Review by Booklist Review
Similar to the movie Holiday, Eleanor and Tatum swap homes to escape their troublesome lives in this fun story. Eleanor has lost her job as a Broadway press agent after telling her colleague/lover's new fiancée that he'd been cheating on her, so she needs to get away. Tatum wants to leave her small town before her father's surprise son from an affair decades ago comes to visit. She brings her crush, June, with her to New York to stay in Eleanor's condo. They discover that the condo is dirty and cluttered, but they fix it up, and get to know the former starlet down the hall. They fall in love as they start envisioning a new life in the city. Meanwhile, Eleanor falls in love with Tatum's sibling, Carson, and attends the family gatherings with the newly arrived half-brother. She finds that she loves being part of the family. The warm characters and back-and-forth between the two couples offer appealing and quickly moving romance story lines and readers will be cheering for both couples. Small-town romance fans will especially enjoy Morrissey's latest (That Summer Feeling, 2023).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Morrissey (That Summer Feeling) sets the sweetness level high in this two-part queer romance. Tatum Ward, diner waitress in the small town of Trove Hills, Ill., nurses her crush on patron June Lightbell while dealing with family chaos caused by the recent discovery that she has a half-brother her father wants to introduce to her and her siblings. When June's girlfriend breaks up with her just before June's big trip to New York to promote her perfume business, Tatum seizes the opportunity to escape by stepping in as travel companion and offering a weeklong home swap to Broadway publicist Eleanor Chapman, one of June's clients. Eleanor is happy to make her own escape from relationship and work drama. She soon finds herself entertaining a fling with Tatum's wild artist sibling, Carson, who's nonbinary, and pulled into all the family events Tatum's missing. June and Tatum, meanwhile, strike up a friendship with a fading movie star in Eleanor's building who encourages them to try a relationship. Both settings feel a bit stylized, with Morrissey amping up the small-town charm and big city hubbub. The two endearing relationships get equal space to grow, while family and friends add heart to the plot. Readers looking for a Hallmark aesthetic but with queer characters will find it here. (Apr.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Tatum lives in Trove Hills, IL, where she spends her days daydreaming about June, a customer at the diner where Tatum works. New York City-based Broadway publicist Eleanor doesn't have time for love; she spends her days focused on her high-profile career. When June's girlfriend breaks up with her, Tatum offers to accompany her to New York for a weeklong trip, engaging in a house swap with Eleanor. Once they've settled into their new places, Eleanor falls for Carson, Tatum's nonbinary older sibling, while Tatum deepens her relationship with June. Morrissey takes listeners back to the same universe as That Summer Feeling in this queer retelling of The Holiday. Parker and Hutchinson-Shaw playfully voice Tatum, Eleanor, Carson, and their friends, adding wit and humor at precisely the right moment. Their narration helps listeners distinguish between the characters and their trajectories. While the novel abounds with humor and plenty of steamy scenes, it also explores tough subjects, such as family-related trauma, which is treated with sensitivity. VERDICT Listeners will love this adaptation of a beloved movie, which is enhanced by top-notch narration, humor, and charm.--Elyssa Everling
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