The Mix-Up: A must-read romcom for 2022 – an uplifting romance that will make you laugh out loud

I loved the sound of The Mix Up from the first moment I heard about it and couldn’t resist buying a copy. It definitely did not disappoint! More than just an eye-catching cover and an enticing blurb, this heartfelt romantic comedy was touching and empowering and entertaining from start to finish.Paige is a wedding cake baker, and despite not being much of a romantic, she enjoys her job – at least when she gets to bake creative cakes and not a particular kind of design that is wanted by her jerk of an ex-boyfriend Chris and his wife-to-be. As her finances aren’t great, Paige agrees to bake a cake for the happy couple – at a high fee, of course. But being back in contact with her ex makes Paige stressed and confused, and in need of a distraction from this, she attends the party of her friend in search of a one-night-stand. When her friend tells her to head for the guy in the black top, she does exactly that, only there’s two guys in black tops… so has she picked the right one?I enjoyed the fun concept to the story and can I just say that yes she absolutely picked her hook-up right because Noah was just a dream! I loved his character from the moment we met him and really I wanted to hear nothing more of Paige’s ex because that would waste valuable Noah time and it would have been a travesty. Paige does not want a relationship, just something casual, and short-term, yet Noah is more romantic and would like something more settled. Paige knows she needs to set him straight but despite her original plan, she does enjoy spending time with him. The Mix-Up sees her battling with her own insecurities as she tries to work out what she really wants.I found Paige a likeable protagonist, if not one I wanted to shake a fair few times. She goes back and forth a lot and never seems to be able to stick to a decision but then it would be unfair to judge as that is pretty relatable. She is confident on the outside but more insecure than she would like to let on and I felt for her. One thing I really did enjoy was her friendship with Sara as they both could level with each other and support each other through everything, despite their different stages in life.The overall plot in Holly McCulloch’s second novel (the first has since made its way onto my wishlist) is warm and witty yet affirming at the same time. Despite some harder subjects, such as Paige’s strained relationship with her mother, this book had me smiling the whole way through and I was incapable of putting it down yet at the same time reluctant to see it come to an end.Towards the end of the book, I kept thinking we were running out of pages to resolve everything and in fact some things, which seemed quite major parts of the book at times, were left unresolved. When I thought about it, I wasn’t sure if I minded that they weren’t all settled. I don’t know if it’s because really I just wanted to read more of Noah or because maybe it was fun to get away from the typical feeling that books need to tie up all loose ends come the end, but I think I preferred it this way. The uncertainty just seemed to fit with Paige – she was one of those characters that deserved a happy ending yet I kind of feel like there would always be another drama on the horizon for her and you know I would be there to read it if there was!Both moving and funny, The Mix-Up was a joy to read with a romance I just couldn’t get enough of.

I definitely expected something different from this book. I thought it would be a case of mistaken identity, ha-ha, aren’t we silly, never mind, let’s talk in love anyway, cue HEA 🥰Instead I got dramatic ex angst, grumpy anti-marriage, closed-off wedding cake baker with zero self-worth, and the whole mix-up premise wasn’t even really a surprise? 🤷🏻‍♀️ I thought the mix-up was going to be a shock, but she knew there were two guys in black tops and made the choice there and then which one to speak to, so the idea of an accidental mix-up was more of a… purposeful mix-up 🤔I didn’t particularly warm to any of the characters, though when Noah FINALLY came along I did like him. I spent a lifetime waiting for him though; he took an age getting there I wondered several times if I was reading the wrong book. The ex storyline was given far too much airtime in my opinion. It was mentioned in passing in the synopsis, but a big part of the book and a huge obstacle for the protagonist to overcome. One of many.I’m going to be honest, a lot of things frustrated me about the book. It’s not even close to story I thought I was getting, and it disappointed me

This is actually the first time I’m writing a review, so bear with me.First of all, I just want to say that I can’t begin to imagine how hard it must be to write a book and get published. So I have lots of respects for authors. Also, opinions are subjectives.My opinion of this book is conflicted. It’s a romcom so we all know how it’s going to end.The MC did not make a lot of sense to me however. She can be extremely confident but so full of doubt and self-loathing, it stopped making sense to me at some point. The whole « people are grossed out by cancer survivors » puzzled me and sounded wild to me, but I’ve never been in this position, so maybe I’m just too privileged in that sense to think it credible.Noah had so much potential but he was a bit too much in the background while Paige was busy punishing herself stupidly. The dude is so incredibly forgiving and patient, it’s uncanny.Chris came in and left but served no real purpose to the advancement of the story after all.The only real mix-up was picking the wrong man, but that brought nothing to the story line, she could have just decided to make him his target on her own and it wouldn’t have changed much to the overall plot.And I’m sorry but it’s not funny or witty. Not really. Reviews on the cover grossly oversold the humour. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, or necessarily sad. But it didn’t make me -.So, all in all, it was an okay book, I do not regret reading it, I just wished it was advertized differently.

I loved Just Friends so couldn't wait for this to come out. It was witty, uplifting and captivating - I didn't want it to end. I'm now obsessed with this author and can't wait to see what she does next!

I don't think reviews should say a book will make you laugh out loud. This one didn't.When you have read the first few chapters you know exactly how it is going to turn out. It's a pleasant story, not many surprises as hints are dropped right from the beginning. I read it in one evening.