Loved this fun Christmas story that is book 2 in a series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. The setting is a beach island, the characters are fun, the story is full of drama, and it's overall just a great fun read to put you in the holiday spirit. When the "May Ladies" spend Christmas in Hawaii, it seems like it will be a fun get-together with friends. But that isn't always the case, and some unexpected guests throw a little wrench into the Christmas festivities! Quick read and will really be looking forward to book 3 in the series! Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

It is a big plus if you have read the first book of this series, 'The Christmas Swap', certainly there are a few lines here and there referring to last year's Christmas, but that is very brief and it is more fun to read the previous book in order to know the whole history of the may ladies.

This year the friends will celebrate Christmas with their loved ones, in the case of Chloe (from Australia) and Archer (from the UK) they will go to Paris. But a volcano in Iceland makes throws a spanner in the works because all flights from the USA to Europe, where they live in LA after the filming of Archer's last film, can therefore not take place.

Archer has many wealthy friends which he made through his job, and he arranges for Chloe's friends and their partners, and Jules and Will's father, to celebrate Christmas with them at a large mansion on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. After Chloe recovers from this first surprise, she thinks it's time to celebrate Christmas and jumps into her event planner mode.

It will be a pleasant but different Christmas holiday because there will be surfing, walking and sailing on a yacht. Unfortunately, the paparazzi won't leave Archer and Chloe alone and so there are still some incidents. However, Archer saves the biggest surprise for last and you can't help but enjoy it all with the friends.

The book ends with a long epilogue exactly one year later at Christmas and in that way you get a nice picture of how the three friends and their partners, and a number of other characters from the book, have fared in the past year.

Characters = 8 | Atmosphere = 8 | Writing Style = 8 | Plot = 7 | Intrigue = 8 | Logic = 7 | Enjoyment = 9 | Score 7,86 = 4 stars

Fun light Christmas read. I enjoyed reading about all the Christmas traditions with a little twist to them. The setting sounded beautiful. There is a huge cast of characters and I sometimes got them confused especially the boys. There was a lot of drama some I feel that was not resolved and some that could be resolved with a conversation. But the book was still very enjoyable because their friendship is the heart of the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

The second in a series but can be read as a standalone. I reread The Christmas Swap before reading book 2 which I felt made the read more enjoyable. A well written read about three loved up friends who live in different corners of the world. This book shows you that it isn't important where you are but being with those who matter to you is what counts. For every romcom fan out there.

Scrolling Netgalley for hidden gems I found The Christmas trip by Sandy Barker. I never read any books by her, but people kept telling me that if I like Julie Caplin's Romantic Escapes or the work of Sarah Morgan I will most definitely love her books as well. It did indeed look exactly like my cup of tea so I was very happy when HarperCollins UK / One more chapter accepted my request. Thank you for letting me read an advanced copy.

What is the book about?
A year has passed and it's Christmas time again. Best friends Chloe, Jules and Lucy are all in a relationship and live in different parts of the world.
Chloe is living in Hollywood with her celebrity boyfriend Archer. She is very much in love but it's been a turbulent year and she is dying to get away and spend some quality time together.
Jules lives in Melbourne and loves it there. Her boyfriend Matt is a winemaker. She shares a flat and lately that's too crowded for her. She wants a place of her own.
Her brother Will has a relationship with Lucy, who feels it's pretty hard to maintain a long-distance relationship, flying between London and Colorado.
Archer was planning to take Chloe to Paris, but an Icelandic vulcano ruined that plan. Instead he surprises her by bringing her friends together for an epic Christmas they'll never forget.

The book starts with a prologue: Twelve years ago. The May Ladies - Mexico. In this prologue Jules, Chloe and Lucy just checked in for a vacation after Jules' breakup and the reader is informed about the origin of their friendship and why they call themselves the May Ladies. It's a modern scene of three young women with regular issues and talks but it confused me a bit. When I read what the book was about, I saw that Jules lives in Melbourne, but in this prologue Chloe was called the Aussie and there were some other things that confused me. The Christmas trip starts with a trip in the prologue but that's not the trip this book is about. Right after the prologue we switch to Chloe in Los Angeles and that confused me because she was the Aussie. Later on things get more clear and the origin is often enough explained, but still I felt like I was missing out on a lot of fun. Especially when they were all together in Hawaii, the place means something to them and you had to pay attention to who says or thinks what. It can feel a bit overwhelming and/or crowded. Nevertheless, you read about 3 couples with regular issues and the holiday look and feel is very uplifting and that made it a very pleasant to read story. The characters are recognizable and you can really relate to the women and their struggles in love, friendship and life in general.

I found out this book is the second in a series so I downloaded the first too, because I wanted to know more about how the relationships were formed and that is what you read about in book one: The Christmas swap.
Although the books are suitable to be read as stand alone, I would strongly recommend to read the books in the right order. That way you have all the information and will not get confused. You will have so much more fun on this trip! It makes a difference if you travel along with people you've just met or spend a vacation with people you know and love. If you are looking for a feel-good Christmas trip, this is definitely the one you need, but make sure you don't miss out on the Christmas swap!

I love how the story is built and how everything unfolded towards the end. The lovable characters and the very realistic issues they deal with, the absolutely fabulous setting and surroundings and the humor will make you read this book with a smile.

Sandy Barker is an Australian writer with a great sense of humour who travels a lot and is very hopeful about romance. Her adventures during traveling inspired her writing. Her debut novel is set in Greece, a contemporary romance that is inspired by her own lovestory. One summer in Santorini is therefor my next catch. I was pleased to find out this was book one (of five) in the holiday romance series.

My review is on Goodreads and Hebban. You can find it on my linktree as well. This is posted in the bio of all my socials.

https://linktr.ee/EmJayreadsandwrites

https://www.hebban.nl/recensie/mariejosejansen-over-the-christmas-trip

Christmas in an island paradise is a lovely thought, and this story brings it to vivid life. Happy in their relationships first visited in last year's The Christmas Swap, Chloe, Jules, and Lucy find themselves unexpectedly reunited for the festive season. It's a lovely festive story full of friendship, humour, romance, and the occasional conflict. I enjoyed meeting the story's new characters and catching up with the three friends. It's a believable contemporary rom-com with complex characters, a vibrant setting, and a festive twist.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

⭐️⭐️
I read Sandy Barker’s The Christmas Swap a year ago & found it charming. So when I heard ‘part 2’ (The Christmas Trip) was coming out I was excited! It features the same three girlfriends (& their significant others) on a trip to Hawaii over Christmas. However I found this book rather slow and boring. It’s a cute Christmas book but I wanted more from the characters & the story line in general. Thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for this ARC.

| About |

Another year has passed and it’s Christmas again. This year best friends Chloe, Jules and Lucy are all loved up but living worlds apart.
Chloe is madly in love with her celebrity beau, Archer, but after a whirlwind year in Hollywood’s limelight, she’s desperate to get away and spend some quality time together.
Jules loves her Melbourne life – and gorgeous winemaker Matt – but a crowded flat share has her longing for a place of her own.
Meanwhile, Lucy is stuck in a long distance relationship, jetting back and forth between Colorado and London to see Will.
When Archer’s plan to whisk Chloe to Paris goes awry, he surprises her by bringing her friends together for a Christmas to remember…

| Thoughts |

Really enjoyed this sequel, it’s super cute.
I love the characters and am invested in each of their stories. The little blips along the way make the stories interesting. I was kinda guessing from some clues laying around what was unfolding in each couples story. By the end it was revealed and I appreciate it not being a cliffhanger. Hoping there’s another story with these fun couples and their families in the wings.

I really adored The Christmas Swap and Barker has given us the gift of another gorgeous Christmas story to love this year in The Christmas Trip.

It was so fun to check in on the May ladies and their significant others. It felt a bit like when you catch up with friends you haven’t seen for a while and everything slots right in like no time has gone by. When it comes to romance stories sequels can be tricky – the meet cute is done and “will they get it together” tension is lost, and I think sometimes the spark is lost. In this case though Barker has done a lovely job of portraying couples who are a year into their relationship, still somewhat starry eyed but also with some experience together behind them, and has given us an engaging read with some decent stakes and challenges without getting too scary (it’s a Christmassy romance after all!). As well as the three couples from the first book there are some great new characters introduced, who I felt added to the fullness of the story.

I feel like the Christmassy-ness of this one came from the hearts and actions of the characters more than the setting, but that Hawaii made a perfect setting for a fun Christmas get away. I could practically feel the sun and sand, and loved the way that the characters pulled together to make a special Christmas for each other. The descriptions of the food were also fabulous and helped me feel like I was right there at the table (gosh I mish make a pavlova or two this year!)

Honestly, if you’re after a Christmas romance read with an Aussie twist I can’t think of a better pair of books to check out!
Big congrats to Sandy Barker on this release (and here’s hoping for more festive fun from these friends – I don’t think we could ever have too many Aussie Christmas books when they’re this lovely!)

The Christmas Swap was the first Sandy Barker book I ever reviewed on the blog so I was delighted to hear that she was going back to catch up with Chloe, Lucy and Jules one year on from the exciting events of that Christmas. Last time, the girls were all celebrating Christmas in different parts of the world and all falling in love. This time, life manages to gather the three of them all in one place, with their beaus… and what a fabulous place they find themselves in to celebrate the festive season.

I’ve never spent Christmas anywhere other than in the UK so I have loved experiencing Christmas in other parts of the world vicariously through novels. I doubt I will ever get to spend Christmas in a tech billionaire’s Hawaiian mansion in real life, so it’s a good job that Sandy has managed to bring it to life so well through the pages of The Christmas Trip. It is certainly different to an English Christmas (much to the chagrin of one of the cast) and I loved reading about all of the special Hawaiian touches they manage to incorporate. If you come away from this book without humming Mele Kalikimaka for the rest of the day, you have more willpower than I.

Aside from the immersive setting of the book, the great strength of this book is in the characters. If you’ve read The Christmas Swap, you’ll already have fallen in love with Chloe, Jules and Lucy and their amazing friendship, which has lasted through the years and across the continents, and is still going strong despite new romances, huge life changes and the separation of continents. You’ll also be eager to catch up with Matt, Archer and Will and see how the six of them are settling into their lives as couples. Well, here you can observe them closely as they gather for Christmas at the end of a year of changes for all of them. Despite the fact they are all still together, that’s not to say that life doesn’t have its challenges, and some of these come to head during the course of the book, providing plenty of tension to hold the readers interest, alongside the festive excitement.

Lucy and Will’s story was the one that I found particularly affecting, so much so that it made my eyes prickle at the denouement, but I was entranced by all of their stories, as well as the peripheral characters that Sandy has introduced. I was really delighted with how each of the relationships panned out (although, I have to tell you Sandy, I had guessed what was going on with Jules quite early on, well before she did I think!) and the book left me with that lovely, warm glow you always hope to be left with a the end of a Christmas romance. And yes, this could completely me a Hallmark Christmas movie, I am with Lucy on her love of those!

I really hope there is going to be more to come from this gang of friends. Surely we haven’t heard the last of Archer and Chloe’s nemesis, and there is definitely more to Lucy and Will’s story. If you like to mix romance, travel and Christmas (and who doesn’t?) this is the festive book for you. I would advise you read The Christmas Swap first though, firstly so you get the full back story for the characters and their relationships, but also because it’s a corking read in its own right.

I’m ready now, bring on Christmas!

Despite all the travelling I’ve done, I’ve never visited Hawaii – but I was so enchanted by the setting of this lovely book, the island of Kauai, that I’ve spent far more time than I meant to looking at photos, lusting after a visit (thank you Google). Although I really didn’t need the pictures – the author’s vivid descriptions are enough on their own. But Matt’s right – the coves of Honopu Beach do look as if they were created by a giant with an ice cream scoop, a location to die for (and distinctly inaccessible unless I too can find myself a billionaire with a boat to take me there).

So, why Hawaii this time? Lucy was headed back to Colorado for another white Christmas – it hasn’t been easy, a year into a long-distance relationship with Jules’ brother Will, particularly when she seems to be the only one making the effort. Jules has settled into life in Melbourne, although flat sharing is getting to her a little – but, much as she loves Matt (and his dog Dex), she doesn’t feel ready yet to move in with him at the vineyard, and it’s looking as if they’ll be hosting the (now becoming traditional) orphans’ Christmas again for all the singles separated from their families. Chloe and Archer were planning to head to Paris, badly in need of a break from the Hollywood lifestyle and constant spotlight – but when that becomes impossible, Archer calls in a favour and snags a luxury home (infinity pool, cinema, yoga studio, resident housekeeper…) on Kauai. And who better to share the experience with them, at short notice, than Chloe’s very best friends and their partners?

As it did in the earlier book – if you haven’t met them before, you’ll soon pick up the really special relationship between the three women – it’s their exceptional friendship that warms the heart and gives you all the feels. Each of them is a distinct character, so beautifully created and developed, each with their own quirks and foibles and the different issues centred on their relatively new relationships. And their respective partners are beautifully drawn too – with depth of their own, and more than a few secrets and surprises to be revealed along the way. There are also a few new characters who feature in the story – some who you’ll take to your heart (I really loved Mama Leilani, not really a BLT – bossy little thing – at all!) and one in particular you might well find it as difficult as I did to warm to at first. And there’s another character that’s less than welcome lurking in the wings too, one we’ve met before, making it particularly difficult for Archer and Chloe to switch off completely.

The whole book is quite gloriously Christmassy, as the women – led by Chloe, organiser supreme – set about creating a Christmas that will be special for them all. Definitely not Walmart for decorations for the tree, abundant food and drink you can really taste and enjoy, and plans (not organised by Chloe) for a party to remember and the celebration of a particularly special occasion. And the romance is really rather special too – it takes some doing to keep three romantic storylines running (plus the day to day happenings, often involving unexpected drama) but the author manages it with particular aplomb as she moves comfortably between their different perspectives. And they’re so much more than mere storylines – I felt entirely caught up in the complexities of their relationships, wanting things to turn out well for them all.

For much of the first book, the May Ladies were apart – and not just apart, but on different continents. Bringing them together, and being able to luxuriate in the warmth of their friendship, gave me all I could possibly have wished for. I laughed (a lot – try sitting near Chloe when she “sings”!), cried a little (some parts are really emotional), was on the edge of my seat at times – and was totally immersed throughout in this wonderfully told story. I really loved it – one to add to your Christmas reading list, because you’re going to love it too.

(Review copied to Amazon UK, but link not yet available)

It was great to be back with the May Ladies and their respective boyfriends. I love revisiting characters as I’m always curious as to how they navigated their happily ever after.
How they were all reunited was lovely, I liked how Archer organised it all and kept it a surprise from Chloe, the reunion reaction was brilliant!
Each character was relatable and had real relationship issues that they were trying to work through, they all saw aspects of their relationships differently and I thought that was good as not everyone always thinks and feels the same - Jules freaking out about moving in with Matt and Lucy desperate to be with Will and settle down.
The new added characters were a nice touch, and don’t we all wish we had a billionaire friend like Sean??!! All the Christmas touches were nice and again great to see how it’s celebrated in different countries.
A nice, quite different Christmas read.

It was so fun revisiting the characters from The Christmas Swap for this sequel. Once again, Sandy Barker knows how to lay on the Christmas nostalgia and you're sure to find something relatable, whether it's the longing of missing loved ones during the festive season, to fun holiday traditions shared with friends that come to mean more than family. The May Ladies are back and all loved up a year on from their Christmas Swap where they found themselves paired up. Chloe's world-famous actor boyfriend, Archer, has organized for everyone to spend Christmas together in Hawaii, but beautiful location aside, not everything goes to plan. Archer's ex continues to cause problems for them, Lucy is sick of feeling like she's the only one doing the work in her long-distance relationship with Will, and Jules is afraid of moving in with Matt. Add to the mix some unexpected houseguests, and their perfect Christmas is looking anything but. By the closing pages, however, you'll be glad you joined the May Ladies, their beaus, and the new characters introduced because their drama and humour-filled adventure is a great way to get into the fun of the festive season.

This book was the second in a series, I hadn't read the first one and whilst not really necessary I think I would have liked to, to give that little bit more background to the story.

It tells the story of friends Chloe, Jules and Lucy who all live in various corners of the world, this CHristmas they are all bought together once more to enjoy the season.

The story was ok - mainly fun and romance and an easy read, at times the characters were annoying but overall a fun festive read.

Unfortunately, The Christmas Trip didn't work for me. After loving The Christmas Swap, I was looking forward to reading another holiday romance from Sandy Barker, but I think this would have worked better with brand new characters. It read like an extended epilogue, which I didn't feel like we needed after the three couples' stories were wrapped up well in The Christmas Swap.

This book was cute, but I wasn't a huge fan. I think part of the problem was that it was the second in the series, and I didn't know that before I requested to read it.

I really enjoy Chloe, Jules, and Lucy. Their friendship was enjoyable to read about. I liked that they were all attached to men who were similar to them.

Overall I think there are better Christmas stories out there.

This is book 2 in the series and though it can be read as a stand-alone p, I definitely think I would have benefited from having read the first book. I felt like I was missing a lot of the characters backstory and therefore they lacked a lot of depth and details to me, despite the major amount of detail provided in the story.
The “May Ladies” are a group of friends who met as children while on vacation with their parents and all happen to have May birthdays so they gave themselves that nickname. They’ve gone on with life and grown up and still maintained their friendship, though they don’t see each other often as their spread out around the world. Each has their own drama, but when they’re all brought together to celebrate Christmas in Hawaii , the May Ladies have festivities as well as issues.
This was a light rom-com with some more serious moments and fans of the authors other books are sure to enjoy it.
Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

I love being transported somewhere new when I read a book and going to Hawaii for Christmas? I"m IN!!! This was a joy to read and it made me want pineapple on the beach and delicious homemade cookies and all of the trimmings that make Christmas Christmassy. I love how much Ms Barker captures the spirit of being happy that they're enjoying the holidays with friends, but still wanting those extra little elements that make Christmas familiar. Get yourself a mug of hot chocolate and dive on in everyone!

I realised while reading that this was a follow up of the Christmas swap while reading! I adored the Christmas swap and so I couldn't wait to get into this one as well. Even though it is a part of a series it can be read as a standalone without hindering your enjoyment, but I highly recommend reading both.

It was lovely seeing what Chloe, Jules and Lucy have been up to lately. Such a lovely festive story!

The Christmas Trip by Sandy Barker

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Another year has passed and it’s Christmas again. This year best friends Chloe, Jules and Lucy are all loved up but living worlds apart.

Chloe is madly in love with her celebrity beau, Archer, but after a whirlwind year in Hollywood’s limelight, she’s desperate to get away and spend some quality time together.

Jules loves her Melbourne life – and gorgeous winemaker Matt – but a crowded flat share has her longing for a place of her own.

Meanwhile, Lucy is stuck in a long distance relationship, jetting back and forth between Colorado and London to see Will.

My Opinion

Last year I was lucky enough to read The Christmas Swap so I have been looking forward to this book for a while. Well, it didn't disappoint - this is such a lovely sequel. With all three of our main characters living busy lives they don't get much time to see each other, the solution to this is obviously a Christmas holiday in Hawaii.

For me this was an entertaining, quick read with such lovely characters. I would highly recommend reading The Christmas Swap first as it will allow you to have all of the required background information to really enjoy this book. A great read.

Rating: 4/5