The Christmas Café by Eliza Evans is a low stakes, clean Christmas romance that follows clumsy baker Slyvie West as she fights to save her beloved Christmas Café. After discovering the café may be sold, Sylvie takes it upon herself to save the place that means so much to her and her recently deceased grandmother. Her first step? Convince the Holiday Channel to film a scene in the café in the hopes that the exposure will help keep the doors open. A chance meeting with Holiday Channel darling Royce gives Sylvie the perfect opening, yet it seems like Royce wants to spend more time with Sylvie than just a day of filming. With the Holiday Channel and her friend Abe onboard, it seems like Sylvie may be able to save the café, if she doesn’t lose her heart in the process.

This book read like a Hallmark novel and while I am sure many readers will fall in love with the town of Silver Bells, it just was not for me. Sylvie was a little too clumsy and immature and I am not a fan of the love triangle trope, especially when we did not get to see a lot of Sylvie and Abe’s relationship grow.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book!

Sylvie is a baker at the Christmas Cafe, a beloved small town establishment that is especially meaningful to Sylvie, as she and her late grandmother spent a lot of time there together in the kitchen. When Sylvie gets the devastating news that the owner plans on retiring and selling the business, she is determined to make the cafe more profitable and convince him to keep the business and leave it under Sylvie’s management. Her boss, Jerry, doubtfully agrees, not believing that Sylvie can pull an impactful change in business by the new year.

Meanwhile, a new Christmas movie is being filmed in the town, and Sylvie has even had an embarrassing run in with the movie’s male lead, Royce. Royce stops by the cafe and enjoys the food, and Sylvie gets the idea to ask Royce to help the cafe by promoting it to his many fans and followers. Royce agrees and suggests doing a scene for the movie at the cafe. As the two spend more time together, Royce makes his interest in Sylvie clear. Excited by the attention of the movie star, Sylvie continues to hang out with him, even though something doesn’t feel quite how she expected it to.

On the other hand, Sylvie starts to have some confusing feelings around Abe, a family friend Sylvie has known pretty much her whole life. Abe is a man of few words but is always there for Sylvie when she needs him, something she can’t help but remember as she spends all this time with Royce.

As Sylvie gets to know both men better along her journey to save the Christmas Cafe, things get a bit complicated.

This was a really cute Christmas book with a love triangle, and I really enjoyed all of the details about the Christmas Cafe. Gram’s peppermint mocha cake sounds delightful, and Crumpet was such an adorable, mischievous addition to the story. I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a fun, sweet holiday read.

SPOILERS AHEAD





I just wanted to note that one thing I really liked about this book was how true Sylvie always was to herself. When she started to get the impression that Royce was trying to change her and wasn’t really interested in her but just the idea of having a small town romance for publicity, she put her foot down and refused to change anything about herself for him. I was glad to see her stick up for herself.

Although Royce wasn’t genuinely interested in Sylvie as a person, he wasn’t a terrible person, which I appreciated. Starting a romance with Sylvie and hiring a photographer to follow them around without her knowledge was obviously very wrong. He also wanted to change how she dressed and cared too much about what people thought of her, because appearances were everything to him. However, he did feel real regret for his actions and I was glad that he apologized to her even after she dumped the cake on his head and definitely embarrassed him. It made me happy that Sylvie extended an invitation to him for Christmas and that he accepted.

It was also nice that it didn’t take long for Sylvie to recognize that she didn’t really have a spark with Royce, but that she felt something different and exciting every time she was around Abe. Abe was always dependable and he genuinely cared for Sylvie and appreciated her exactly as she was, which is what she deserved. Also, Abe buying the Christmas Cafe sign from Jerry for Sylvie to put on her new business was so thoughtful!!

this book combines the best things in the world, Christmas and hallmark movies. this plot is very holiday hallmark movie adjacent, and I mean that in the best way possible. I loved every topic in the book from the baked goods to celebrity love interest. thank you for this arc i will be recommending and purchasing in the very soon!

(3/5 stars) This book felt like reading a Hallmark Christmas movie: small town, love triangle between main character and hometown crush/Christmas movie star, having to save The Christmas Café from being sold to a heartless corporation and demolished, endearing pet dog/goat, etc. Not sure I would reread this, but I did enjoy it and it got me in the mood for more Christmas romance novels!

Sylvie West always felt a little awkward and less-than, but after catching the eye of The Christmas Channel's leading man, this may be her season to shine.

After finishing this book, I just wanted to ho-ho-ho and merry-merry my way to Silver Bells. I had such a delightful time getting to know this town, its residents, and its traditions, and I enjoyed being swept up in all the festivities. The parade, Miss Christmas, and all the other celebrations filled me with holiday cheer while visits to the Christmas Cafe had me yearning for holiday inspired baked goods.

The Christmas Cafe was one of the stars of this story. This magical little space held a special place in Sylvie's heart. She had many fond memories of discovering her love of baking there with her late grandmother, and it had been her happy place for many years. When rumors of the cafe being in financial trouble trickled down to her, Sylvie was determined to save the cafe. I loved her drive and determination, but also that she drew a line in the sand regarding the cafe.

I guess saving the cafe was a big part of the plot, but for me, this was really a story about Sylvie coming into her own. She didn't see herself the way others did, and I think that through this experience, she found her strengths and belief in herself. I feel that part of the story may be subtle, but it's a part I really appreciated.

This was another wonderful holiday book that made my Hallmarkie heart pitter-pat. It was fun and feel-good featuring a sweet romance, lots of delicious treats, family, friendship, a sweet romance, an ill-behaved little dog, and even a baby goat. All of these things made this a heartwarming and satisfying read for me. If you enjoy adorable holiday tales that will make you say "awwww", look no further, as that was my reaction to The Christmas Cafe.

An adorable Christmas story perfect to kick start getting ready for the holiday season! If Hallmark Christmas movies are your thing this book is for you. Grab a cozy blanket, some cocoa, and a snack and snuggle in!!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

What a fun holiday book! I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships. They were all relatable and mostly realistic. The descriptions of all the baked goods made me crave my own holiday favorites. And who doesn't enjoy hearing about a puppy, a baby goat and their escapades? Thanks #NetGalley

The Christmas Cafe takes you straights to the cute town of Silver Bells, Wyoming and could be straight out of a Hallmark Movie. Because I could eat up Hallmark movies and sweet Christmas books all season long, I thought this was a fun book to get into the Christmas spirit.

Attention all my holiday hallmark movie lovers, this one is for you!

The book is cozy, sugary sweet, and a holiday romance standard! You’ve got a grieving granddaughter, a love triangle between a café worker that’s desperate to save the towns Christmas café, a movie star here to shoot a holiday movie, and the gruff local who is basically Luke Danes! There are goats, and sleigh rides, and small towns, delightful characters, and scones, and snow, and a dog named crumpet.

All I’m asking for from my holiday books is to leave me feeling happy and full of Christmas cheer! These book definitely delivered!

The only thing really keeping it from being a full 5 stars is I wish we had gotten a bit *more* between the FMC and her love interest.

All in all though this is an easy one to recommend!

This was sugary sweet and full of happiness, just what I expect from a holiday romance. I didn't love the main character and felt that she was a little too over the top at some points. This is just like a Hallmark movie in book form.

This book gave me Hallmark movie Christmas vibes right from the beginning! The story is based in a small town in Wyoming called Silver Bells. It follows the town's baker Sylvie who works at the town’s cafe which is called none other than The Christmas Cafe. This book makes you want to visit this cozy town during the holiday season. 

Sylvie gets word that The Christmas Cafe may be getting sold. She goes into planning mode trying to figure out what she could do to save it. That's when she realizes The Holiday channel is in town filming the latest Christmas movie. She does everything she can to get the movie to film at the cafe. 

Abe is the local goat farmer who will do anything for Sylvie. He doesn’t say much but you learn he has always had feelings for Sylvie.

I loved the journey of Sylvie breaking out of her shell and doing everything she can to save the cafe along with some romance along the way. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a Hallmark Christmas movie like book. If that's what you are looking for then this is the book for you. I don't think I was in the right headspace for this book. I found it a tad cheesy. Sylvie was scatterbrained and cheesy herself. In normal circumstances I probably would have Dnf'd this book. This is a wholesome Christmas Hallmark movie book. My favorite character was Gramps. What a sweetheart.

A heartwarming small town story. Sylvia needs solutions fast! In the small town of Silver Bells, Wyoming, baker Sylvie works at the Christmas Cafe, where it's festive all year long.
Overall, there was a lot going in this story with its myriad of subplots, but it can be a satisfying read for someone looking for a quick Christmas read!

Sylvie- Introvert, hasn’t left much, wants to see more, baker extraordinaire
Abe- the rough around the edges, quiet, goat farmer, friend, veteran

When a film production comes to town, Sylvie sees it as an opportunity to save the cafe she works at. If she can get the film to use the cafe, it would give them enough to keep them open. Abe is solidly friend zoned. He would love to take things more serious with Sylvie but she doesn’t see him that way.

It reads like a Hallmark movie. Sweet and warm. Has a lot of heart. I am a sucker for Christmas books with ALL the cheese!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Loved this! Fun, festive, heartwarming, with great characters and some depth. Great holiday read! Will definitely be recommending for holiday reads!

The Christmas Cafe" serves up a delightful dose of sweetness - and that's a good thing if it's your cup of tea. It's not aiming for the literary heights; instead, it's a short, endearing, and heartwarming holiday romance novel.

Set in the charming town of Silver Bells, Wyoming, Sylvie, a talented baker, works her magic at the Christmas Cafe, where the holiday spirit never fades.

When Sylvie learns that the cafe she holds dear might be sold, she orchestrates a plan to have the Holiday Channel film a scene there. Enter Royce, the charismatic lead actor, whose interest in Sylvie leaves her practically melting. Yet, her heart is also drawn to her old friend Abe, who returns to town to oversee his parents' goat farm.

Amidst this light-hearted love triangle with a dash of celebrity romance, you'll find a mischievous canine companion named Crumpet, a heartwarming family with cherished memories, and even a festive Christmas festival and parade.

"The Christmas Cafe" is a guilt-free indulgence as sweet as Sylvie's delectable treats. It's the perfect escape for those seeking a quick and lighthearted small-town romance .

First thought: I truly loved this one! It has all the makings for a perfect holiday story. It’s truly a love letter to the essence of Christmas that reminds us what the season is about. If you love stories with quirky MCs, small towns, tight knit families, rambunctious pets, holiday traditions, baking and the spirit of Christmas this one’s for you.

Sylvie is an introvert that doesn’t care what other think, she is genuinely unapologetically herself. She learned how to bake/cook from her grams at a young age and was luckily to turn her passion into a career. She puts her heart and soul into running the kitchen at The Christmas Cafe. Nothing brings her more joy than making dishes for the community she loves, she goes above and beyond to make sure everyone is taken care of.

A little over two years ago Slyvie lost her grams to cancer, since then the holidays have not been the same for her family. But this year will be different as the small town of Silver Bells has been taken over by a film crew to film a new holiday movie. And Slyvie may have bumped into the star actor Royce not knowing who he was and invited him to eat at the Christmas Cafe.

Later that day Slyvie finds out that the owner of The Christmas Cafe plans to sell after the holidays, she can’t let that happen the kitchen is full of memories of her grams. She will do anything to save it and she enlists some help from Royce as a little publicity never hurts.

However things take a turn and Slyvie soon realizes she’s in over her head. Abe is the local goat farmer and has always been there to lend a hand when she needs it. He’s a man of a few words but he’s secretly been in love with Slyvie since 5th grade. Will she ever realize he has feelings he for her?

This book takes you on a Christmas journey full of so much hope, love and quirkiness you won’t want to put it down.

Tropes you’ll find:

* Quirky MC
* Love Triangle
* Celebrity
* Small Town
* Closed Door
* Christmas

3.5 ⭐️

The Christmas Cafe follows Sylvie in her small town of Silver Bells trying to save the cafe that her grandmother worked in, trying to put it on the map to increase revenue so it doesn’t get sold. While there isn’t anything bad about this book it was lacking some things like chemistry and pacing to make it a great read for me.

This is the typical hallmark Christmas movie in book form. It follows the formula almost perfectly. The main character, however, annoyed me terribly in the beginning. Her main personality trait was that she was klutzy & overly awkward. Sylvie did have her good moments but I felt like the “not like other girls” quality was pushed too much for me. Gramps on the other hand was great! I loved Gramps’ grumpy humor and how much he loved and missed his wife. Plus his love for Sylvie was touching. As for Abe I really did like him a lot but the whole “he doesn’t say much, so he must not really like me” sub-trope is SO good and I love it when it’s done well. It had the potential, but it fell a bit flat for me.

Also- this is so random but ever since we got our dog professionally trained (I promise I’m not a snooty person!) there are just some things I cannot overlook when it comes to dog behavior. Sylvie had NO boundaries for her dog and let Crumpet (which I do have to say is a very cute name!) walk all over her. She had no reliable recall which proved to be incredibly dangerous multiple times in the story and bargained with him one too many times for my taste. The fact that she couldn’t communicate effectively with her dog and allowed how badly she felt about him being a shelter dog cloud her emotions made me irritated that I just HAD to knock a star off for just that. Sorry :/.

I felt like I stopped skimming at about 60% through. The book I believe is less than 300 pages but it took me 4 days to read it. As much as the synopsis interested me at first, it did not keep my attention when I started it. Also, I am not opposed to reading closed door or low spice books but The Christmas Cafe only features kissing. Which of course is FINE but the way that Sylvie was SO INTO kissing the one character (plus I think these ppl are in their 30s) it was weird to me that nothing progressed further!?

This is a cute, cozy, cheery small town romance with the quintessential lesson learned at the end. I think would be a hit with the right audience. Unfortunately while it was sweet, it wasn’t totally & completely my taste!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is so cozy and cute, and hits the same silly spot as a Hallmark movie. No complaints here, it's incredibly good at its job.