This one was a cute, sweet small town, enemies to lovers romance. Daphne, the heroine, is trying to get her side business off the ground. She sets up a little pop up bakery in an office building. Everyone loves the venders except Tristan, the hero. He ends up having to hire Daphne and things grow from there. This book was well written. And the narrator was enjoyable to listen to. It’s a quick, fun listen. My only complaint is that I just didn’t really like Tristan. He wasn’t very nice to Daphne, I just didn’t understand his quirks. Huge thanks to Dreamscape media and Netgalley for allowing me to listen and review this audiobook.

I really enjoyed listening to this book on audiobook. It is a great book to get in the Christmas spirit. It is a low spice book, which is great for me. I much prefer that over too spicy and think it is nice for a Christmas story as well. I really liked the storyline as well as the characters and the setting. I liked the narration as well. It is a feel good story that is great for getting into the holiday mood.

Baking It Merry is a great enemies to lovers/fake dating holiday story.

Daphne has always had a dream of opening her own bakery, but until she has the means to do so, she has a pop-up bake stand in the lobby of an office building in her North Carolina town during the holidays.

Tristan's business is housed in the office building where Daphne has her pop-up and to say he's not a fan is an understatement. He thinks it's tacky, he doesn't love the holidays and he's definitely not fond of the gingerbread house!

When Tristan realizes he needs a caterer for a few holiday parties he has to host, he knows the only person he can turn to is Daphne. When he and Daphne are caught in a questionable moment by his mother when he's asking her for more help, they have no choice but to say they are dating. Will the holiday-loving Daphne be able to change Tristan's mind about the holidays? Or will things go badly between them?

This was a very cute holiday romance. I could absolutely see this being turned into a Hallmark movie! I really, really enjoyed it!

**I received an ALC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Baking it Merry by Samantha Chase is the cutest little Christmas story, perfect for the holiday season. The book is full of Christmas spirit, with a fun fake grumpy sunshine dynamic that makes it even more enjoyable. I listened to the audiobook and really loved it—it’s a great feel-good story to get you in the holiday mood!

Baking It Merry
by Samantha Chase
narrated by Melanie Mendez

Five Stars

🌲 Small Town
🌲 Enemies to Lovers
🌲 Holiday Romance
🌲 Grumpy MMC

I *LOVE* Samantha Chase!!! Her books always make me happy.

Tristan is GRUMPY. He's grumpy that he isn't doing what he wants at work. He's grumpy that the stupid Christmas fair is going on in his building again. He's grumpy that people expect time off for the Holiday, he's working and so should they.

Daphne is excited that it is once again time for the Holiday Market. For two months she can do what she loves most, become a baker. She dreams of being a baker full time but for now the market will have to sustain her.

Tristan and Daphne do NOT get off on the right foot with each other. He is so mean and miserable. However, Tristan's office loves Daphne's treats and Tristan's secretary works against him to use Daphne's service every chance she gets. This includes throwing them together to host a couple Holiday parties that normally fall to his mother's planning. One stumbling incident later they are on a fake dating path and I loved every minute of it. This might not be a detailed smut book but it felt spicy reading it! Melanie Mendez does a perfect job bringing this story to life with her narration.

I highly recommend this story and all of Samantha's other works as well. Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and the author for the opportunity to read and review another AMAZING story!

#BakingItMerry #SamanthaChase #MelanieMendez
#ChristmasTime #ChristmasStory #ChristmasRomance
#FakeDating #EnemiesToLovers #GrumpySunshine
#GrumpyMMC #BakerFMC #BakeryDreams #ChristmasMarket
#SmallTown #Netgalley #DreamscapeMedia #ALCReview
#ReadThisBook #ReadAllTheBooks #AddMeToYourTBR

I adore every holiday book and loved spending time with the cutest holiday baker!!!! But I’ll be honest. Our girl deserved way better and I wasn’t the biggest fan of our MMC. But alas, we move on.

If you love holiday baking and GRUMPY sunshine, this one is def for you!!! It’s low spice and such an easy one to listen to through your day and quick!

This was absolutely everything I needed it to be. 10/10, all the starts!!! Fantastic. No notes. I might just listen on repeat for the whole season because I’m obsessed. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

I did not finish Baking it Merry, and will not be writing an official review. I will, however, leave my thoughts about the audio:

I can’t listen to this narrator’s voice anymore and am stopping at 7%. She speaks with too much vocal fry, over-enunciation, and a high-pitched, sharp, overly smiley tone. It did not matter what was happening, she always sounded the same. I felt like my preschool teacher was talking to me.

I was enjoying the story, although the main hero is a bit too grumpy and petty at this point, so I will be seeking out a digital copy in the future to give it another go. If I do that, I will come back and update this review to include my thoughts on the story itself.

Thanks so much to the publisher for the opportunity to read this title early!

This is the cutest Hallmark type of Christmas book complete with enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes. It had mild spice and I binged it in less than two days. This is the perfect book to get you in the holiday spirit. Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC.

I loved it so much! It was so perfect for the holiday season and it gave everything it needed to. 10/10 enjoyed

I'm an absolute sucker for enemies to lovers romances and ate up Baking It Merry, but unfortunately I just wasn't that big of a fan of Tristan. Overall though, I still really enjoyed this despite not liking our MMC, and thought this was great!

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Daphne runs a pop-up shop selling baked goods in a christmas/holiday fair in the lobby of a building. The same building Tristan works in. And Tristan is the definition of Grinch.

This had everything -- enemies to lovers, fake dating, holiday romance. I loved watching Daphne and Tristan coming to the realization that their fake dating is turning into real dating. This was short and sweet, and in some ways, it felt too short.

I was definitely entertained. Plus, the audiobook narrator did a fantastic job. Totally recommend this light and sweet holiday romance.

A solid holiday romance. I love the idea of an area of holiday pop up shops that I could visit regularly during the holiday season, and this book describes just what that would be like. This one will also make you hungry dreaming of delicious baked treats!

2.5 stars.

This was an okay story I finished a week ago and completely forgot it, such that I had to reread the description to be reminded what it was to write the review.

Everything about it was okay. The characters, the plot, the families, the dire situation, it just all hit a little bland. Points for it not being yet another small town, country boy/girl meets city boy/girl. This was pretty much all urban, and all city-focused. I just think if it's a baking book, blow me away with pastry descriptions so I need to get some. Maybe include a fun recipe. Give me something other than a mention of everyone's favorite baked good. Also, not a big fan of the main characters. I found their families more nuanced. Daphne's mom was the unsung hero of the story -- she just gave up her own life to help her daughter work at a semi-satisfying job for 2 months leading up to the holidays.

I was whelmed.

Daphne is as sweet as her baked goods. She brings joy to all who know and love her. For the holiday season she gets to live out her dream of having bake shop by having a pop-up shop in a local commercial office building. So many anxiously await her and the other pop-ups with the exception of one very vocal curmudgeon named Tristan. His business occupies an entire floor in the building and finds her and the other businesses tacky and inappropriate in a “professional atmosphere”. He’s the guy that makes Scrooge seem like a good and easy going guy. That is until he finds out that needs her baking services and then needs her to be his fake girlfriend. A sweet opposite attracts, fake dating to more holiday story that was an easy well narrated listen.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I just loved Baking It Merry. It was a fun holiday romance, just perfect for your next holiday read.

This was kinda cute, but omg both of the main characters were too wishy washy for my liking. Do you Don't you... will you won't you.. ughhh. I liked the promise of a buddy entrepreneur and a OCD ridden Architect, but this story just didn't have a lot to offer expect the same banter over and over.

Struggling a bit with how to rate this. I really enjoyed the story a lot, HOWEVER...
The male lead is extremely autistic-coded in a way that is never addressed. He is constantly misunderstood as being rude or mean-spirited, often when he is only voicing his needs or asking honest questions. This is marketed as a grumpy/sunshine, but it became very uncomfortable to see how the female lead and the male lead's family treated him like he was being selfish or immature for no reason, and how he was literally crumbling as his coping mechanisms stopped working for him. This could have been a 5 Star read if at some point someone had suggested the male lead seek a diagnosis.
But alas, no.

Also, the narrator uses a timber and inflection that began to grate on my nerves the longer I listened. A lot of up speak that got hard to ignore.

Baking and Christmas go together like PB&J! This was a quick, fun, cozy Christmas read and I loved it!

The enemies to lovers trope is always a fan fave, and it actually lasted longer than the first chapter, which is always appreciated.

If you are looking for a quick, easy, fun Christmas read, this one's for you!

The audio was okay. I think it was a bit too insta love for me. The setting was really nice. And the cover is super cute.