A sweet, sapphic Christmas romcom - if you love fake dating tropes, this is the one for you! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, this was an entertaining read.

this book was so fun!! it’s a brilliant christmas romance with lesbian main characters, and a nice romance (with brilliant friendships as well)

one thing i will say as that i wasn’t the biggest fan of how they hid them being together from ben, and that it made him (and margot) look bad when the family found out. i understand it was to add conflict, but it just made me feel icky.

I was so excited to read The Christmas Swap, mostly because it’s the first LGTBQ+ festive romance I’ve come across (ARC-wise). I was even more excited because it’s sapphic and includes my favourite trope; fake dating. Sadly, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

The reason why I love fake dating so much is because of the constant fear of them being found out, but that just didn’t happen here. Not a single person questioned whether they were together and it didn’t even seem like Ben and Margot were that worried.

The funniest part was definitely Ellie thinking Margot is with Ben because of his money. This is obviously blown way out of proportion and Ellie’s instant hatred for Margot is very unwarranted, but it did make the book more entertaining.

I really didn’t like Margot. She was fine at first but then she became an “I’m not like the other girls, I like indie music” type of character. After she says this she lists three very popular artists who probably don’t classify as indie anymore. I’m being very nitpicky here, but I just hate this trope. Who cares if you like popular music? Literally no one.

Another thing I really didn’t like about her is that she makes a slip-up to Ellie about coming out to her grandparents and instead of saying “I’m bi” she says it was about being close with them. Why not just say you’re bi? You’re already lying about being straight. At least bi is slightly closer to the truth.

It pains me to say but the only character I was rooting for was Ben. He was the only genuine person and it sucks what Margot and Ellie did to him. Why Margot didn’t admit to him that she finds his sister attractive I don’t know. He was right to be annoyed with them.

The exploration of heavier themes seemed a little out of place at times, but it is an important topic to bring up. I would say this book comes with a trigger warning for emotional abuse, it’s mostly talked about rather than shown, but please do be aware of this.

I really liked the whole family and their dynamic was definitely interesting. They were probably the best part of the whole book, well Mitsi the dog was. She was crazy and I loved her.

Sadly, The Christmas Swap did not deliver on the festive vibes. They were pretty much nowhere to be seen. At the start of the book Margot and Ellie go to a Christmas market and around the middle, they go ice skating, but that’s about it. Every time a book has Christmas in the title but isn’t actually festive, I get a bit sad. I may be the problem, maybe I’m expecting too much.

Overall I’m giving The Christmas Swap a very fair three stars. I was going to give this a 2.5 but it gets an extra 0.5 for being sapphic.

I enjoyed the characters in the this and the exploration of heavier themes such as emotional abuse and losing yourself as you get older. It was interesting without weighing down the plot too much. Sadly I think the writing did let the book down slightly. Also more dog content was needed

Firmly not for me. I was only expecting a lighthearted sapphic romcom but the writing is not for me and the characters suck. I don't believe the romance past Margot finding Ellie attractive. Ellie's POV in particular was painful to read. It says a lot that the only person I'm rooting for in a sapphic romance is the straight cis male.

Thank you to Netgalley & @michaeljbooks for this ARC; below are my spoiler free honest thoughts.

This was my second fake dating sapphic Christmas read of the season and definitely the best. I felt connected to the character and wanted Margot, Ben and Ellie to all have their HEA.

I am a cat person, but I adored every single mention of Misti, the pregnant dog.

Things I loved
🎄Christmas
🎄Fake Dating
🎄Grandpa Mo
🎄The Bench
🎄Secondary love story

CW mentions of past abuse

A super cute sapphic romcom for Christmas! Felt a little bit too quick moving but it was fun and easy which is what I look for in my holiday romance books.

A fun and light-hearted sapphic Christmas romance. This was easy to read and had great festive and cosy vibes perfect for the build up to Christmas.
Margot agrees to fake date Ben after she breaks up with girlfriend, but what she doesn't expect is to fall for Ben's sister Ellie.

A cute sapphic Christmas romance - A quick and easy read and definitely a cosy one for the run up to Christmas! I found it a bit predictable but honestly I find that with a lot of romance books so it didn’t bother me!

The Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin books for an arc to review.

On the surface, this book was everything you'd expect from a Christmas story of this trope. Fake dating, but one falls for the others sibling. Then all got their happily ever after.

And while I enjoyed reading this, the problem I had was, it wasn't really anything more indepth than I summarised. Ellie, Margot and Ben as the main characters were all okay.
But then we had supporting characters, who really didn't do an awful lot to flesh out beyond the immediate story as required. It meant it was all rather predictable. Yes, it is a holiday romance, so there is a certain amount of predictability with these stories. Yet, at times it felt just a touch too lightweight in how the story evolved - or rather didn't. We had glimpses, but it felt frustratingly light on detail.

There were good moments of humour, and some tension from 3rd parties. Nothing unexpected, as I say.

This is a book that isn't bad per se. I was happy enough to read it. But I have certainly read better wlw Christmas stories, including a fake dating Christmas story from last year (I won't mention the name, but needless to say, girl dates boy, but falls for sister) that I enjoyed considerably more and is lined up ready to read again this year.
This is a book that I would read around Christmas time and enjoy. But I'm not sure I would then revisit it.

An okay overall wlw Christmas story so a solid 3/5 stars 🌟 🌟🌟 but not quite enough to lift it beyond that.

The Christmas Swap was a wholesome sapphic Christmas romance perfect for a festive read. It’s clean, relatively light-hearted, and quick to read.
One of the main characters is media manager Margot who recently split from her long-term girlfriend Taylor. She agrees to play fake girlfriend to Ben Gibson who is sick and tired of his family commenting on his lack of girlfriend every year. Not wanting to go home for Christmas after the death of her grandmother, Margot agrees to the fake relationship as a way of escaping reality.
Ellie Gibson is also back home for Christmas. She was a holiday rep for a while and returned from Thailand to work at the family hotel and make the most of the time her grandfather has left. She is immediately suspicious of her brothers out of the blue girlfriend. Ellie is determined to play detective when she suspects Margot is a gold-digger, after Ben’s successful jewellery company and their family’s expensive housewares.
Margot faces the realisation that her relationship with Taylor was emotionally abusive and manipulative, something Ben helps her realise as well.
This book reminded me of the Christmas movie Happiest Season with the added extra of fake dating. It was certainly a fun and festive read and I’d definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a refreshing and sapphic romance!
Thank you for the eARC!

Christmas sapphic romance, yes please. This was a cute quick read, but was over so quick. I liked the plot but would of liked a bit more meaningful development.

This was a cute fun and fast paced book that gave me all the feels. I adored the characters and the writing style, it definitely got me in the Christmas spirit, Looooved.
3.5 stars!!

Christmas with fake dating sprinkled on top - yes please and of course the usual family Christmas drama. Margot happily agrees to help Ben out - until she meets his sister. This book had me laughing out loud a lot and it has gotten me excited for the Christmas season. A first read for me by Samuels and i really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this Christmassy fake dating to in-laws romance book, it hit all the right notes for me being cute and very seasonal with just the right amount of angst thrown in to make for a little romantic peril!
The story itself was very easy to read so I devoured it quite quickly. The characters we meet are all very likeable in their own ways, living their lives the best they can.
In addition to the romantic elements to this story there is also a good portion of family coming to terms with each other when the children become grown ups and their own person and of course, there is the mystery of Mitsi's pregnancy to resolve!

This book definitely got me in the Christmas mood!

I loved the fake dating trope and it was so quick and easy to read!

I will be looking out for more books by this author.

It is so good to see a sapphic festive rom com in a hetero dominated market. It's also a really interesting idea - what happens when someone outside of a fake dating couple falls for one half of the couple?

However, this book fell short for me. I felt like Margot and Ellie didn't develop their relationship or have anything in common besides shared love of music, being veggie and fancying each other. These might be interesting things to share on a dating app profile, but a relationship needs a lot more to be successful and I didn't see evidence of that in the book.

A lot of smaller plot points which offered intrigue were never developed or had no real pay off. The writing felt deliberately done to the point it felt stilted and broken, like the scenes needed smoothing over to feel natural.

I am truly obsessed with this book, one of my few five stars so far this year and my first read during sapphic september.

This books is so warm and fully of joy and i mean also drama. Its like snuggling with a mulled cider on a chilly winter evening after a long day.

From fake dating to chaotic family issues, to falling head over heels for your exact type in a not so perfect situation this book had everything and i was engaged thoroughly the whole way through. The perfect sapphic winter romance with a great and well written plot this will be a book i reccomend for a long time and will definitely be buying a hard copy of at some point.

It was a good story, a very easy read. It's sweet but a bit simple, not much details, not in-depth. I would recommend it for a quick weekend book.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this lovely christmassy book

this is definitely a good christmassy read with plenty of awwww moments but with enough drama to keep you on your toes and reading it right through

the gibson household at christmas is a time for families and loved ones to be together but ben never takes anyone home with him but this year he is taking margot home with him as a pretend girlfriend

and once they arrive the fun and games begin.....

whats not to love about a christmas story, a pregnant dog, and a growing attraction with friends all added into the mix

brilliantly written and will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works