Trading Places by Emily Duvall

This is the ultimate opposites attract story. The spoiled socialite vs. the mechanic. A bet to see who can last in living the others' lives for two months. At stake 100,000. The internet is on board, and the hashtags start coming.
Evan isn't unhappy with his life. He never thought he'd be raising his niece, and would it be nice not to have to scrimp. Of course. He's content with his band shirts and comfort until he's challenged to step into Lexis' oppulant life. This is so unlike anything he can provide, and he slowly realizes that embracing the opportunities could be good for them all.
Lexi is forced to truly look at herself and the choices she's made. Was she actually happy with her jet setting existence? Could this bet have been the best thing to happen to her and force her to realize that she was actually truly alone before? Learning and trying new things and being responsible for possibly the first time in her life has opened her eyes to how she acted and treated people. Now she's determined to show Evan she's not a spoiled brat, but is he the Siren to Earth guy she first met?

ARC REVIEW
Wow, the plot is awesome, and the character growth was incredible! It was a fun and slightly emotional read. Im so glad i read it! Definitely recommend.

A very big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Entangled Teen, for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

First the book was incredible and I highly recommend. Ever book I have read from Entangled lately has been fantasy. They really have an incredible group of authors.

The author really gave me strong felling for Lexi that only grew as I read the book

You are really going to love this one!

I want more from this author!

Highly recommend

I enjoyed parts of this story, but overall, it was missing something. I loved Lexi, who is the female main character. Lexi is a spoiled heiress, and when she crashes her car into Evan's car, they make a deal to switch places. She will live in his modest house and work as a mechanic, and he will move into her house and live her life.

Lexi has a lot of character growth, but Evan didn’t. He was mean to Lexi when she said that she loved him, and he tries to turn himself into a spoiled rich guy.

I think the backstory of why Evan has custody of his niece, Cece, is really upsetting. His sister, Natalie, seems like the real bad guy in this story, and I don’t like how things played out with that part of the story.

These are some of the tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Slow burn
Banter and tension
Rags to riches/riches to rags
Open door scenes
Grumpy/sunshine
Caretaker MMC (he’s raising his niece)

I think that there was potential here, but the writing was choppy. I kept thinking that I was missing part of the book because scenes didn't transition well from one to the other.

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for an ARC of this book.

This is romcom with haters to lovers trope 🤌💕💕 that's we are obsessed with!!
💫 Dual POV
💫 Fast paced plotline
💫 Romcom
💫 Haters to Lovers
💫 Spicy romance
💫 Happy Ending
Lexi North has perfect life with all the luxuries in her life but one thing isn't going as planned, it's her love interest. Her love interest has shifted to a different place and claims to find a new person who is compatible with him and he draws out the flaws in Lexi, letting know that she is nothing without her father's wealth and power.
She storms off from the place and gets into a tiny accident that further leads her to meet a mechanic, Evan and she gets in argument. Again in the heat of the moment, she sets herself up for a challenge to switch her life with him for two months.
He will be in her lifestyle for all her unlimited wealth and resources while she will be in his lifestyle with his limited money and duties to fulfill. She has to fulfill this challenge as his niece has been recoding this whole challenge talk between the two leads and it got viral 🤣🤭
In the modern generation of interest and hashtags, all the realtime updates of two start to flow while they get to know eachother by the tiny observations they make while living in eachother places for two months. It's a fast paced strangers to enemies to friends to lovers romance 😂💕🤌 a lot it happening trust me!

I was intrigued on how the “switch” will happen in the story.

I got interested few pages in by the way the female lead, Emily, has been introduced. Emily was a girl who hasn’t worked a day in her life, can travel across countries in a whim, shop luxury items without any second thought, and who has a name and the money to not worry about getting her hands dirty. On the exact opposite was Evan, the male lead - a mechanic, had to work himself to the bone every day, had to take their sister’s daughter as his own, and charming.

They meet and the “switch” happens- Emily had to live Evan’s life and vice versa. Quitting would mean a significant edge on the other. It was my assumption that in the process, Emily will be humbled, and there would be no effect on Evan (being the righteous and uptight person that he was painted as), but I was proven wrong. A lot of interesting changes happened to BOTH of them.

The two leads have undeniable chemistry from the beginning but I was surprised with their sudden expression of interest to one another. They had banters, sure, but it felt like the build up was not yet enough, then suddenly, they were flirting and jumping right into it. Past all these however, their antics were rather amusing and at some point, funny. The whole push and pull was engaging and some point, made me think of how they could possibly end up together happily.

While it was a romance story, there were much substance also in the topics of family, and friendship. Also, despite the leads being painted based on stereotypes of the rich and underprivileged, much is to be looked out for with how their characters change- them meeting, switching lifestyles and afterwards.

I liked the premise of the book and the transformation of the main characters into their new roles, though Lexi's was better portrayed imo. At first I hated Lexi so much and just wanted to bash my head against a wall whenever she talked which means the author wrote the spoiled brat part well🌚 so props to them for that. Lexi's character development was so worth it and it was so refreshing to see her transition into a humble person.

What ruined the book for me was the yacht scene. The public humiliation on both sides was not it. The lying, miscommunication and "Hudson" really damaged the book. Personally, no matter how much grovelling is involved, I would not take someone back if they did what Lexi or what Evan did. There really isn't much recovery.

Overall, it was a pretty enjoyable book and quite funny too.

I wanted to like this so much - the premise sounded really good & I loved the cover - but it was just not meant to be. I thought Lexi & Evan were caricatures of stereotypes - she’s a rich socialite who has no understanding of money or working for a living & he’s got a massive chip on his shoulder because he has no money. I thought their bet & life swap was silly - they were both left to flounder in each other’s lives, and it just built resentment on both sides.

I struggled to connect with either of them. I like the leads in romance novels to be likeable - they may be a bit of a grump, but not unlikeable. Lexi & Evan did very little to endear themselves to me. Lexi had more growth as a character, whereas Even seemed to develop into a more unlikeable version of himself. All of this, and then adding so much miscommunication & misconceptions about each other, just left a sour taste in my mouth.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for allowing me to have a copy of this book in return for a review. I really enjoyed this book. I read it in just a few days. It was funny and intriguing. I liked the different take on rich girl/poor boy romance.

Evan and Lexi are prime Spring that you don’t always judge people correctly. Their relationship was okay. I didn’t necessarily feel their connection like I do in other books. That is why I gave it 4 stars. It’s an enjoyable read but I wouldn’t ever reread it (those are the ones I give 5 stars to).

It does have some spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️ just too give my routine warning for those who need it. I also wish there would have been more closure with how CeCe is doing. That would have been nice.

It was a good book but it was just so hard to get into. It just wasn't something the would grab my attention. The dialog and actions of the characters at the start didn't make it any better

Hate at first car accident! I really enjoyed this book! Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope and this did not disappoint! Reading this felt like I was transported into a 2000s romcom and I loved every minute of it! It is the perfect weekend read, once I started I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the dual POVs with Evan and Lexie. Getting to see the merging of different lifestyles through the different POVs was so important to this story. Evan and Lexie’s banter was so fun to read. The character growth of Lexie was much needed after the first few chapters and added depth to the story making the relationship believable. Overall I thought this was a fun read and I cannot wait to check out more books by Emily Duvall. Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for sending me this early!

I received an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Entangled Publishing for the arc.

This book looked so cute and I was intrigued by the concept. I was hoping for a similar vibe to It Happened One Summer where rich girl meets hard working man and love blossoms. What I got was an insufferable female lead and a mmc who just plain suffered. Lots of miscommunication and
I just was not a fan of this book sadly.

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Trading Places by Emily Duvall is a dual POV romantic comedy featuring enemies to lovers. Lexi is a spoiled and entitled heiress who believes the world is her oyster and she can get out of any jam by using daddy’s money. Evan is a grumpy, down on his luck, mechanic raising his niece while working hard day after day for pennies.

After fate and a car accident, caused by Lexi and her impulsiveness, their lives are crashed together. Daddy is now fed up with Lexi’s behavior, and decides to cut her off unless she can trade places with Evan for a month. If she can’t survive 30 days as Evan she will lose her inheritance entirely.

Lexi & Evan have adorable hate banter right from the start. There’s an immediate attraction, but they’re turned off by each other’s personality. They both mature and grow while living each other’s lives.

This was a fun take on enemies to lovers and I appreciated the life swap angle. I laughed quite a few times. It reminded me of the movie Overboard starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell from the 80s. Lexi & Evan acted and grew just like they did in the movie.

However, there were a couple points that didn’t quite hit the spot for me. There was quite a bit of miscommunication sprinkled throughout the story, and ultimately it led to the dreaded 3rd act break up. The ending also felt a bit rushed to me and I would’ve liked to see more of their HEA. They earned it.

Thank you Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a dual POV novel where two characters from very different walks of life are challenged to trading lives with each other for one month. Lexi is a spoiled, rich girl who spends her days posting for social media and living off her trust fund. Evan is a blue collar mechanic who lives paycheck to paycheck while raising his niece because her mother is incarcerated and her father has never been a part of her life.

Lexi and Evan meet after Lexi rear ends Evans car and then behaves like Evan is beneath her. Somehow Evan’s niece ends up challenging Lexi to trade lives with them for a month, all while broadcasting live on social media. Lexi accepts the challenge and then finds herself in her fathers office. Her father is tired of her spoiled little rich girl antics and gives her an ultimatum, if she quits the challenge before the thirty days is up, she will lose her entire inheritance.

I understood the plot and storyline and feel like it was written smoothly until the end. Throughout the story there are the trials and tribulations that each faces when living a lifestyle they’ve never before imagined. There is of course, a love story, a third act break up and very rushed HEA ending. This novel was okay but I would be more interested in a follow up story of what life is like for Lexi and Evan, more than a month after the challenge has ended.

I received an advance reader copy and am leaving my review voluntarily.

This book was a fun meet (NOT)cute story that VERY nostalgically reminded me of a 1990s-2000s romcom where everyone else sees it coming except the main characters. There was enough drama and twists and turns to keep me interested while being comfortably predictable within the genre and style. If you lived for movies like She's All That, 10 Things I Hate About You or Never Been Kissed then this book is sure to keep you entertained with a good dose of those same feel good feelings.

I was invited to read Trading Places by the publisher and it wasn't what I was expecting. I had pictured a rich socialite and a blue collar worker trading places to see how the other one lives. What I got instead was an average Joe living the high life and a silver spoon snob who didn't learn her lesson. The heroine was ordered to work in a body shop and wasn't even allowed to touch cars. The quaint house she was staying in wasn't shabby by any means. She had no character growth and ended the book just as awful as she started. I was sorely tempted to abandon the book within the first chapter because of her horrible attitude. She was Blair Waldorf, Chanel Oberlin, and Regina George all rolled into one insufferable ball.

The only thing stopping this book from earning a one star rating was the hero. He was a saint who didn't deserve to get dragged into this mess. All he was trying to do was help raise his niece (?) and work in his brother's auto shop to pay his bills. The heroine literally crashed into his car and ruined his life. I will admit they had stellar chemistry, but she was a high maintenance cow. Physical attraction can only get you so far when you have the personality of Veruca Salt. I'm honestly surprised the heroine didn't drop the fact her father bought 500 chocolate bars for a local factory tour.

It's always so flattering to be invited for an advanced copy, but I ended up missing out on the golden ticket for this Wonka bar. It didn't truly deliver on the trading places scenario and only focused on the positive aspects of the switcheroo. The heroine's selfishness made me want to tear out my hair. If I didn't have an obligation to finish this book, I would have abandoned this within the first chapter. I was getting major Alexis Rose vibes and definitely not in a cute way. I will commend the author for getting her debut novel published, but I will not be pursuing her future novels. At the end of the day, the only thing Lexi needed to be Trading Places with is a garbage can.

🥂🛠️
⚜️ Book Title - Trading Places
⚜️ Author - Emily Duvall
⚜️ Rating - ⭐️⭐️
⚜️ Some Genre/Themes/Tropes: Adult Fiction, Romance and Life Swap

I received an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This is my honest review.

Ooph! I was intrigued by the concept and sold on a great blurb but the characters were painful! I was waiting for an epic character growth especially with Lexi (FMC) starting as a spoilt heiress to becoming a decent human being, it unfortunately fell flat. I couldn’t find myself to form any semblance of positive feeling for either character. Evan (MMC) was even a shallow character at times…

Not only did I not enjoy the characters, the writing was really disjointed and would jump all over the place. I had to reread parts to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I’m would give this the benefit of the doubt due to being an ARC and potentially more editing may be done post the copy I received.

Still, I wouldn’t recommend this book to others.

I want to say thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Note (How I rate): Three stars is a good, enjoyable read. Four is an excellent read and five is a comfort read that lingers with me for life (very difficult to get but not impossible).

I loved loved loved this book! I instantly fell in love with Lexi and Evan. Lexi, a socialite switching lives with Evan, a mechanic. Is this book realistic? Absolutely not, but I think that’s what made it so fun to read! If you’re looking for a fun, quick enemies to lovers read I highly recommend it!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lexi North, the epitome of a glamorous socialite, seems to lead a life of pure opulence. Yet, as the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving. When a disastrous night unfolds under the spotlight of the world, Lexi's life takes an unexpected turn. Forced by circumstances, she finds herself in a wild twist of fate, swapping lives with none other than Evan Bailey, a ruggedly handsome mechanic.

Evan's life is miles away from glitz and glamor. With his family's auto shop on the brink of collapse and the responsibility of raising his precocious niece, he's no stranger to the grind. Financial struggles leave him with no room for luxuries. That is, until Lexi North crashes into his world, quite literally.

A simple bet turns into a complex challenge as their lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Despite their differences, a scorching chemistry ignites between them, sparking a flame neither anticipated. With their goals on the line, Lexi and Evan must risk it all to achieve what they desire most.

I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by the way this was formatted. Perhaps it's due to being an advanced reader's copy, but the presentation left me wanting more. The narrative at times came across as a touch juvenile, lacking the depth I was hoping for between the characters. Initially, the story seemed centered around physical intimacy rather than emotional connection, which left me yearning for more substance in their interactions. However, as the plot progressed, I was pleasantly surprised to witness Lexi's character undergo a significant transformation. Her growth and development became the highlight of the read, adding a layer of depth that I found truly engaging.

In the end, my experience with this book can be summed up as "just okay." While certain aspects left me wanting more, I genuinely appreciated the evolution of Lexi's character. I extend my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me the opportunity to explore this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trading Places will be published September 26, 2023.

I was intrigued by the concept of this story, which I think, would make a fine movie. The reasons behind Lexi and Evan switching lives seemed believable enough. I loved how Evan really acclimated to Lexi's high life, how he had days of leisure and relaxation. I really enjoyed the dry wit.
However, I had trouble keeping up with the choppy writing style. Jumping from thought to thought, with no smooth transition, made it difficult and required more attention that it would usually.
Overall, an enjoyable story. Since this is an ARC, I hope it goes through some polishing before making its way to readers.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.