3.5 ⭐, rounded down

This book drew me in so quickly, and I finished it in a day. The premise of a YA holiday romance of two asian-american teens who were enemies-to-lovers had me sold right away, and the book surprised me with more themes than I expected (such as familial pressures, racism, societal expectations, and local communities). I have to say, this was very cosy and wholesome.

Despite that though, this book left me wanting more from all of those areas. I wish it had dove deeper into Chloe's love of photography, the pressures that she and Peter faced as asian-american teenagers from their parents, and living in the shadows of their older siblings. Their romance was sweet and moved at a pace that felt realistic given the circumstances, and it was so cute. Aside from that though, I wanted to more growth from Peter, and felt that despite all the characters in his POV, he lacked the character development that Chloe had.

I did appreciate the well-described lifestyle of suburban malls and their descent over the recent years. This felt relatable through all the characters that were impacted, even some of the secondary characters that showed up to coalition or city hall meetings.

This was also not very in-your-face about being a holiday book. If the references to Santa and Christmas were taken out, I wouldn't even have realized it was centered around the holidays, and it made it less jarring for me to be reading this in September. I don't know if I'm happy or not about that though, and would probably have been a bit disappointed about that if I'd read this closer to Christmas.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was such a great holiday read! It was so cute and it was fueled by passion.
The romance wasn't the forefront, it made room for the passion our two characters had about saving the mall, which is basically their second home. Having both perspectives really made this aspect clear, and I really love how we were learning about multiple storylines at the same time.
Both of our main characters were so passionate about saving the mall, even while having so many other things on their plates and worked together even though their families were complete rivals for the entirety of the book.
Another aspect I enjoyed a lot was Chloe's anxiety about speaking in public. I feel like being an introvert and being scared of speaking in public isn't usually shown a lot in young adult novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Some people may say the YA trope of two teenagers whose parents run rival restaurants (or stores or whatever) is overdone. I am not one of those people. I will always pick up a book with that trope. And this one is another very cute entry in that canon.

However, for a book called “The Christmas Clash”, I wasn’t really getting a lot of Christmas. Or clashing, for that matter. The main characters get over their dislike of each other very quickly, and the Christmas season feels like an afterthought.

That all being said, this was still a nice, quick read that I had fun with.

High school students Chloe Kwon and Peter Li have been mortal enemies for years. Their families own competing restaurants in the local mall's food court. The mall owner is looking to sell the mall to a local developer after Christmas.
Chloe is trying to live up to her sister's academic achievements but she is very creative and not interested in excelling in law or medicine. She's entered her photography into a national competition. It burns her that Peter Li just seems perfect at everything. Can they combine their talents and help to save both of their restaurants?
I loved this story and these characters. It made me nostalgic for our local mall which is also being torn down to make room for a strip mall. If I had a critique, it was just in that Chloe seemed to be working on way too many things at once-I don't know how there were enough hours in a day to get done all of her projects!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I received a complimentary copy from Sourcebooks and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is an enemies-to-lovers young adult romance set around Christmas . The book follows Chloe Kwon and Peter Li two teenagers caught in a family feud (Romeo and Juliet vibes) . Their families have been feuding with each other for over 10 years with Chloe's parents owning a Korean restaurant and Peter's a Chinese restaurant, both at Riverwood Mall. Chloe and Peter are forced to work together r when they find out the mall is going to be demolished and their parents livelihoods are threatened. If you love an enemies to lovers then this is perfect for you. Highly recommend and cannot wiat to read more Suzanne Park

DNF @ 39%

I’m a sucker for a cute holiday romance, and this kinda seemed like a Hallmark movie in book form. However, despite the two main characters working in what’s supposed to be a Santa’s Village, there’s very little mention of the approaching holiday. Beyond that, both Chloe and Peter had very little depth to them; in fact, I often had to refresh my memory on whose chapter I was reading because they read quite similarly. Chloe’s main personality trait is the fact that she hates Peter (even though a reason isn’t given) until she randomly, and inexplicably, doesn’t anymore. The best part of the enemies to lovers is trope is the slow burn of the two characters realizing that the line between love and hate is delicate and blurry, and this book didn’t have that. One page, Chloe loathes Peter, and the next, she’s suddenly experiencing sparks at his touch. It just didn’t add up for me. Plus, there was just so much extraneous information that detracted from the actual plot that it got increasingly difficult to sift through.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Suzanne Park, and the publisher of this book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Chloe Kwan's biggest rival is Peter Li. Their families own rival restaurants in the mall and Chloe and Peter are working two holiday themed activities in the mail so it's hard for them to not run into each other.
But when the mall is going to be sold to a developer and their families will lose the restaurants they've had forever, the two will have to put their differences aside to work together to save the mall and their family restaurants. The more they work together though feels start to form and the more they learn about their families and the deepness of the rivalry. What are Chloe and Peter going to do?
I thought this was a cute holiday YA read and think it will be very popular! I will recommend it to other YA fans!

Suzanne Park nailed it with this cute, funny, young adult romcom. With families feuding, national awards on the horizon, the possible demolition of the town mall where both their families own restaurants, and a romance budding, this book is packed full of drama and excitement and a pleasant mix of holiday cheer. This quick read is touching and worth every minute.

Park has written a light, fun rom-com with incredibly likeable characters in Chloe and Peter. The plotline of the decline in the popularity of malls is timely and Park handles it well. In addition, I always love anything culinary related so the fact that there’s not only a Chinese restaurant but a Korean one too was a joy. While the book isn’t super Christmas-y, since it starts in October, it’s kind of perfect for its release date as you get all the end of the year holidays & seasonal vibes and you do get all the mall centric Christmas time things like holiday portraits, visits with Santa and other holiday experiences. If you’re looking for a feel-good rivals to romance coming-of-age YA story check out this book.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

Thank you to the author, Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an entertaining YA romance with some unexpected depths. Yes, it's got the word "Christmas" in the title, and the two main characters both have holiday jobs - at competing stands - at the local mall. But the Christmas holiday doesn't take center stage, which may disappoint some readers. Also, the two main characters are in high school, so some readers may find spicy hot romance missing. I felt the author did a fantastic job of fleshing out the characters, both main and secondary, true to life as awkward high schoolers, some with great snarky inner voices. Lots of story lines to follow: a love story between two teenagers who both struggle to fit in, the clash between two family restaurants - one Korean and one Chinese - with bad blood between them (and how cute that the two main characters meet to eat behind the mall, always bringing food from their family's restaurant to swap), the tension of an imminent mall closing and the efforts to rally support against the real estate developer which bring the two main characters together, dealing with parental expectations that go against the grain, a competition for an important mentorship program... this all sounds jumbled and confusing, but I found it a quick and good read.

Sadly this was a miss for me. This book just could not keep my interest to read it. I’m sure it a good book for others, just not for me.

I haven't read that many Christmas books since I've picked up reading. But omg, The Christmas Clash is so so so cute. It's one of those books you pick up and can't put down because it's that good. It was also my first time reading a book by Suzanne Park and I loved it.

I already knew how much I would love this book before I even cracked it open. I have adored every single book written by Suzanne Park, so of course this one did not disappoint. Not only did this Christmas love story bring me so much happiness and joy, it brought back so much nostalgia from my teenage days of running rampant at my local mall. I reveled in watching yet another amazingly depicted Asian female MC discover her true self while falling hopelessly in love. This was such a beautifully written story that kept me hooked right from the start, I struggled to put it down! Thank you so much NetGalley for the opportunity to read this breathtaking and swoon worthy story.

Chloe and Peter's families have been feuding for as long as they can remember-- they own rival restaurants in the food court. This feud has carried over to the younger generation: their older siblings hated each other, Chloe hates Peter, and Peter love to annoy Chloe. But when they find out that their parents have both been served eviction notices from the mall-- and that all the other business owners have, as well-- Chloe and Peter team up to save their families' legacies.

I found this book kind of sweet, and I loved the moments where Chloe and Peter meet behind the mall to secretly swap food from their families' restaurants. There were some pretty big issues that made this a less than ideal read for me, though:
Chloe is a photographer, and an early storyline is her applying for a mentorship program. All of her early chapters focus on that plot point, but as soon as things start heating up with the mall closure, the photography takes a back seat. We go from getting details about her portfolio, the application process, etc. to finding out really huge pieces of information (like the fact that she's chosen a finalist) kind of in passing, after the fact. While it makes perfect sense that the upcoming forced closure of her parents' restaurant would take precedence for her, the early focus on her photography meant that it later being more of an afterthought was jarring and left me really wanting and needing more. Because of this, the moment when she chooses her family obligations over her photography fell flat-- by that point, it really felt like her photography didn't matter much, so choosing the restaurant over it seemed like the obvious, non-emotionally-fraught choice.
The title also had me thinking that Christmas would factor into the story much more, but it's really only relevant in that Chloe's job is taking mall Santa pictures. The climax of the story takes place the day before Christmas eve, and then there's a time jump. The book also doesn't really explore how the potential restaurant closure would affect the main characters or their families at all-- basically, I went into this expecting a Christmas romcom, and that's definitely not what it is.

I really liked the beginning of the book, but by it just felt like it was trying to do too many things in the space it had.

Content Warning: bullying, racism

I wanted to read more holiday romances this year and so when I saw this on NetGalley, I requested it because I’ve read another book by Suzanne Park that I enjoyed. This one was a cute young adult romance. Here’s what did and didn’t work for me:

+ I love both the Korean and Chinese representation in this book. Peter’s family is Chinese and runs a Chinese restaurant and Chloe’s family runs a Korean restaurant. I thought it was cute how they each had a favorite food from one another’s restaurant even though they are rivals. We get a glimpse of into each of their family dynamics and a little bit of the histories too. We also see how Peter and Chloe deal with racism from their community. Chloe and Peter are very relatable.

+ The romance is super sweet, more geared towards a teen audience I think. Peter and Chloe only really know each other from the bad blood between their families, but they don’t even know the reason why they hate one another. So seeing them from enemies, to partners, to something more is really cute.

~ It’s a holiday romance and a lot of the story is set at a mall, which yes, is a staple during the holidays because of Christmas shopping and pictures with Santa. There is a Friendsgiving scene, so this is basically the start of the holidays but not quite at Christmas yet. So it had some elements hinting to Christmas but it isn’t totally full-on Christmas, which I was hoping for.

~There are a bunch of things going on in the story. The mall is about to close and Chloe and Peter try to save it because it’s their families livelihood. In their attempts to save it they find out more about the bad blood between their families. Chloe is trying to achieve her dreams of winning an art award that could help her with college. Also the romance is happening between them and I like that there was depth to the characters but I feel like the story didn’t flow as easily as it should.

Tropes: enemies to lovers, family rivalry

Spice Level:

Why you should read it:
*it’s a holiday romance that doesn’t countdown to Christmas, more like events that are happening around the holidays and it was nice to see the families make peace, the store owners fight for their livelihood and a little romance thrown in
*the romance is sweet and cute, more geared towards teens than young adult
*nice Chinese and Korean representation

Why you might not want to read it:
*might not have as much Christmassy elements for a Christmas romance

My Thoughts:

This was a cute holiday romance where two teens from rival restaurant families fall for one another when they decide to pair up and help save the mall and their family businesses. I liked the Korean and Chinese culture representation and that we do get holiday references even though the story doesn’t count down to Christmas like in some other holiday romances. I feel like teen readers would enjoy this one a lot.

The Christmas Clash follows Chloe and Peter on a quest to save the mall where their parents own restaurants.

This was supposed to be an enemies to lovers romance I think, but there wasn’t really any “enemy” aspect other than the first couple of chapters. They fell for each other pretty quickly (which was cute) but overall the story felt kind of all over the place. I didn’t really care about Peters rivalry with the Sean guy and how he solved everything by being easy going. Seemed to be resolved way too quickly and wasn’t super necessary to the overall story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another cute and quick YA read!

While this was a one sitting read, I couldn't help but wanting more. There were so many different aspects to the story line it almost felt like they were competing, and one didn't really stand our as the overarching plot thus leaving the reader lacking in the depth that could have been brought but honing in on one aspect or the other. There's the feuding restaurant rivals, holiday jobs, mall closing, an art competition. And the two teens that fall for each other amidst it all.

The story is set at Christmas but, it felt like it was the backdrop rather than the cute holiday romcom I had envisioned. The rivalry between the two restauraunts was played up but the secret dinner exchanges between Chloe and Peter felt like the rivalry was all for show. The enemies to lovers banter that I was expecting was met with friends to lovers banter instead.

Despite all of that, the story hit home with the nostalgia, having spent a majorith of my teen days hanging out and working in the mall!


Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC in exchange for my review!

It saddens me to say this because I loved Suzanne Parks other books, but I was not a fan of this book.
It was kinda slow to me and there wasn't as much romance as I felt there should have been, considering it's a rom-com. The idea of the story was exciting but it was just not what I was expecting. It seemed like by the time I was 70% through the book, they still weren't dating and just overall it seemed like the book dragged on.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book, but it didn’t quite deliver on what I was promised. I was promised Christmas and enemies to lovers. While this book did take place in the months leading up to Christmas, I felt like the Christmas vibes never truly arrived.

As for the enemies to lovers, Chloe and Peter spent more time thinking about how hot and cute they thought the other person was than actually arguing. I would classify the beginning as light bickering, but then the relationship progressed far faster than I thought it would.

Here’s the thing though: I would’ve enjoyed this book a lot more had it not been marketed as “Christmas enemies to lovers.” This story has really good bones. Chloe in particular was a fantastic protagonist. Watching her navigate her dueling passions for photography and her family was interesting to read about. I would’ve loved it if the book was entirely from her perspective. Don’t get me wrong, Peter was a solid love interest. He checked all of my male YA character boxes: sensitive, not toxic, and funny. Still, I think this book needed more balance between it’s main characters and in it’s numerous plot lines.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I found the story sloppy and the characters not well. Thank you for the opportunity.