My first experience with the May ladies. Nice trio of couples. Interesting mix. Fun reading about various traditions and expressions. I don't celebrate Christmas, but it was fun reading about their activities.

Super sweet with some giggles and fun thrown in. The May Ladies Lucy, Jules and Chloe met on their respective family holidays and remained in touch after their kids club shenanigans. Talking to House Plants, Glitzy Premiers, Fancy Lives, this book is charming, gorgeous and funny. I also know what Nth means now. Definitely a warm and heartfelt read, mixed with love and friendship and fancy destinations.

Chloe, Jules and Lucy are all living their own lives but when you have been friends since childhood and all have your birthdays in May, a get-together is exactly what they need.

This is actually a follow-on from The Christmas Swap, which I have not read, but this novel can work as a standalone.

Barker writes a narrative full of friendship, family and relationships. These characters show a fantastic bond throughout the novel and show that no matter the distance their friendship is still going strong.

This author writes with the reader easily being about to set the scene and Christmas in Hawaii what better scene to see.

I loved The Christmas Swap so when I realised that this followed on, I knew that I would love the story just as much. All the original characters are there and you get to see how their lives have developed. The three couples all have a different dynamic and their own story to tell.

The setting in Hawaii is glorious and sets this apart as a festive read. Friendship is a major theme as ever, but also, there are new characters to add to the mix. I particularly liked how the point of view moves from character to character and does not slow the pace of the story down. This is an entertaining read and full of romance and at times, humour.

In short: with three couples you get romance, romance, romance.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

I loved The Christmas Swap, so couldn't wait to jump into this one and reconnect with the May girls.

Chloe, Lucy and Jules, that's friendship goals right there...the girls are world's apart and living in different cities across the globe, but when they get together it's like they've never been apart. All three of the girls are such lovely characters, realistic and their friendship so heartwarming and their bond unbreakable.

I can't begin to imagine having Christmas in Hawaii of all places, can you? It sounds absolutely glorious, twelve days of sunshine, infinity pools, a home cinema and so much more. Barker's writing easily enables you to visualise the scenery and transport yourself off to sunnier climes.

I absolutely adore this series and I'm already looking ahead to Christmas 2023 to see where Barker and the May girls take us next.

Many thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a lovely Christmas read and I enjoyed reading about the girls. This read as a stand alone book which is fine for people who haven’t read the other one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

It was lovely to catch up with best friends, Chloe, Jules and Lucy and their boyfriends as they celebrate Christmas together in Hawaii. This is a lovely story of friendship, relationships and family. Somehow, the author manages to create a really festive atmosphere, despite the tropical location. I did laugh at roaring log fires with the air con on full blast though. The introduction of Audrey is inspired as is her step mum - both memorable characters. I recommend reading the first Christmas book to get to know the characters of the three friends first.

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read.

This book is a continuing story of the May ladies. Friends after meeting on holiday as children & have stayed very close since.
All their lives changed after a Christmas swap where they met their partners. They are all together this year in Hawaii, arranged by Archer Chloe's boyfriend, who is a famous actor. An eventful holiday, so much happens & the May ladies friendship becomes stronger.
I've loved following the ladies lives. It takes you to another world of glamour, friendship & love.

”If you don’t toot your own horn, you can’t expect anyone else to”

This book was pretty un-exciting, unfortunately. I liked the premise of three best friends reuniting over the Christmas season but there were several different plots happening at once—Audrey, Madison, Lucy’s own dilemmas—that there wasn’t as much focus on the girl’s friendship as I would’ve liked. The last 20% was enjoyable. It was such a drag to get through the first 50%-60% though and that brought my final rating down a lot.

This could just be me being a bit slow, but I found it difficult to separate Lucy, Chloe and Jules from each other. Who lived where. Who was the movie star’s girlfriend. Who was doing long distance. It was a big reason why I couldn’t fully immerse myself in the story.

The Christmas Trip by Sandy Barker is the second book in a Christmas Romance series, the first being The Christmas Swap. As this story follows on, a year after the first book, I would highly recommend that you read the series in order, so that you get the most out of the books.

There are few writers who are as good as Sandy Barker at writing romance with a heavy dose of armchair travel, and she is able to create a location so beautifully that you can visualise it without the need for it to sound like a regurgitated travel guide. Hawaii has never been on my travel bucketlist, but I think it just might be, with the descriptions of Honopu Beach and the arch and waterfall at Na Pali matching the image in my head so perfectly with my subsequent internet image search!

In this book, the May Ladies, who have been friends since they met at the age of 8, all end up in Hawaii, staying in the holiday residence of a billionaire, with the boyfriends they met in the first book. I really love the dynamic between the women and their partners, and there were some steamy moments when they were able to get some time alone in their couples. In addition to Lucy, Chloe and Jules, with partners Will, Archer and Matt respectively, the additional characters added some depth to the story, and it was easy to love housekeeper Leilani, and Nate the dad of Jules and Will (who we met in book one), although not so easy with Audrey, the confused and at times badly behaved adult stepdaughter of Sean, whose house they are staying in.

The Christmas element to the story was perfectly festive for a warm, exotic Christmas, taking elements of a traditional cold weather Christmas and perfectly melding them with the tropical elements one would expect for a Christmas in Hawaii. It really made me crave spending Christmas in Hawaii.

I loved The Christmas Trip, and the characters I had loved from the first book I ended up loving them even more. The Christmas Trip reads like a final book in the series, but whether it is or not, I really will miss Chloe, Jules and Lucy a lot. If you have a weakness for festive romance, like me, and love the idea of a more exotic Christmas, this will definitely be the book that ticks all the boxes!

What a fun adventure THE CHRISTMAS TRIP is. It is the follow up to The Christmas Swap.
It's so much fun meeting up with the characters again and adding in a few new friends.
Set in the beautiful surroundings of Hawaii you won't feel any less Christmas spirit because of the lack of snow. The friends and their beaus are back at it again meeting up and relaxing after working and having so much going on.
I loved the setting of their vacation, Hawaii plenty of delicious authentic foods, decorations, holiday singing and all around that happy Christmassy vibe.
Full of love, laughter, strong friendships, a bit of drama, fun surprises and joy.
I fell in love with this delightful book and its marvelous characters.

Pub Date 10 Nov 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Christmas Swap was a standout Christmas novel for me back in 2020, so imagine my excitement when I discovered The Christmas Trip was on its way! I always love a novel that revisits beloved characters, and The Christmas Trip is no exception!

After finding love following the big Christmas swap, Chloe, Jules and Lucy find themselves one year later, living their new realities with Archer, Matt and Will. With big moves, and plenty of travelling, the three of them are looking forward to spending Christmas with their beaus and finally relaxing after what has been a very full on year.

Chloe's life has changed beyond all recognition as she finds herself living the Hollywood lifestyle with her famous actor boyfriend Archer. After a very fast paced, hectic year, all they want is a relaxing break in Paris - until a volcanic eruption halts all air traffic over Europe.

Jules made the move to Melbourne from Colorado and she couldn't be happier with her life and with Matt. However she's finding her flat share a little crowded and craves her own living space.

Lucy is struggling. Whilst she adores her boyfriend Will, the long distance relationship is tough, especially when she seems to be the only one doing any travelling.

When Chloe and Archer's plans for Paris fall through, he surprises her by bringing her friends to Hawaii so that they can finally enjoy a Christmas all together in the place where they met so many years ago.

I love a good revisit novel - getting the 'happy ever after' ending in a romance novel is always great, but we don't always get the chance to find out what happens next. We all know that 'happy ever after' isn't something that comes easily so actually seeing the bumps in the road after a couple gets together, and seeing how they deal with them serves to make the characters more realistic.

Chloe, Jules and Lucy all have such different stories and relationships, which is what really helps makes this series all the more engaging. They are most definitely not the same, and nor do they try to be. It feels like we're getting three stories for the price of one, something that I definitely won't complain about! I like them all as characters, and I feel that they are all relatable and believable. Throw in the beauty of Hawaii and you are onto a winner! Whilst, like Lucy, I was a little disappointed with the lack of snow (I did rather love the Colorado setting in The Christmas Swap), the description of Hawaii definitely left me wanting to visit. It's just a shame that its unlikely I'll be seeing Hawaii from a Billionaires mansion!

I am more than happy to recommend this novel to you all. Whilst you could read The Christmas Trip as a standalone, I'm not sure why you would want to - so grab yourself a copy of The Christmas Swap (feel free to check out my review!) and get yourself into the Christmas spirit by reading these two novels back to back! Immerse yourself into the lives of 3 very different best friends, and enjoy their journeys to find love, and what happens next!

Three friends from childhood last year swapped their Christmas celebrations,
Meeting up with each others families and relations.
That changed their lives as each found romance
Now they're getting together - with their partners - by chance.

A volcano erupts and original plans blow away, too,
So Archer plans a getaway for more than just their two.
The friends reunited for a Christmas they'll remember
In a luxurious location to relax in this December.

However, for the three May Ladies, all isn't quite so well
Add in some others and there'll be dramas you can tell.
A fascinating read, full of Christmas fun and sun
Together with family drama, paparazzi and things getting done!

A story of relationships, developing and new
That I have no hesitation in highly recommend to you!
For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
It's a heartwarming, festive read and this is my honest review.

The Christmas Trip has me back with Jules, Chloe and Lucy that I met and bonded with in The Christmas Swap.
I was glad to be back with them and catch up with where they each are in their lives.
I felt the book was so perfectly written and the location was excellent. I was so glad that they were all together for the holidays this time.
Thank you NetGalley and Sandy Barker for the copy of The Christmas Trip. This is my personal review.

Although The Christmas Trip is a sequel to The Christmas Swap, I didn't feel I had missed out by not having read the first book. The Christmas Trip is a feel-good romance set in the beautiful surroundings of Hawaii.. Chloe, Jules and Lucy have all been friends for years and their not all get along well too. I really connected with all the characters - I felt I could be their 4th best friend. A fabulous start to the festive season.

The Christmas Trip is the sequel to ‘The Christmas Swap’ and this time we join The May Ladies the following Christmas in the idyllic location of Hawaii!

I stand by my thoughts after the first book and still absolutely adore the friendship that Lucy, Chloe and Jules share and love how Matt, Archer and Will fit in and share their own friendship.

I had anticipated what would happen for Jules and Matt and really hope that we get more books from this series as the story has to continue!

Plot: Lucy, Chloe and Jules have been best friends for many years and after a successful Christmas swap last year (This is a sequel to the Christmas Swap!) decide to spend their Christmas and new year in Hawaii all together. What should have been a peaceful holiday turns into chaos involving uninvited guests and the paparazzi on their doorstep.

Review: Having read The Christmas Swap last year and loving it, I knew I had to read this sequel. It was great to be back in the world of Lucy, Chloe and Jules. It didnt disappoint and was a very engaging story. I love the characters and how different they are but are still amazing best friends. This is definitely get you in the festive spirit. I loved it.

I’ve loved being back in the company of Lucy, Chloe and Jules. Their easy friendship is a wonderful way to be reintroduced to this great group of characters from Sandy Barker.
With a beautiful setting and Christmas treats included this is another fun read from Sandy.
I always find the intricacies of the relationships in these books fascinating and love the interactions between the women and the other characters. A lighthearted and fun read.

A trip like this is on so many bucket lists, including mine. The characters, the back ground, the purely wonderful feelings of friendship make the perfect Christmas/ Holiday feel good book. I absolutely loved it. While this may be the 2nd book in Christmas romance series featuring these three lucky ladies, it is easily a wonderful stand alone book of romance and friendship. Treat yourself or fill someone's stocking......this is an excellent book.