When twins swap places to pull off Christmas chicanery of epic proportions, chaos is bound to ensue. Allow me to introduce you to Kerry Winfrey’s new holiday novel, Faking Christmas, in which Laurel, a woman with no domestic skills whatsoever, pretends to own and run her twin’s farm in order to prevent her boss, who has invited himself over for Christmas amidst heartbreak, from finding out that she lied to get her job.

Laurel can run the social media and blogging aspects of her job at Buckeye State of Mind, but a farm, she cannot. Yet her boss Gilbert thinks that she can run circles around anyone in the kitchen while milking goats and making soap with said milk. See, Laurel didn’t correct Gilbert when he assumed that she owned her sister Holly’s farm, which Laurel was spearheading the web presence for at the time of her interview at Gilbert’s company.

Now Laurel has gotten herself into the biggest Christmas pickle yet because Gilbert, lonely and broken-hearted after a split from his wife, will be joining Laurel and family at the farm he has heard so much about. He can’t wait to taste Laurel’s traditional Christmas Eve Eve meal of Beef Wellington and take part in all of the farm family traditions Laurel has written about in her blog.

Not only does Laurel have to whip up a scrumptious holiday meal, milk goats, and ice skate, but she also has to pretend that her nemesis Max Beckett is her husband, and that Holly’s kids, Laurel’s niece and nephew, are actually theirs. Can Laurel pull off the biggest holiday ruse of her life or will Christmas go down as a disaster?

Faking Christmas has a “few of my favorite things” when it comes to seasonal stories! This was my first Winfrey novel, and I was so pleased to find that I was immediately drawn into the book through her engaging writing style and relatable main character, Laurel. Wasting no time with unnecessary storylines, Winfrey dives right into this holly jolly holiday tale filled to the brim with country Christmas aesthetic. This novel is enjoyable and generally lighthearted, and it filled me with the holiday spirit.

Although there is a bit of romance sprinkled in, things don’t get too steamy, which is how I like it when it comes to holiday love stories. I did have to suspend disbelief for several of Laurel and Holly’s hijinks throughout this tale, but I was more than willing to do so for the sake of saving Christmas! Recommended to fans of Hallmark Christmas movies, as well as fans of Maggie Knox’s holiday romances.