”This was truly the Christmas romance of my dreams” 5 ★, Reader review
Will all three women have their Christmas wishes come true?
Christmas is coming and best friends Chloe, Jules, and Lucy are needing change… so swapping homes for the holidays could be the perfect present for all of them!
Australian Chloe spends her Christmas in a sleepy village in Oxfordshire, England. She is totally … them!
Australian Chloe spends her Christmas in a sleepy village in Oxfordshire, England. She is totally star-struck when she discovers who lives across the road.
Lucy, who has jetted off to snowy Colorado for her dream-come-true white Christmas, is taken into the fold of Jules’s loud and brash family, discovering more about herself in a few short days than she has in years.
And Jules leaves the cold climes of Colorado to spend her Christmas on a beach with Chloe’s friends in Melbourne, finding that time away is just what she needed.
The only thing better than one Christmas romance is three, and this wonderful festive novel is perfect for fans of Sarah Morgan, Holly Martin and Karen Swan.
What readers are saying about The Christmas Swap:
“To say I really enjoyed this book may be an understatement!”
“It was like watching a hallmark Christmas movie with a glass of Pinot in hand, smelling the turkey cooking in the oven all day.”
“I loved this book! I have already recommended this to my best friend even before I finished it!”
“This sweet holiday story had me totally hooked! If you’re looking for a fun, romantic, different take on a Christmas novel, you should absolutely pick this one up!”
“I had so much fun reading this. It was super cheesy in the best way. I found myself grinning silly and trying to hide it while I read in public. ”
“This story was everything I want in a holiday read”
“There’s such a tremendous warmth about the whole book – the settings, the festive touches, the way the characters develop and discover themselves, that strong friendship, the perfect romances – and I entirely loved it. You really must add it to your Christmas reading list – you’re going to love it too.”
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Thank goodness there are great books you can armchairtravel with. I have been to England, Australia and America in three christmassy stories, wonderfully entwined in one book. Following three close friends; Jules, Lucy and Chloe as they decide to swap homes for Christmas. It makes for hilarious situations, misunderstandings, great descriptions of three very different celebrations, and lots of warmth and love. And also hot guys, don’t forget that.
A very fun, quick Christmas read!
Such a great Christmas book set over three countries and three very different love stories. Really enjoyed learning about the festive season in Australia and in the mountains of Colorado!
Entertaining and easy, I read it after a book with a much darker subject. Just what I needed during holiday week!
This was the perfect sparklingly happy book for the end of 2020. Can’t travel right now? don’t worry, read the Christmas Swap, because nobody brings travel romance/chic lit alive quite like Sandy Barker. All the feels from three different cultural Christmases and of course, romance!
The 3 women trading houses for Christmas and finding unexpected love and HEA. Wonderful characters all. Fun story.
This book was extremely cute! Sandy Barker is hilarious, and I cannot get enough of her stories! While following these women down their three different Christmas paths, I couldn’t pick which one I liked the best! Or which one I most wanted to be. From the U.S. to the UK to Australia, these women were full of adventure. Along with a few steamy romances. Even though it’s a Christmas book, this book will having you laughing out loud no matter what time of year it is!
Favorite Quotes:
Flattery, flattery, flattery— in her experience, the three best ways to earn someone’s trust quickly.
Mr Tate, may I remind you that I am from Australia where we say the F-word on TV and include words like ‘bloody’ and ‘bugger’ in award-winning ad campaigns. Yes, I know that those are the height of profanity here in the UK, but in ’Straya”— she bunged on a broad Aussie accent—“ they are regularly heard on the playground.
My Review:
This was a fun, amusing, and low conflict women’s fiction holiday read, perfect for the days leading up to Christmas, which is exactly when I read it. While three separate romances were blossoming across the globe, the underpinning of the storylines was a long-standing twenty-year friendship between three women from three different continents. Their deep and supportive friendships were established as young girls when they met during family vacations in Hawaii and well maintained into adulthood. The type of friendship everyone yearns to have yet few can successfully sustain.
The author was new to me yet her smooth and relaxed writing style felt immediately comfortable, pleasantly familiar, and easy to follow. Her agile storytelling was engaging and insightful and I enjoyed her characters as much as their storylines. This was a fresh take on a familiar premise and while I was well entertained and enamored with all three couples, I will confess to loving Chloe a bit more for her fierceness.
Like the movie, ‘The Holiday’, but even better with THREE Christmas swaps rather than two! A lovely, festive read which whisks you off to three very different locations, with one thing in common: hunky men! Sandy Barker’s characters are warm and funny, and I enjoyed spending Christmas with them.
I liked the stories of each characters and how they found love when they were not looking for it.
The Christmas Swap follows three best friends who live in different parts of the world. Chloe is from Melbourne, Lucy from England, and Jules from Colorado. They met as children at a Maui resort kids’ club and have remained best friends. However, they each have their own reasons of why they’re not too excited about their Christmas plans. As a result, they decide to swap places. Lucy heads to Colorado for a snowy Christmas with Jules’ family, Jules flies to Australia for a warm Christmas with Chloe’s friends, and Chloe takes the long journey to England for a traditional Christmas with Lucy’s parents. During their Christmas vacation, each woman discovers new things about themselves and starts to really prioritize what’s important. Of course, this wouldn’t be a romcom read without some romance. Each girl happens to meet a handsome man who makes her trip worth-while.
I enjoyed the way the book is divided into multiple POVs and a few chapters where all three talk together. Honestly, I thought it was a little unrealistic that, pretty much instantly, all three women meet a wonderful man. But this is fiction and as readers we sometimes love to just enjoy the fantasy. I enjoyed all three of their experiences, but Lucy was my favorite. Maybe it’s because I don’t ever get a snowy Christmas and I was envious of all her snowy activities and the huge Breckenridge cabin. Her love story was also my favorite because there was a little bit of conflict, despite the obvious attraction. This is a great Christmas romance to read before New Year’s Eve.
Memorable lines:
1. “Here’s to peeing in the snow.”
2. He picked up a tea towel and started drying. It was one of the sexiest things she’d ever seen.
3. “And yes, of course Die Hard is a Christmas movie.”
Thank you to @netgalley and @onemorechapterhc for a free digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book reminds me of all the good parts of the Christmas romance movies.I could what was going to happen for parts of it but I still enjoyed it! Very Halmmark-movie like. Perfect for Christmas time
Well, this was a wonderfully heart-warming Christmas read, with not one but three romances, and three beautifully described settings in which the romances take place. Lucy, Chloe and Jules met on holiday as children and have been friends ever since, even although they live hundreds of miles apart. With Christmas coming, and all of them wanting something a bit different to their usual seasonal celebrations, they decide to do a swap, with English Lucy spending Christmas in snowy Colorado with Jules’ family, Jules going to sunny Australia for Christmas with Chloe’s friends, and Chloe joining Lucy’s parents in an Oxfordshire village for a traditional British Christmas, complete with a typically British Christmas fair. All three women have a romance with a gorgeous man – Jules’ snowboarding younger brother, an Australian wine-maker and an English film star – and this reader certainly couldn’t help but root for the relationships to last longer than the holidays. I particularly enjoyed the way the author created a vivid sense of place in each location and the descriptions of food – I’d really like to sample the hot chocolate Lucy drinks in Colorado! Sandy Barker has written another fabulous novel with romance, friendship and family at its heart – a delightfully festive read that will certainly get any reader in the mood for Christmas.
I absolutely adored this book and its 3 BFF aka “May Ladies” and their journey to
different parts of the world. They all swapped places for christmas and found not only new friends for life but also LOVE.
Each of them different, each with their own desires and wishes and yet deep in their hearts, although not knowing, seeking for love. Each has got her own twist and that made the book even more exciting.
I love Sandy Barker’s writing and couldn’t wish for more especially at this time of the year when the clock is ticking and the most beautiful season of the year is soon arriving.
Anyway this book and its stories stole again my heart.
If you liked the movie The Holiday, then you will absolutely love the book The Christmas Swap by Sandy Barker. From the first page, where we first meet the Lucy, Chloe, and Jules, who label themselves The May Ladies Club, when they meet each other while on holiday (Vacation) in Hawaii when they children, and then a quick jump ahead to just before the Christmas season, where they are facing another tough Christmas when they all need a break from real life. And after a recollection of the movie, they decide to do it! Swap their Christmas with each other, giving them their dream Christmas.
To say I really enjoyed this book may be an understatement! I loved the very different personalities the girls had, and you can’t but help but find your favorite “May Lady” and my favorite was Lucy, the British girl in America (haha! Being one myself, how can I not relate), dealing with all the snow, and fully embraced the wacky American Christmas.
And although I have related this book to the movie, in parts it more like Hallmark movies, and honestly, this one should be made into a Hallmark movie, as it’s truly perfect, especially as it’s not only set in Colorado but Melbourne and England too.
I only found one drawback to this book, and that is (for me) it finished too soon, so I’m hoping (well, more like begging) that this book turns into a series, where we can continue each girl’s story.
Lucy, Chloe, and Jules became friends when they were eleven years old. Now, two decades later, the women decide to swap Christmases. Each woman is ready for a change, and they agree that a Christmas swap is a perfect solution. Three wonderfully charming Christmases in three different places open the women’s eyes to new beginnings and love in Sandy Barker’s The Christmas Swap.
I love the relationship between the “May Ladies.” Lucy, Chloe, and Jules have a strong bond that has lasted for twenty-two years and across continents. Throughout their two-decade-long friendship, the women make time for each other, support each other, and have a remarkable bond.
The May Ladies each find love, which is, of course, one of my favorite parts of the story. And since there are the three parallel stories in three different places, Colorado, Australia, and Oxfordshire, it’s almost like reading three romances in one!
A fun and heart-warming story that highlights the bonds of friendship, the need for connection, and the magic of the holiday season, The Christmas Swap will appeal to readers who enjoy contemporary romance. Thanks so much to Netgalley and One More Chapter for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Taking inspiration from The Holiday, Chloe, Lucy, and Jules swap Christmases for various reasons of escape. What ensues is equal parts romantic and amusing.
Of the three friends, I love Lucy’s storyline best. She’s the one I root for most and seems to face the hardest challenges. Lucy is the one I want to be friends with. She handles hurdles with grace and her mum’s famous Christmas cake.
The predictable HEA for all three friends was a bit, well, predictable. However, I appreciate the glimpses of different ways we celebrate between snowy Colorado, chilly England, and sunny Melbourne. The nods to The Holiday give The Christmas Swap a sense of familiarity.
This year, more than most, I’ve been looking forward to the joy and fun of the holidays. This type of book is just the thing to put me in the mood for those cozy, holidays feels.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collin’s UK for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Walking in someone else’s moccasins: lovely locations, good multiple plots
4.5stars
I really liked the three prong plot for this sweet holiday romance. The chances of all three women finding a perfect holiday and romance in their borrowed locations is not particularly realistic, but it’s a feel good novel with a festive tone and emphasizing family and friendship. The Melbourne, Colorado and England locations add interest for armchair travelers in an age when intercontinental travel is difficult to forbidden.
Author Sandy Barker has hit the right balance between the romance and the holiday components. Neither overwhelms the other. Cozy present opening in front of a Christmas morning fire plays against exhilarating new love. A lovely read.
Thanks to publishers Harper Collins/One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
I love Sandy Barker’s books because I’m always whisked away someplace nice. This is serious armchair travel. Three best friends, three very different Christmases set in England, a snowy Colorado, and the beachy city-scape of Melbourne, AU. The characters felt full fleshed out, and were very distinct. I thought the life situations the characters found themselves in were very realistic. I especially connected with Jules. But this novel is more than that. Each character discovers something about themselves, and I came away feeling that there is more than one way to define family. This book has all the festive feels one could hope for in a Christmas book. One to read!
Reading this book put me right the perfect holiday mood, even though it’s only September! Clearly inspired by the wonderful movie The Holiday, in this story, three women swap homes for Christmas. Chloe, Jules, and Lucy, lifelong friends from different continents after meeting on vacation as children, decide to spend Christmas in each other’s respective places–a holiday with friends in Australia, the quaint family cottage in England, and a mountain mansion in Colorado. Each lady is ready for a change of pace and end up opening their hearts to the men they meet on their journey!
Now look. I understand that the premise isn’t original–it’s the The Holiday. And nothing about this realistic–what are the chances that three women ALL meet their soulmates on vacation in completely different countries. And instalove? Not a fan. But I still loved this book! It was just so incredibly charming, with characters just simply impossible to hate, and three stellar stories packed into one novel. Three for the price of one! I also loved getting to explore three different locations. You get to see a warm-weather Christmas in Australia without sacrificing us American’s idea of a white Christmas. This book was just so adorable it was impossible NOT to like it, even with all its implausibilities. A perfect cozy Christmas read.
Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One More Chapter for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!