I thoroughly enjoyed Cesca Major's new book, "If I Were You". This Reese's Book Club pick author (Maybe Next Time), is back with a romance version of Freaky Friday. Amy and Flynn are in an argument on their way to her sister's wedding and their circumstances find them switched in each other's body. How will they get through this whole weekend as each other, around people who know them so well? In addition, they find out that each of them is keeping secrets. There is laughter and tears along the way and beautiful lessons learned about the importance of family, friendship, trust and the mistakes we make when we jump to conclusions about the people who know us best. This book will make you smile. I can easily see this novel adapted for the screen. Many thanks to HarperCollins Publishers, William Morrow, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

If I Were You by Cesca Major is such a funny and emotional story.
I was enthralled by this story from the first page and felt every single emotion the main character went through. This story was beautifully written and highly entertaining.
I really enjoyed this unique style on the body-swap storyline here.
A nice and simple story that I really enjoyed.

Thank You NetGalley and William Morrow for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

4.25 ⭐️ I really enjoyed this book!! I loved how Flynn was so funny and I loved the progression of their relationship! There is cussing in this book but no spice! I laughed and I wanted to cry! The author did a great job of having a funny story with heart!💜

I really enjoyed this humorous and unique romantic comedy. It was like “Freaky Friday” but for a couple. This book was light and fun, but it was also quite emotional at times. The story is told in dual POV and alternating timelines. It did get a bit confusing, and it was hard to keep track of who was who before and after the body swap. Once I caught on, it was an enjoyable read. This book is about putting yourself in others’ shoes (or bodies!), and I think everyone could learn a lesson or two.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review, i was super excited to read this book because I absolutely loved Cesca Majors last book “Maybe next time”. It brought me to tears. Pick it up if you havent read it yet! The premise of this book is one we are all familiar with two people change bodies with each other and are frantically trying to figure out their way back to themselves. Amy is in a particularly difficult situation because they were on the way to her sisters wedding. Now she has to trust her boyfriend who she was ready to leave to be her for all of her maid of honor duties. Obviously chaos ensues, this one has a happily ever after. Well done four stars,

Amy and Flynn have been together for 2 years and while Flynn thinks they are ready to move to the next level, these two have major communication issues (which is probably why Amy is having doubts). On the way to Amy's sister's wedding the two are struck by lightning and end up in a "Freaky Friday" body swap situation leading to a weekend of confusion, revelations, humiliations, and even more miscommunication.

I had a hard time getting into this book and I think it was because miscommunication for me is not a favorite trope/theme for me. I also found many of the characters' personalities to be frustrating (Amy more than Flynn)- therefore those two elements alone made this novel hard for me to fully enjoy. I didn't understand how the characters could be in a 2 year relationship when in many ways they didn't really know who the other person was (more from Flynn's lack of sharing than Amy's) - and while I get this is a major theme of the book, the frustration level for me personally was very high. In addition because of the body swap element I was often confused as to who was doing and saying what (that may have been me). That being said, I did enjoy the story itself, I like the magical realism and the hard topics that Cesca Majors tried to take on with a lighter touch, but I think I preferred her previous novel and I do look forward to her next.

3.5 stars

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC to review

This was your typical Freaky Friday situation. The execution just didn't work for me. It may be someone else's cup of tea but the don't like when characters have big secrets and are waiting for everything to blow up.

The premise for this books sounded so good and right up my alley. I really wanted to love it. Unfortunately, I spent most of my time reading wondering if these two should even be in a relationship at all.

The idea of a ‘Freaky Friday’-esque body swap between a couple opens up so many fun and interesting possibilities. Here, while it did lend opportunities for Amy and Flynn to gain more understanding from each others perspectives, it really showed me even more that despite having been together for two years, they barely knew each other. It seemed as though they never discussed anything deeper than surface level, and as such, I didn’t feel there was any real depth to their relationship.

Some of the situations they found themselves trying to navigate were entertaining, and the backstories both Flynn and Amy had for their past made me sympathetic to them. I just wanted to feel more of a connection between them.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I was a kid, my grade school used to have movie days twice a year where we would all go to the auditorium and they would play a classic Disney movie for us. I loved these days, and what made them even more fun was we never knew when movie day would arrive. We'd be sitting in class, and then our teacher would suddenly announce that we needed to take a bathroom break. Then, we were told to line up outside the classroom, and off we would go to the auditorium.

I distinctly remember the day we were shown the original "Freaky Friday" with Jodi Foster. Seeing as how I had an extremely overactive imagination, I became obsessed with the idea that I could swap bodies with an adult. It sounded so fun when I was six - now I would love to do the opposite. Oh, to have the energy of a twenty-something again!

Needless to say, when I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I needed to check it out. I read (and absolutely loved) Cesca Majors' "Maybe Next Time" last year, so I knew I would be in for a treat.

This book focuses on Amy and Flynn, a couple at a crossroads in their relationship. Flynn is ready to move in with Amy, but Amy isn't so sure she's ready for that - in fact, Flynn has kind of been getting on her nerves lately and she's considering breaking things off. On the way to Amy's sister's wedding, the two take a different route due to traffic congestion, leading to them getting lost and having an argument in the pouring rain. When lightning strikes, the two are thrown to the ground, and when they wake up, they find they have swapped bodies.

Now, the couple must attend the wedding while pretending to be the other one, and this is when all sorts of chaos ensues. They each learn all kinds of things about the other - including secrets that may rip them apart forever.

Using such a familiar trope is risky - how often have we seen body-swapping play out on the big screen? Disney did it with "Freaky Friday" (and again in the reboot), several "Shaggy Dog" movies where a man switches body with his dog, and of course, we've seen Tom Hanks play a child in "Big," Jennifer Garner in "13 Going on 30" and several others. In this case, though, the author uses this as merely a plot point to move the story forward. The book isn't about swapping bodies; it's about two loveable characters trying to find their way back to each other.

Major does a fantastic job of exploring the complexities of relationships in a hilariously entertaining way. It would have been easy to go the slapstick route with the characters trying to figure out each other's bodies, but these issues are only touched on briefly. That's not what the book is about, and Majors keeps us focused on our main characters, their secrets, and their growth.

Speaking of the characters, I loved both Amy and Flynn. They're very relatable and complex. I also really liked the supporting cast. Each of them had a distinct role in the book, and none felt like they were just fillers.

The structure of the book also works really well. We get alternating chapters from both Amy and Flynn's viewpoints, and we also get chapters dedicated to different times in their lives before they met and after they first started dating. As the book progresses, we slowly begin to understand why each of them acts and feels the way they do and what has caused the underlying issues in their relationships.

If you are a fan of the body-swapping comedies of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, this is the book for you. It has a surprising amount of heart and is filled with a cast of unforgettable characters. Rom-com lovers and contemporary fiction lovers alike will really enjoy this one. After reading and loving two of her books, Cesca Majors has quickly become an auto-buy author for me.

Freaky Friday in book form, seems interesting right? Wrong. This book was SOOOO boring. I feel like the author could have taken this in so many directions and it let me down severely.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my early arc copy of this!

What a fun read. Freaky Friday for a couple, we follow Flynn and Amy's journey of turning into each other and realizing how much they've missed in terms of learning about one another. While it took me a bit to really get into, I so enjoyed it, and shed some tears a few times! A sweet story about love and finding one's self.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the copy of If I Were You by Cesca Major. This is not my usual genre, but I read it because I loved Major’s last book Maybe Next Time. Of course I saw Freaky Friday, but this is the first time I have read a body switch book. I thought it was interesting to have Amy and Flynn see life through each others’ eyes and their reactions to being in a different physical body, with all of its limitations and advantages. It was interesting how they each learned secrets about each other because someone didn’t know who they really were. I loved how Amy learned so much about herself and how others saw her by being able to see herself from Flynn’s body. Sound confusing? It was, which turned out to be the only thing I hated. When I was reading a chapter, I had to constantly remind myself that Flynn’s chapters were about him, but he looked like and acted like Amy. When I would get confused, I had to remind myself again. If it had been a movie, it would have been obvious, but as a book it was clumsy. If you’re looking for a unique rom com with a little fantasy, this is the book for you! 4 stars.

I loved the idea of this book but after that.... the miscommunication was just a lot in this book.. Yes it was fun that they had to pretend to be each other at the wedding. Yes Amy and Finn did learn a lot about each other finally but I still just feel like there was something missing. I was hoping for more after the last book from the author. It was solid 3 star though.

Super cute story. Imagine Freaky Friday but instead of swapping places with your, you swap places with your BAE!

Told in alternating narratives between Amy and Flynn who are having relationship difficulties. Then *BAM* they swap bodies on the way to a family weekend wedding. Ha, imagine if finally your significant other could know what it felt like to walk in your shoes!

Totally enjoyed this one! RECOMMEND

I'm such a sucker for the body-swap trope, so I was so excited to pick this one up. In the end, though, it wasn't for me. The opening was pretty confusing and I do wish the author had structured the book differently. Overall, I couldn't quite buy into the relationship. Body-swap fun aside, most of this fell a bit flat.

Thank you net galley for an arc of if I were you. As soon as I read the plot description I wanted to read this book. That being said although I loved the plot the miscommunication trope didn’t work for me. I was getting so frustrated with amy and Flynn specifically Flynn. If you want to have a relationship with someone you need to be open and honest and they weren’t. At points I was wondering why they were even together. I wanted to like this book more than I did and rated it 3 stars.

Hmmmm...what if you took Freaky Friday and made it a couple who are on total different paths in their relationship? After two years, Finn is ready to propose to Amy. Amy is spooked by his offering to move in and confides in her sister that she may break up with him. They are stuck in traffic on the way to her sister's wedding weekend extravaganza, and something happens and suddenly they've switched bodies.

They try to navigate fooling all the wedding guests, but also uncover secrets hidden from each other. Spoiler alert: they both have daddy issues. They discover that in trading places, they really don't know each other.

This concept was fun-ish, but it slogged a bit for me. It could be a me problem though, because I am not a big fan of books that take place at weddings and jam pack it with events and stag parties and bridezillas.

Thank you William Morris and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

I'm really sorry, but this book is a No for me. I give it 2 stars for encouragement, and for the idea. But otherwise, failed. The plot, as I said, is very interesting, I had never read about "exchanges" between boyfriends and girlfriends, but I didn't like the execution. Let's start with the flashbacks, which is perhaps the most annoying thing I found while reading it. There are too many of them, and even confusing, plus, some flashbacks that don't add anything to the plot. I find the female protagonist a bit unpleasant, and honestly it also seems a bit implausible to me this flash love of theirs, and above all the flash-trust she places in him, after all you only met him among drunk friends, and he didn't have a very sane attitude, but ok.
Several times I was putting it back in the DNF row, but I held on, and finally made it! I will still keep an eye on the author, hoping she perfects her stories a little more.
Thanks to the publishing house, Netgalley for this book, in exchange of an honest review.

Amy and Flynn have been together for two years. But while Flynn wants to spend his life with Amy, she thinks Flynn is unserious and worries he's keeping secrets. On the way to the wedding of Amy's sister and Flynn's school chum, they get caught in a thunderstorm and switch bodies Freaky-Friday-style. When they arrive - late to a multi-day extravaganza where Amy is the maid of honor - Flynn-as-Amy keeps messing up the sister-of-the-bride-duties while Amy-as-Flynn can't handle the athletic male bonding. They are both constantly wrong-footed by their new bodies and how they're expected to act - and they're barely speaking to one another.

This was a funny and heartfelt family drama rolled up in a romance. I had a bit of a tough time getting into it because Amy and Flynn's relationship initially seems to be doomed for very good reason: the character's don't like or even really know each other. But once the wedding festivities began I was drawn in to the story, and even though the plot is intricate and a bit meandering I was never impatient to move it along. There's a large cast of characters and I appreciated how clearly they were sketched out - despite the body swapping and the complicated plotlines, I was never confused. Instead, I was swept along, and by the end I was pleased to see that both main characters grew and changed and became better for each other.

The good ol' fashioned body swap, but make it your sister's wedding weekend, and the groom is one of the boyfriend's oldest friends so everyone at the wedding is someone you know!

Amy and Flynn have issues. They've been drifting apart recently. Amy is pulling away, and Flynn is doing anything he can think of to pull her back in. They're close to a breaking point when Amy's sister Laura and Flynn's friend Jay are getting married. Everything is on hold until afterwards. But on the way there, the tension is palpable and eventually boils over when a herd of cows makes it impossible for them to make it on time. Pacing around the car in the pouring rain, lightning strikes, and they're thrust into the wrong bodies.

Flynn is someone who will do anything to smooth things over for other people, including bending himself into whatever shape they need him to be & lying about just about everything. Amy is an assertive bleeding-heart (activist) who doesn't usually bother to hear the whole story before taking up arms and refuses to chase her own dreams. I didn't like either one of them, which made it hard to enjoy this story.

Man, I really hate to say that, because I LOVED Maybe Next Time by this same author & was so looking forward to this book. The concept is intriguing - magical realism is sometimes a little hard to swallow, and unfortunately that's exactly the case for this one.

Largely this book hung upon a whole lot of miscommunication. It's aggravating as a reader, but can be realistic. In this case, it didn't even feel all that realistic. These two characters have been in a relationship for two years but know almost nothing about each other. I think for this to work, we would have needed to see more of what was holding them together. I concede it's not really a romance, more of a personal growth story (for both MCs), but it just didn't track for me, logically. We get to see the weekend they met/got together, but that wasn't enough to carry the weight of all the baggage throttled atop them.

The wedding antics were typical rom com faire: silly, everything-goes-wrong-that-can-go-wrong sort of stuff. It annoyed me that neither one of them was remotely good at impersonating the other, which only reinforced the idea that they know nothing about each other.

I wasn't a fan of the beginning either. The chapters were quite manic as the body swap was happening, and I think half of them were completely unnecessary, personally. I've seen readers complain about dual timelines a few times and have never understood that complaint. However, I'm not sure it was necessary in this book. It's already complicated enough with the body swap aspect. I think having the characters reflecting on their pasts and their worries about what might come out during the wedding festivities could have made them more likeable and sympathetic. As it is, they're only worried about it like they're still terrified of their life partner finding out anything deeper about them...I just couldn't connect to that.

The author did take the opportunity to explore a topic that is only possible with a book like this: the physical space a body takes up and the dynamic it automatically creates - being physically bigger or smaller than someone else is a power dynamic, even if most of us don't leverage it that way. It was only a minor exploration though, because everything in this book seemed to only scrape the surface.

I am grateful for the publisher & netgalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy of this title. It was an intriguing idea...I just wish I liked it more.