Rounded up from 3.5
Katie has nowhere to go on Christmas until her patron, Juan, who she's had a major crush on, asks her to be his fake date for his family events to get them off his back. But right after he announces them the great news, he's in an accident and in a coma... Katie doesn't want to hinder their spirits and wants to live in her fantasy for a while, so she plays the role. But Juan's brother, Matteo, is not as excited for his brother to wake up as he should be.
This is maketed as While You Were Sleeping meets The Wedding Date with a fun Puerto Rican holiday twist... and it delivered! I love how Ginny Baird's writing pulled me right in. The meddling family was a bit annoying, but otherwise, this fake dating holiday romance hits all the right spots!
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm sorry but this one is just not for me for personal reasons at this specific time in my life. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review

I would like to thank netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Just wasn't interesting.

4 ⭐ | 1 🌶️

I am usually not one to read holiday romances in October but this one seemed too cute to pass on the opportunity!

It’s a really cute, light-hearted Christmas read with a "While You Were Sleeping" vibe that is set at a vineyard. The FMC- Katie, a waitress at a diner, and the MMC- Juan, one of her regular customers, make a fake Christmas family dinner date pact so he can show his family he's changed. Almost immediately after agreeing, Juan is involved in an accident and placed in a medically induced coma. In the meantime, Katie gets drawn into his family with them all believing she's his girlfriend and finds herself getting closer to his brother, Mateo.

Katie and Mateo have a whirlwind friendship turned relationship while Juan is sleeping. Their connection is obvious even when they don’t want it to be. They have an amazing family time, which she's missed since losing her own. It's adorably sweet and swoony, until Juan wakes up!

Overall, this book is warm and cozy, perfect to get you in that holiday spirit.

I'll start this review by saying I was born, raised and wouldn't want to live anywhere else Puerto Rican. This is supposed to be a "While you were sleeping" but Latine and in my opinion it failed.

Some of the Latine traditions or food just felt stereotypical or like the author did very little research. The week before christmas trust me we would be eating pasteles, lechon, pernil, arroz con gandules. THE WHOLE WEEK! Not Tacos. Christmas food is the best food, PERIOD.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret, if someone just made coquito don't drink it. True coquito has to rest for a few hours for it to not separate. Honestly, who wants a chunky coquito.

Last thoughts are that the whole Latine ethnicity can be removed of the book and it would be the same.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars. The extra half star because it's based on one of my all-time favorite 90s rom-coms, While You Were Sleeping

Sadly though, this one was missing the charm and chemistry of its source material.

Such a heartwarming and cozy Christmas book! Reminded me of the classic hallmark movies, it had great characters and a great story.

This was a sweet Christmas story that was very much following the plot of the beloved Christmas movie While You We’re Sleeping (Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher). I adore that movie and I also adored this book and both the similarities and many differences. First, it has the Latinx characters and their unique spin, and then our main characters Katie and Juan have met and make a fake Christmas family dinner date pact so he can show his family he’s changed, before he has a serious issue landing in a coma… unlike the movie.

Katie and Mateo have a whirlwind friendship turned relationship while Juan is sleeping, not unlike the movie, but the whole basis of everything else is nothing alike. They deal with major issues that Mateo and Juan’s family are discovering are worse than previously imagined, and Katie helps come up with plans. They have amazing family time, which she’s missed since losing her own. It’s a sweet and swoony (aka kissing only) good time and then Juan wakes up…

I have enjoyed each Ginny Baird book I’ve read and each one has had the Latinx flavor, so this was a perfect Christmas read during Latinx Heritage Month! Another great recommendation, especially for her existing fans, but I’m hoping others will see this comparison to the movie and come read it - it’s got the basic plot similarities but it’s entirely its own story, so come for the similar idea but stay for the great writing, the beautiful and accepting family, and the fantastic characters and perfect resolution of their own story (and no, it’s not identical to the movie).

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

This was one of my favorite holiday romances to ever read! It could be because it reminded me of one of my favorite movies “While You Were Sleeping”. Katie is a waitress that has been pining after a customer, Juan. When he asks her to be his fake date for his family holiday gathering she jumps at the chance hoping it will turn into more. When Juan ends up in a coma she has to pretend to his family that they are dating since she doesn’t want to break her promise to Juan. All the while she is getting closer to his family and his brother Mateo.

I loved the building relationships Katie has with Mateo and his family. She was strong and wanted to help the family even though she tried to fight her feelings for Mateo. I loved the Christmas traditions and feelings of this book. It was a quick and heartwarming read and has me ready to decorate my house for the holidays!

This is the first book I've read from Ginny and I loved it.
So Katie agreed to fake date Juan... but she ends up liking Juan's brother Mateo and falls for him.
It gives me all the While You Were Sleeping vibes.

Katie might have agreed to fake date Juan but it turns out his brother Mateo grabs her. heart in this nice Christmas themed novel so so reminiscent of While You Were Sleeping. The characters are good (love the family as much as Katie and Mateo), the setting nice, and the whole thing has a positive spirit. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. One to read when you'd like to smile.

This was a modern take on the old movie While You Were Sleeping, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. Everything from the man being in a coma from an almost-run-in with a vehicle to the hospital staff and family thinking they're engaged to falling in love with the brother. It was a sweet romance. The family was quirky and easy to love.

Any book of Ginny Baird and I am there for the book to read it. This was good one. Liked it all. I can't wait to read more of her stories. They just get me.

While You Were Sleeping, but add a Latino flair. I loved that movie, and this book was just as good, with a few twists.

This story was sweet and adorable. I loved it. This is the second Ginny Baird book I've read, and I love how she makes family the foundation of her books.

Katie and Mateo were both so sweet. I enjoyed their friendship and watching it blossom into more.

The Holiday Mix-Up is the perfect book to read next to the fire with a cup of hot chocolate. It was funny, sweet, romantic, and full of great family moments.

Thank you, Netgalley and SourceBooks, for an ARC copy of The Holiday Mix-Up.

The Holiday Mix Up is a charming holiday twist on "While You Were Sleeping." Katie, a waitress, agrees to be Juan's pretend date for Christmas Eve dinner, but when Juan is hospitalized after an accident, she becomes an unexpected part of his family's holiday celebrations. As Katie spends time with Juan's brother, Mateo, she begins to question her feelings. The story also revolves around Juan's secret plans for the family winery and the potential risks to their business. It's a sweet, quick holiday read with an endearing romance, even if it felt a bit repetitive at times.

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.

I will start by saying how much I appreciate this attempt at making "While You Were Sleeping" not problematic. I loved that movie when I was a kid and didn't know any better, so I was excited to see a version of the old "falling for my fake-boyfriend's brother while my fake boyfriend is in a coma" trope. (A tale as old as time, truly.) The original, to be fair, an absolute trainwreck of morals, ethics, consent, and fidelity. So how could it be plausibly rehabilitated? "The Holiday Mix-Up" takes a crack at it.

Waitress Katie Smith has been nursing a crush on her handsome customer Juan since he started coming into her diner. Now, as Christmas nears, Juan tells her that he's tired of his godmother's constant set-up attempts and he asks her to pose as his girlfriend at Christmas dinner at the family's winery. He specifically asks her NOT TO TELL ANYBODY that it's all fake and Katie agrees, thinking that spending time with him, even fake time, will give her a chance at convincing him to try it for real.

Unfortunately, the plan goes awry when Juan leaves the diner and nearly gets run over by a van. Katie manages to push him out of the way, but he falls and is knocked unconscious when his head hits the pavement. Doctors determine he has swelling on the brain and put him into a medically induced coma until the swelling abates.

In the meantime, Katie is left to deal with his family, including his brother Mateo. Juan had just enough time to text the family that he had a girlfriend before almost dying, so they believe she's really his girlfriend. Juan also made her promise not to tell anyone it was fake, so she can't correct them without breaking her promise. Therefore Katie is kinda stuck. If she tells the truth, she'll break her promise, jeopardize any future possibility of actually dating Juan, and give another full dose of hurt and confusion to a family dealing with a medical emergency AND possible financial ruin at Christmas time.

Over the next few days, she is roped into family meals, trimming a Christmas tree with Mateo, and a big wine-production emergency. She also learns more about the winery being on the brink of bankruptcy and Mateo's efforts to save the place. All this quality time together lead to Big Feelings for both Katie and Mateo, but they fight these feelings. Mateo, because he doesn't want to covet his brother's girlfriend and Katie because it takes a while for her to realize she isn't really into Juan after all.

Generally, I liked the characters. I felt for lonely Katie, although her backstory could have been flesh out a little better. (Her parents died but maybe I missed the part explaining why that meant she had no friends?) I enjoyed the family dynamic. Some family members were happy to embrace her; some were justifiably skeptical. They had individual personalities and I loved how important family history was to their winery business. (A tad over-romanticized, but I was willing to go with it.)

To be honest, though I wasn't wild about Mateo. He's constantly fighting his attraction to her (as well he should) but he also doesn't really listen to her or trust her. At one point, she comes right out and tells him it's all a set-up and he assumes she's making it up so she'll have a good excuse for breaking up with Juan when he wakes up. Like, come on, man! She's doing the right thing by coming clean, and he accuses her of lying. Then, when it's revealed that she WAS telling the truth, he accuses her of lying about her motives. That she was just trying to manipulate the family. Katie just couldn't win when it came to Mateo. Maybe she didn't have be QUITE as chummy as she was during the coma period, but she was trying her best.

I will also say that if the book hadn't specifically said she was 28, I would have been convinced she was in her mid 50s. Her primary symptom of overwhelming attraction to Mateo is blushing. Flushing. Feeling warm. Burning up. I swear, she was having hot flashes every other page. Enough that I could have created a drinking game based on how many times Katie got warm in Mateo's proximity.

In general, I liked the book. The writing wasn't super sophisticated and I didn't always like Mateo but I liked the story well enough. I recommend this for readers who want redemption for nostalgic but problematic movies and for people who enjoy romances with a large, involved families.

This was a quick, light read. I was invested from the start of the story till the end, without a dull moment throughout the plot.

Immediately after Katie agreed to be the pretend girlfriend of Juan for just one Christmas dinner, he got into an accident and was in a coma. He had just told his family about Katie being his girlfriend prior to the accident. Katie had to pretend around his family as they waited for him to recover. I enjoy reading about how the family welcomed Katie and her experiencing some much needed family love and care. There's a thin line to navigate the boundaries between Katie falling for Mateo while his family believes that she is dating the other brother. Overall, it was a good read.

Content: kissing only

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Lonely-hearted waitress Katie Smith has no plans for Christmas, and a huge crush on her gorgeous diner patron Juan Martinez. So when he asks her to pose as his girlfriend in front of his family, she agrees…that is, until an accident lands Juan in a coma. When the Martinezes immediately embrace her, Katie is reluctant to tell the truth and let her fantasy of a family holiday go. Then there’s Juan’s brother, Mateo, whom she's drawn to—and who tells her perfect Juan might not be everything he seems.

I got into this and immediately fell in love with Martinez family right along with Katie. She was stuck between telling the truth and dashing their little remaining hope, and being loyal to Juan by staying silent. This while being in denial of her feelings towards Mateo. It was sweet to see how they were fighting their feelings while questioning whether they were mutual.

The vineyard was also in jeopardy, and I loved how they both tried to come up with solutions for the predicament. Juan was misunderstood, and his intentions towards the family business were misguided, but I loved how the family was gracious and forgiving towards him.

I loved that there was a message of love and family being a big reason for celebrating the Christmas season. First from this author and I loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was pretty bad which I was surprised by. Maybe if I read it closer to Christmas it would be better? But the entire book was so forced, it was so painful. Like no emotion was felt, it was all told to you. Also the beginning moves way too fast. I know it’s an adaption of the Sandra Bullock movie, but I’d much rather watch that than read this again.

If you love While You Were Sleeping, you need to read this!
It’s a great read with tons of holiday spirit. This really got me in the Christmas spirit.
The characters were a lot of fun and relatable. I especially loved the main female character. I truly connected with her and was rooting for her. The romance was fun, romantic, and charming. I also liked the added tension of what seems like forbidden love.
Definitely recommend for the holiday season!