Book Review: Blame It on the Mistletoe by Beth Garrod

Whenever a book is pitched as something along the lines of The Holiday, it instantly intrigues me because it’s my favourite Christmas movie! (I adore Nancy Meyer’s films, but that’s a whole other story.) Right away, we’re introduced to our two main characters – Elle, an American social media star with a “perfect life” and Holly, a British Christmas fanatic that happens to be a huge fan of Elle’s. After getting involved in a challenge to spice up her content and get more followers, Elle decides to swap places with a British fan for Christmas. Holly’s going through disaster after disaster with family and exes, so when the chance arises to swap with Elle, she jumps at it. 

At first, it seems like it would be plain sailing for Elle and Holly. Elle needs content and what better way than spending it at a place in the UK that has ties to her family and will drum up tons of views? And Holly desperately needs an escape, so spending time with a picture-perfect family across the pond will be the best distraction ever, right? But there wouldn’t be Christmas magic without a little romance, and when Elle meets a cute boy unexpectedly and Holly meets Elle’s cute twin brother, it shapes up to be a Christmas that holds more than either of them ever bargained for. 

 Overall, Blame It On The Mistletoe was a delightful late December read. I loved the dual POV and getting to know each character in depth. Beth is a great storyteller and I loved that she did an amazing job of showing that life isn’t always as perfect as we can portray to others. I did find Holly a little annoying at the start but by the end I grew to love her and Elle, and of course the romance was the icing on top of the cake. If you’re looking for a sweet American-British Christmas swap with all the descriptive winter feels, this is perfect for you. Four glittering stars!