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chronicallybookish 's review for:
The Holiday Switch
by Tif Marcelo
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 4 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Special thanks to Underlined and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
I really liked this book. It was fun, fluffy, cute, and quick. So I was totally shocked to see that it only had a 3.56 average rating. Especially since the last YA Christmas romance I read had a higher rating and I didn’t enjoy it at all—read that review here.
Then I started reading the poor reviews. And found a common thread that infuriated me. So many 2 star reviews said some form of “I think teenagers would really like this book, but as an adult it was too immature for me.”
REPEAT THIS WITH ME: If you are an adult reading a book that was written for teenagers or children, and one of your reasons for not liking it is that it’s too immature for you, your opinion does not matter. If you don’t like a YA book because the teenagers are too teenager-ish, you should not be rating or reviewing that book. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the book you read, truly I am, that’s the worst. But you are bringing down the average review of a book that was never written for you when you admit that its target audience would enjoy it. You can simply add it to your review shelf without adding a rating. Rate it in your head. Rate it in your journal or spreadsheet or whatever. Just don’t bring down the average review, because then people of that target audience who would love this book might see that it has poor ratings and not read it.
The Holiday Switch is a small town holiday romance with a mainly POC cast. Do you know how rare that is? It was everything I wanted it to be. I related heavily to Lila and her struggles with figuring out what she wants to do with her life. I think that feeling of needing to have everything figured out as you get toward college is something every high school senior feels all too acutely—especially the panic when you realize what you thought you wanted might not actually be what’s right for you after all. The small holiday-focused town setting was adorable and so much fun. It truly felt like the best kind of Hallmark Christmas movie in book form: slightly cheesy; innocent, adorable romance; and tons of fun.
Many reviews say that Lila and Teddy didn’t have any chemistry, but I don’t think that’s true. I thought their interactions were really sweet, and I was invested in their relationship. There just wasn’t really sexual tension. But sexual tension ≠ romantic chemistry. To me, The Holiday Switch focused on the sweetness of young love, and I really enjoyed that. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a place for the intense tension in romance (YA or otherwise), but it isn’t necessary for a good romance book.
All I can say is, if you like YA romance and Christmas—read this book. I genuinely enjoyed it so much, and I highly recommend it.
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 4 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Special thanks to Underlined and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
I really liked this book. It was fun, fluffy, cute, and quick. So I was totally shocked to see that it only had a 3.56 average rating. Especially since the last YA Christmas romance I read had a higher rating and I didn’t enjoy it at all—read that review here.
Then I started reading the poor reviews. And found a common thread that infuriated me. So many 2 star reviews said some form of “I think teenagers would really like this book, but as an adult it was too immature for me.”
REPEAT THIS WITH ME: If you are an adult reading a book that was written for teenagers or children, and one of your reasons for not liking it is that it’s too immature for you, your opinion does not matter. If you don’t like a YA book because the teenagers are too teenager-ish, you should not be rating or reviewing that book. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the book you read, truly I am, that’s the worst. But you are bringing down the average review of a book that was never written for you when you admit that its target audience would enjoy it. You can simply add it to your review shelf without adding a rating. Rate it in your head. Rate it in your journal or spreadsheet or whatever. Just don’t bring down the average review, because then people of that target audience who would love this book might see that it has poor ratings and not read it.
The Holiday Switch is a small town holiday romance with a mainly POC cast. Do you know how rare that is? It was everything I wanted it to be. I related heavily to Lila and her struggles with figuring out what she wants to do with her life. I think that feeling of needing to have everything figured out as you get toward college is something every high school senior feels all too acutely—especially the panic when you realize what you thought you wanted might not actually be what’s right for you after all. The small holiday-focused town setting was adorable and so much fun. It truly felt like the best kind of Hallmark Christmas movie in book form: slightly cheesy; innocent, adorable romance; and tons of fun.
Many reviews say that Lila and Teddy didn’t have any chemistry, but I don’t think that’s true. I thought their interactions were really sweet, and I was invested in their relationship. There just wasn’t really sexual tension. But sexual tension ≠ romantic chemistry. To me, The Holiday Switch focused on the sweetness of young love, and I really enjoyed that. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a place for the intense tension in romance (YA or otherwise), but it isn’t necessary for a good romance book.
All I can say is, if you like YA romance and Christmas—read this book. I genuinely enjoyed it so much, and I highly recommend it.