Elle is a social media influencer who has joined a challenge to see who can gain the most followers during December. She has the bright idea to swap houses with a British fan for the holidays, knowing that photos of all the fun Christmassy things in London will sure boost her follows. Holly loves everything about Christmas, but after a run-in with her ex-boyfriend and learning her sister will not be in town for Christmas, she decides that switching places with Elle and going to New York City may be just the thing to save her holiday.
When I read the synopsis of this book I thought it would be something like the movie The Holiday, where two women swap houses at Christmastime. But as I started reading, I realized that the two main characters in this book are high school students. I just kept thinking, “Who would let two high school students randomly switch houses, at Christmastime?”
I had a really hard time getting into this book because I could not relate to either of the main characters. I don’t get influencers, especially if they are in high school, so I found the Elle character to be a bit annoying. She was just too obsessed with getting likes and followers on her Instagram account. Similarly, I love Christmas, but the extent to which Holly is fixated on Christmas was way over the top.
I’m not sure if I am too old or mature for this book, but I felt like cringing so much while reading. There are a lot of words written in all caps lock and a lot of abbreviations like ngl and tbh (do teenagers really use the abbreviation when they talk?). The writing style just wasn’t really for me.
That being said, this was a very quick read and I did enjoy reading about all of Elle’s and Holly’s Christmas adventures. The book ends with a nice message about family and enjoying experiences instead of just getting the Instagram photo.
I can also totally get behind Holly’s golden rules: 1. Never say no to a festive drink. 2. Don’t duck out on the high notes of “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. 3. Have the best time.
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