I’m a big Roan Parrish fan - and I think this might be my favorite of her books so far! The main premise reminded me of Beth O’Leary’s The Switch, with the house/life swap, but from there it was completely Roan! It had her signature brilliant writing, LGBTQ (critical for her books), and the steam! Yes, this one is steamy and just oh, so perfect! I thought it should be called “The Holiday Swap” because there was no trap?

A fantastic story centered around two lost souls who need to escape their lives for different reasons, with a mutual friend who is able to facilitate their swap. Ramona, the friend, knows exactly what they each have and need, and helps them get swapped and across the country for the holidays. Truman heads north from New Orleans to Owl Island, Maine, leaving behind his dog. He just found out his boyfriend has a husband... and kids! Greta heads south from Owl Island to New Orleans, leaving behind her beloved carnivorous plants that require a ton of attention. Her family doesn’t understand or accept her queerness.

As each settles in for a month, they begin to really get comfortable in the other’s life. Truman meets Greta’s best friend. Greta meets gardening friends and a girl with a miniature horse.

If you enjoy Roan Parrish’s series, any other LGBTQ+ books, or are looking for a really special holiday read, look no further - this is it!

I received an advance review and advance listen copy from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca, and this is my honest feedback.

The Holiday Trap is a great holiday romance with a fun take on the Christmas house swap trope. It is quirky, sweet, and sexy. It deals with family issues and advocating for yourself. It is also neat that it includes both a male/male and female/female couple.

The two love stories are quite different form one another. I love Truman’s plot. We get a hurt/comfort love story with some great literary aspects.

I had a harder time with Greta’s story, though she has a much better reason to get out away for the holidays. I feel like her story is more about personal growth and found family, whereas Truman’s is more what I expect from a holiday romance. I enjoyed both, but Truman’s was by far my favorite.

I think this book is a great choice for a holiday read. It made me want to drink hot chocolate and just enjoy it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

In “The Holiday Trap,” Roan Parrish effortlessly quilts multiple themes into a fine tapestry. These include two romances, different business ventures, a disappeared author, horticulture tips, the disruptions caused by dementia, plus how to individuate from our birth families And all this is presented in her smooth, ironic manner.

Page one sold me. “Greta Russakoff stood in the center of it all and contemplated precisely how she would murder her entire family one by one.” When Greta’s intrusive Maine family offers her up as a straight date in a charity action, though they know she’s queer, she needs an escape. Meanwhile, in New Orleans, Truman, has learned his boyfriend actually has a husband and child. Their mutual friend arranges for them to swap homes for the holidays. New environments offer perspective and challenges, as they respectively meet the gal and guy who might change their lives… at great cost and risk.

Ms. Parrish’s observations always makes me laugh: “Sometimes when the wall were closing in, there was nothing you could do but attempt to caffeinate them back into position.”

Through her characters she imparts knockout wisdom after wisdom about finding our most genuine selves. For example, how to find your tribe. “When you’re part of a minority you wanna find the people who are like you and can understand your experiences. Thing is, that’s only a couple people and they’re not the ones you want to spend your time with. You get group identity, but you lose your own. So you gotta be somewhere that has enough people like you to find the ones that get you, but also that you wanna be with.”

She also notes how tough it is to maintain personal changes, especially around family. “The dynamics that you’ve established and integrated over years of being together kick back in. It’s like grooves in the mud or something. You can try and drive a different way – crisscross them or whatever – but with the grooves there, the easiest things is always gonna be to slide back into them.”

And Ms. Parrish calls out the mistaken tendency to people-pleasing for love. “It’s not your job to fold yourself up so small that your edges never bump into anyone else.”

She also shows great respect for the healing power of creativity, whether gardening, bullet journaling, reading, writing, innate skills like math, cooking, even interior design. Each is presented with the love of a hobbyist. Here’s a throwaway observation about the ambiance of a room. “It was spare but neat and had a calm, if faded aesthetic that reminded Truman of beach glass blasted smooth by mood waves and capricious sun.”

So yeah, “The Holiday Trap” is a double love story with great quirky characters. But this seemed more like backdrop for a larger message, urging readers to take a chance on life and to find happiness by fulfilling our promises to ourselves. And since I tend to dislike self-help books, this novel proved a far better option! Ms. Parrish took on a great deal without dropping a single thread! Read this one for great dialogue, interesting personalities, fascinating conflicts, enjoyable romance, and lots of hope for the troubled.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book but it was still heartwarming. I feel biased because this book is very much like The Holiday movie but gay. Unfortunately, I really don’t enjoy that movie and this book was kid of like that for me.
Not too much about the holidays. But rather a finding who you are type book set during the holidays.
I enjoy dual point of view books but the dual romance plot is harder to follow and get invested into.
Overall, not a bad book, but not my fave.

QOTD: Are you a hotel or Airbnb traveller?

I am all about that airbnb life… I would camp but I am still convincing PR that it is a valid way to travel.

Roan Parrish is one of my favorite Queer authors! I adore their soft stories that always feature great communication, all the consent, plant and animals babies - and characters that seem like they would give great hugs! This was a little bit different than their other work - it features two parallel stories that are single POV about making a change after a blowout - familial or romantic in nature - and healing. Greta is learning to keep - and hold - boundaries. Truman is learning to ask for what they need. Along the way there are the cutest found families, Queer networks and small town embraces. I really connected with the learning to communicate and move fast your family’s trauma (even if they are awesome humans!) The quote: “If your family stops loving you because you make a choice that’s best for you, that’s not love. That’s control.”

I have read a lot of Parrish’ work and while this was a delight… I ended up expecting more. This read a lot closer to the lit fic/ women’s fic side of the romance genre. The steam was lower, the story was longer, it was essentially two single POV stories that were about self discovery and there was a romance storyline. I enjoyed it immensely but also felt like I had been sold a bill of goods…

TL/DR Review
Stars: Three and a Half
Series: NA
POV: dual third (parallel stories NOT both sides of a relationship)
Steam: medium. References to toys, build in intimacy. Lower than other Parrish work though
Tropes: house swap, found family, small town, getting over a break up
For Fans Of: Jenny Colgan or the movie The Holiday
Theme Song: You’re My Home by Billy Joel
Subgenre: Contemporary/ Romcom/ Queer
CW/ TW: on page Alzheimers depiction, references to toxic families/ toxic relationships

Thank you to the author and publisher for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story about finding your true home.  Greta Russakoff is part of a tight-knit family in a small town in Maine.  She has lived there her entire life other than the four years she was in college.  Greta is incredibly close to her parents and her sisters, even though she often feels they don't appreciate what it is like to live as a lesbian in such a small town where everyone seems to know her and her family.  Across the country, in New Orleans, Truman Belvedere just broke up with his boyfriend of almost a year, after he learned the boyfriend actually had a secret life including a husband and a daughter.  So as the holidays approach, both Greta and Truman are eager to get out of their respective hometowns.  

Greta and Truman have each been in touch with their mutual friend Ramona, who suggests a house swap between Greta and Truman.  So Greta finds herself in warm and vibrant New Orleans, where she quickly makes friends and meets Carys, who she feels an immediate attraction to.  And Truman finds himself in a charming small town, where he feels quickly welcomed by many of the townspeople, including Ash, the local florist.  And his connection feels even stronger as he begins to suspect Greta’s hometown may be where the author of his favorite fantasy series wrote those beloved books. The new communities Greta and Truman find themselves in help them see new paths for their lives.  But as their month-long exchange nears its end, Greta and Truman must face returning to their old lives, or whether there is a different path.

I really enjoyed this book!  It felt like a terrific, updated queer spin on The Holiday movie.  Both Greta and Truman were such warm and engaging characters, and it was so enjoyable to go on their respective, and interacting, journeys.  The author did an excellent job of portraying how Greta was so close to her family, but also the ways in which they held her back.  I also really appreciated the depiction of the relationships with Carys and Ash, especially how important communication (and miscommunication) often is in the early days of relationship and figuring out boundaries.  The book also portrays with nuance how each of Greta and Truman pursue their interests, in plants and bullet journaling respectively, and the ways it nourishes them and also sometimes isolates them.  Finally, the book evoked both Owl Island and New Orleans with such clarity, it made me wish I could spend the holidays (or longer) in each place.  

Very highly recommended!

This story immediately brought the movie "The Holiday" to mind. It was a movie that I loved so I had high hopes for how this particular story would go. I wasn't disappointed. The "swap" engages a state I love (Maine) with a city I've not had a chance to go to. The story made me want to spend time in both. There were a few, definitely steamy scenes, but that wasn't the focus of this story. Nor was it the fact that both main characters were gay. The story, to me, was about being yourself, asking for what you want and need, being comfortable in your skin and to stop always just letting others make all the decisions for you (even when you hate that decision). Being your true self is one of the hardest things to do but all of the characters in the story (quirky, fun and some super out there but loveable) helped them to see that they were worthy of putting themselves first for a change and being the ones to decide the trajectory of their lives.

This book is a queer spin on the movie The Holiday. Grace, who lives in a small town in Maine, has had it with the meddling of her family after her mother and sister put her up in a charity auction for a date knowing that she is a lesbian. Over in New Orleans there is Truman who just found out that he was the secret of his boyfriend who has a family. Ramona, who is a friend of both Grace and Truman, comes up with the idea of them switching houses for a month. They both feel that they need a switch of pace and agree to the swap.

Both Grace and Truman seem to find themselves running into people that will make a difference in their lives as soon as they arrive in their new destinations. Truman meets Ash who is the florist in town and instantly feels comfortable with him. Truman also thinks that the house he staying in Was it one time the home of an author that is very important to him. Truman also keeps in contact with two friends of his who are also fans of the same series that he has been obsessed with since he was a child. It’s a nice Truman through Ash starts to feel more confident in himself and starts to realize that one bad relationship doesn’t mean that you can’t trust someone new.

While in New Orleans grace finds herself meeting Muriel who is also a fellow lover of flowers as well as Carys with whom Grace seems to form an instant attraction. welcome her family grace really starts to bloom and finds herself doing different things and finds that she can actually be happy outside of Maine.

All in all this book is fun and romantic and full of quirky characters in both locations. Locations are also a part of the story as much as the characters are. If you are looking for a fun holiday romance with likable characters this is the book for you.

This book was a fun, queer take on The Holiday. Greta and Truman both need a change, so they swap homes during the Holiday season. Greta and Truman both find love interests in their new towns, so we get to enjoy two love stories throughout the book.

I really liked the premise of this book and loved the LGBTQIA+ representation. Unfortunately, I felt this book was paced a bit too slowly for me. Greta's story is quite different than Truman's and I personally had a stronger preference for Truman's. I didn't feel as connected with Greta's story (I'm cis-gendered and straight without a found family, so arguably/admittedly I'm likely NOT the audience) so her chapters felt like they dragged to me. There were also elements of Truman's story that didn't resonate with me as deeply and dragged, too.

There was a fantastic group of secondary characters, but a few secondary storylines that I didn't feel like truly added to the story.

I enjoyed this book and think anyone looking for a fun LGBTQIA+ holiday romance should pick this one up. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC!

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
👭👬🏼🌈🏳️‍⚧️
🎄🐕🐴💐🪴🐝🕎

Ok, so this book was cute. It's about two characters that have a mutual friend who gave them a brilliant idea to swap houses, 4 and half hour plane ride away, after both having the need to get away from their lives for a bit.

Greta needs to get away from her overbearing, slightly homophobic family after her sister tries to auction her off to a cis white male, even though she is a lesbian, and doesn't like the fact that it encourages slavery.
Truman, needing time to clear his head after finding out, that his boyfriend for a year, had a whole secret family and was a side piece.

Both end up finding love, have life realisations, and have a difficult (or not so) decision to make about their future.

I found this book cute, and easy to read and I loved the queer representation. Lesbians, Gays, Non-Binary and Transgender characters were in this book, and not just mentioned. They were actually a part of the story and it couldn't have been more amazing.

Thank you Netgalley and Roan Parrish for a copy of the eBook in exchange for an honest review.

This is a re-telling or a very similar version of the movie the Holiday, however I enjoyed this one better. This to me seemed more realistic. I enjoyed the character dynamics. The representations, the character development throughout the story. Roan Parrish did a good job with making sure things came around full circle not only with the romance part but with everything else. Usually holiday books are cheesy and not with much substance and that's why I kept putting this one off however, this one is the opposite. The mentions of mental health and emotional maturity was so well done. To me this is a holiday book well done. This is a book you are sure going to want to read come the holiday season.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review as always all words are my own.

4.5 stars

Recently I read a book that I said had elements of the movie The Holiday in the beginning. This book is a flat-out last-minute house swap situation with so much romance, it hits all the same notes as The Holiday, not just a few. I loved it!

With a story such as this, where there are essentially two main characters having two separate storylines in two different places, it can be easy to favor one branch of the story over the other. I found, with this book, that I was equally invested in both Greta and Truman. When a Greta section ended and it hopped back to Truman, I would be disappointed for a millisecond before getting fully engrossed in Truman’s story. And vice versa.

The romance between Truman and Ash is so sweet and hesitant and just gave me a yummy warm feeling. Greta’s romance is a bit more chaotic. She grew up on a small island and never really lived anywhere else other than in college. Even then, she didn’t live in such a diverse and metropolitan area as New Orleans. As much as I was 100% on board for the romance between Greta and Carys, I found the other relationships Greta cultivated to be what kept me so engaged in her storyline. Greta really had a lot of digging deep to do in order to understand herself and her family and, in the end, be okay with the decisions she makes for herself.

While the small town of Owl Island always seemed to hold Greta down and cast a pall over her life, Truman thrived in the environment. His creativity flourished and he learned to listen to his inner self to find what he wanted and needed in life. Truman learns how to make himself happy without relying on making others happy to do so. He finds his own adventure on Owl Island, not just with Ash but with the books that he loves and so much more.

I swear, Roan Parrish never disappoints. This story is a bit different than the other books I’ve read by her so far, yet it is just as engaging and entertaining.

I have decidedly middle of the road feelings about The Holiday Trap by the usually great Roan Parrish. To be honest, my rating is around 2.5 stars, especially since I almost DNFed during the epilogue.

I have a lot of thoughts about this story, and some may be rambling so bear with me.

First of all, I think having two romances being told at once was distracting. Neither relationship felt fully developed and I wanted more from both.

The male/male pairing was very cute in a hurt/comfort way. The main characters were both kind of schmoopy and romantic, so their pairing was easy for me, even if it felt a bit rushed. I much preferred this story, probably because I related to the MCs more. I really enjoyed Truman's bullet journaling and his problem-solving and organizational drive. I saw a lot of myself in him and his compulsions, and I really enjoyed him as a character. I also liked his love of his favorite fantasy book and that storyline, though it felt underdeveloped for me. I also think the thread of Truman's ex was underdeveloped (they dated for 11 months and Guy didn't even try to text or call him when Truman went radio silence?? felt like it needed more there). Still, this was the "easier" pairing of the story.

The female/female pairing was more difficult for me. I enjoyed having a Jewish MC (more on that later) and I actually adored the plant details. I loved Greta's love of plants, and I felt that really come through the pages (or ebook pages, so to speak). I did find the story was too muddled with all of the side characters, but my biggest issue was I didn't love the romance between Greta and Carys. I know this is a probably a personal failure of mine that I didn't like Carys, but I didn't like how she talked to Greta when Greta overstepped. I think it's because I'm a neurotic people pleaser who goes the extra step to make people happy, but I thought Carys was cold and aloof too often for me. I also felt like they got together and then their relationship sort of stagnated. They hung out and did stuff and...?? I didn't get as much of a sense of where their relationship was headed, maybe because Greta's storyline was clogged with her family issues and lots of side characters.

I know this is a holiday story so they had to focus on it, but I literally had to look up if the author was Jewish because I don't know a single Jewish person that even cares about Hanukkah. We'll have a little party, maybe, and obviously do gifts with kids, but most Jews care much, much more about other holidays. Of course, if you've met one Jewish person you've met one Jewish person, so everyone's family traditions may be different, but it just rang a bit false to me.

Overall, I think I enjoyed this story just enough to light up that third star (but the more I linger on it the less I feel like giving this story that much credit). It had a lot of positives, but it doesn't live up to the movie it is modeled after or it's potential.


*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

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What a great surprise read Roan Parrish’s The Holiday Trap was for me . I went in not really knowing what to expect and just knew that it involved a life swap and that Roan Parrish is a author that intrigued me that I had yet to read. But I am so glad I got this book and audiobook arcs from Netgalley. I loved the two LGBTQA+ romance involved in this lovely book. This story has so much in it from representing on of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, to saving a small business as well as plenty reference to plants and flowers. It also takes a look at serious issues of homophobia, to look at dementia/early onset Alzheimer to the big issue of care taking a parent with those conditions. You also get both the small town feels and big city vibes in this lovely story that gives you two romances.

The main characters in this one are just both characters I related to and enjoyed oh so much. Truman has to leave New Orleans after finding out his relationship was a giant lie. I fell in love with Truman instantly. I probably enjoyed his and Ash’s romance a bit more than Greta’s. Greta took me a little while to warm up to but by the end you couldn’t help but cheering for the conclusions she came to and the things she did. Greta story of growth really ended with such a high note. Her romance w/Cary’s was hot hot hot. But the commutation at the end of the was my favorite things about this. Greta’s Jewish rep was something I enjoyed reading as well. With Truman and Ash’s story. I just related to it some much. I loved the beginning of their relationship especially. Ash’s mother storyline also I pulled at my heart being that I took care of my grandmother with dementia. Also loved the conclusion of that storyline as well. Also the friendships that Greta made and the small town/community that Truman found himself loving where great additional pieces to a great whole.

Overall I loved this book and was so glad to have read it. It help with with a massive book reading slump I’m currently in. This story is just a heartfelt, funny and awesome read that people should read. I can’t wait to read more Roan Parrish books after this.. I gave The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish 4.5 stars (marked 4 on this scale).

Receiving the audiobook for this I must add the narrators did a terrific job with this one. I especially loved Peter Cross telling Truman and Ash’s story. He was funny and he made me feel so much when it came to the emotional parts.

Thank you NetGalley, Source Books and Dreamscape Audio for these arcs.

I am horrified by Greta’s family and want to ruin everything for Guy because he sucks so much.

Major manic pixie dream girl energy for Greta’s partner. A mini horse is such a strange pet for a person to have, let alone a person inside a major city. New Orleans is odd but I don’t know that it’s that odd.

Ash and Truman deserve all the heart eyes. They both seem so starved for affection and kindness that they were constantly awed by the other.

Truman and Ash though, once a game-plan went together for how to care for Ash’s mom without emptying his emotional tank daily fit into each other’s lives easily and I enjoyed it very much.

As the story went on, I was more interested in Ash and Truman’s story than Greta and Carys’. Greta needs therapy and to figure out what she thinks for herself. She had this glorious mindset transformation thing and was very reactive to everyone’s opinions but I didn’t feel like she was working through things and doing what was best for her.

Up to and including the last scene of the book, Greta felt like she was crashing Carys’ friend group and whatnot instead of feeling like she was a part of it and I found it kind of disappointing for her. But hey, she’s happy. I did like that Sadie never had a big apology scene because sometimes family just sucks. Letting that one go is a good decision.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

This book was so good! I liked that the holiday talked the most about in this book was Hanukkah, not Christmas. I also liked that the two main characters swapped houses on a recommendation from a friend and then their lives basically changed forever.

Christmas and holdiay double romance. This is a The Holdiay movie retelling with a MM and FF romance in a small town in Maine and New Orleans. There is a lot of character growth and healing that happens in this book, it is pro therapy and communication which is awesome to see. I think this is doing a lot of fantastic things and is very positive while also dealing with some hard family dynamics (check TW). I didn't love either of the romances, I think because we were dealing with two different relationships I never got enough time with either couple.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really heartwarming book. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

This was pretty cute! It's tough to write a dual romance, and while this has a relatively short page count, it did read long at points - I wouldn't say that one couple lagged more than the others, because I was equally bored at different parts in each, but I think things could have moved a little faster. There was also some real weird mom stuff (like, mad at mom stuff, not MILF stuff).

The narration was great, though: Greta and Thurman each get their own narrator, and their mutual friend also has her own narrator for their text etc. interludes.

This was a cute read, but one that struggled with pacing for me. I just felt at times like it would drag on and then speed along, then drag again.

All in all this was cute and sweet and I enjoyed the characters, but it sort of missed the mark for me.