Identical twins--20-something sisters who are both successful bakers--switch lives in The Holiday Swap, a fun and quick-witted first novel by Maggie Knox (pseudonym for authors Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley).
The story launches days before Christmas in sunny California. Charlie Goodwin--a noted Paris-trained pastry chef--is embroiled in a network reality baking show. Her program--Sweet & Salty, produced for two seasons in Los Angeles and cohosted by Chef Austin Nash--is facing the threat of replacement with another show slated to feature only one chef. Charlie and Austin--who is more "cheater than chef" and leaves Charlie feeling more "bah-humbug than merry and bright"--embark as judges on a 12-days-to-Christmas countdown, where 12 amateur bakers compete for a $25,000 prize.
In the midst of the high-stakes competition, a shelving unit laden with heavy pans tips over, hits Charlie in the head and knocks her out. Charlie is diagnosed with a concussion that strips her of the ability to taste and smell. She is ordered to take it easy. But how can she possibly rest with her show and job on the brink of peril?
Afraid to tell anyone of her sensory malfunctions, Charlie secretly enlists the help of her lifelong confidante, her identical twin, Cass, who runs the long-held, family-established Woodburn Breads Bakery in the girls' hometown of Starlight Peak, Calif. Cass--in a dead-end relationship with a local real estate agent--is more business-minded than culinary-based. However, with her sister's injury and job hanging in the balance, Cass steps in to save Charlie in her hour of need, agreeing to swap lives temporarily--and covertly.
The twins look alike, but that's where the similarities end. Their differences--from coffee versus tea drinking to their tastes in cocktails and men--pose a slew of comedic complications as they slip into alternate personas. The role reversals prove disorienting at first, ultimately morphing into enlightenment and liberation for the pair. However, the guilt of trying to keep their real identities secret proves harder than imagined--especially when new love interests ensnare both sisters, each pretending to be someone they are not.
Knox assembles a memorable cast and whips up inventive switched-lives scenarios filled with a host of mishaps that double the fun. Delightfully romantic plot twists further sweeten this lighthearted, feel-good story--with a message--that is sure to make rom-com readers hunger for whatever Knox decides to dish up next. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines
Shelf-Talker: In this delightful romantic comedy, twin baker sisters secretly swap lives and hilariously discover their true selves by experiencing how the other lives.