Quick Summary: Deliciousness with a pinch of sweetness

My Review: Sugar and Spice by Kimberly Kincaid was charming. This short novella gave me the feels...for cookies. I mean seriously! Pete and Lily were a perfect blend. Their partnership was couple goals, to be sure.

My Final Say: This was a super cute read. Readers who enjoy a quick speed romance with a scrumptious foodie angle will like this story.

Rating: 3.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A

I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley. The words I have shared are my own.

* A Goodreads review has been posted.

This was such a fun holiday read! So sweet and spicy. No huge complicating incident, but still a bit intense at times.

A small town trying to bring in more seasonal business holds a Christmas cookie competition, which brings in lots of competitors; among them is local cake maker Lily, who wants to win so she can open her own bakery. Lily knows she can win, and her meticulous planning and practicing will help her get there.

The day before the competition begins, she (literally) runs into Pete, a pastry chef who lives in town but commutes to Philadelphia for work. He wants the win to help boost his career and get him a coveted job that will be opening up soon. Pete is certain he will come away with the prize, and is confident and cocky about it.

Sparks fly between the two from the beginning, and there is a lot of spicy tension through the story. How can they compete against each other when they are falling in love?

It does feel a little like insta-love, since the competition takes place over a short time, but this enemies-to-lovers, kind of close-quarters romance takes place during a fierce competition, where emotions are already running high, so it stands to reason that their feelings for each other would be intense, too.

I really enjoyed this story and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone looking for a quick, sweet holiday read.

*I received a digital ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I requested this kind of on a whim without knowing much about it, but I really enjoyed this. It's such a lovely novella, and the romance really worked for me. Sometimes novellas feel too short, but this felt exactly the right length to tell this story. I loved seeing the romance progress, and I loved how much the baking setting was a part of the story, because this made the book feel really cosy.

3.5 stars!

"Sugar and Spice" by Kimberly Kincaid is a short but sexy and sweet insta-love /enemies-to-lovers novella about Lily and Pete, who meet during a baking competition and are immediately drawn to one another. It's mostly engaging, but being that this is a novella, the story obviously moves quickly...a little *too* quickly for my taste. We don't get a big deep dive into these characters, though we do get enough to piece together their motivations and wants. I wanted more time with these characters! It doesn't necessarily go how you would expect it to go, and I found that refreshing.

You can finish this read in just a few short hours. It's a holiday story, but it's not overloaded with Christmas cheer (apart from the many, many mentions of mistletoe). I wish it had been a full-length novel! Can't wait to read more books by Kimberly Kincaid.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kimberly Kincaid, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

This is a cute, quick read for anyone who loves the great brittish bake off, christmas and cookies. I didn't really feel a connection with the main characters or their love connection, it felt a bit rushed. But that's to be expected with a short story, still cute!

A cute quick read that made me hungry for some cookies! I didn’t really feel the romantic connection between Lily and Pete (maybe because of the speed of the relationship) and the story lacked any high tension, but I really appreciated the cookie descriptions.

My Sweet Enemy was the title that popped to mind, when I read the blurb from Sugar and Spice. And there are certainly some similarities: Pete and Lili both sign up for a competition to make cookies. The story is sweet and cute and it has great chemistry. You’ll devour this one as a plate of cookies. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Let me start with the things I liked in this novella. I liked both MCs and the backdrop of a Christmas Cookie competition was a fun idea especially with all the Christmas themed baking shows out there now. The MCs were cute with each other and I found their attraction/connection believable. The author also did a good job explaining how they both live in the same small town but have only ever met/seen each other in passing - it was believable.

As cute as it was the novella left me wanting more and not in the good way that an amazing story makes you want it to never end. As much as I liked the MCs, their childhoods, key factors in why they became chefs, etc, are skimmed over so quickly that you don’t really feel for their hardships. But what might have disappointed me most was the way the last chapter completely abandoned the two MCs to set up the characters for the next book. Definitely understand the need to do that and in general the story of the two MCs was wrapped up, however it would have been nice to include them in some way to make the shift more natural/less abrupt. I wanted some more wrap up with the characters we just spent the entire book with, not a chapter on a character mentioned only in a couple lines mid-story and a completely new person.

The story was sweet and many people will enjoy this little Christmas season story, but for me it was just a little flat and therefore only 3 stars.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this novella.

His was a super cute story! Lily wants nothing else but to be able to have her own bakery that is a storefront versus her still working in her tiny area. When her best friends tells her about a Christmas cookie competition with the winning prize being $10,000, she is more than ready to win the competition to make her dream come true. When she walks in for the first day of the competition she is paired with Pete and she is none to thrilled about it. Pete thinks that Lily is beautiful and a wonderful baker. But she is very uptight. He wants nothing more than to win so he can get noticed by the big guys, in hopes of him getting the job he has always dreamed about. Working at the top of the line restaurant would be his dream come true but first he has to win this competition. lily and Pete have totally different ideas and ways of doing things but opposites do attract. Who will win the competition?

Really well written and i loved the story but I didn't really like the ending. I didn't like that he instantly dropped his dream to make hers come true. If they'd been together years I might have felt it more believable I think. But I would keep reading the series.

a sweet short story set in a baking contest. I enjoyed the characters and writing although I feel it would have been better if it was more fleshed out. The couple fall in love almost immediately, and angst/tension was absent. I liked the setting, just wished I got ti spend more time in it

hooked and hooked some more. Loved all of this and couldn't put it down. I was like oh my. I need to know more. Read it.

I really enjoyed this Christmas novella. If you like your Hallmark with a bit of spice then pick this one. There’s a cookie competition in the center of everything. When two competitors start to heat up the kitchen you’ll see what happens. Both have very good reasons for entering. May the best chef win.
I’ve read a couple books about cooking competitions and this one blows them out of the water. It’s doesn’t spend the whole book with behind the scene sabotaging. I can appreciate that.

Sugar and Spice - Kimberly Kincaid

A Cosy Christmassy Small Town Cookie Competition Read - This book gave me Hallmark movie vibes and it would make a great one! A good escapism read, but did make me a little hungry! Thank you so much NetGalley for the e-arc in return for my honest opinion.

Sugar and Spice
By: Kimberly Kincaid

📚💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕📚

Fun and sassy read!

In this fun Christmas novella we meet Lilli and Pete. They embark on a Christmas cookie challenge that’s televised so let the games begin.

The author writes so much emotion pulled from each book it’s felt page after page. Some are quick witted story lines are so perfect and lets you believe you have a front row seat. So being able to read this love story didn’t disappoint. The authors ability to have two separate individuals struggling in their everyday life and try to navigate someone else’s thoughts, needs and desires was intense and gives all the fills.

Authors Blurb: One by-the-book cake caterer 
One rule-breaking hotshot pastry chef 
One prize in a Christmas cookie competition that will skyrocket both of their careers

Mix well and add a whole lot of heat that doesn't stay in the kitchen.

Serve with a side of opposites attract, holiday cheer, and a hard-fought happily ever after.

This book has everything I love in a book. Then you add that it's beautifully written and believable. It is easily a five star read. Written in dual POV my personal favorite this story flows so incredibly well that the next thing you know your 80% into the book and loving every second of it. The believable way the characters interact is perfect. Run, Hop, Jump or use your (1 click) finger to do whatever you have to do and get this amazing book. It'll break your heart, you'll want to scream with frustration and it'll let you discover that love just might conquer all. The chemistry is steamy and sweet and oh so romantic.

Thanks Netgally for letting me read and review.📚💕

A quick, easy, cute and spicy read that was everything I was looking for. I couldn't put it down, I really enjoyed it. I would have liked for the characters to be slightly better developed but I still enjoyed it.

Falling in love with your competitor during a Christmas baking competition is more than enough to make me jump on board! While this was a little too insta-love for me, I could feel the instant attraction between both MCs and adored it! This is clearly stated as rivals-to-lovers so we happily skipped straight to the swooning and smooches! Oh, but beware there is a lot of scrumptious foodie descriptions hehe. The one thing I was left wanting was an epilogue featuring the MCs rather than an intro to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy. All thoughts are my own.

I just reviewed Sugar and Spice by Kimberly Kincaid. #SugarandSpice #NetGalley
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This is a Hallmark movie with spice!! Christmas theme, cookie contest, the perfect Hallmark movie in a book but spicy. I thought it was very good.

A sweet holiday romance as Lily Callahan has just entered a cookie contest which has a $10,000 first prize. If she should win, this would give her a chance to open her own bakery instead of baking in her home. At the same time, Chef Pete Mancuso is hoping to be considered to replace the pastry chef who is leaving the highly acclaimed restaurant, L’Orangerie. Winning this contest might just bring him the attention he needs to score an interview. As Chase and Lily work together, he is more of a risk taker making snap decisions while she relies on her detailed plans and lists. Slowly, they realize the attraction that is simmering between them. They both want to win, but if one of them does, how will that affect their personal relationship? A pleasant romance with a hint of spice. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

This was a cute quick read. I’m not sure if it’s classed as a novella but if felt about that length. Because of that the characters and their chemistry were a little under developed. That said I still enjoyed it for the Hallmark holiday vibes.