Sandy Barker returns to the blog with a story of lifelong friendships, holiday dreams and trading places in
The Christmas Swap
The “May Ladies Club” also known as Chloe, Lucy and Jules have been friends since they met at a kid’s camp in Hawaii when they were eleven. Through thick and thin they’ve maintained the friendship, as each nurtured their own versions of a “Perfect Christmas Holiday”. And, with everyone feeling in a bit of a rut, this is the year that they changed things. One always dreamed of a white Christmas with all the ‘winter fun’, one wanted a traditional English Christmas with crackers and goose and plum pudding, and the last wanted merely to escape the cold and celebrate her holiday on a beach with a barbeque and sunshine. So – we swap. From Melbourne to a small English village and the mountains of Breckenridge Colorado: each lady is hosted by their friend’s friends and family – with a few wonderful exceptions.
Along the way, the ladies meet the prototypical romantic heroes: a snowboarder, a film star and a winemaker, and their stories not only bring them the ‘hoped for’ special Christmas to break them out of their ruts, but a chance at romance that fills both their own and reader’s hearts with joy and possibility. Told in three perspectives with scenery, activities and voices eminently clear, Barker continues to be the ‘go to’ getaway holiday romance writer.
Light and fun, with plenty of heart, self-reflection, fun and moments to bring the holidays to life, this is a solid and quite entertaining story about changing your views and gaining new perspective on your life and just how that will affect you from that point forward. Light and easy to read with plenty of room for imagination and fantasy with the inclusion of the romance elements, this is a perfect “getaway” story, sure to please many.

Title: The Christmas Swap
Author: Sandy Barker
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dual Narration, Friendship, Holiday Themed, Romantic Elements, Setting: American, Setting: Australia, Setting: Britain, Woman's Fiction
Published by: One More Chapter
ISBN: 9780008390037
Published on: 16 October, 2020
Format:eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Pages: 400
Rated:

Heat:

Chloe, Jules, and Lucy meet at a Maui resort kids' club, aged 11, forging a lifelong friendship spanning two decades and three continents.
Twenty-two years later, they decide to swap Christmases, none of them expecting the hilarity and romantic escapades that will ensue.
Chloe from Melbourne spends her Christmas with Lucy's mum and dad in a sleepy village in Oxfordshire, England, stunned to the core when she discovers who grew up across the road from Lucy.
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 a balmy 'Orphan's Christmas' with Chloe's friends in Melbourne, finding that time away from her mundane life is just what she needed.
Join these three lovable women as they each get a Christmas to surpass their wildest dreams.
A copy of this title was provided via Publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Thank you for this lovely review!