I'll Be Gone for Christmas by Georgia K. Boone is a heartwarming and emotionally charged holiday romance that explores themes of love, healing, and the importance of family. The story follows two characters who, despite their differences and past struggles, find themselves coming together during the holiday season, learning the true meaning of love and connection. Boone’s writing is warm and tender, capturing the magic and emotions of Christmas while delving into the personal journeys of the characters. With its mix of romance, second chances, and holiday cheer, I'll Be Gone for Christmas is the perfect read for anyone looking for a cozy, feel-good story to get into the holiday spirit.

This was a thoughtfully put together Christmas novel. I liked the specific conflicts revolving around family and identity. I liked that it was a holiday home swap novel, although I now wonder if holiday home swap novels are more popular for Christmas novels or if it could be expanded to other seasons and holidays. I also liked that it was a queer romance, and that one of the main characters didn't do what would have been expected for her to do from a reader's perspective.

Many thanks to Avon Books for the digital review copy of this one, which came out on October 8th, 2024.

What I Liked About I'll Be Gone for Christmas

I am forever drawn to a house-swap premise, but not every story pulls it off. Thankfully, this one does. I liked the way both women accidentally wound up intertwined in each others' lives even as they tried to escape their own.

The personal growth for both characters was great, with both women gaining more confidence in themselves and a better understanding of their lives through the time away. I felt invested in both stories and hoped for the best for them.

The romances felt genuine, with each character navigating hangups from the past to find their way to a happy-for-now ending. I liked how Clover finally embraced her sexuality in a way that felt authentic, not overly fraught or too simple, and how Bee was able to move past issues from prior relationships.

What I Didn't Like About I'll Be Gone for Christmas

Given that both women fall in love with someone who lives across the country, the ending felt too tidy. It was definitely a happy for now, not a happily ever after, because Boone doesn't try to work out how these relationships are going to last long term. Like many romances these days, the story wrapped up a bit quick for my liking.

Final Thoughts

In all, I'm very glad I'll Be Gone for Christmas was my first holiday read of 2024. It brings all the charm you want in a holiday romance without being too sugary sweet. There's still depth here, with just the right sprinkle of Christmas cheer.

I highly recommend I'll Be Gone for Christmas to fans of The Holiday and anyone looking for a solid holiday romance with a little more bite than your Hallmark rom com classics.

very cute! the holiday is my favorite Christmas/wintertime movie, so I am weary of anything comparing itself to that. I see the elements of it but I think this is very different plot line wise to the holiday that I was able to just enjoy it for itself.

I loved this book! I was expecting just another “The Holiday” rip-off but this book had so much heart to it that I forgot all about the movie.

I would have like to see everyone a year later to know that everyone lasted but otherwise it was great!

This was a perfectly acceptable Christmas romance book. I did think both of the storylines were going to be sapphic, but that's on me for making assumptions, I guess (the cover is misleading!) The wlw storyline had a great cast of side characters that I would have loved to see more of. In fact, in general the two storylines felt like they could have used more time and felt a little rushed, particularly at the end. There were a few other assumptions that the reader just has to accept on faith (Clover leaving her elderly, sick father on a whim was particularly unbelievable to me) and a whole side plot with Clover's childhood romance that didn't add anything to the story. While I enjoyed reading the book for most of it, I also found these snags enough to pull me out of the story, and I don't think I'll revisit this one anytime soon. For the right reader, this would be an average holiday read, but I won't be recommedning it widely.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Both Clover and Bee where a delight to read. This was the perfect amount of holiday vibes. I honestly was not expecting the amount of character development that there was. I would recommend this to anyone moving forward as a holiday book that they shoud pick up. From the city vibes to the small town vibes and both love interest. This was a good one!

Well, this was cute!

I'LL BE GONE FOR CHRISTMAS is basically the movie The Holiday, but diverse and gay.

Bee and Clover switch houses via an app. Bee heads to Clover's farmhouse, where she meets Clover's ex, Knox, and gets to know Bee's dad, Jimmy. While there, she works on the issues she has of being in business with her sister and feeling inadequate in her family.

Clover, meanwhile, heads to Bee's city apartment. There, our country mouse meets Bee's twin sister, Beth, with a stop along the way for a high school crush. Clover works through a belated coming out, of sorts, and getting past people's expectations of her.

This is simply a pleasant read. The characters are easy to like and relate to. They're well-drawn, with realistic issues and things to work through. Even though the story digs into serious topics like grief and coming out, it has plenty of light and humorous moments to balance everything out. There's a holiday flavor, but Christmas is not the main focus of the story. Boone captures lesbian friendships and relationships extremely well. Also, Clover's dad Jimmy is adorable and steals many a scene.

GONE has a fun concept. I've discovered that I like holiday reads that feel Christmas-y without going overboard. It's emotional but fun and while a little simplistic at times, this diverse romance is a winner overall.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. Unfortunately, I felt it hard to keep track of the characters and did not finish.

Thank you Net Galley and Publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

What a cute and cozy holiday book. It was a simple feel good story where not much happened honestly. I feel like I needed more. The ending felt kinda rushed and quickly put together. I was waiting for the twins to actually talk it out with their family or for the cliche big argument from both of them before getting back together. I did like how easy it was to read. A nice holiday pallet cleanser. Just wished there was more.

"I'll Be Gone for Christmas" is a delightful debut perfect for fans of cozy Christmas movies, especially The Holiday. Bee and Clover decide to swap homes for two weeks to escape their own mounting family problems and get a fresh start. What they think will be some quiet time to reset turns into a heartwarming tale of forging your own path and finding the people who make you feel like your most authentic self. This book could have benefitted from an extra 75 pages. The first two thirds of the book provided great character development and made you fall in love with everyone in these two vastly different worlds, but the ending was so rushed and I wanted more! I can't wait to see what else Georgia writes. I recently met her at my local indie bookstore and she was such a sweetheart. Brava on your debut, Georgia!

The Holiday is one of my favorite movies and this novel seemed like the perfect winter read. As with the Holiday, it is really about the women and their self-journey and figuring out who you really are.

Unfortunately, I am unable to finish this one. I went into it under the impression it was a f/f relationship between the two main characters. Instead it follows two separate couples, one being a straight couple. This is just not my cup of tea and I wouldn’t be able to rate it fairly !

Thank you Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The Holiday is one of my favourite Christmas movies so of course the premise of a house swap romance immediately caught my eye.

I really loved both Clover and Bee. They go on huge personal journey’s in this book and their characters have far more focus than the romances and I really enjoyed getting to know them as they got to know different parts of themselves.

Both romances were sweet and I was definitely rooting for both couples.

I ADORED all the side characters. This book has so many vibrant, wonderful, loveable side characters and every single one of them brought me joy.

A wonderful Christmas read.

Bee needs a break from her life and decides to use a popular house-swap app to book a holiday getaway. She swaps her San Fransisco apartment with Clover’s cozy small-town Ohio home. While swapping Clover finds herself getting closer to Bee’s sister and Bee finds herself falling for Clover’s ex-fiance.
If you love the movie The Holiday, this book is for you! I loved every moment of it from start to finish. Even though Bee and Clever were completely different, they were both so easy to root for. This was a fun cozy read for the holidays!
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

**Thank you to Avon Books for this free digital review copy.**

I love a house swap/life swap Christmas story, and despite this being the second in a row that I've read this year, I loved it! The characters all delighted me, and it was fun seeing the farm girl in the city and the city girl on the farm and how well they adapted to their new environments. All of the side characters really helped with this, as they accepted the newcomers and helped to make their vacations and their holidays special. I cried at the love shown through patience, presence, and music. And I even felt like these characters might make some big life changes in order to live happily ever after!

This is a great entry into the sub-sub-genre of 'The Holiday' Christmas rom-coms. The characters are fun and fairly deep, though I could've done with less of a positive spin on Teslas in the first chapter. Overall, though, a great Christmas diversion, highly recommended.

Absolutely LOVEDDDDDD this book! Once I got all the characters together it came together beautifully. I love angsty slow burns and this did the trick. I just came back from San Francisco and I felt transported there with Bee and Clover!

Cute, very "The Holiday"esque, where two women switch houses for the holiday season, from Ohio to SanFran and vice versa. It was very Christmassy, so that was good, but I didn't think the characters were super developed. There were two "main" couples, and I didn't feel much when they eventually got together (79% of the way thru 😭).

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

I needed a little cozy Christmassy book to read so this was just in time. If you like Hallmark type holiday movies I'd say this is perfect. Easy read if you need a palette cleanse.