A sweet and simple modern and holiday take on When You Were Sleeping. I loved several elements that made this feel fresh. First the holiday setting lends itself so well to the trope, but more importantly the inclusion of a Latinx MMC and his family.

I loved seeing the Martinezes family dynamic, from the overly zealous and warm, to the brusque and suspicious, everyone in the family felt genuinely like someone in my chaotic Latinx family as well. I loved Mateo of course, he was equal parts charming and self deprecating, and his relationship with Juan especially was great to see, to tease out the tension.

I do wish as always that there was more spice, but this was still a very fun read.

While you were sleeping is one of my favorite movies. This retelling was cute. There was a little too much detail but it is enjoyable.

REVIEW
The Holiday Mix-Up by Ginny
2.75/5
Well, I am 2 for 2 with disappointing Christmas ARCs.

This one was a riff on “When You Were Sleeping”, but unfortunately it was a big miss for me. It started off with a decent start, then fell apart. There was a lack of chemistry (a 0 on the spice scale) and the whole book seemed unrealistic. Who is still living a normal life while their son is in a coma??

I’m starting to lose hope that there will be some magical Christmas reads this year. Maybe I’m just not ready for cheesy Christmas books yet.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of "The Holiday Mix-Up" by Ginny Baird in exchange for an honest review.

Holiday Mix-up by Ginny Baird is a standalone holiday novel that treats readers to a unique storyline. Katie Smith—a lonely waitress agrees to be the fake girlfriend of diner patron and her crush, Juan Martinez. Mayhem ensues when Juan falls into a coma and Katie is left to continue the deception with his family—especially his handsome brother, Mateo. Holiday Mix-up by Ginny Baird is a heartwarming romcom that is perfect for the holiday season.

*Holiday Mix-up by Ginny Baird is a perfect read for anyone that loves the movie—While You Were Sleeping.

The premises are very interesting but the book did not deliver it.

Too many characters to really care about and too many dialogues that borderline silly. It got me yawning from the early stage and I kept skipping to get to the dialogues of two main characters. The Spanish lingo although the family has been living in the US for several (!) generations was very forced and unnecessary - not cute at all. The whole chemistry between the two main characters was rather quick and forced as well.

Of course, everyone gets their love interest in the end. What a foolish book. Don't waste your time and definite... don't waste $16.99 (I am completely speechless).

Thanks Netgalley for a free copy in exchange of an honest review.

Any time you pick up a book by this author, you know it will be a good book. This one will not disappoint. Once I started reading I just could not put it down.

Katie has had a secret crush on Juan and she was so excited that he invited her to be his "pretend" girlfriend, to keep his family from matchmaking. Then she witnessed his accident, and she met his family, alone, at the hospital. Including his brother, Mateo.

This was a really good book that I think you will enjoy . Check it out. Thank you Net Galley and Sourcebooks for an advance copy of this book.

The Holiday MIx-Up gives you a heartwarming story about love and family.
Christmas Hallmark movie vibes make for a very cozy read.
Holiday romance
Fake dating
Vineyard setting
Family dynamics
Perfect holiday reading!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was an epic fail of a holiday romance. The writing is awful. The main characters have no personality. Mateo and Katie have no chemistry or anything in common. Katie is not a motivated person.
Katie's and Mateo's internal thoughts are repetitive, boring, and have no development. It is truly the slowest and most boring lead up to Christmas ever. Despite knowing how it will end, there was no excitement or buildup.
Truly a miss.

I was instantly drawn to the book after reading the references to While You Were Sleeping meets The Wedding Date, two romantic comedies I adore.
however much I wanted to be reeled into this novel, something went amiss, and I didn't feel hooked at all.
Maybe I should try again later. But for now, i'll just set it aside.

The Holiday Mix-Up had the vibes of While You Were Sleeping mixed with a cozy, sweet Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movie. I was rooting for Katie and Mateo and their happily ever after. I loved the Martinez family and their efforts to save the family vineyard. This was a sweet Christmas romance!

*thank you so much to NetGalley for access to the eARC of this novel*

This novel was a adorable more modern take on the film, "While You Were Sleeping" but incorporates some very nice representation and also reimagines the story in a fun way. Baird's interpretation captures the magic of the original, while still adding in her own twists and turns to it.

Overall the story reads very cute, very holiday rom-com, and a perfect read for when you want something to cozy up to during any December day.

I do think something that could have been improved if anything would have been the tackling of the storyline with Juan. There was still room to discuss the nuances of being in a family where people expect so little of you and also how this manifested in his misguided actions. I also think for what happened, he got off relatively fine, despite what many would consider a disastrous thing he did.

The romance of the story was indeed adorable, but I definitely found myself more invested in the family dynamics simply because they were very entertaining to read about and also having family like that myself, a sense of relatability.

Thank to Netgalley and to the publishers for this advanced reader's copy. The plot intrigued me and I knew I had to read this. I love the nod to While You Were Sleeping and having a different way of approaching it. It has had a very Hallmark movie feel to it. My only qualms about it was it felt a little too perfect and too gushy. I feel l like some of the emotions could have been edited and the book shortened.

This charmingly romantic Christmas book for 2023 reminds me of While You Were Sleeping. Katie has been smitten with Juan since she started serving him at the cafe months ago – so when he asks her to be his fake girlfriend for Christmas, she’s thrilled.

Until he gets hit by a van and is put into a coma – after he’s announced he’s got a girlfriend to his family. Reluctant to tell Juan’s secret, Katie is welcomed by the Martinez family. As she keeps up the rouse, she learns about their struggling winery and begins to develop feelings for Juan’s brother, Mateo.

This was a cute hallmark like Christmas book. Katie has a crush on Juan and Juan asks Katie to be his pretend girlfriend for Christmas to get his family off his back. Right after they decide this Juan is hit by a car and Katie saves him. While he is in a coma his family & she get to know each other. She begins to fall for Juan's brother Mateo.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is the perfect romance set around Christmas for fans of While You Were Sleeping and fake dating, It follows a waitress Katie who has a crush on her regular customer at the diner Juan. Juan however is the Santa of charm when he asks her to be his girlfriend and soon after ends up in an unfortunate accident. While tangled up in the family drama we get too see the soothing miracles of the season, the power of finding true love and the repercussions of a lie.

This was a super cute and easy holiday read! If you’re looking for something super light, without any spice, to ease into the holiday season this is a good option. The characters are mostly lovable, the story is family family-centric, and we read about various holiday activities - tree shopping, decorating, cookies, etc.

The story itself was pretty predictable - even if you’re unfamiliar with the movies it’s loosely based on, it was very easy to tell where this book was heading by the second or third chapter. Because of that, it also felt a bit drawn out. The conclusion was also a little rushed - a lot of things were overlooked in lieu of having a very smooth and quick HEA.

If I could change anything about this book I’d like it to be in first person. The narrator felt a bit heavy, like there was more telling rather than showing - I think if we were able to live in the characters head a bit more, it would have fun fun!

Katie agreed to take date Juan over christmas, but when he has an accident what is she supposed to do. As she gets to.know his family will she find out who she really wants?

This was your run of the mill holiday romance. I mean that in a good way! It was cute, set on a vineyard, handsome brothers, lots of secrets. It would be a cute Hallmark movie. Thanks for the chance to read it.

Any "While You Were Asleep" retelling will have my heart.
This was so cute and adorable and I really enjoyed the subplot a lot!


(Late arc review)
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fun, wholesome, light-hearted Christmas read. It gave me Hallmark vibes, but without the level of cheesiness that often make me cringe. I found it a little hard to connect/become invested in the characters, but once I Katie pulled me into her magnetism, I was ready to see where this story took her.