Time To Rise by Heléne Holmström (translation by Marlaine Delargy)
☀️☀️☀️

A big thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

As an overall shape I liked the plot of this book, though it didn't do anything special for the genre. I was actually more drawn to the flashback scenes once that storyline got going, with that relationship feeling more authentic than the (purposefully scripted) manufacturing of our main pairing.

The sex scenes felt a bit rushed and clinical in the writing but that's a personal preference of mine, though I also felt like the rapid progression of the main relationship towards the end felt fast too in comparison to the 'enemies' portion. I also wasn't a fan of the ending (pre-epilogue) but I can see why Holmström went in that direction.

As someone who has only a passing knowledge of European traditions when it comes to Christmas, this book leaned into them just enough to enlighten me without being overbearing with the details, particularly with the focus on food.

The formatting itself could use reviewing before publication - some text message segments were written as regular paragraphs, and in another spot italics continued incorrectly beyond an internal thought, which pulled me out of the story completely.

3/5 stars



"All you have to do is gaze at her for a few extra seconds, maybe make a nice remark after you've been all critical. Enemies to lovers... we'll take care of the rest."

I had high hopes for this book. So many of my favorite tropes and storylines. Characters fell flat and the plot took some confusing turns. I enjoyed a lot of the story but had too many wait what??? Moments.

This was a sweet, cozy read with things I liked and didn’t but overall the bakery setting and banter between the main characters were enjoyable

My only real hesitation here is the pacing - very slow to start and then suddenly full steam ahead, whilst introducing another main couple that I feel kind of took the spotlight at times.

Very much enjoyed the banter here though! I almost wish I could read it in the original translation because I feel I would’ve liked it more

Overall would recommend this as a quick, cozy winter or Christmastime read

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

*Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my review*

Here's the deal—I had high hopes for this book. It ticked off so many of my favorite boxes: dual storylines that eventually mesh, the classic fake-to-real trope, and an unexpected nod to ruisleipä (Finnish rye bread…it’s so good, you HAVE to try it). Yet, I must admit, my initial enthusiasm took a nosedive during the read. Firstly, the secondary timeline blindsided me (I had to double-check that I was still in the same book). Character development fell short, the promising plot often veered off course, and the writing felt like a puzzle missing a few pieces. Around the halfway mark I thought maybe the info dumps had passed, but they unfortunately persisted until the end.

As is customary in many romance novels, the story's climax and resolution unfolded within the final 20 pages, leaving me slightly underwhelmed. Now, let's talk about the intimate scenes—there's just one word that encapsulates my feelings: icky. And it's not a dislike of spice; there was a very uncomfortable quality to them.

To balance the scales, I genuinely believe this story holds significant potential. A touch more editing, a subtle realignment of the storylines, and voila! This could morph into a truly compelling and satisfying read.

I absolutely loved this book!!

Binged it all the way through and could not put it down I loved the characters and the story and just everything about this book.

I want to express my gratitude to Netgalley for giving me a taste of 'Time to Rise.'
The story follows Nora Jansson, who's doing everything to rescue her parents' bakery from bankruptcy. The unexpected twist? A reality show crew, led by the brutally honest celebrity pastry chef Henrik Eklund, barges into her kitchen and her life.

Facing Henrik's critiques, Nora, with her strong character, strives to save her business. Meanwhile, Henrik deals with not just a toxic family dynamic but also rating and popularity issues. The proposed solution from his team? A fake flirtation with Nora. They expect sparks to fly... in front of the cameras.

The relationship between Nora and Henry has a peculiar pace, starting slow and suddenly picking up. What worsens the situation is that they introduce another couple, not mentioned in the synopsis, who takes up half of the book, stealing the spotlight from Nora and Henry and making it challenging to form a deeper connection with the characters.

The resolution feels like the author opted for a fairy godmother approach, neatly solving all the characters' problems before they could take action.
However, it still was a cute and light romance to read for christmas. I enjoyed all the talk about winter and cooking, In that sense the author made a great job, setting the right vibe and giving cozy and immersing descriptions. I swear I could clearly imagine the pastry shop, the little town covered in snow and all the bread while I was reading.

Thanks Amazon and Netgalley for the advanced read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was light hearted for the most part and I enjoyed the banter. The only criticism I have are the two sex scenes late in the book. It felt contrived. The rest of the book was pretty light hearted and easy so it was a of a start contrast to the detailed sex scenes. It struck me as trying to hard to be a steamy novel but it detracted from the lightness of the stories. There were plenty of dramatic story lines without the graphicness. A simple mention of intimate encounters would have felt more appropriate. Outside of that, I enjoyed the banter between the two modern characters and would read another from this author.

I absolutely loved this book! The culinary setting was perfect. I absolutely loved the banter. And the romance was perfect.

Nora and Henrik! I love them! This book was so cozy and I love the bakery setting and aspects. I was hungry the whole time I was reading! A perfect cozy romance for Christmastime!

This book was fun and had excellent banter. I really enjoyed Nora and could appreciate her love for her family business as well as her dedication to her craft. The book took a little while to get going and tended to be a bit slow at times. I found myself just wanted to skip to the parts of the main characters interacting together with their push/pull energy. But overall, a solid read.

Also, shout-out to the translator on this, the translation work was seamless!

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for this ARC!

thankyou netgalley for the arc. all reviews are my own!

okay this was so adorable and funny as hell. rtc when i successfully gather my thoughts.