First time reading this author and Lawrence and Elena’s story had me hooked from the start. Elena is a part of the marketing department at Sparkle Cookies, who has been sent to the small picturesque town of New Hope (how cute is that name) to see how their new proposed location in the town is getting on and to also mingle with the town locals. One of the locals is Lawrence who happens to be famous around the town for his own homemade cookies.

“You can’t taste love.” “You can absolutely taste the love, in my cookies, Ms. Voss.”

This story is the perfect recipe of a fun, sweet, festive read.

For me it’s the perfect read for someone to wrap themselves up with a blanket and a hot drink.

‘She didn’t look like an executive. She looked like an angel on top of the tree.’

Having read this in July didn’t matter as I’m a total Christmas fan, so it made me even more excited for all the other festive reads to come this year lol

Told in 3rd person POV, which does always take a few chapters for me to get used to, I would definitely recommend this book!

2024 is definitely the year for me to explore new to me authors, loving it!

Slightly too sweet, formulaic, and (I hate to say it, but ..) a bit forgettable, The Christmas Crush falls into the middle of the pack of Christmas themed rom-coms. I didn't write my review right away, and after a couple of weeks, I had to go back and read the synopsis to remember it. It will have its fans, of course, but a little too "meh" for me.

Thank you to Alcove Press and Noelle Douglas for this ARC.

Christmas in July is definitely a thing. In the face of 100+ temperatures and mosquitoes flying in my face as I traverse the creek on a bug hunt with my boys, Christmas is exactly what I needed to be thinking about, so this delightful rom-com full of Christmas movies, holiday cookies, and Gilmore Girls references is EXACTLY what I needed. 😉

If you took “You’ve Got Mail” and a classic Hallmark movie, made it all about cookies, and sprinkled in some Gilmore references, you would arrive at the essence of “The Christmas Crush.” The small-town vibes reminded me of Stars Hollow and the characters were both adorable in their ways. Plus, the cookies! Did I eat cookie dough the entire time I was reading this? No comment. 🍪

Lawrence, the MMC, is a baker who dotes on his grandmother, looks like a sexy lumberjack, and supports his small town and local bakery. Elena, the FMC, is in a soul-crushing job in a corporate cookie company (think Crumbl), and constantly is dodging her toxic boss. We get holiday magic when we put these two together as the big bad cookie corp comes to take over Lawrence’s small town. The spice was fade-to-black, but that didn’t stop me from loving the “Yes, chef” references and hilarious banter.

“The Christmas Crush” must go on your holiday reading TBR now! It is the cutest romcom with a rivals-to-lovers plot and mouthwatering cookie descriptions. The small town will have you recalling all of your favorite Christmas movie moments, and like all Hallmark movies, this one has a HEA.

The story is about Lawrence Higgins and Elena Voss, a romantic story that started with hostility. Lawrence is a baker who has a long history of baking with his Nana at his bakery, Sweet L's. Elena, on the other hand, is working for a cookie company, Sparkle Cookie, which recently opened a branch in New Hope, the town where all the magic happens. Locals in new hope know Lawrence and his Nana, who follow the aspect they know the recipes Higgins bake are delicious. Also, they don't feel good about the big company's influence. That's why they didn't support Sparkle Cookie much, which led Elena, who works for Sparkle Cookie, to visit the town in order to convince them the business is a win, meet Lawrence, and have a little drama in town hall with him, which results in their hostility despite both finding each other attractive.

The book timeline is during Christmas, where the town decorated in all the Christmas antic, the main reason Elena volunteers to take the job as a peacemaker was she has a passion in painting and when in meeting saw the marvel colors of the town , she who also long for having a decent Christmas and also a vacation to spend time on her own and painting accept the job , the story focuses on how passion could mix with a daily life but most people instead of living that , leave the passion in a dark corner to live differently,  you see two people ,one who is dedicated all his life because he love to bake cookies and with strong heart make it his job to spread that passion and love he felt , on the other hand there is Elena , who because of her rich birth , and superior mind , couldn't really comprehend but still she tried to stich to the only passion she has namely painting but still gorgeous mixed in a dirty water of numbers and benefits and nearly forgot what she really loved

The book is a mixture of Lawrence cookies, hard work, lots of patience, passion, and most importantly, love, and the attention and accuracy of someone who knows if cookies stay one minute more, they will burn. In the book, you understand the importance of why you are doing something, why you need to fight for it, and how to overcome the obstacles. Lawrence, despite his Michelangelos body, has a soft heart; he worries a lot and sometimes overthinks. Elena OTOH has a voice to tell her what to do, even though she feels hurt thinking about them. She has a strong personality and a warrior spirit who shall fight to win. Except for painting, you won't see much emotion, but the meeting with Lawrence shows how her world will get colorful and she will find the piece she lost in life, and it's heartwarming.

The book's strength lies with the display of emotions you will experience in books, the empathy you understand when reading each pov, and also the well-described atmosphere in new hope. I especially liked the love-hatred feelings between Elena and Lawrence, the soft sugar ball in the stomach will roll when reading his pov, which nullifies the aggressive energy from Elena's pov, which shows the accuracy of the small town and big city difference and how it made people feel. Also, the conversation they engage with each other adds some fun time and sugarball, which I liked as well. I give the book 3 and the fun experience 2 because the book is a light, soft ball in Christmas and how it makes a miracle.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove. 3.5 stars. This book and the premise sounded so cute! It started out fine but the character inner monologue was kind of cringe at times. It also didn’t make sense…like please Lawrence help me make a big splash for opening day of the large cookie conglomerate that is going to put your business out of business…what the heck?! It just got a little repetitive.

🎄The Christmas Crush is a wonderfully yummy RomCom that captures the smells and joys of Christmas. As a competitor’s bakery is opening, romance begins to blossom. Elena Voss, a beautiful executive at Sparkle ✨ Cookie, and Lawerence, who runs the local bakery in New Hope with his dog Sugar, share chemistry and fun banter. Will their relationship get in the way of their ambitions?

🍪The book has small town life, the delicious scents of cookies, and a sweet cozy romance! I would highly recommend this as the perfect holiday read!! ✨🎄

This was such a cozy, Hallmark-movie type book. I love that Lawrence looks like the typical romance book type alpha guy -- big, tall, muscular, and tattooed -- but he's such a sweetheart and he struggles with social anxiety. He also loves his Nana and his dog, Sugar 🥺 The romance between Lawrence and Elena had the perfect amount of tension. It was so cute seeing Elena being absolutely delighted by all the small town Christmas magic and Lawrence being excited to show it all to her. I normally hate the whole miscommunication/breakup trope, but this book handled it really well and I love how they both took time to realize they'd acted badly. I also loved that her toxic boss got what was coming to him, that was satisfying. The epilogue was also ADORABLE.

Thank you to Alcove Press for providing me a copy for review!

I loved this book. It was such a cute and fun read. Lawrence and Elena were a really sweet couple. I needed some cookies the entire time I read this book. I felt like I could be friends with the Author. Of the references she made were perfection. I’m a huge Gilmore girls fan. This was Stars Hallow but with cookies. Quant small town, closed door romcom. Will definitely recommend.

This quick and enjoyable read was a delightful escape, populated with well-written characters that felt fun and engaging throughout the story.

The perfect holiday read ⛄️
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I’m queer and don’t typically read many ‘straight’ romance books but I have to say… this one was just straight up adorable. It was very cheesy at times but I have to admit that within the Christmas/Holiday realm that’s 100% acceptable for me.

From the beginning, this feels like a Hallmark movie of sorts. If you very much dislike the cozy, cheesy, holiday movie vibe I’d say ‘read with caution’ but for those looking to get straight up in the Christmas spirit… please do yourself a favor and get this book!

I read this as an ARC from NetGalley and there was this part of me that almost wished my first read would’ve been upon its release. I Can already envision myself cozied up with my book, ambience music, and a wonderful story.

I hope the author does more holiday themed books, they really seem to catch the scene brilliantly!

This book has all of the feels! An amazing enemies to lovers novel! If you enjoy all of those cute holiday romance movies, you'll definitely love this book! At first, I was kind of put off by the FMC, but she grew on me. Of course, Lawrence was loveable, and I rooted for him the entire time. It had the angst, sass, "awe" lovey dovey moments, and the soothing small town family vibes I seek in holiday books! While I've read this type of theme in books a lot, this was still great and enjoyable! Loved the small town holiday vibes!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Alcove Press to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

This book will give you Hallmark Christmas movie vibes from start to finish! It was a very cute enemies-to-lovers Christmas book with rival cookie It shops in a small town. If you're looking for a very cute Christmas read, this book is perfect!

Thank you for this arc. I was originally going to save it for Christmas in July but decided to read it now. This was adorable. I love rom coms and cookies so this was perfect for me .

This book is adorable! Noelle had me swooning for Lawrence immediately (Sugar may have had a paw in this), and I could relate to Elena's sarcastic humor. Lawrence made me wish I had a local bakery to wander into to get my sugary fill for my eyes and my tummy, but alas, I don't. I love holiday rom-coms set on the East Coast during the winter, and The Christmas Crush fits into that beautifully; the Christmas vibes are there, but they don't beat you over the head, and reading this in the middle of June didn't feel weird. I usually don't like third-act breakups, but this was well done, and something that I haven't seen much, if ever, is that BOTH of them apologized. Lawrence didn't do all the groveling, and Elena didn't make him beg for it, or vice versa. Overall, this is a cute, sweet, closed-door holiday romance with teeny steam that'll leave you feeling as warm and fuzzy as Sugar lying next to a fire on a cold winter night.

Thankyou NetGallery and publishers for allowing me to read and review this book! Christmas and romance is my absolute favourite especially in a story. This book was cute and sweet with an enemy to lovers situation, it had me wishing it was Christmas and that I was there!

You had me at Christmas. I am obsessed with these characters and just the feel good aspect of this book. I will forever rate Christmas books higher because what is not to love about a heart warming Christmas story. Now in true “hallmark” which really is the bar for all things Christmas romance and there is not one problem with that- we have corporate career women meets local baker. They come together for a cookie competition and the rest is history. If you love small towns, great communities and holiday love pick this one!

Think your traditional Hallmark movie, complete with an enemies to lovers plot & you have The Christmas Crush by Noelle Douglas. This is the perfect holiday rom-com! Competing cookie shops in a small town make this story even better. I can’t wait to read this again during the holiday season!

Thank you NetGalley & Alcove Press for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This definitely gave me the Hallmark Christmas movie vibes and yes, I read this while drinking hot chocolate and cuddled up in my blanket like it’s 20 degrees outside- it was 85 but that’s what AC is for.

Anywho, this is a small town enemies to lover story that I definitely ate up.

what a cute small town christmas enemies to lovers romance! elena was a bit mean at times to lawrence which irritated me. overall a good read!

3.5 stars
Sugary Sweet and Christmas-y cute. The setting is what made the book. The premise was great, but the insta-Love was super fast and a little heavy - handed, I would’ve liked more back and forth.