From Publishers Weekly
Christmas travel calamities lead to cross-country romances in bestseller Macomber's latest, a treacly but well-told story that begins when widowed Washington State teacher Emily Springer engineers a house-swap with Boston history professor Charles Brewster in order to visit her daughter at Harvard. Too bad Heather Springer is heading to Florida with her new biker boyfriend, leaving Emily stranded in Brewster's "barren" Boston condo. Meanwhile, scroogey Brewster has discovered that Leavenworth, Wash., is Christmas central (er, he was hoping for the other Leavenworth—the prison town Leavenworth). How will he finish his book when all the kids want to take him sledding? Romance rides in on a sleigh of preposterous coincidence as Charles's brother, publishing executive Ray, goes to Boston to check up on Charles and ends up falling for Emily, and Emily's best friend, Faith, a Bay Area teacher, pays a surprise visit to Leavenworth and winds up snuggling with Charles. Despite the gooey romantic twists of fate, Macomber keeps the comic material light and lively, and it's hard not to root for her likable stock characters. The subplot about Heather's Florida adventure with biker-boy is slightly underdeveloped, and another festive romance feels like overkill. But readers looking for a holiday fairy tale will find plenty of reasons to cheer (even if they wish for an intermittent dose of reality). Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Widow Emily is looking forward to Christmas, when her daughter, Heather, comes home from Harvard to Leavenworth, Washington, an idyllic small town that goes all out for the holiday. When Emily finds out that Heather has no intention of spending Christmas with her, she calls her friend, Faith, for sympathy, then decides to surprise her daughter in Boston. No rooms are available, so she tries a Web site that exchanges houses. Emily trades her house for two weeks with an absentminded professor who hates Christmas and is on her way. Then Faith makes a surprise visit to Emily and is surprised instead. Heather leaves with a biker dude for Florida; Faith then hitches a ride with an acting troupe dressed as elves. Add a Pomeranian and a lobster, and hilarity ensues, as does romance in prolific Macomber's fast-paced, lighthearted, and charming Christmas story, a tale as joyful as the season itself. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
Trading houses. Trading towns. Trading Christmas. Emily Springer widowed mother of one, decides to leave her hometown of Leavenworth, Washington, to spend Christmas with her daughter in Boston. Charles Brewster, history professor, seasoned curmudgeon and resident of Boston, wants to avoid Christmas altogether. Through an Internet site, they arrange to swap houses for the holiday. So Emily goes to Boston--and discovers that her daughter has gone to Florida. And Charles arrives in Leavenworth to discover a town that looks like Santa's village, full of Christmas trees, Christmas music and elves. Meanwhile, Emily's friend Faith Kerrigan travels to Leavenworth to visit her--and finds Charles the grouch. . .whose brother, Ray, shows up at Charles's place, to find Emily living there. Through all the mix-ups and misunderstandings, amid the chaos and confusion, romance begins to emerge in unexpected ways. Because when Christmas comes, so does love. . .

About the Author
New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber is a multi-award-winning writer with more than sixty million copies of her books in print, including 311 Pelican Court, The Shop on Blossom Street and Changing Habits. Debbie Macomber lives in the state of Washington with her husband, Wayne.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Trading houses.Trading towns. Trading Christmas.

Emily Springer widowed mother of one, decides to leave her hometown of Leavenworth, Washington, to spend Christmas with her daughter in Boston.

Charles Brewster, history professor, seasoned curmudgeon and resident of Boston, wants to avoid Christmas altogether.

Through an Internet site, they arrange to swap houses for the holiday. So Emily goes to Boston--and discovers that her daughter has gone to Florida. And Charles arrives in Leavenworth to discover a town that looks like Santa's village, full of Christmas trees, Christmas music and elves.

Meanwhile, Emily's friend Faith Kerrigan travels to Leavenworth to visit her--and finds Charles the grouch. . .whose brother, Ray, shows up at Charles's place, to find Emily living there.

Through all the mix-ups and misunderstandings, amid the chaos and confusion, romance begins to emerge in unexpected ways. Because when Christmas comes, so does love. . .

Debbie Macomber lives in the state of Washington with her husband, Wayne.

New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber is a multi-award-winning writer with more than sixty million copies of her books in print, including 311 Pelican Court, The Shop on Blossom Street and Changing Habits.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly