Two homes, two holidays, and one spontaneous switch change everything for two women in this warm and festive holiday romance perfect for readers of The Holiday Honeymoon Switch and A Winter Wish .When go-getter Phoebe Keller is fired right before the holidays, the last thing she wants is to face her family—so she impulsively decides to swap homes with Arden Torres, a teacher desperate to escape her own holiday blues.
When Phoebe’s protective brother finds out Arden’s spending Hanukkah alone, he insists on inviting her to the family celebration. Neither expects the undeniable spark between them—or its messy implications. Phoebe is in for her own surprise when a night at a Christmas market turns into a run-in with her old college friend—whose heart she broke years ago.
Between snow-dusted nights in Seattle and sunlit mornings in Florida, two love stories unfold. But as the new year draws near, Phoebe and Arden must each decide if they’re ready to stop running from the past and open their hearts to the kind of love that feels like coming home.
When Phoebe’s protective brother finds out Arden’s spending Hanukkah alone, he insists on inviting her to the family celebration. Neither expects the undeniable spark between them—or its messy implications. Phoebe is in for her own surprise when a night at a Christmas market turns into a run-in with her old college friend—whose heart she broke years ago.
Between snow-dusted nights in Seattle and sunlit mornings in Florida, two love stories unfold. But as the new year draws near, Phoebe and Arden must each decide if they’re ready to stop running from the past and open their hearts to the kind of love that feels like coming home.
Title: The Holiday House Swap
Author: Lauren Appelbaum
Publisher: Forever Grand Central
Publication Date: October 20, 2026
Review:
Thank you to Forever Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I will admit, I have never watched the movie, The Holiday. And maybe if I had had that background I would have liked this book a bit more than I did. But I don't think you should have to know a movie to like a story, so my opinions are valid in my mind.
This book is told in dual POV from Arden and Phoebe. I liked that part. It was a nice dual POV along the same time line with things happening on opposite sides of the country. And I loved the idea of this plot.
What I wasn't really a fan of were the characters, to be honest. I just didn't connect to either of them and in turn it was hard for me to care about their stories. There was so much miscommunication on both their parts with their potential partners it was unnerving. I don't mind a bit of miscommunication, it often can build really great tension. But it happened throughout the book with no real resolution developing until the very end. I was frustrated with both female characters throughout the book. And maybe that was the point? But, honestly, they swapped houses to grow and learn and become more independent and I just didn't see that happening all that much.
I liked how it touched on Chanukah and Christmas. There were some good holiday celebrations and it was nice to see the characters learn about traditions outside of what they grew up with. I do wish there was more explanation of Chanukah. Not everyone knows why we eat donuts and latkes, why we do Chinese food and movies on Christmas day, so including that would have been a nice touch. More people know Christmas than they do Chanukah, which is actually not a huge holiday for Jewish people but has been made so because of when it falls in the year.
On top of this, there's a lot of telling when there should have been showing. I hate being told things. I want to picture them in my mind.
As for the love interests, Johnathan was rather flat while I enjoyed Sam's golden retriever vibes. But I could not really picture either of them in my mind. Their development was truly lacking and I didn't find myself rooting for either of them to get their HEA with their girl. On top of that, where was the chemistry? We get kissing and some sex scenes but there was no real build up and longing.
While I finished this in one day, it was really because I pushed myself. I was hopeful things would pick up or the characters would start to learn things, But that just didn't happened and I was bored.
I'm sure others will like this one much more than I did. I'm giving it three stars but it's more like 2.5 for me.
Author:
Lauren Appelbaum graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Informatics and worked in tech for over a decade while writing fiction on the side. She grew up in Gainesville, Florida before moving to the Seattle area, where she lives with her husband and two kids.
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