Sandy Barker (1)

I thought this was a cozy mystery set on the island of Santorini. But no. This is chick lit!! I do NOT READ chick lit!! The descriptions of the greek food and the islands were wonderful. It is very clear that the author has been to the Greek islands.

But the main character Sarah, aged 36 and still single - was very annoying. I gather she needs a man to function and I detest females who have never learned to live an independent life. Sarah came across as very clingy. And the fact that she was hooking up with a young man almost 10 years younger than her, and she was also being romanced by an older man in his 40s, does not speak well of Sarah's character.

After a bad breakup Sarah decides to spend the summer sailing around the greek islands. Except that this summer really only lasted 10 days!! And she ended up being romanced by 2 men. At age 36 Sarah still does not know who she is or what she wants. She was currently a high school teacher but she had also been a tour manager. You would think that at age 36, one had some idea of what they wanted out of life. I got the impression that all Sarah wanted, was another man in her life. And that attitude gives off clingy vibes - which most men run away from.

I will not be reading any more from this author. And now I will have to check every book with this kind of cover to make sure they are cozy mysteries and NOT chicklit!!… (meer)

This book offers a happy nod to The Holiday! This is the story of three best friends, Chloe, Lucy, and Jules who decide to shake things up at Christmas and swap homes and families. And, in the way of The Holiday, each of the girls falls for an equally charming man at their destination.

Of course, drama ensues, and the three stories intermingle through telephone calls between the friends. Charming and sweet, this was a wonderful escape, as the author does a fantastic job depicting the settings in each of the locales.

Sandy Barker does it again with another charming romance.… (meer)

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Christmas Swap is a lighthearted Christmas Womens’ Fiction story with strong romantic elements. Best friends since they met in Hawaii at age eleven, Lucy, Jules, and Chloe have at age thirty-three reached a point in their lives where they feel at a crossroads and are looking to make changes.
They come up with the idea of a Christmas Swap, Australian Chloe will spend Christmas in England with Lucy’s parents. British Lucy will spend Christmas in Colorado with Jules’s family and American Jules will spend Christmas in Melbourne with Chloe’s friends. All three find romance and the answers they’ve been looking for. This was a fun Christmasy novel and I enjoyed reading it this holiday season. Steam level: Closed Door Publishing Date October 16, 2020. #TheChristmasSwap #SandyBarker #OneMoreChapter #HarperCollinsUK #ChristmasReading #WomensFiction #ContemporaryRomance #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #NetGalley… (meer)