You gotta give it to Kristen Callihan, a hockey player who is also a talented pâtissier isn't a combination you see everyday. And don't let me start on the "princess Anya" role, so Daenerys-coded.
But, seriously. I loved it!
It wasn't a total swoon read, it had realistic characters with realistic dilemmas, which was fantastic.
Although some might think Lucian was an a**hole, I kind of get why he was acting that way. Dude had to retire from the career that defined his existence, regardless of how unhealthy the notion is, and also had to deal with the symptoms of his condition. I don't about you but I would take my sweet time to lick my wounds if I were in his shoes.
Emma, on the other hand, was a total bada**. I loved loved LOVED how real she is. Throughout the book, she was honest about her feelings with Lucian and, most importantly, herself.
She also knew her worth. She was like, I love him but I'm not going to placate him or be his doormat. Huge respect!
As much as I loved the couple and the plot overall, the book was definitely dragging a lot. A third of it could've literally been removed. There wasn't anything happening and smut scenes can only cover so much.
Overall, it was a good book. Definitely worth reading it.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I was looking for a hockey read now that the season is over and grabbed this one. It was fine. The characters didn’t spin off the page, but it did meet my hot hockey player requirements.

Love, love, love - Kristen Callihan fan for life over here! Very fun, cute romance - highly highly highly recommend.

It was indeed sweet. The story was quite simple and had a slow pace to it. I found it hard to really feel the connection with the characters and their romance, but it still kept my attention in the way that a hallmark movie passes the time with some feel good moments.

The story is about Lucien, a hockey player who was injured and cannot continue playing, and Emma, ​​an actress who after her character was killed in the tv show she worked for is devastated and decides to go on vacation, where she meets Lucien, who is the grandson of the owner of the place where he will be for a while, resting and preparing for new projects, but what neither expected was to feel the attraction they felt from the first moment for each other.

French pastry occupies an important place in history, Lucien uses the kitchen as an escape and a means of drainage, where he cooks, bakes and prepares delicious posts that just hearing the description makes my mouth water.

The main couple do a great job of making each other good, helping each other to grow, evolve and love in a very beautiful and tender way, that slow cooker attraction that makes you want more and know more about them, their pasts.

I'm in love with the love Emma and Lucien have and I want something like that.

I've never been disappointed by a Kristen Callihan book, so when I heard she was writing a romance with a hockey-playing hero who BAKES, I knew I had to read it! What's not to love about a man in the kitchen?

Once again, Kristen Callihan killed it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Emma and Lucian. Make it Sweet is sexy and sweet because Lucian is an ex hockey player who takes his retirement out on the kitchen meaning he's in there 24/7 baking up a storm. Emma is a well known actress looking for her next script after being killed off the big show she was known for. This is a slow burn but the chemistry is there from the beginning. Just the descriptions of each character quietly observing the other is enough to get your attention. Especially Emma spying on Lucian swimming naked in the pool. The descriptions of baked goods will either having you run to your kitchen to start baking or to your nearest bakery to buy one of everything in the display case.

4.5 stars
This might be one of the most enjoyable books I've read this year! I knew right from the start that I'd like Make It Sweet - a TV actress and a hockey player who bakes; what's not to love? However, the story is deeper than that, and I really liked seeing how Emma was initially constantly compared to her character, while Lucian couldn't see himself as anything other than a hockey player. The whole dynamic of everyone living at Rosemont put a smile on my face, from Sal and Luc's interactions to Mamie and her authority. I found myself unable to put this down and ended up reading it in less than a day, so if that's not a recommendation I don't know what is!

I am such a huge Kristen Callihan fan, so when I heard she was writing a romance with a hero who BAKES, I knew I needed it in my life. (I always need more heroes who bake and cook.) So what do you get when you put one grumpy ex-hockey player with a hidden talent for baking and one actress whose character has been killed off from a successful Game of Thrones-like show? You get fireworks, banter, and one deliciously swoony romance.

Emma has just been let go from her acting role as Princess Anya and is floundering. She decides to take a break from the acting world and stay at Rosemont. She comes across gorgeous, broody, reclusive Lucian, whose grandmother owns the estate. Despite Lucian trying to stay away from Emma, who is a temptation he knows he can’t resist, there’s only so much space in this estate and they come across each other again and again (with some meddling from Lucian’s grandmother Amalie), and sparks fly.

I absolutely adored Lucian and Emma. Their romance is not the easiest or the smoothest, but from the moment that they meet, there’s chemistry and an intense longing to know each other better. Lucian is struggling with his retired hockey life. Hockey is his greatest passion, but now that he’s lost it after too many concussions, he feels broken. Emma is the one bright light in his life and even though he knows her time at Rosemont is temporary, he can’t help but woo her through his delicious pastries. I was dying at all the baked goods Lucian makes Emma – I’m a Great British Bake-Off fan and I was drooling over all the food descriptions!

If you’re looking for a foodie romance that will sweep you off your feet, Make It Sweet is it. Kristen Callihan is known for her sports romances, and even though this hero is retired, fans of her Game On series will definitely enjoy this book. If you enjoyed Dear Enemy, there’s some nice cameos of that couple in Make It Sweet. Overall, I just had such a fun time reading this romance and would love some more foodie romances from Kristen Callihan!

Sighhh. Swoon. Heart. Melt. Puddle. Feels. Those are just some words that were running through my mind on a constant loop while reading this book. I didn’t set out thinking this was going to be a 5 star book, seeing as the book is as opposite to Dear Enemy as it can be, even though set in the same world. But boy can KC write, and quite simply I fell in love with this book. Surprisingly sweet and deeply romantic that it is. It was the balm I needed for my soul.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this author can write books and teach seminars on writing sexual and romantic tension. Even when the characters aren’t touching, or even in the same room! This book is another masterclass in her craft. Emma and Lucian’s paths cross when they are both off licking their wounds following major personal and career setbacks in their erstwhile charmed lives, and there’s an instant connection. Inexplicable and soul deep. Emma is the Emilia Clark-esque star of a mega hit show, bright and sunny and hurting, and Lucian is the grumpy former athlete with a chip on his shoulder. Together, they are impossible, yet inevitable.

You’d think it the easiest of matches, but this couple made me ache and my chest clench. Repeatedly. Their hesitancy while circling each other was almost old world and it gave me tingles. Their yearning, their want was a tangible thing. They wooed each other. The whole book is like a vibrant vintage French dream, if that makes any sense at all. This lends itself well to the author’s usual flair for slow simmering romances that will make you burn but with incredibly sexy payoff. And the payoff is hot and sweet and dirty and insanely creative (waggles eyebrows lewdly and fans self vigorously).

The author demonstrates how you don’t need major upheaval to inject emotion into a scene, you can achieve it with focus on the simple details, especially if you have a way with words like KC does. And the woman can write the heck out of a “there’s only one bed” situation. Lucian’s process of finding himself after losing something so important to him is both painful and joyous and him eventually finding it made me indescribably happy. And of course, the exquisitely mouth watering descriptions of French patisserie. I keep reading books that make me hungry! As they healed themselves and one another in their little slice of heaven, we meet all the lovable secondary characters in their little circle, and I hope the author continues to write more in this world.

3.5 stars

My advice to you before reading this book: Eat well. And get that dessert. Because you'll be kicking yourself it you don't, after you finish this book.

This lives up to the title and then some. Both Luc and Emma are grieving for a lost job - Luc's hockey career because of chronic concussions, and Emma being axed from her popular TV show. Both are hiding away from the world, and frankly if I had access to a secluded estate in Montecito, I would too. As they each have to face life after these major changes, they grow closer, and yup, romance happens.

The writing is lush, the pace is languid, the food is luxuriously decadent. Is it relatable? Not in the least. It's a very rarified, pretty rich atmosphere that I couldn't relate to at all. Are the descriptions of dessert and food in general, at times overwhelming? Oh you bet your honey pie it is. As a person with diabetes, I was just a wee bit bitter eating my sugar-free cookie, let me tell you.

But when it comes down to it, there's some really stellar chemistry between Luc and Emma, some fun banter between them and his relatives on the estate, it's an absolute escapist fantasy and sometimes, that's just what you need. I know I did.

I have to say, this is one of my fave opposites attract type story. We have a grumpy former hockey player and an actress looking to recharge and refocus. The wit and banter added to this epic slow burn. I have come to really enjoy Callihan's words and I could not get enough!

This is my first Kristen Callihan book for a while and I've got to say, I wasn't disappointed.

Although there were some life altering issues raised, I felt it was generally a real, feel good novel.

The cast of characters provided a fabulous backdrop, and fingers crossed we'll get more of 'Mamie's' family, and their stories, to enjoy.

Lucien and Emma were quite simply, just the right amount of 'sweet'. Lucien's hidden skills were off the charts and my mouth watered each and every time Ms Callihan described for us, just what his skill produced.

I can't wait to see what's to come next from the pen of Kristen Callihan!

This was such a beautiful story with compelling characters. Lucian and Emma have both been beaten down by life and aren’t sure where to go next. From the very first scene, their chemistry is sizzling and their banter kept a grin on my face. It’s a bit of grump and sunshine. Their story takes place on the beautiful grounds of Lucian’s grandmothers estate. Lucian has retreated there after his shattered hockey career to help out and hide. Emma is invited once she learns her career is in shambles. Through Lucian’s grandmothers meddling, the two find themselves constantly pushed together. They’re both hesitant and guarded, but unable to deny their chemistry and draw toward one another. The sexual tension is 🔥🔥🔥. I loved these two. Their hurts and baggage are believable, and their growing relationship is swoonworthy. The story is full of mouthwatering baking scenes and is just a heartwarming book to settle in to and stay a while. The supporting characters are charming. A big thank you to @netgalley for the ARC. This book released in late February so if you’re a fan of romance, add it to your TBR!

I just love this author! This is the story Lucian a hockey player who has been forced to retire and is having a hard time dealing with it. Emma is an actress who has been axed from her show. They both end up at a house called Rosemont trying to get over their losses . This is their love story and journey to get over their losses.

I'm a shell of my former self. You see, I knew I was going to like this; the synopsis gave me so much stuff that I knew I was definitely going to be enjoying this story. But I never picked it up until now. And you know? I fucking loved this book. From the very beginning, the writing, the story, the setting, the characters-- everything MADE SENSE. Everything fit together perfectly. The tone of the story was just perfection and I knew I was going to fly through this story.

Two superstars find themselves in a safe haven. We have Emma, a very famous actress who has been portraying a beautiful princess in a very Game-of-Thrones fantasy TV show. After she reads the latest script, she finds out she has been chopped, and when she goes to her place so her boyfriend consoles her, she finds him having sex with another person. That's why she's arriving in California, trying to rebuild herself at a precious enormous estate. There is where she finds our grumpy fluff, Lucian.

I really want more "I hate everyone but YOU" heroes in romance. Lucian is one because he's so grumpy and does a lot of "hmm" as responses. We love to see it. But as soon as he meets Emma, you can see his walls, his crunchy outside, just slowly fall down. Emma is that ball of sunshine he cannot help but just gravitate towards. They're so perfect together and you see their attraction so clearly, it's so believable! There's a slow burn that really culminates at the halfway mark but it still feels like a slow burn because Callihan really wrote this connection SO WELL.

Loved that this book talked about Post-concussion Syndrome, we don't see it a lot in sports romances. A lot of sports are very dangerous, to your mind and to your body. Definitely contact sports are going to affect you in some way. Lucian is a former hockey player who suffers from PCS and Kristen Callihan does a very good job of showing us how an athlete lives through that.

What more can I say about this book? The hero bakes, he's very soft for the heroine, there is a lot of cute nicknames, a very wild skinny-dipping pool scene, so many descriptions of delicious desserts (please have baked goods near you when reading this book!), and very good writing.

If you loved Love at First by Kate Clayborn, I think you would enjoy this book as well.

Kristen Callihan quickly became a must read for me after her VIP series, (SCOTTY FOR LIFE), so I was super excited to see this book up on NetGalley for request. This was a slow burn romance that made me super hungry. Emma meets Lucien when she comes to his grandmother's resort (I mean it's her residence but it's a resort. It has a name and guest houses) after getting the ax (literally) from her super popular TV show. Lucien is staying with his grandmother after an injury while playing hockey.

I am a bit bummed to say while I loved Emma and Lucien was fine, I really fell in love with the side characters like Sal, Lucien's grandmother and his female cousin. I don't think this is a series unfortunately so I will just have to imagine their stories.

While the food and location were great, overall, I just wasn't as in to this story as other books by this author.

Trigger warning for talk of physical child abuse and parental death as a teen.

I really enjoyed “Make It Sweet”.
It was a quick and fun read with great characters who has amazing chemistry together.
I’m already looking forward to reading Callihan’s next book!

“You’re my heart and soul.” His lips touched my cheek. “I’m not lost anymore, Em. You found me, and I’m never letting go.”


3.5 ☆. what to expect:
– grumpy-sunshine trope.
– forced proximity.
– one bed trope for like a sec.
– kinda healing trope.
– lots of bantering and shameless flirting.
– past character cameos.
– funny side characters (and am i sensing a couple from the next book 👀??)

I absolutely loved this Book!! The writing was absolutely gorgeous. Written amazingly, and the story was just as fabulous.
I adored the characters, and fell head over heels for them.