Thank you so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

I went into to this with relatively low expectations, thinking it was just going to be an average read. However I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading and I realized that there's a lot more to this book than what meets the eye (and the information you get from the synopsis).

You are, in fact, following a very head strong Heroine, Nora, who is taking part in a reality TV show about baking, but she's doing in order to safe her bakery from bankruptcy. This bakery has been passed down for her great grandmother all the way to her. And this is where I was surprised. This is dual POV, following the MMC, Henrik, and FMC, but also dual time-line as you keep something going back to 1945 following two other character that tie in with Nora and Henrik in the end.

The MMC, Henrik, at first you would think that he has it all. He is apart of a successful family business and he is the main star of a reality TV show (kinda of like Gordon Ramsy in Hell's Kitchen but with baking). However, he is not happy with the business, he wishes to come back to his roots and make it more traditional. And when it comes to his show, his views seem to be tanking.

The setting was very cozy, you are in a small Swedish village by the sea. There's all this description of warm and sweet food, like cinnamon rolls. Would be a perfect read for the winter months, specially Christmas because the reality tv show is a season special.

The romance is an enemy to lovers, slow burn. But i don't think it was the main centre piece of the novel, it was more of to people growing, figuring out their lives and coming together in the end.

In general read this if you enjoy:
- Reality TV
- Baking
- Enemies to Lovers
- Cozy Setting

For fans of Rebecca Yarros, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Beth

i see a book with a main character named nora and i click it’s the self love gene! anyway i received this from netgally in exchange for an honest review. i loved loved british bake off on crack! with a romantic subplot (or main plot it’s okay!) i hope the translation didn’t take away from it’s original beauty, an extra star for nora obviously.

I was not a big fan of this book - also disappointed there was not a great ending.

This just wasn’t a great book for me.

I picked this up for the gorgeous cover and the Swedish setting. It is such a delightful read that has all the ingredients to make a good romance — a struggling bakery, cinnamon buns, a hot TV host and a family history that gets uncovered alongside the main plot.

I highly recommend to all romance readers.

This story of a Swedish baker desperate to save her family bakery, and the TV show that comes to "fix" it, takes the reader into a fully-formed, enticing world, filled with the scent of fresh-baked sourdough and Nordic Christmas cheer. This was a fun take on a well-worn formula, and I enjoyed it very much!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of the title!

Nora is running her family bakery in Sweden into the ground. It’s been years since she redecorated, or changed a recipe, and she has way too many items on the menu to ever make a profit. She’s in trouble.

Her best friend Bea secretly submits Nora’a bakery to a reality show in order to save it, and Nora is less than pleased. She gets chosen, and Henrik Eklund, celebrity baker, is thrown into her life to make her question everything.

As someone who loves to bake, I really enjoyed that this book was about bakers. Nora was mostly annoying and stubborn, but I cared about what happened to her bakery. Henrik was very reminiscent of Paul Hollywood, and this plot was hardly original, but I didn’t care. I liked that it was set in Sweden, someplace I’ve never been what would like to go.

There was also a subplot set in the past, which I thought was very original, but also slightly gave me the ick?

Overall an enjoyable read for sure.

this romance follows nora, a woman who is running her family bakery in a small town and hendrik, a celebrity baker with his own gordan-ramsey type baking show. since nora is struggling to keep the bakery open, her friend makes her take part in hendriks show. at the same time we follow nora and hendriks grandparents in a different timeline, right after WWII. the story is told from a 3rd person perspective. 2/3 of the book follows nora/hendrik and 1/3 follows the grandparents.

let me start by listing the things i thought were done well.
1: the translation. i loved reading a romance that took place in sweden & was actually written by a swedish author.
2: the settings, i guess this point kind of connects to the 1st point. the descriptions are great and i was able to get a really clear setting of the small town.
3: the book took place during christmas and i think if you are looking for a slow-paced, low stakes christmas romance you might really enjoy this one.
4: the characters felt realistic and mature enough. often the enemy to lovers trope just means “both the characters are incredibly immature”. the tension was believable and not forced.

now the things i did not like
1: the romance only starts 60% into the book. i would not have minded this if the first 60% had not been soooo boring. i guess that is my main criticism. it should have been edited down by A LOT. at 60% into the book nothing had really happened yet, neither in the romance nor in the actual plot. you just keep reading about nora’s grief, hendrik’s daddy issues & the show.
2: the dual timeline that did not really add anything. sometimes it was nice to be transported into their story, because nora and hendrik were incredibly bland and predictable. but then 1 page into the older timeline you’d be reminded, that so were the grandparents.
3: i did not really feel any connection to any of the side characters. usually the appeal of a small town romance lays with the found family aspect. nora does have her friends, but i did not think any of them were fleshed out enough to add anything substantial to the story.
4: the pacing. like i said the romance only really started at 60%, picked up around 75% and just felt kind of sudden.
5: hendrik. so bland. no backbone. i am not saying that every man in a romance novel needs to be big bad alpha man™️ or cute golden retriever angel. but… a little bit of flavour would have been nice.

in the end i gave it 2 stars mainly because it almost put me in a reading slump. i do feel the need to emphasize that i usually do not like slow-paced, dual timeline or celebrity romances. the writing definitely was not bad, it just was not for me.

thank you to Netgalley for the ARC! ❤️

The premise of this story was great but it had so many unexpected elements. The historical love story that ran alongside this one was such a surprise. It was really sweet and felt the most realistic romance of the book. The two MCs had a hot enemies-to-lover arc but would love for the chemistry to have built up more rather than a rush in the final chapters. Think the historical love story needs to be made more apparent in the marketing overall.

I love a good enemies to lovers story and was excited to read Time to Rise. The premise had potential but overall fell flat. I didn't care about the characters or the story. The ending felt forced and rushed. Just wasn't what I was hoping for.

I really like this book. It was nice to see for once to see MMC be the one who had problematic family situation and how he had to deal with it. Setting of the story was such a cozy town that made me want to visit it.

What a fun concept! I was drawn to this book because I love a good enemies to lovers plot, and it gets even better when there are flashbacks to relevant characters. Unfortunately, that's where much of the excitement ended for me. It was difficult to connect to the characters and felt like we were learning about them from a very far distance instead of feeling like they were our own friends or real people. There is the possibility this is due to the translation. I did enjoy how much baking was involved as well as daily Swedish culture. Thanks for letting me read this ARC!

It was an ok book, It wasn't super exciting and I wasn't super invested in the story. I didn't really click with the characters or the plot. However, it was still an ok read and perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it in Swedish.

DNF. An odd choice to translate such a blandly generic book. I really liked the concept here and it's a sharp cover design, but the content was dull, predictable, and occasionally embarrassingly badly written, particularly in the flashbacks to the 1940s where tensions between Swedes and Finns are treated with juvenilely black and white simplicity (people are mean to Finns! But this guy is not and can't understand why others are acting this way! Full extent of analysis).

DNF and then quickly skimmed

I am so very sorry that this book wasn't for me. I couldn't connect to the characters and felt the narrative was a little stilted. I'm not sure if this was due to the writing style or the translation, but whatever the reason I struggled with it.

From the cover and description I thought this would be a cute romance with a dash of comedy but I really didn't get the humour and the intimate scenes I found to be very uncomfortable reading.

So this book wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.
Love this book! The perfect small-town enemies to lovers as well as fake dating story set in a bakery in Sweden. I loved the characters and the family dynamics presented in the book. I am not normally a fan of a dual timeline, but in this case, I felt it really helped flesh out the story. A very enjoyable fast paced read and I definitely recommend this book!

im sorry but i didnt like it at all. i just didnt like the characters or the story line. the writing was fine but the story sadly wasnt for me.

Enemies to lovers based in a small town in Sweden!
It was a good small-town romance between Nora (a struggling baker) and Henrik (a reality TV chef who tries to help Nora with her bakery business). The story itself was intresting. I particulary enjoyed reading about the Swedish traditions, especially their festive food.
However, I didn't really enjoy the spice in this book. Also, keep in mind that there is another storyline that seemed like out of place for me.
Overall, it was a sweet, fast-paced romance with a cozy atmosphere!

Thank you for the ARC!

What do you get when a small town baker who’s about to lose everything agrees to go on to a reality show?

You get a quietly enemies to lovers, fast paced fake dating romance book.

Loved this book, overall 3 stars

Overall the book is amazing and has a happy ending and most importantly it's not overdramatic. Now the best thing about this book was It's fast paced Enemies to lovers trope Highlights friendship Character development of Henrik and Nora Fresh perspective towards oneself Brothers having each other's back. What I didn't like was Unhappy ending for Nils and Tuula Dysfunctional dad. Sexist remarks by Don on how women should look. Bold italics irregularities in writing Unwanted emojis

"Time to Rise" is a delightful romantic comedy that serves up a delectable blend of humor, heart, and culinary flair. Nora Jansson's determination to save her family bakery sets the stage for a charming opposites-attract tale with celebrity pastry chef Henrik Eklund. While the chemistry between the characters sizzles, the only downside is the frequent trips back into the past within the chapters. Nevertheless, the story's warmth and positivity shine through, making it a truly enjoyable read.