December 11, 2023
Two career-focused women swap hospitality jobs and chaos ensues in the jovial latest from Carlson (A Royal Christmas). Ginny Masters, the ambitious manager of a boutique luxury hotel in Seattle, is tired of meeting the last-minute demands of her high-strung boss, Diana. After a mix-up over wedding reception flowers sparks a spat between the two, Ginny informs Diana that she’s signed up on a job-swap website to switch places with the manager of a fishing lodge in Idaho. Jacqueline Potter has worked at her grandfather’s lodge for six years and is sick of its run-down facilities and frustrated by standoffish, “drop-dead gorgeous” fishing guide Ben Tanninger, whom she keeps trying (and failing) to attract. After the switch, things seem idyllic at first—Ginny revels in the town’s quiet, implements improvements to the lodge, and strikes up a flirty friendship-and-then-more with Ben, while Jacqueline sets her sights on Diana’s son, Adrian. But Jacqueline soon realizes she’s in over her head at the hotel, and she and Adrian work to lure Ginny back to big city. Ginny’s budding relationship is put at risk; Jacqueline must decide how hard she’s willing to work for her career; and both women draw on faith to decide where they belong. Go-getter Ginny and dreamy Jacqueline are effective foils, and the mistakes and misunderstandings that ensue when each tries to inhabit the other’s life churn up more than enough momentum to keep the pages turning. Carlson’s lighthearted take on an old trope charms.