This was the cutest book I’ve read this year. Theres a lot of story in this small book but their stories did not feel rushed. I loved the characters, the growth and the slow burn of the relationships.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.This was a nice slow burn friends to lovers read. The only thing that threw me off is that I kept forgetting the characters were Black. Not saying they had to speak Ebonics or anything like that, but it just felt off somehow. Anyway, it’s a cute holiday read.

If your favorite Christmas movie is The Holiday, this book is for you! I’ll Be Gone For Christmas was such a delight. I enjoyed Bee and Clover so much. The holiday vibes were so on point in this book, especially in the small town Ohio setting. I love a slow burn romance and we get TWO OF THEM in this book! Also, the side characters, especially Jimmy, Dee and Mo were so fun. I loved the themes of family, queer representation and being true to yourself no matter what. I highly recommend this one for your winter holiday TBRs!
Mini spoiler: nothing bad happens to any of the animals!
CW: death of a parent, homophobia

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun and unique story! It’s dual POV, but rather than following both parts of one couple, it follows two individuals who house swap and find themselves tangled up in their own individual love stories.

It’s very Christmas, lots of found family tropes, and overall just really cute! A perfect simple read for the season.

I enjoyed the switching aspect of the books. I liked each individual girls growth and their rediscovery of themselves. I just felt the romances were rushed at the end and I was left wanting more.

Absolutely adorable. I love a good holiday house switch, and this one really hit the mark for me because it wasn't just focused on the romance. Instead, Bee and Clover took the time away from their normal lives to reflect and figure out who they are and what they want. I liked how each setting had side characters that were so genuinely caring - especially for being strangers. There was a sense of community in San Francisco and Ohio that made it easy for me to picture each place at Christmastime. This will be a perfect, feel good holiday book, and it's short, so perfect to curl up with on a chilly weekend.
Avon eARC

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me an ARC for an honest review. I thought that this book was going to be better but it honestly had some lulls in the story line where I got bored and distracted. This story gave me The Holiday vibes, due to the swapping of the houses of Bee and Clover but, make it semi sapphic.

As I was reading, up until about 50% of the book, I was not entertained with Bee's story line. The whole Ohio farm scenario didn't appeal to me and I couldn't relate. But, Clovers story, that was the most appealing out of all the story line. Ending an engagement and a year later running off across the country to breathe, and maybe find her first girl crush from high school, Hailey. Of course they run into each other because of the same group of friends (leave it to all lesbians to know each other) but Hailey soon lead Clover on only to get back together with her on again/off again girlfriend. Throughout the story line, Hailey kind of disappears and there was really no discussing what had happened between them. That is the only thing that threw me off. Clover explains what Hailey had meant to her all those years ago to never hear of Hailey again throughout the whole book after that one encounter. It just fell flat. Then enter Beth. Beth, Bee's twin sister, with her cold demeanor and piercing personality, Clover and Beth hit it off.

While in Ohio, Bee and Knox start hanging out and talking and one thing leads to another and boom. You got yourself a plot. But again, Taylor in the story really wanted to date Knox and after their only encounter in the book, Taylor was gone. I just felt like there were a lot of loose ends in the story line that could have gone finished instead of a lot of talk of the farm and what not.

Of course it had a very cute ending where everyone lives happily ever after.

This book was a 3.5 to me. The burn was a little bit too slow for my liking but it was still a cute and fluffy read. But I will say Knox solo part in the book really moved me!! That was the best part of the book to me. If you’re into slow burns this book is definitely for you.

I LOVED this book! Bee needs a break from her corporate job and her family. Clover wants to be distant from the holiday, the small town, and the memories. They decided to swap homes for the holiday. This story follows their journey of self-discovery. The story reminds me of the movie The Holiday. Fluffy, short, quick holiday read. HIGHLY recommend!

I love a Christmas story. I kept thinking of the old show Wife Swap at the beginning. The two main characters basically fall into each other’s lives. This is a cutesy book spice was definitely a 1. Also this book is 50% hetero so don’t go into this thinking cozy sapphic Christmas like I did. I would’ve loved this if the story just followed Clover and Beth or included from all 4 pov’s. Time of events also became confusing if you read the dates at the start of a new chapter.

3.5 out 5 stars. This was an interesting exploration of the found family and slow burn tropes. I really love the characters Beth, Bee, Knox, Clover, and all the side characters are very believable and lovable. There was no tension in the slow burn though, and it felt like nothing happened plot wise until approximately fifty-five percent.

Tropes: Christmas, Slow burn, Found Family, Small town, meet cute, LGBTQ

Thank you Net Galley for providing me my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I’m a sucker for the film The Holiday, and I’ve been loving seeing its influence on romcom books lately, with I’ll Be Gone for Christmas being one of two published this coming month by Black authors with this premise. And while this one fell short of expectations for me just a tad, I can appreciate it for the general holiday cheer and vibes it offers.
I really empathize with both Bee and Clover, and how each of them has a reason for wanting to escape their life temporarily. Clover in particular really resonated, as she’s dealing with the grief of losing her mother and coming into her own as a queer woman after leaving her fiancee. But Bee is also easy to relate to, as she’s in the whirlwind of San Francisco’s tech world and needs time to chill out and figure herself out too. I really enjoyed seeing each of them grow on their respective personal journeys.
The romantic element was where it fell a little flat for me, because the romantic interests were comparatively underdeveloped. Clover bonds with Bee’s sister Beth, and I did feel a little something for them, but I struggled to really invest in Bee’s relationship with Knox by comparison. It can be challenging for veteran authors to pull off balancing two distinct romances in a single book, and the lack of skill is even more apparent for a debut author. However, this could also be chocked up to the ironic “deromanticizing” of the romance genre that comes from removing the importance of the love interests, a common trend in many-a “romcom” book.
While I didn’t hate this book, it was just rather average and not what I prefer in romance. But readers who don’t mind the female lead focused “romcom” style romances may enjoy it more than I did.

This is an adorable house swap rom-com for fans of the movie “The Holiday”. Bee and Clover both have reasons to need a break from their lives. Soon, Bee is living in Clover’s cottage in Salem, Ohio and Clover is living in Bee’s San Fransisco apartment. While they experience Christmas in a new locale, they make new friends, reset their own lives, and even find love!

Why Kirsten loves it
I love a Christmas romance, so you know I love 2 romances in one! Just like the movie it was inspired by, the city girl in the country and vice versa were so fun to see. I think the scenes set in San Fran were my favorite.

"I'll Be Gone for Christmas" highlights city girl, Beth, who needs a break away from the big city of San Francisco, where her high-pressure tech job is breaking her down.Meanwhile, Ohio farmgirl, Clover, needing a break away from the devastating death of her mother the year prior and the breakup with her ex-fiancee. In comes the chance for a house swap. Can the city girl find inspiration in rural Ohio? Can the farmgirl make peace with her sexual identity in a city known for its inclusivity?

This book is a twist on the Christmas movie, "The Holiday," where two women from very different walks of life swap homes for the holidays to try something new. This book was really sweet and I loved the diversity of the characters, including Black people, big city folk, small townspeople, lesbians, nonbinary, and cishet characters, gay bars and town square tree lightings. I appreciated the character development each MC went through in trying to find their true identity before also finding someone to love them for who they are. The romantic interests were equally adorable to the MCs. Really great feel-good book for the upcoming holiday season.

*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

Such a fun read for the holidays! perfect Christmas vibes with queer representation and POC representation that is so important to me.
Add this to your cosy holiday reads list!

Thank you NetGalley, Georgia K. Boone, Avon and Harper Voyager and Avon for giving me an ARC for this book!

“I’ll Be Gone For Christmas” by Georgia K. Boone is a fun holiday romantic comedy with a similar theme to “the Holiday” based on a house swap between San Francisco and a small town in Ohio. It took me a while to get into the book (partly because of being confused by some of the characters before their house swap). I’m glad I stuck with it, because this was a fun and heartwarming read. Bee goes from San Francisco and the tech world to small town Ohio where she has a chance to reconnect with nature and be reminded of her dreams. Meanwhile, Clover goes to San Francisco and finds newfound freedom to be herself in the city. Just in time for the holidays, there is also a good dose of dealing with family stress and grief over the holidays. Recommended! I look forward to more by this author. Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for the eARC.

Thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an e-ARC of this book! I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but it was absolutely fantastic!

Bee and Clover were both wonderfully written and fleshed out, even though they only had half the screen time each, as the book alternated between them. I adored the different ways they approached the world and their new environments. The Holiday-inspired books are always great, but this one captured the beauty of the holidays in two places I've never been and made me love them just like the characters did.

The side characters made this book for me because they were so lovely and opened their lives to Bee and Clover, respectively. Jimmy was such a fantastic father figure, and I loved how he interacted with Bee and how much he adored Clover.

The romances here were fairly fast-paced since the book was as well, yet I believed them whole-heartedly!

This book made me tear up and laugh so many times! I just loved it so much!! Go buy this one!!!

"I'll be gone for Christmas" is a Christmas movie I read with my eyeballs. It's cozy and charming and between now and new years I can see myself picking it back up again.

The premise is simple, 2 women decide to swap houses for the holidays. One is a city girl who stays in a small town, the other a small town farmer who gets to live big for a change.

I thought Bee and Clover were well thought out and equally sympathetic in their reasonings for the vacations. I think Clover got more character growth and Bee had a more developed romance which I think balanced well. I've read this kind of story before and if they had the same plot beats at the same time it gets too repetitive which was not the case here. I had a good time and hopefully I will again soon!

The Holiday retelling, but Queer?!? Sign me up. This was such and sweet cozy read for the holidays. Tropes include:

Dual-POV
Slowburn
Queer and POC rep
Holiday themed

This is one you’ll definitely want have for your holiday TBR.

This has to be the best queer romance of the season (although I have many left to read). The house swap trope has never been cuter.