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

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a very fun book!

This might be one of my favorite Christmas themed books ever. I usually hate Christmas romcoms. They feel repetitive and predictable.
This was anything but. Sure, the plot was a little on the nose but the subplots! The characters felt original and every detail felt right and thought of. It didn’t feel cheesy or overdone or forced.
I’m glad it was the classic, hate each other for no reason, enemies to lovers for Henrik and Nora.
I LOVED Nils and Tuula.
Henrik and Nora were just okay.
Over all, two love stories that were done very tastefully and the ending gave me the closure I needed.

‘I didn’t miss the train. I missed the love of my life.’
Shoot me😭

This was a great book. I connected with the characters. I felt engrossed with the plot. I would read another book by this author.

What I envisioned to be the European Hallmark type book: drama, loss, love, complicated families, and sex.

Bouncing between present day and 1945 we see the strength of love, culture and traditions. Nora is nominated for a reality show reminiscent of the US “Bar Rescue” only based in Sweden and focused on bakeries. The harsh criticism of the celebrity baker, Henrik, is so hard for her to take. After all, it’s just her and the bakery - which he not so gently points out that’s she’s run into the ground. After facing reality, she agrees to allow his help and sparks fly. The side stories of Finnish refugees in 1945, as well as Frederick’s highly dysfunctional family seems a bit disconnected but do tie up at the end with a pretty bow.

Quick easy read, perfect for the holiday season. Beware - the descriptions of the yummy pastries may make you hungry!

Thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Crossing and Helene Holmstrom for the eARC.

Set in Sweden. Cute novel about a baker on the verge of bankruptcy that joins a British Baking type show.

Fue como leer dos libros, en un es sobre Nora y Henrik, dos panaderos que no se llevan bien, él es exitoso y ella está en problemas porque esta a nada de perder la panaderia familia y el otro nos cuenta la historia de Tuula, una madre soltera quien perdió a su esposo en la guerra y de Nils quien resultó ser el jefe de Tuula, todo esto ocurre en 1945.


Odie al padre de Hedrik, la escena de los perros fue doloroso de leer, ese señor se merece todo lo malo. No se preocupen, no se lastima a ningún animal.

Gracias Netgalley por el ARC.

Fun story of rebuilding your life how you want it. Nora is so entrenched in keeping her bakery just as it was, she is blind to what it can really be. Through personal struggle and heartbreak, she realizes that living in the present is worth so much more - both personally and to her families legacy.

the translation was great! i didn’t mind this one but i just got a little bored with it. it’s a decent read though!

1 Star
Publication Date: September 17, 2024

Summary

Nora’s bakery is on the verge of bankruptcy, and her business plan of “hoping it will all sort itself out” and “counting on a miracle” is shockingly not working for her. Her well-meaning friend secretly applies for Nora to be on the show Let’s Get Baking, where celebrity baker Henrik helps struggling bakeries flourish again. Nora always hated the show because Henrik makes the participants seem ignorant, but it’s her last chance to save her business. What she doesn’t know is that the show hasn’t been receiving the best ratings recently, and the production team is pushing for Henrik to flirt with Nora to make it more interesting.

This book is also very much so a Christmas book, but you would never tell by the cover or blurb. The original Swedish version is marketed as a Christmas book, so I’m not sure why the US version went this other route?

There’s also a B plot that takes place post WWII and shows the love story between Henrik’s grandfather and the one that got away. This was probably the only aspect of the book I actually enjoyed, but it was not enough to salvage my reading experience.

Characters

Nora is such an unlikable FMC. When the show starts filming, there is actual solid advice that Henrik offers her, but she refuses to listen to anything. Her reasoning? He’s just some celebrity baker who’s unhappy with her cause she’s actually making “real bread” and not “raw raspberry pies made of beans and sprinkled with quinoa” or “raw food balls.” She constantly insults raw food and gluten-free food even though Henrik literally never once is seen eating either of these things. It was just unnecessarily mean and made no sense. And maybe it’s just me, but these jokes about modern food trends are just not funny or charming to me. If anything, they’re overdone and unoriginal.

Towards the end of the book, the trailer for the show airs and Nora gets pissed off because she is presented as “incompetent and oversensitive to criticism.” Hate to break it to you, but that is exactly how you are, Nora. I’m not sure what gave you the impression otherwise.

Henrik was more sympathetic. His previous relationship was a public one, but it ended when paparazzi pictures showed his girlfriend out with her ex looking in love. The entire world accused her of cheating and Henrik never said otherwise despite her protests. She ended up losing her career because of it. But then (SPOILER ALERT) Henrik finds out that she never actually cheated, at least not physically. Still, his ex confessed she was still in love with the man and considered him the one that got away. So… she emotionally cheated. Like, that is still cheating to me. If my partner told me they were still in love with their ex??? Yeah I would feel incredibly lied to and all my trust would be shattered. I hate how this book makes Henrik feel bad for never defending her and making it seem like just because she wasn’t physically intimate with the person that she did nothing wrong and was completely innocent.

Since I’m ranting, I’m also just going to throw in that there’s this past fling of Nora’s that keeps showing up because he’s also her ingredient vendor. She refers to him as The Veg Guy the entire book cause she can’t remember his name, then suddenly at 58% it’s randomly mentioned she remembered his name was Jonathan. Okay? And then, POOF! He never shows up in the book again. This is a minor thing, I acknowledge, but it was things like this that made me roll my eyes and question why I was reading this.

Plot/Writing Style

The romance in this book doesn’t start until 60-70% in. The entire time we are just reading about Nora disliking Henrik and vice versa with some intermittent 1945 chapters.Suddenly, Henrik just decides to kiss Nora in public without first addressing her about it. She catches on almost immediately that it’s just a stunt for the show, which removes any fun tension that could have happened in that moment. Still, though, Nora really liked the feel of Henrik’s beard while they were kissing (the beard that is notably absent from the cover).

“She remembered the feeling of his rough beard on her chin when he kissed her, and suddenly her whole body was tingling.”

My husband has a beard and I’ve never once thought about how it felt against my chin while we were kissing.

“And that irresistible beard. She reached out and stroked it just to feel its roughness against her fingertips. A shudder passed through her entire body.”

Umm… just stroking his beard is turning you on??

None of the romance felt particularly good to me. There was a lack of build up since the majority of the book is not dedicated towards this. The writing style was also so robotic. I understand this was originally written in Swedish and then translated. I’m not sure if the original Swedish was so stilted or if the translation just failed to capture any emotion.

“Nora swallowed hard, took a deep breath. Remembered thinking that things were different with Henrik.”

Firstly, that isn’t even a complete sentence. Secondly, this is so passive. What is she remembering to make her realize things with Henrik are “different”? What does that even mean?

“He frowned. ‘A one-off fling that got out of hand? Do you really believe that?’”

I know he’s frowning, but how is he saying this? Is he angry, sad, confused, in disbelief, something else?? It’s giving me nothing to work off of. Everything in this book felt so slow, and then suddenly so rushed.

“‘Try to get some rest–we’ll let you know when he wakes up.’ After a while the nurse came back. ‘He’s awake–you can see him if you like.’”

I shit you not these two sentences were right next to each other in the book. There is no suspense, no inner viewing into these character’s minds, nothing! What was the point of waiting for him to wake up if he literally did so in the next sentence? It’s bizarre.

Conclusion

This feels like the bones of a story, but there’s no substance to it. There was way too much telling rather than showing, Nora was a nightmare to read about, and for a romance book to have no tension and then suddenly a kiss literally out of nowhere over halfway through? The 1945 timeline is what kept me interested in continuing. The stilted writing and lack of description worked for that since it was a shorter story, but it wasn’t enough to save this book for me. By the end, I wasn’t emotionally connected to anyone.

This was the first book I have read that is placed in Sweden. The storyline in the present was the perfect enemies to lovers. Henrik's tv persona was really easy to hate, but in real life, he was a sweetheart. He cares so much. Nora was right to mistrust him in the beginning. She really was a good baker who knows what she wants. I would be angry too if a TV company wanted to prtray me as incompetent and hysterical.

The story line in the past was actually the best one in the story. How Tuula and Nils were made for each other. I was so angry that everyone was so racist, even in the light of the war. Tuula had such a strong character, I could never do what she did. She was the one that got away from Nils.

Picture this: a super sweet romance set in the thrilling world of reality TV! Nora, a baker, and Henrik, a celebrity baker, start off with sparks flying, but they soon find themselves falling head over heels for each other. Along the way, they juggle family legacies and personal dreams. Oh, and there's a charming side love story revealed through flashbacks! Overall, it's a fun read, but there's so much happening and tons of characters popping up, sometimes stealing the spotlight from our lovebirds. Just a heads-up: this review is based on an early copy of the book!

I am an avid enemies to lovers reader but unfortunately, they missed the mark here a little. I think the things that I didn't like was the pacing and how formal the book did read (however this is understandable since it is a translation). The book did feel quite slow until partway through the second half of it.

Now, this is a nice read if you don't think too much about it. The dual timelines and seeing how the connection is there truly saved the book for me.

I have never read a book that centres on Swedish culture before, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Time to Rise was a quick read about a bakery and a reality TV show set in Sweden.
Nora inherited a bakery from her family and is focused on saving her struggling bakery. Henrik is a baker and the star of a reality show.
The characters meet when Henrik comes to Nora’s town to film his reality show at her bakery. While the story is fast paced, the characters are still well developed.
The bakery background did make me hungry reading this book.

In a quaint town, Nora fights to save her parents’ bakery, welcoming a reality TV crew into her kitchen. Enter Henrik, a celebrity chef with slipping popularity, tasked to stage a love story. As tempers flare amidst baking mishaps, sparks fly. Yet, amidst saffron buns and late-night gatherings, Nora glimpses a gentler side to Henrik. Lines blur between scripted rivalry and genuine connection. What’s pretend and what’s real? As the cameras roll, they navigate a sweet and unpredictable romance, discovering love’s true flavour. In this warmhearted comedy, more than a bakery’s survival is at stake—it’s the chance for two hearts to find their perfect recipe.

I delighted in perusing the book, the story streams effectively, and it is a warm and cushy romcom. The setting was exceptionally comfortable, you are in a little Swedish town by the ocean. The connection between Nora and Henry has a particular speed, beginning sluggish and unexpectedly getting. The family association and double course of events were enjoyable.

The book is astonishing and has a blissful consummation and in particular it’s not overdramatic. The principal downside for me would be that while I partook in the general speed, the end appeared to be a piece surged. It was not just conflicting, more often than not it didn’t stand apart similar to that unique about ordinary sections. The previous storyline was a tomfoolery shock, and when it got rolling I delighted in it comparably much, while possibly not more, than the primary plot, and ended up anticipating figuring out more about that. In general, I would suggest this book if you partake in the cooking channel, books set television, and bread!

This book was unexpected and interesting. I started fully convinced to read an enemies to lovers classic rom-com type of book but actually had a generational and cultural story about two families and their lives.

The book follows both the present with Nora and Henrik’s enemies to lovers story and the past, Tuula and Niels, how they met and they came to be.

Unexpected because from the synopsis it’s difficult to understand that there are actually two storylines we will follow, and when Tuula’s story starts I wasn’t prepared at all. I was already invested with Nora and Henrik and I wasn’t particularly fond of the change.

What I loved about the book was the setting. I personally love in Denmark so I know how important is for Scandinavian people the pastry and bakery culture.
I loved how this book deep dives in Swedish everyday life. The setting was simply amazing 🤍

Overall enjoyable and totally recommend for a different kind of romance.

Ps I HATED Henrik’s dad. Omg what a horrible man.

This was funny, heartwarming, sweet and romantic. It was perfect! I had to save so many quotes because there were so many good lines and it was such a witty and charming read. Loved it.

I don't think I've read a book set in Sweden before, and this was such a great introduction to Swedish culture. The translator did an amazing job of capturing the writer's style and personality, and overall, I really enjoyed this.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book! My first ARC! yay!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this read!! The story of Henrick and Nora's romance paired with the past timeline of Tuula and Nils made for a very comforting and feel-good book. I absolutely adored Nora's strength and her ability to not only stand up for herself but stand up for her traditions and her business. Henrick felt a bit blah at time, constantly following what his television company wanted him to do so I was very glad to see him grow out of that and acknowledge his shortcomings.

I will note that the writing felt formal but I am attributing that to the fact that this book was a translation from Swedish done faithfully by Marlaine Delargy.

Overall, this book was a pleasant experience, though I believe it was more of a fiction book rather than a romance book, focused more on the characters themselves and their growth, rather than the progression of their relationship.

An addictive read, set in two eras in Sweden. Almost faultlessly translated to English from Swedish which makes this story feel authentic and warm. I believe that the Swedish word for this is 'mysa' and I think this sums up the book perfectly.
Read curled up on a comfy sofa with a cosy blanket and a warming drink and let this wonderful story enfold and wrap it's magic around you so that you will almost smell fresh bread baking and the heavenly scents of cardamon and cinnamon in the air.,

I did not enjoy this book at all. I think that some of its magic and charm was unfortunately lost in translation. The main characters fell flat and the storyline was not engaging. I struggled to finish the book. 2/5 stars.