Review: The Holiday Swap by Zara Stoneley

Two women, two very different lives – one perfect solution to a Christmas holiday fraught with potential pitfalls.
The Holiday Swap.
Florence Cortes has the perfect life – an apartment in the trendiest district of Barcelona, a job she loves and a boyfriend who’s whisking her away on a romantic break to Paris to no doubt propose.
Only, he’s planning something far different, and Flo soon realises her life isn’t so perfect after all.
Home loving Daisy Fischer is perfectly happy in her idyllic home in the Cheshire countryside, with an on-off boyfriend who might be slightly dull but is totally dependable. Until he issues an ultimatum, and Daisy suddenly realises that there might be a whole different world out there that she’s missing out on.
Have Flo and Daisy come up with the perfect solution to escape festive heartbreak?
Can a snowbound Christmas in Cheshire – with aristocratic, handsome Hugo as her neighbour, a house full of animals and a leaking roof – help Flo mend her broken heart, and remind her of what she really wants in life?
Can a sunny break in beautiful Barcelona – with the dishy but brooding Javier, a never ending supply of cava, and a sea view to die for – prove to Daisy that playing safe isn’t always the answer?
Love actually does seem to be all around this Christmas – and in the places Flo and Daisy least expect to find it, but where will they be for New Year?

Shona's review 5 of 5 stars

I'm not sure when it happened, but Zara Stoneley has become one of those authors I instantly reach for without reading the blurb. I just know that once I have opened the pages and slipped inside that I'm going to have the best time, and The Holiday Swap did not disappoint. I love Stoneley's writing, the way she draws the reader in, I'm sure it takes a lot of work but reading it is effortless and oh so comforting. 
Right from the first few pages I knew this was another winner. I loved Daisy right from the very start, even if I did feel a little sorry for Jimmy. And I loved Flo, my heart broke for her when she witnessed what she did (vague much? I know, no spoilers). I must admit I was waiting for oily Oli to get his comeuppance later and was a little disappointed when it didn't happen... 

Javier was everything you could imagine a holiday romance would be, and then some. But Hugo really stole my heart... Move over Mick, there's a new hottie in Tippermere.
This was a great mix of Spanish sunshine and countryside winter, and not one but two holiday romances. Just what you need to prolong the summer a little longer.