This is your typical sweet holiday romance- small town, MC owns a bakery that's either in competition with the town's a new bakery or is about to lose their bakery, insta-love with their competitor.. It felt like your average Christmas romance, but with much more filler parts in it and not the most likable characters. I wanted to love this one, but unfortunately, I found it difficult to get through in a sitting. 2.75 rounded up

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Noelle Douglas for this ARC.

I was really excited to get this ARC to read, because I love a good Christmas romance, but I just couldn't like this. Lawrence and Elena were both just off for me. Lawrence was non-stop anxiety, Elena was just annoying. I really, really tried, but it just wasn't for me.

This is a cute Christmassy read. If you enjoy enemies to lovers and small town romance then this is one for you. It was a little cringy for me at times especially with all the pet names but that’s just me. I did struggle a little to get used to the third person narrative but I got there in the end. A cute festive read for any lovers of romance

First of all, thank You, Netgalley for the ARC granted. A sweet and romantic Christmas story. Initially It took me a while to get immersed in the narrative, but it was mostly because I couldn't focus totally. However, I could enjoy the story as the pages were being turned, and as always, the couple love scenes were pretty cute and felightful to read.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

What a sweet cozy Christmas read. This is a fast read that’ll get you in the holiday mood. It features enemies to lovers, small town, rivals and a slow burn romance. The characters are built slowly and you will learn to appreciate their past and what makes them who they are.

Just looking at the cover, you know Christmas Crush is going to be a good book! Guess what, you’d be right!

Despite the scorching summer, it is easy to dive in to this Christmas world, where we follow Lawrence - small-town bakery owner - and Elena - marketing VP at a cookie corporation.

This book had me hooked since the beginning with our main characters' personality, which are so in-depth and well-written, the emotional connection that I formed with them was huge. This is a book that, for me, challenges gender archetypes, as it's often that we read about the FMC owning a bakery, and not a man, and about the MMC who has a corporate job, and not a woman. Lawrence made me fall in love with him as well, but Elena is also a strong character that I admired.

This is not a 5-star for me, as the story felt a bit too much insta love for me. I'd rather have learned about them forming a bond/friendship, instead of diving straight into the first date and so on.

Thank you to Net Galley and Alcove Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Christmas Crush by Noelle Douglas 🍪
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Release Date: Oct 8 2024

I enjoyed this cute and quick Christmas romance!

I liked the premise and the characters and thought it was a well written story! Some moments felt a bit cringey, especially the usage of some of the pet names, but overall it would be a great addition for your classic holiday romance reads this winter.

2.5 Stars.

🍪 The vibes:
- business rivals
- Cookie businesses
- Christmas setting
- a cute dog named Sugar
- Instalove

🍪 My thoughts:
We have Elena who works in marketing for a huge chain cookie shop, Sparkle Cookie (sounds very much like Crumbl. ). And then we have Lawrence - the owner of the local cookie shop Sweet L’s. When Sparkle Cookie has its sight on the small town New Hope, Pennsylvania for its newest branch, Lawrence has to find a way to make ends meet with his struggling cookie shop.

🍪 Things that I enjoyed:
I love the descriptions about the baking elements. Everything sounded super delicious. This was very christmasy which I love to see. There’s Christmas lights and a cookie swap and Christmas songs. I also enjoyed Lawrence’s bond with his Nana. And lastly- of course I love to see a male baker. Who doesn’t love a baker?

🍪 Unfortunately, I had a lot of issues with both Lawrence and Elena as well as the overarching plot. I struggled to understand Lawrence or Elena on a deeper level. I didn’t feel like I got to see their personalities or why they were in love. They had a physical attraction and I get that, but I struggled to see the emotional connection. I would consider this an instalove story which I typically struggle with.

🍪 There’s a lot of nicknames that pulled me from the story- baby, honey, sweetie, Sweetheart. The pet names were too much for me.

🍪 The boss felt a little villainy - which isn’t my favorite vibe. It kept it feeling a little bit on the cheesy and more on the unrealistic side.

Overall- The conflict made me dislike Elena the most and I had a hard time moving forward after everything that was said and everything that happened

Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me.

Note- fade to black; language
Release date: October 8, 2024.

Thank you so much to Noelle Douglas Alcove Press, and NetGalley for the gifted copy.

*note- posted on bookbub, Storygraph, Instagram, goodreads, and barnes and noble. Links provided. Will be posted on Amazon after release date when Amazon allows me to.

This was a sugary-sweet holiday romance - one that I’m sure fans of Hallmark Christmas movies will love.

While I’m not normally a fan of sugary-sweet, and at times found it formulaic and cloying, I did enjoy the book overall and I’m sure there are lots of readers who will love exactly this kind of story.

I was pleasantly suprised to find moments of depth and insight sprinkled throughout. Also, and this is probably the writing nerd in me, but there were a couple of truly beautiful sentences. Sometimes a good sentence can save a whole book!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advanced reader copy of this book, provided in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

A sweet Christmas read, quick and easy - perfect for the holidays!

Small town baker, Lawrence, and big gramma's boy is faced with a big cookie company moving in, with Elena at the helm. He's worried about rising rents and a heartless bit city cookie store. Elena is trying to prove to herself and her family, she can handle her current job, even with a hard boss. It's set in small town, during Christmas, enemies to friends story, with a cute dog and yummy cookies - it totally reads as a Hallmark movie. It's sweet, fast moving and an easy read.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

DNFed at 54%

Listen. I was very excited for this book until I actually got it. When I started reading it, I immediately disliked it but I tried to finished it, I really did.

There were too many unnecessary details in the writing. I don't need to know that someone crouched down to find cookie cutters in the cabinet and then rose to cut the cookies. Just say "and then he cut the cookies" or something like that. There were so many unnecessary details that didn't drive the plot forward at all, like why do I care that Lawrence appliances were too expensive? Nothing came out of it anyway. It felt like a high school student writing anything on their essay just to reach a certain word count. Unnecessary and distracting.

From what I've seen, people didn't like Elena but liked Lawrence, but I had the opposite problem. I love Elena, she was witty, strong, hardworking and opinionated. Lawrence, on the other hand was an anxious mess who had a boner for his granda. Seriously that's how he acted. His Nanna this, his Nanna that... Just give it a rest. You're an adult man, act like it. He was so annoying, honestly, I couldn't stand him most of the time.

The relationship between Lawrence and Elena was too insta love for me, and poorly developed. There were too many scenes they didn't spend time together and the focus was on other characters (*cough* Carmen *cough*) and I felt like they didnt really know each other. I couldn't feel the connection between the characters at all.

It was disappointing. I hoped for something else, tbh. It wasn't my cup of tea, but In sure this book will get many fans for it's Christmas small town feels.

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!