This was absolutely amazing! I was totally enthralled with this story from beginning to end, I could barely put it down, and when I finally read the last page, the house was dark, I was hungry, thirsty, needed to pee and my neck was stiff. But damn, it was worth it!

This is a good book. The two main characters are Lexie and Sean. They have known each other for all their lives. They lived next door to each other. Lexie comes home after breaking up with her boyfriend. Sean has had a crush on her forever. Lexie goes with Sean to hockey practice. They back to his house and make out. They start dating. Her ex-boyfriend shows up and Sean sends away. They fall in love.

I struggled to get into this one. I suspect it was more due to a reading slump than the story itself. I moved this title to my TBR to give it a second chance later on.

Fantastic novel, enjoyed every minute of it! Absolutely nothing not to like about it. Such a cute story and great characters. Highly recommend this!

I found this book a little cheezy but if you like Hallmark Holiday Romances then this one is exactly what you're looking for.

I love how most of the books I get off of this page are so good and I am so excited to buy these in physical version, I couldn’t get enough of these characters and I wanted more. I can read Christmas books all year round, I’m so glad I got to read this one definitely recommend.

This one was a sweet and cute Christmas read that was a little predictable but still a good read. It was also on the quick side.

I sadly did not enjoy this book at all. Despite this being a novella, it all felt extremely rushed and the characters were flat and unlikeable. Especially our hero. There were red flags all around him.
I also did not vibe with the spicy scenes. So many words and descriptions used felt the opposite of sexy, for me.
Then the transition from lust to love was immediate and didn't make any sense.

I was given an ARC and this is my honest review.

She returns to her homeland for her best friend's wedding, but she has a secret and then there is her not-so-inconspicuous neighbor who lures her out of her shell.

So sweet and emotional a friends to lovers story and also a bit of second chance with a bit of drama as it should be.

Have fun while reading!

this book was by far my favourite romance book i think this book was fun and cute but sometimes a little slow burn but other then that i love the story

Lexi heads home for a friend's wedding after she finds her boyfriend cheating. She finds out that the neighbor next door to her father's home is the same as when she was growing up and she thinks he is still attractive. Not feeling that way she is surprised to find out that he is interested and that he did notice her in high school. Though parts of the story are the same as others this was still a good read.

A quick and easy Christmas read. Lexie heads home after catching her boyfriend with another, and moving in with her parents, she discovers the boy next door has all grown up. Sean still has a crush on her, and sparks fly. Not a whole lot about Christmas, but otherwise a fair story. Would recommend.

In "The Christmas Crush" by Penelope Gerhardt, escape to the enchanting town of Lake Mistletoe for a heartwarming winter romance.

With beautifully described settings and irresistible chemistry between the main characters, this book effortlessly captures the magic of the holiday season.

It's a charming and delightful read that will leave you with a warm heart and a smile. Don't miss out on this captivating love story! ❄️📚💖

#TheChristmasCrush #LakeMistletoe #WinterRomance #MustRead

This was a short, sweet and spicy Christmas novella. It was cute.
Lexie and Sean have kind of known each other since high school. They’ve been next door neighbors and Sean has always had a crush on Lexie. It’s a crush that with time hasn’t diminished but gotten stronger. Lexie never really paid attention to Sean since she had boyfriend all through high school. Lexie and her boyfriend moved away after high school and they have been living together in the city for about 5 years.
Lexie comes back home for a friend’s wedding where she reconnects with Sean.
It was a bit insta love since they didn’t really know each other back when they were in high school, but it’s always nice when the nerdy guy gets the popular girl in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me the digital copy to this book for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

I loved this holiday spicy romance. Such a good story and I loved Lexie and Sean’s story. It was good. I loved the backdrop of Christmas and the spicy scenes where chefs kiss!!

This is one of the first novella like books I have read where I wish it had been a full length book. While I still enjoyed the book, I wish the author had written about a 100 more pages so that certain areas of the plot could have been expanded upon. Without those additional pages the story felt very instant love and it was hard to understand how these two characters fell in love so quickly. I feel like with those additions it would have made the book go from a 3 star read to a 4 star read.

Spicy little novella with not much else. Not looking at any character development here. Even though its definitely been done, I enjoy the premise of the highschool nerdy neighbor glow up, but the amount that he was still in love with her was a bit… problematic. Definitely lots of the MMC tropes people love (touch her and d*e, he falls first and harder, “Good girl”, hockey player) but they felt a little forced in there just because of the length of the book. There was an attempt at interesting side characters, but in 100 pages, the time could have been better used on the mains. Not very Christmas-y, just winter-y.

⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️

The Christmas Crush by Penelope Gerhardt the first book of the Lake Mistletoe Seroes and such a steamy and heartwarming holiday novella. 🔥❤️
Oh my... I didn't see it coming!

When I saw this beautiful cover I just wanted to know more about it.
Now that I finished it I'm absolutely happy.

Lexie is back at home for her best friend's wedding. What she didn't expect was HIM.
Sean Talley definitely grew up that she didn't even recognised him.
Being childhood neighbors turns out to be the perfect situation for them both now... the sparks definitely fly around in Lake Mistletoe!

WOOOW! And how much sparks flew around in this book! ✨️
I liked the whole mood this love story put me in. A sexy Christmas story in a smalltown. Like a Hallmark movie - but just add some more spice to it! Ha! 😅
I swooned a lot about Sean. Oh my! The shy guy turns into a hot and successful guy, but still can be shy... but also really sexy. 😘 Awwww! And Lexie? Liked her too!
So this novella was definitely too short. LOL!
Like all the enjoyable reads!

Aaand I'm curious about the other couples in this series! 🥰

Thanks a lot to Penelope Gerhardt for this ARC via NetGalley.
This is my honest review in my own words.

"The Christmas Crush" was a fast-paced, short and steamy read.

While I loved the cover of this book and premise of the story, I just don't think the writing style in this book was for me. I had a hard time forming a connection to the characters and wasn't a fan of some of the phrasing used during the intimate scenes.

I do think it's worth checking out and hope that it reaches its intended audience.

Thank you Penelope Gerhardt and Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

The Christmas Crush was a sweet, cute, fun love story. I quickly powered through the entire book and had a grin on my face the majority of the time. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!