY way to eat chocolate at Christmas!

I also loved just how rooted in friends and family this book was. Holly’s friends Fred and Ruby are hands down the best and I wish they were real so I could meet them! Both characters were going through changes in their lives and it was emphasized just how important friends and family are in those moments.

So, even though Elle drove me nuts for the beginning of this book, it was WELL worth the read! It was comfy, cozy, heartwarming, and covered in tinsel! I just wish that there were a few more chapters to follow up that ending! I will look into more from this author for sure!

What a cute, well-written holiday book. Blame It on the Mistletoe was a fun story to read around the holidays. I highly recommend giving it a chance!

This was such a sweet light hearted Christmas read. If you enjoyed the movie The Holiday then you will probably enjoy this YA book. I loved the friendships, the families and the romances. Plus, all the Christmas made it that much better. It did take me a little while to get into the story but the last half definitely had me not wanting to put it down.

This was so well written. I was engrossed from the first page and it ticked all the boxes of my expectations. I would definitely recommend to others. It got me all in the Christmas mood!

This was a dnf for me; the characters were really challenging for me to relate to and it felt like a book geared toward teens only. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Blame It on the Mistletoe is a sweet, lighthearted YA version of The Holiday. This was such a fun read and full of the Christmas spirit.

Elle is struggling to fit in at her new school. Once a popular Instagrammer, Elle was forced to shut down her account after bullies started trolling her. The opportunity to join the new It girl clique at her school presents itself and Elle couldn’t be happier - but she needs 15,000 new followers before Christmas. Thus the idea for the Christmas Swap is born! Holly is having a bit of a rough time. She lives and breathes Christmas, but this year isn’t going at all according to plan. On top of everything, she’s struggling to get over her ex (also her neighbor), so the opportunity to spend Christmas in America is just what she needs to get herself back on track.

I loved the connection between Elle and Holly. Even though they aren’t know eachother, they quickly become friends and bond over making sure the other has the best Christmas possible. The Christmas todo lists they leave eachother are just so much fun. It definitely made me want to come up with something similar. The side characters were also great. Holly’s friends Ruby and Fred welcome Elle with open arms and do everything in their power to help her win the challenge. And I loved how Nick, despite being outwardly Grinchy, did everything he could to make sure Elle had the best Christmas ever.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Blame It on the Mistletoe is a super sweet, Christmas-y, adorable take on teenagers and social media. Elle, is an American teenager and social media influencer who in an effort to fit in and gain popularity in her New Jersey town joins an online competition to gain more followers. There's a catch - if she loses she needs to delete her Instagram account.
Meet Holly - Holly is a Christmas fanatic who is in for a rough Holiday when her mom decides to sell their house and her sister is going to miss Christmas while traveling abroad.
When these two cross paths online and decide to switch lives for a week - anything can happen. Holly and Elle are about to learn what happens when you live life without a plan and offline.
This was good Christmas fluff with a healthy dose of YA mixed in. While the start was slow, I enjoyed watching Holly and Elle develop their characters.
Thanks to NetGalley, Beth Garrod and SOURCEBOOKS for the ARC!


Read if you like:
+ The Holiday
+ Life Swap stories
+ Christmas Fluff

This book is like a teenage version of The Holiday and Im kind of here for it. It's told from the perspective of both girls and both have their own love stories going on (just like in The Holiday movie). Social media and Instagram in particular had a strong presence in the book and I liked how it showed the bullying and fakeness that exists online. I think that's a good message for young readers to see. My only critique is that I wish the love stories were a little more of the focus but that's just because I love a good love story. It was more about the girls discovering themselves and what's right for them (which is often the case in a YA book). I'd recommend it to YA fans who are interested in a Holiday themed rom-com.

It was cute but didn't really hold my attention. I think I'm just too old for certain Gen Z type tropes! It was very Christmasy and fun, but not for me ultimately.

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an ARC via netgalley for an honest review.
4/5 stars
Well this was a funny, sweet, adorable, and overal wonderful holiday read! It’s a YA contemporary romance told in dual POVs and following Elle and Holly as they swap lives for the week before Christmas.
Elle is a social media influencer, and she’s asked to join this competition to gain 15,000 new followers over the course of a couple of weeks. Elle’s big idea for the contest is to swap with a fan of hers, and Holly reaches out in interest. It turns out that Holly’s and Elle’s moms actually grew up together and were really good friends, so the swap wasn’t completely random which I liked. I liked Elle’s character, but I wished at times that we’d gone more in depth with her insecurities and her social media presence. I did like how she bonded with Holly’s friends, and how she grew as a character.
Holly is an average British teen who is completely obsessed with Christmas. She starts decorating mid-November, and she has all these lists about how to make the perfect Christmas. I also liked Holly as a character, and I loved watching her do her touristy thing and get to experience her dream of visiting New York. I also liked her character growth, even if it was a bit cheesy at the end, and the development of her relationship with Nick.
I thought that the plot was well written, and that as ridiculous as it sounds it actually didn’t feel that ridiculous while reading. It was a story filled with fun, heart, and holiday cheer, and I really enjoyed reading it. The pacing was good, and I felt like Elle and Holly had distinctive voices. I’d recommend it to fans of cheesy holiday movies and reads.

When Elle is in search of wow factor to gain more followers on social media, she comes up with the idea of a Christmas swap to spend the holidays across the pond. Holly, who is in need of a change of scenery this holiday season, volunteers, decides to come to New York and let Elle stay with her family in Little Marsh.

Essentially a teen version of The Holiday, this was rather unrealistic, but still fun. I don’t love reading stories about social media obsessed teens all that much, especially when the content isn’t very authentic. I’m glad that they touch on the obsession with social media a bit in the book, but it was definitely worth addressing more.

The Christmas romance was in full force, and it was a pretty sweet story. I enjoyed getting into the holiday spirit a little early this year, but I felt like there was something missing.

This is such a cute YA Christmas book. It’s a teenage version of The Holiday. In this story Holly and Noelle swap homes for a week around Christmas.

Holly wants to escape her ex-boyfriend, who is also her neighbor, and Noelle is out to win a social media challenge and prove herself as a teen influencer.

But as they get to know each other’s friends and family, their connection to each other grows too. And they learn a few Christmas lessons in the process.

3/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

Overall I enjoyed my time with this book. While I can't say it was my favorite. It was a great read for the holiday season. The tone and holiday/Christmas theme of the book was perfect. I'll admit the writing wasn't my favorite and some of the jokes went over my head. I laught, it thought it was cute and would for sure recommend it.

The Holiday, but teenage edition.

Elle is a social media rising star trying to gain more followers. She ends up deciding to ask a British fan to swap lives with her for Christmas. Holly absolutely loves Christmas, but after an embarrassing interaction with her ex, she’s ready to get out of town. With her favorite social media influencer looking to swap, what could be more perfect? As they each try out the other’s home town, they also find some unexpected people: Holly’s neighbor for Elle and Elle’s twin brother for Holly.

First off, The Holiday is one of my favorite Christmas movies, so I was so excited to see a book version. However, having it be about two 15-year-old girls was not exactly what I was hoping for. I guess I should have examined everything more carefully, but the blurb definitely doesn’t make it clear that this is a YA book. It was a bit hard for me to imagine a bunch of teenagers running around completely unsupervised in some of the largest cities in the world without knowing anything about those places ahead of time. Assuming you can suspend your disbelief sufficiently for that, then it’s an interesting set up. Getting to explore big cities and small towns in two different countries was probably the highlight of the book for me. I liked to get that taste of small-town life in both the US and UK.

My biggest frustrations were really around the conflicts. I don’t really enjoy stories about catty girls seeking revenge over perceived slights and people making decisions solely based on what will endear them to the “popular” kids. I get that this is a YA book, and therefore should have YA-relevant problems, but aren’t there other options? I completely acknowledge that while this is a problem for me, many other readers might enjoy this kind of plot.

Overall, if you like YA contemporary fiction and like The Holiday, then you’ll enjoy this story as well. It’s well-written and pretty fast-paced. The Christmas setting made for some extra seasonal fun that can definitely put you in the mood for the holiday.