Releasing on November 14th, Mom Com is a heartwarming tale of love, family, and pastry perfection.

It’s the time of lights and cookies! Of cozy blankets and silly pyjamas. But is it truly the Christmas season until you’ve watched at least one Christmas movie, or maybe binged seventeen of them? Preferably curled up on a couch in front of a fireplace with a steaming cup of cocoa. If you’re anything like me you have your set list of fav holiday movies you’ve been watching every year since you were little, adding to them as you grow. Which is why it’s a double dip of pleasure to pair these movies with equally compelling books.

Do you watch Love Actually every year? Try Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory.

If you swooned and giggled over Huge Grant and Martine McCutcheon in Love Actually, give Jasmine Guillory’s holiday romance a twirl. In Royal Holiday, Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can’t refuse. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his accent, and his unyielding formality. This story is infused with British charm!

Love The Holiday?  Check out The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox.

There is nothing more fun than watching two people switch lives, make mistakes, and learn things about themselves while they scramble to fix it. In The Holiday Swap is a feel-good romantic comedy about identical twins who switch lives in the days leading up to Christmas. Will the twins’ identity swap be a recipe for disaster, or does it have all the right ingredients for getting their lives back on track?

Did you swoon over Happiest Season? Read Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur.

What’s not to love about sapphic romances with sparkly twinkle lights holiday backdrops? In Written in the Stars, two women who are complete opposites find themselves embroiled in a fake relationship stemming from a white lie. It’s a feel-good holiday novel following a free-spirited astrologer and an uptight actuary who made a pact to keep up their relationship ruse until New Year’s Eve. Love is definitely in the air!

If you habitually watch A Christmas Story, try Wishin’ and Hopin’ by Wally Lamb.

Of course A Christmas Story is based on Jean Shepherd’s book by the same name, but if you’re looking to shake things up with story that embodies the same heady nostalgia, try Wishin’ and Hopin’. The story follows a feisty parochial school fifth grader named Felix Funicello and is filled with Christmas dreams, a whole lotta laughs, and a dose of Christmas magic.

Charmed by Dash and Lily? Try The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park.

There is nothing like young love. And if you were enchanted by Dash and Lily (based on the book Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn) then you will love the vibe of Suzanne Park’s YA. Chloe Kwon can’t stand Peter Li. It’s always been that way. Their families don’t get along either: their parents operate rival restaurants in the Riverwood Mall food court―Korean food for the Kwons and Chinese food for the Lis. Now it’s the holiday season and Chloe’s the photographer at the mall’s Santa’s Village, and Peter works at the virtual reality North Pole experience right across the atrium. It’s all Chloe can do to avoid Peter’s smug, incredibly photogenic face.

A fan of The Family Stone? Read 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall.

Love a complicated and emotional family story that centers around the holidays? Try this awesome queer romance with fake amnesia and real feelings! In 10 Things That Never Happened Sam believes his boss Jonathan is going fire him and his entire branch. He panics, trips, and bumps his head, accidentally implying he doesn’t remember anything? Faking amnesia seemed like a good idea, but now he has to deal with the reality of Jonathan’s guilt―as well as the unsettling fact that his surly boss might have a softer side. Can Sam really bring himself to tell the truth, or will their future be built entirely on one impulsive lie?

And if like me, you desperately wish The Gilmore Girls had a Christmas movie, read Mom Com by Adriana Mather.

While the Gilmore Girls is an all year favorite, the show embodies the warmth, joy, and humor of a great holiday romp. In Mom Com, Maddi reluctantly returns to her tiny gossipy town (where she’s the town scandal) for the holidays with her nine-year old. What Maddi doesn’t know is that there’s an issue with her father’s will and his beloved bakery that mysteriously involves the one person she’s vowed never to speak to again—her childhood best friend, Wilder. It’s a story laden with pastries, heartfelt and complicated families, and swoony romance, all wrapped up in a heaping dose of banter!

The post Book Actually: Pairing Books With Favourite Holiday Movies appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

When Charlie loses her senses of taste and smell after getting hit on the head while on the set of her baking show, she asks her identical twin sister, Cass, to temporarily switch places with her. Cass, needing a break from running the family bakery while her parents are on vacation and needing to escape her persistent ex-boyfriend, readily agrees to the swap. But the switch turns out to be way more complicated than the twins anticipate! Cass must deal with Charlie’s sabotaging co-host and ensure that Charlie gets the big promotion that she’s up for. Meanwhile, Charlie must deal with a chain bakery moving into town, providing unwanted competition for the family bakery, and finish baking all of Cass’s finicky Starlight Loafs before the town’s holiday festival. Additionally, both twins get distracted by new love interests whilst pretending to be each other.

The Holiday Swap is a feel-good holiday rom-com filled with delicious recipes, drama, adventure, and true love. This book is a unique and contemporary take on the classic twins switching places trope that is ideally suited for adults, especially those who love movies like The Princess Switch, The Parent Trap, and It Takes Two as well as books like The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, It Won’t be Christmas Without You by Beth Reekles, and All I Want for Christmas by Beth Garrod. The Holiday Swap deals with themes such as love and heartbreak, change versus tradition, identity, escapism, female roles, appearance versus reality, quest for power, overcoming fears, technology, and man against nature. After physically and emotionally walking in each others’ shoes, Charlie and Cass learn that you must be true to yourself, you need to deal with your own problems, and you should go after what you want (and what’s important) in life—no waiting or settling. I want to share a comical piece of advice that one of the side characters gives to Charlie because I really liked it: “Time heals all things. If time fails, try cake.”

Even though I enjoyed this book, I found a few things unsettling. First, Charlie’s co-host and Cass’s ex-boyfriend both shower Charlie and Cass respectively with unwanted physical and emotional attention. This was somewhat frustrating to read and it was disappointing that no one tried to stop or prevent this harassment. Second, I was frustrated by the fact that, instead of adhering to medical advice by taking time off work after suffering the concussion and losing her senses of taste and smell, Charlie choses to work full-time running the family bakery (which arguably is just as gruelling as working on her baking show and similarly requires the ability to taste and smell). Lastly, it was odd and unrealistic that none of their close friends realised that the twins switched places (you would think that at least Cass’s ex-boyfriend, whom she has know for 10 years, would have noticed that he was talking to Charlie and not Cass).

On the plus side, I found that The Holiday Swap was very engaging; I wanted to keep reading to find out if or when the twins got caught in their lie! It was also great to see how Cass stood up for her twin by questioning management on the inequality between Charlie’s image and her male co-host’s image on the show; while Charlie was unfairly given “sweet” dresses and heels to wear on the show, her co-host Austin got to look like a serious and confident chef while wearing his chef’s whites. I loved how The Holiday Swap included two holiday romance stories; Charlie and a handsome firefighter who frequents the family bakery as well as Cass and the gorgeous physician’s assistant who treated Charlie’s concussion. Again, I was very invested and wanted to keep reading to see what happens when the gentlemen inevitably find out that Charlie and Cass aren’t who they say they are. Lastly, all of the Christmas elements included in this book were fantastic, such as snowy hikes, Christmas baking, festive television specials, holiday tunes, unexpected presents, mistletoe kisses, and family traditions.

Overall, this book was a cute, fun, and heart-warming read that I would highly recommend adding to your holiday TBR list!

The Holiday Swap is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 5th 2021.

Will you be picking up The Holiday Swap? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

A feel-good, holiday-themed romantic comedy about identical twins who switch lives in the days leading up to Christmas–perfect for fans of Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze and Josie Silver’s One Day in December.

All they want for Christmas is a different life.

When chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses a lot more than consciousness; she also loses her ability to taste and smell–both critical to her success as show judge. Meanwhile, Charlie’s identical twin, Cass, is frantically trying to hold her own life together back in their quaint mountain hometown while running the family’s bustling bakery and dealing with her ex, who won’t get the memo that they’re over.

With only days until Christmas, a desperate Charlie asks Cass to do something they haven’t done since they were kids: switch places. Looking for her own escape from reality, Cass agrees. But temporarily trading lives proves more complicated than they imagined, especially when rugged firefighter Jake Greenman and gorgeous physician’s assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix. Will the twins’ identity swap be a recipe for disaster, or does it have all the right ingredients for getting their lives back on track?

The post Review: The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

JULY

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
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Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt’s Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood “It Girl” who is cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town… where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn’t belong. 

Too Good to be Real by Melonie Johnson
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To save her job as a writer for a popular website, Julia plans to prove there’s a dozen reasons why life isn’t like a romantic comedy, only to discover the one reason it is…

How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton
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Event planner Kate Sweet is famous for creating the perfect happily-ever-after moment for her clients’ dream weddings. So how is it that her best friend has roped her into planning a bestselling horror writer’s book launch extravaganza? But the second Kate meets—or rather, accidentally maims—the drop-dead-hot Drake Matthews, her well-ordered life quickly transforms into an absolute nightmare.

While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory
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Two people realize that it’s no longer an act when they veer off-script in this sizzling romantic comedy featuring Ben Stephens, Theo’s brother from The Wedding Party, and a famous actress as they struggle to keep things purely professional while working together.

AUGUST

The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle
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An ordinary summer goes royally awry when a prince and princess move next door, bringing their handsome bodyguard with them.

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
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If the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own. Best-selling author Julie Murphy’s reimaging of a beloved fairy tale is an enchanting story of self-love and believing in the happy ending each and every one of us deserves.

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
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Beloved author Lucy Parker pens a delicious new romantic comedy that is a battle of whisks and wits. Perfect for fans of baking shows and royal love – with Parker’s signature romance kryptonite sprinkled on top!

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
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A woman struggling with burnout learns to embrace the unexpected—and the man she enlists to help her—in this heartfelt new romance by USA Today bestselling author Helen Hoang.

SEPTEMBER

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
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When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman’s carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.

When Sparks Fly by Helena Hunting
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Helena Hunting makes sparks fly with the best-friends-to-lovers trope! When an unexpected car accident renders event planner Avery immobile, her best friend offers to become her caretaker, and the lines between the two friends start to blur.

A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria
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The national bestselling author of You Had Me at Hola returns with a seductive second-chance romance about a commitment-phobic Latina and her childhood best friend who has finally returned home.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
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In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.

OCTOBER

All the Feels by Olivia Dade
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Following Spoiler Alert, Olivia Dade returns with another utterly charming romantic comedy about a devil-may-care actor—who actually cares more than anyone knows—and the no-nonsense woman hired to keep him in line.

Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond
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From New York Times bestselling author Gwenda Bond, Not Your Average Hot Guy is a hilarious romantic comedy about two people falling in love, while the fate of the world rests on their shoulders.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
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New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, casts a spell with a spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and hexes gone wrong.

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox  
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A feel-good, holiday-themed romantic comedy about identical twins who switch lives in the days leading up to Christmas–perfect for fans of Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze and Josie Silver’s One Day in December.

NOVEMBER

A Certain Appeal by Vanessa King
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A sparkling contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in the tantalizing world of New York City burlesque, perfect for fans of The Kiss Quotient and The Roommate.

I Hate You More by Lucy Gilmore
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The Hating Game meets Best in Show in this delightfully quirky romcom by beloved author Lucy Gilmore. A former pageant queen, Ruby Taylor, trades in her high heels and joins the dog show circuit, only to fall in love with one of the judges on the panel.

The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu
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Julie Tieu sparkles in this debut romantic comedy, which is charmingly reminiscent of the TV show Kim’s Convenience and Frankly in Love by David Yoon, about a young woman who feels caught in the life her parents have made for her until she falls in love and finds a way out of the donut trap.

Never Fall for Your Fiancée by Virginia Heath
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The first in a new historical rom-com series, a handsome earl hires a fake fiancée to keep his matchmaking mother at bay, but hilarity ensues when love threatens to complicate everything.

DECEMBER

Read Between the Lines by Rachel Lacey
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From award-winning author Rachel Lacey comes a playful romance about a Manhattan bookstore owner and a reclusive author who love to hate—and hate to love—each other.

The Love Con by Seressia Glass
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He’s cosplaying as her boyfriend but their feelings for each other are real in this romantic comedy from Seressia Glass.

Fools In Love: Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales
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Join fifteen bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming authors as they reimagine some of the most popular tropes in the romance genre.

Hidden Treasures by Michelle Adams
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A reunited couple search for a valuable treasure, a precious jewelry box, stolen from the Nazis and hidden away since World War II, in this powerfully emotional and romantic novel of rekindled love – perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Josie Silver and Jill Santopolo.

What romance books are you looking forward to picking up between July and December? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Enjoy These Swoonworthy July to December 2021 Romance Book Releases appeared first on The Nerd Daily.