Emily Duvall

Trading Places

Ellie M.

Trading Places is out on September 26, 2023! Thanks to Entangled Publishing LLC and Emily Duvall for sending me a complimentary copy through Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinions of the book. 

How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days meets the Freaky Friday Trope when a spoiled heiress and socialite decides to trade places with blue collar mechanic Evan Bailey in this hilarious adult rom-com inspired by the cliches of the early-2000s. 

I gave this a 3.5-star rating because I simply found this trope to be so generic. I’ve read hundreds of spoiled rich girl x poor boy tropes as a teenager and the drama is always rooted in the similar conflicts so at this point it’s the least of my favorites. However, this was still an enjoyable and quick read because at one point I’m just giggling at Lexi and Evan with Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer in the background. Overall, I simply couldn’t take it seriously especially with the amount of Gen Z slang and the heavy influence of social media throughout the book because it was like watching He’s All That on Netflix all over again and it really put off my reading experience Cliches are not bad and their repetitive appearance in literature is sometimes the only good thing in this world. I’m not a huge romance reader and I enjoy it only occasionally, but I simply didn’t connect with the characters. Arguably, I would’ve enjoyed this if I were younger, and I would still recommend this book.

I'm not gonna lie to you, Lexi is an acquired taste in the early part of this book.  I really had to push part my initial visceral dislike of her and her rich Girl actions.  She's abrasive, rude, entitled and a major snob.

Thankfully as the book progresses we get to see more of why Lexi is the way she is and that she is not just the party girl ditz that she portrays so well. 

Evan is a great grumpy MC.  He's a great guardian to his niece but not in an over-the-top way.  He wants a better, more stable life for her and the bet offers that - even if only for a little while.  But similar to Lexi, Evan has his own chinks in his armour and he falls into the glitzy world.

The banter was witty and snarky as the mutual hatred dies down and the attraction begins to shine though.  I really enjoyed the nods to Overboard and Trading Places movies, two of my favourites!

The Yacht scene I have to admit was one I hated - no one came out of that unscathed!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and unvarnished review.

Nicola Sarah Brooks

I'm not gonna lie to you, Lexi is an acquired taste in the early part of this book.  I really had to push part my initial visceral dislike of her and her rich Girl actions.  She's abrasive, rude, entitled and a major snob.

Thankfully as the book progresses we get to see more of why Lexi is the way she is and that she is not just the party girl ditz that she portrays so well. 

Evan is a great grumpy MC.  He's a great guardian to his niece but not in an over-the-top way.  He wants a better, more stable life for her and the bet offers that - even if only for a little while.  But similar to Lexi, Evan has his own chinks in his armour and he falls into the glitzy world.

The banter was witty and snarky as the mutual hatred dies down and the attraction begins to shine though.  I really enjoyed the nods to Overboard and Trading Places movies, two of my favourites!

The Yacht scene I have to admit was one I hated - no one came out of that unscathed!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and unvarnished review.

Trading Places

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