It wouldn't be Christmas without reading at least one Melody Carlson's Christmas novellas. This was fun with the skiing and romance. I think it would make a good Hallmark movie. ( )

I believe that I received this book as a LibrayThing giveaway, but I do not recall as I found it at the bottom of a pile... However, tis the season and all that...

This was a fast, light read with enjoyable characters and the feel of a Hallmark movie. It was fun and light. My only comment was that it was overly predictable and expected... ( )

Title: The Christmas Swap
Author: Melody Carlson
Pages: 176
Year: 2020
Publisher: Revell
My rating is 3 out of 5 stars.
Emma has been invited to spend Christmas with her friend Gillian and Gillian’s family as Emma’s parents are overseas. The only catch is that they have swapped houses with someone in Colorado. She is from Arizona, so this Christmas will be quite different. Emma sees snow for the first time and learns to ski. While the caretaker of their vacation home seems like a good ski instructor, Emma also finds him easy to talk to and enjoys his company. Could a romance be blossoming? However, West, the caretaker, is keeping a secret from Emma.
Gillian sets her sights on winning West’s affections. She has discovered West’s secret and just knows that Emma is not the right woman for him. She takes advantage of every situation to make sure she spends time alone with West. He is too much of a gentleman to be rude to her, even though he would rather spend time with Emma. His time is running out as Emma is only in Colorado for a week. Will there be enough time for him to discover if she feels the same way about him as he does about her?
I always look forward to Melody Carlson’s Christmas novellas. They usually put me in the Christmas spirit and are uplifting. This one, at least for me, didn’t fall into that category. I found the fact the Gillian and Emma remained friends for so long not believable. Emma is a sweet, young woman while Gillian is a conniving, manipulative snob. Gillian’s mother would ruin anyone’s holiday with her constant complaining, which didn’t make for a festive feeling read at all. I did like that Emma was able to appreciate the beauty of her new surroundings and let everyone know her opinion.
Note: The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. ( )

It's more than a 3 but not a 4--so I went with a 3 rating.

I did like Emma, and I did like West. I'm glad that Carlson didn't feel she had to have them married (or even engaged) by the end of the book. We are left with the idea that their relationship will proceed to that in time--but since they've known each other less than a week, I would have been very upset if they ended up married or engaged after such a short time.

As for the rest of the characters:

Mr. Landers seems okay. I feel sorry for him.

Mrs. Landers seems to want things her way and when they don't go as she'd like, she either argues or complains and tries to make the others around her miserable. She seems very entitled. And unfortunately she seems to have passed some of these traits on to her daughter.

Gillian Landers: She has her good moments--like rescuing Emma in college and toward the end after Emma has left, but most of the time she reads like a carbon copy of her mother--wanting things her way and scheming to make them so. Telling half truths and not caring about others's feelings. I also felt she was a bit fickle--wanting Harris on their way to Colorado and then discarding him for West.

Grant Landers: he started out seeming to want to push his way into a relationship with Emma that she wasn't crazy about, but he turned out to be a nice guy in the end which surprised me a bit. I admire that he graciously "stepped back" when West indicated his interest in Emma and even helped arrange for the two to meet.

Harris: He started out as Gillian's love interest but seemed more interested in Emma than Gillian. Then, it seemed like he just took the vacation invitation to be able to ski and was pushing the others to do slopes harder than they could do because he wanted to ski. After his ski with West though he did seem to settle down more and consider others.

I thought the idea of swapping houses at Christmas was a bit strange. Most people want to be home for Christmas not traveling. I never quite figured out how the swap came about--who knew the other person in order to arrange for the two families to swap houses? ( )

Looking for a sweet Christmas themed book that deals with a romance. This book has it and a sweet way of how it goes. This deals with a house swap at Christmas time. This book reminds me of the Hallmark Movie called “The Christmas Swap.” I do not know if this was a make on that or if it was maybe inspired by it. I do not know.

The book is about two families but mostly about a songwriter that somehow ends up taking care of this own house. The way it comes about seems kind of cute. We also have Emma who is struggling to be a musician. How will Emma and West's relationship go?

Will Gillian or maybe Harris mess up the sweet romance that is blooming? Does this seem to take a turn when someone figures out who West is? Is the caretaker who he is? Emma seems to be belated with the house they are staying in and the area in Colorado. Will the family and guest learn to ski and enjoy Christmas before going home?

The author writes this book well. This book is Christmas themed and charming. I enjoyed it. The only thing I kinda wish it was a bit more to it. Though I guess, I read too many romances to see how it ends. It is not all that bad. The story is caring and a bit different in the way that the owner is the one in more of a predicament than the heroine. ( )