Cute plot but not the book for me.

Two best friends agree to swap vacation plans when Holly is dumped the night before her wedding.
Ivy will enjoy Holly's honeymoon suite in Kauai and Holly will in turn head to Ivy's cabin in the Hudson Valley. Both Holly and Ivy are pleasantly surprised when they both find love where the least expected it. This felt much like a Hallmark Christmas movie with just a dash of spice. I think the book overall was fine... but is not "my type".
Probably would be appealing to young adults.
Was a quick and easy read just was not what I look for in a romance novel.

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

This novel is the perfect holiday romance! I enjoyed reading it even in the middle of April.

We follow two friends as they switch trips after Holly is dumped by her terrible fiancé the day before her Christmas themed wedding. When Ivy arrives on Holly's honeymoon and finds Holly's thumb of an ex-fiancé there with the girl he cheated on her with, she has to find other accommodations. Luckily, the resort's cute bartender has an extra room for rent where he stays. While Ivy is actively trying to avoid temptation in Hawaii, Holly accidentally runs into someone she knows from high school at an off-grid cabin in New York. He just happens to own it and has had a long-time crush on Holly. It seems a bit soon after coming off an engagement, but Holly and Matt never belonged together so it's fine. Adrien is definitely a step up!

The two friends discover the love they always watched in movies and never thought was for them.

This is the perfect book for anyone looking for a holiday romance focusing on two best friends who not only look alike, but also have almost the exact same personalities who both find love when they decide two switch vacations after one of them is dumped the night before her wedding for another woman.

This has several things I usually look for in romance books like dual pov, small town holiday romance with fun Christmas traditions, and no 3rd act breakups but overall this book didn't seem to be for me.

It is written in 3rd person which seemed out of place in a dual pov novel in my opinion.
I also felt that the characters were very flat. There was no 3rd act breakup but not because there was never a conflict, both couples and the 2 women all had moments where you expected there to be at least a big fight however it just didn't happen. Maybe the characters are meant to be the 4 most level-headed characters ever but it came across as very unrealistic.
My last complaint would be the epilogue. It starts with our 2 best friends having a conversation where they basically just tie up any loose ends/answer any questions you may have had about anything in the story. It just felt extremely forced.

I feel like both of these stories would have been good as individual books but in meshing them together there wasn't enough book to truly give the reader an adequat amount of time to feel connected to the characters or build the relationships between characters.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons, netgally, and Julia McKay for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't my cup of tea. I wasn't able to fully connect with the main character enough to dive into the narrative. (I'm sure plenty of readers will enjoy this book, and it definitely has an interesting premise. I'll try to give it another read in the future.

The friendship of holly and ivy made this such a fun read. I definitely want to read it again around Christmas time! However, with one of the settings being Hawaii, it is also a fun beach read. I love the friendship between the two girls and the epilogue. Sweet read!

A sweet friendship between Holly and Ivy. They meet randomly and become the best of friends. Ivy supports Holly when her finance dumps her the night before their wedding. Ivy swaps her two week art retreat for Holly’s honeymoon trip to Hawaii and they both meet someone to change their paths.

This was my first book from this author and I loveddddd it. It was like a big warm hug. It is a holiday romance that would honestly make an amazing film. Holly and Ivy met in college through hollys then boyfriend Matt and ivys fling. They became instant bffs, years later on the eve of holly and Matt’s wedding, Matt calls off the wedding and leaves holly completely caught off guard. Not wanting her Hawaiian honeymoon to go to waste she gifts it to her best friend ivy who had planned to go in her art retreat 2 hours outside of NYC. Ivy goes to Hawaii and holly to Krimbo to be off the grid and alone. The ending was a little rushed and I just wanted more, but so thankful for the epilogue! Such a cute book that takes place during the holidays. Definitely read if you love small town romance, he falls first, and friendship.

Thank you @putnambooks and @netgalley for the eARC of The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay on exchange for an honest review.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Holly and Ivy are the greatest pair of friends since Romy and Michelle…maybe ever better. When Holly’s holiday wedding is called off the night before by her cheating groom, it feels like the world is crashing down around her. Could a switchero with her doppelganger bestie save her Christmas spirit? While Holly heads to a rustic retreat in a cabin in the Hudson Valley, Ivy is off to the non-honeymoon in Hawaii. And the adventure just beginning for these two friends, who might just find happiness and holiday magic where they least expect it. This is a delightful, feel-good holiday read that will put a smile on even the Grinch’s face (before his heart grew)…it is the quintessential Hallmark story on paper.

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on Instagram ahead of the publication date!

This was so cute! I loved the relationship these two best friends had and i loved "The Holiday" esque type switch. I loved the happy ending and I really loved the friendship. Really really cute!

Very cute holiday switch book, definitely gave me those Hallmark movies feel. I loved the designs and detail for each girl in the chapters. There’s a Christmas tree for Holly and a palm tree for Ivy, definitely loved all of the Christmas references. I wish there was a little bit more character build up but overall I enjoyed this book and give it a solid 4 star rating. Thank You NetGalley and Putnam Books for an ARC of this book! Publishing date is October 8th, 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley and Julia McKay for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 3/5 Stars

This book was super cute, all the Hallmark vibes! I did find myself loosing interest, but cute nonetheless!

This is a cute little hallmark christmas love story. Very adorable and everything you would expect from a hallmark/lifetime movie. As for a romance novel, it didn’t get deep enough into each story for me. It felt like they suddenly fell in love.

This book was unfortunately not very good. Both of the main characters, Holly and Ivy, were uninteresting and their friendship was not compelling. The love interests as well were just so underwhelming (how do you make academic rivals boring?). There were rarely any moments of chemistry or intrigue or conflict or anything to make me root for or care about the couples. I never got the sense that these characters had the life-changing moments of clarity described throughout the course of the novel.

I really did not enjoy the writing. Third-person present tense is not something I am used to reading in romance books, so I found it distracting and hindering to my enjoyment of the novel. The author also uses some choice similes that make little to no sense or are simply not fitting for this type of story:

"but a glow is starting to shimmy over the skyline like a teenager sneaking back in the window after a night out." (???)

"Everything is so gorgeously green, like a dream." (this is the one that confuses me the most. What does this mean??? Are dreams commonly associated with the color green??? Does this mean "gorgeous, like a dream"??? If someone understands this please help)

This book also had such a stupid epilogue. Why would these characters (who are BEST FRIENDS) need to describe their new job/relationships out loud to each other?? Was there really no other way to convey to the reader these updates in the character's lives??? I really did not like the dialogue in this book and the epilogue cemented my feelings. While reading this, I kept thinking this had to be a debut novel.

If you want an extremely low stakes holiday romance, you may like this. However, if you are looking for a Hallmark romance type book, I would suggest looking elsewhere. Maybe just watch a Hallmark movie, you'll be done in less time and enjoy it infinitely more.

Thank you to Netgalley, Putnam Books, and to the author, for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have very happy memories of being snuggled up with hot cocoa and watching Hallmark Christmas movies with my family. This book felt like that, only slightly more grown up. It’s a bit cheesy, but it’s wholesome and Christmassy and full of friendship. So if you’re looking for Hallmark Christmas vibes, with just a hint of spice, this is for you!

Imagine. It’s the day before your wedding. You’re wrapping up the rehearsal dinner and saying your goodbyes to your fiancee when he confesses he’s fallen in love with another woman and he won’t marry you tomorrow. The wedding is cancelled. That’s what happens to Holly in The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay. Holly is devastated. Her best friend Ivy offers Holly her eco cabin in the Hudson wilderness to heal and process the break up. In return, Ivy will travel to Hawaii so the expense of the honeymoon is not wasted. However, the vacation swap doesn’t go as planned. Ivy arrives in Hawaii only to discover Hollys ex fiancee has already claimed the honeymoon suite with his new girlfriend. Ivy is forced to room with hotel bartender, Oliver, but their simmering chemistry soon finds them unable to resist each other. Meanwhile, Holly has checked into her eco cabin but has called the owner for some help. When the owner shows up, he turns out to be Hollys ex-academic rival from high school. As they reconnect, Holly discovers her heart can heal faster than she thought possible. This was a fun Christmas read. McKay does a good job painting the Christmas spirit throughout the chapters. The biggest play on words were were our main characters names Holly and Ivy based on the song the Holly and the Ivy. This story also showed the amazing best friend relationship where two best friends would go to the ends of the earth for each other. Overall, this is a fun Christmas romp. It was well written and the characters fleshed out nicely. Thank you NetGalley and Putnam books!

am i watching a hallmark movie?!? this gives me all the best vibes of a wonderful hallmark classic! i could not put it down and i read it in one sitting!

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch is two adorable love stories in one with a healthy dose of friendship. I loved the beautiful setting of sunny Hawaii and the snow globe vibes of Krimbo. This book was just alot of fun. The MMCs are both really sweet guys that will have you swooning and giggling. The FMCs are such good friends to each other in a beautifully real way that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy! The few side characters that you meet add true value to the story while still being fun to read about. The plot is not the star of this book, but it moves easily and makes the book very quick to read.

4/5

Thank you Net Galley and Julia McKay for this Arc! All opinions are my own.

A Hallmark movie in book form. I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this book, but figured I would still give it a try. I enjoyed it in the same way I enjoy Hallmark movies. It was fluffy and predictable, but I still wanted to finish it.

The main FMCs were just okay in my opinion, I didn't love them, but they didn't do anything to make me dislike them either. The love interests were more likeable in my opinion.

I did enjoy the writing of the book and thought the descriptions of the locations made great imagery. I didn't enjoy the real-life celebrity comparisons, but that's generally because I like to create a character in my head based of their feature description rather than just being told who they look like.

I wouldn't discourage people from reading this book, but I wouldn't be telling my friends to add it to their TBR either.

4.5 ⭐️

I loved this book. It was so cute! I’m a sucker for a Christmas romances, especially hallmark movies and this gave me the same vibes. The book jumps back and forth between two friends povs. It was so fun to read! I loved the characters and so happy with how it ended!

Thank you Putnam Books and net galley for the ARC!

Two Hallmark Christmas movies in one. Imagine two semi-intertwined big-city characters in a holiday move-one finding herself in Hawaii and one finding herself in the stereotypical winter Christmas tree farm town. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you feel about predictable holiday movies. That said, it was enjoyable enough. Took me a little a little longer than it should have to read because it lacked something in that page-turner hook for me. The two main characters could have had a bit more dimension...they were set up to have more going on with their independence and passion but they weren't really portrayed that way.