The Holiday Switch
Tif Marcelo
Are those considered evil always wrong? And are those considered good always right?
I picked The Devil’s Holiday for its sleek black cover, adorned with horns and mistletoe, but was cautiously optimistic. I wasn’t sure how the author was going to pull off what sounded like a huge undertaking. Drawing on the ever-popular house-switch trope à la The Holiday (the film), the plot follows a down-on-her-luck demon who is placed on sabbatical and embeds herself with the enemy—angels on Earth—to learn their ways, only to fall in love with, that’s right, an angel. Hello, fish-out-of-water, opposites-attract, and forbidden-relationship tropes!
Let’s break down the challenges the author had to overcome.
First of all, the comp: The Holiday. To this reader, those are huge shoes to fill. The only thing harder would be to comp Holiday by the Lake, which I consider, as you all know, the greatest holiday film of all time. Talk about setting yourself up for major expectations!
Second, the cast of paranormal characters. I love paranormal (you can check out all the holiday paranormals I read here), but angel versus demon? How many times has this been done before?
I was skeptical.
Dear blog readers, I finished this book in one day. In less than twenty-four hours, my eyeballs soaked in this almost-four-hundred-page book, complete with bear-shifter side characters and a town so well described I could draw its map. And now I have a book hangover.
Here’s the star on the tree (for those newbs, that means the best thing, and by the way, here’s the glossary so you can keep up): the Devil is the protagonist. In this world, Devil is the hero and Angel is quite the troublemaker. I got to thinking: What if we looked at things and people in a different light? What if what we thought was true…wasn’t?
Pros: Quick read and immersive setting.
Cons: There were typos: Fifteen total, and sometimes distracting.
Recommended for: Paranormal aficionados, fans of world building, Twihards! And philosophical types—you know who you are.
Rating: 4 stars
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11
The sound of jingle bells rips me from my computer screen, where I’m reading through my latest blog entry. Heart rocketing to my throat, I click on the Post button, then slam my laptop shut. From where I’m standing next to the waist-high bookshelf, I dive onto the floor and, in a move that would impress Simone Biles herself, land in a perfect cross-legged position next to a stack of donated books on a vintage sled. For effect, I pick up a book and hold it up to my face just as my boss, Ms. Velasco, walks in.
Lou Velasco’s expression is like a beacon of light, as it is every morning. She has a genuine, captivating smile on her face; not a strand of her dark, chin-length hair is out of place, and she’s wearing the perfect shade of berry lip gloss—hard to nail, mind you, on medium tawny skin, and I should know—that complements her Bookworm Inn polo. Palming a coffee cup that reads FORGET SANTA, WATCH OUT FOR ME in bold red letters, she says, “Good morning, Lila. Early again?”
“I figured I should get started sorting through these books.” I steady my shaking voice and resist the temptation to glance at my laptop on the bookshelf. My best friend, Carm, reminds me time and again that my tells are my croaky voice and shifty eyes, so I focus hard on Ms. Velasco’s nose and not on my lingering, ever-evolving thoughts on my blog content, which I have to step up for this holiday season.
Because if Ms. Velasco knew how many times I arrived early before my weekend morning shifts or stayed a few minutes after my closing shifts under the guise of voluntarily categorizing books in the gift shop’s free library, she would find out that she’s harboring a criminal.
Okay, that’s a little extra. Not a criminal, but a sneak, an undercover.
“Well, your work shows.” She gestures at the shelves behind me—all donated—and the meticulously categorized books that fill them. The Bookworm Inn Free Library was a community service project I started when I was in the eighth grade with one little shelf and a dozen donated books. Five short years later, the library now lines an entire wall of the gift shop.
“Thank you.” My face warms, both from the compliment and the fact that my intentions have not been purely altruistic. Some might say I’m trying to cheat the system—in this case, my parents’ rules about certain types of internet use—but I attribute it to my entrepreneurial spirit.
Ms. Velasco twists the watch around her wrist. “Looks like ten minutes before we open. And I spy people in the parking lot.”
I scramble up and straighten my Bookworm Inn sweater. It’s a soothing forest green that’s supposed to embody the gorgeous foliage of the Finger Lakes region. That’s where fictional characters Leo Marks and Estelle Mendoza grew up and fell in love in the beloved 1996 film Holiday by the Lake, based on its namesake novel. The entire movie was filmed in our real town of Holly, New York, and most of its scenes were shot right here, on the Bookworm Inn property, owned and operated by the Velasco family for the last three decades. Holly has become a major tourist destination as a result, and fans of the movie flock here in droves every holiday season, camera-ready, to relive their favorite scenes.
“I’m ready. I’ll put this away and open up.”
Ms. Velasco nods, and when she turns, I stuff my laptop into my bag. I really need to be more careful. In my two years stealthily blogging behind the adorable, anonymous avatar of a brown-skinned, dark-haired, Santa-hat-wearing girl, this is the first time I’ve been close to getting caught in the act.