I loved Holly and Ivy's friendship. While I loved the romances and the different settings. Their friendship is the best relationship. This is a book I will pick up again next year. It's a Holiday Fun Read. I Highly Recommend!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Julia McKay for an ARC Copy.

The Holiday Honeymoof Switch was a perfect book for those who want a basic holiday book that is easy to read! The presmise is cute!

Holly and Ivy are what best friend goals are made of. And when they decide to swap their Christmas vacations it offers the perfect twist on my favorite holiday movie, The Holiday.

This book is such a delightful holiday read! The characters are incredibly relatable and funny, and you can't help but feel for Holly as she copes with heartbreak. The storyline flows perfectly, between Holly and Ivy's POV's. I was genuinely intrigued by both of their stories.

It offers the perfect amount of romance, laughter, and holiday cheer. A bit cheesy at times and the romances were very quickly developed, but it provided us with the Hallmark ending that we all love.

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
352 pages
Releasing: October 8th, 2024

Doppelgänger bestfriends swap their Christmas vacations after one is supposed to be honeymooning in Hawaii while the other was supposed to be on an art retreat in the mountains.

Holly’s fiancé leaves her right before the wedding, leaving her heartbroken. He offers for her to go on the honeymoon still, so she allows her bestie Ivy to go in her place. Holly escapes to a secluded cabin in the mountains to grieve. When her rugged airbnb host turns out to be someone she knew in high school, Holly knows this will make for an interesting time. While Ivy is in Hawaii she sees the ex-fiancé checking in… with his new girlfriend. The hotel bartender becomes a friend to Ivy and shows her around.

I love this fun, holiday read! The characters were so relatable & funny. I felt for Holly after her fiancé left her for someone else. I love the turn of events and the ending was perfect! A fun holiday read!

Read if you like:
✨Friends to lovers
✨Holiday Romance
✨Christmas in paradise

Thank you @netgalley @putnambooks for the gifted ARC!

#christmastomance #holidayromance #romance #tropes

I thought this was a cute holiday read, but it wasn’t my favorite. I loved the idea of it, and think Holly and Ivy were great FMCs, but there was a lot left to be desired. I really did like the idea of Aiden being the one who wrote the note for Holly, and the connection between Oliver and Ivy was great.

For me, some parts drug on and others loved so quickly, but it was a quick and easy read. I’d definitely recommend it because I know that it’s a perfect book for someone.

Also, some of the formatting (read: the text messages) was kind of annoying, and I definitely fixated on it.

I was provided with the ARC of this book by NetGalley and Putman editors in exchange of an honest review, thank you ✨

4⭐️

I enjoyed this book soo much!
This gave The Holliday vibe because Holly and Ivy were two friends who switched vacations and found the love ✨ and honestly, who don’t want to live that dream?🥲

Ivy and Holly oh God, their friendship is just goals!!! And I also love them individually and Aiden and Ollie ahhhh they were just mean to be with my girlies ✨🙂‍↔️

If you’re looking for a comfort book with a lot of friendship, love and perfection, and also Christmas vibes, this is the perfect book to go to 🙂‍↔️✨

Holly and Ivy are best friends. After Holly is left the night before her wedding, the friends decide to switch trips (Ivy going on the Hawaii honeymoon and Holly going to upstate NY for a retreat).

I loved this one! Here's what I loved:

The Hallmark feel: this one reads like a Christmas TV movie and I loved it! Both friends start out angry and then find some peace in their different situations while also finding love. All in the holiday season,

The men: I adored both Aiden and Oliver. They were different but perfectly suited for their matches. Both were just amazing book boyfriends too.

The settings: You get to go back and forth between exotic Hawaii and snow covered upstate NY. Both got me into the holiday spirit in different ways.

All in all, a cute holiday romcom to really get you into the mood.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

Thank you NetGalley, Julia McKay, and Penguin Group Putnam for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an adorably sweet Christmas rom-com that is perfect for the holiday season!! When a doppelgänger best friends swap a cozy Christmas cabin getaway for the other's sun soaked Hawaiian would-be honeymoon, they each stumble upon unexpected love in the most surprising places. Though romance blooms along the way, the heart of the story centers on the unshakeable bond between Holly and Ivy, whose strong friendship takes center stage amid the backdrop of their unexpected holiday adventures. I absolutely loved this cozy, feel-good holiday read and I highly recommend it!! 🩵🩵🩵🩵

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i really loved the friendship between holly and ivy. what cute forest-y names, too! both storylines were super cute with a lot of descriptive detail to make you feel you're right in the story.

You read it here first. The newest trend in holiday books this year is trading places/houses! Holly and Ivy are best friends who are so in sync that they look alike. When Holly’s fiancé breaks up with her the night before their wedding is supposed to take place, she is stuck with a nonrefundable honeymoon.

She convinces Ivy to go on the Hawaiian honeymoon so it does not go to waste. Ivy can take her art retreat on beautiful beaches and Holly can escape to a secluded rented cabin in the Hudson Valley where Ivy was supposed to go. Now, Holly finds out the Airbnb owner is her high school rival and Ivy meets a hotel bartender who comes to her rescue when she finds that Holly’s ex-fiance has already checked into the honeymoon suite with a different woman.

I love the relationship between Holly and Ivy; it is a true love that only best friends can give each other. I also loved that both Holly and Ivy were able to learn about themselves and what they each needed to make themselves happy while being true to who they are.

Unbeknownst to me this was written by one of my favorite holiday romance writers. This book is a great story of friendship and love. Holly and Ivy were introduced by their boyfriends, but they became the best of friends that always put boys second and friendship first.

Holly was set to be married to her long-term boyfriend that Ivy always found to be a bore. That is until the night before the wedding he called it off.

Holly gives Ivy her honeymoon so she can take Ivy's pre-planned art retreat. Little does Ivy know, Holly's ex-fiance beat her to the resort, with his new girlfriend.

This book is so cute and real without being outrageous. A great holiday read. 3.5 stars.

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch was such a cute, fluffy non traditional holiday read. It was Christmassy without being too much.

Holly and Ivy have the best BFF meet cute, I really enjoyed their coming together. Their friendship was everything that female friendship should be and I loved it.
I really liked the dual POV and was equally invested in both stories so didn’t find myself wanting to rush through one to get to the other, which is always great in a dual POV.
I loved the settings both friends ended up in and found myself enjoying them being in their respective getaway spots more and more as their time there went on.
The romances were sweet and didn’t feel forced in any way, both felt true to the characters involved. We also got some great supporting characters that were so easy to connect to.

This was a really fun and sweet holiday romance that went outside the norm and I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Julia McKay for this eARC.
Publication date 10/8/24

This book was so cute and fun to read. I will definitely be recommending for anyone lookin for a fun Christmas book.

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay
Standalone Novel
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5 Stars

This book follows two best friends Holly and Ivy. It starts out with Holly preparing for her Christmas wedding until the night before the wedding her fiance breaks up with her. Holly is devastated and needs a break to heal but can't bring herself to go on her honeymoon alone so she begs Ivy to switch vacations with her. Ivy was planning on staying in a nearby remote eco-cabin and painting for a week straight while Holly was supposed to go Hawaii for her honeymoon. So Ivy goes to Hawaii but one problem, Holly's ex-fiance, Matt, is there with his new girlfriend taking the honeymoon vacation. So Ivy goes to the bar to try to relax and drink and figure out what to do now, where she meets Oliver, the really hot bartender. Oliver is staying locally with a friend who happens to have an extra rental available for Ivy. Ivy and Oliver end up spending a lot of time together and finding out they have a lot in common. Holly on the other hand makes it to the cabin in the woods and has trouble with the heat but when the property manager shows up it is her old high school rival, Adrian, except once they spend more time together it turns out they just always had a crush on one another. This is a fun, funny, sweet story of friendship and romance. I did enjoy it and would recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam and Julia McKay for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story told from best friends, Holly and Ivy’s, POV.

Holly is blindsided when her fiancée ends things the night before the wedding and their 2 week honeymoon. Ivy is about to leave on a 2 week art trip to the snowy woods. They decide to switch trips to give each other time to focus on their needs.

Holly finds herself reuniting with someone from her past she always thought about but never really realized how much she thought of him.

Ivy finds herself without a hotel and staying with the hot bartender who made her shocking discovery much easier to deal with.

I loved the romance of it even if it was rather fast but what I really was obsessed with was the friendship love story between Holly and Ivy.

A cute, sweet holiday romance that gives you not one, but two love stories! Ivy and Holly met at a party in college and instantly became life long best friends. When Holly’s fiancé cancels their wedding, Holly finds herself needing to get away but can’t bring herself to go on their honeymoon. So she devises a plan to switch holidays with Ivy. Holly finds herself on a snowy mountain in an eco friendly cabin with none other than her high school academic rival Aiden. Ivy finds herself in Hawaii, where she meets Oliver, a bartender and photographer, who may be just who Ivy needs to meet to discover her true passions in life.

This story had it all rivals to lovers, fated mates, he falls first, it was always you, and so much more! Read this one if you’re looking for a cute, swoon worthy holiday romance!

Thank you to Net Galley, the author Julia McKay and Putnam for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review!

This book is the best of both worlds! You get a tropical Christmas and a blustery, snowy, white Christmas! I loved the dual timeline and thought the pacing was really good especially considering this is a debut novel! The writing was a bit cheesy at times but that just adds to the Hallmark-esque charm!

Two best friends, two Christmas love stories. This was exactly what a holiday romcom should be- fluffy, entertaining and sweet. I'm a huge holiday romance buff and therefore can be picky about holiday books, but this was just the perfect amount of fun and cute. I really felt the author did an exceptional job of executing the story and pacing the dual story lines that neither POV was ever boring. As a matter of fact it kept me itching for the next chapter.
While each of the characters individual romances were both sweet and steamy, the real focus of the book was on their strong friendship in additions to some self rediscovery for both women that I found really refreshing and well written. Both love interests were sexy and perfect for Holly and Ivy.
I truly enjoyed this book. it was easy to read- read in less than a day- and think that it will be a great book to read around the holidays.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book in advance.

This is a very cute holiday romance. It gives the best of both worlds…Christmas on the beach in Hawaii and in upstate NY in a snowy cabin.

Not only does this book have 2 romance stories, but it is also has the sweetest friendship. I loved all the characters and my favorite part was the friendship between Holly and Ivy.

Overall a feel good holiday romance with the best settings and a heartwarming friendship.


Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This reminds me of a certain movie staring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz... and I'd read it again every year. I laughed way too hard. It was a quick and easy read. Not everything was smooth, but it made me laugh. This was such a great romance read.