Kisses and Lemon Snowflake Cookies

Posing as Mr. July in a firefighters' fundraising calendar has been a surreal experience for Dustin, who was a bit of a late bloomer. Women are definitely interested, but he would rather be Mr. Right than Mr. Right Now. When he meets Lauren, who came to town to help her injured aunt run her cookie bakery over the holidays, there's definitely a spark, but she's been burned before.

This is light, fun, and sweet. The characters are both very nice people who are easy to root for, and they're surrounded by great friends and family too. They both have growing to do, but this is a quick, cute, low-angst tale of two people who have everything to gain if they can find the courage to try!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Mr. July and lemon snowflake cookies? Who could ask for more?

N. Jade Gray delivers a romantic tale of a firefighter and a baker who comes into town to help her aunt man the shop while she recovers from an injury. I really enjoyed watching as these two characters fell for each other, and the hardships each had to overcome to make a relationship work. Definitely a light, cozy read for a nice wintry day!

Arc was given by The Wild Rose Press & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This review is being published before the release date (December 6th 2021)



Content/Trigger Warnings: Talk of cheating and womanizing

I must be in the mood for wholesome, cute, and romantic holiday read because I adored this read! I had my cup of coffee, my fuzzy socks on, and devoured this book in one sitting. Truly, I was geeking out over how precious this book was. Maybe it was from the small town vibes or maybe it was the fact the two main characters were so… so perfect for one another. Whatever the reason was, I was swooning and enjoying my time cozied up with this read.

Dustin Keith has always been a shy kind of person and the last thing he expected was, after doing the fire departments year calendar, women would be coming out of the woodwork, taking an interest in being “Ms. July.” More importantly, he never expected that after getting a call, one morning about a certain donkey on the loose, he’d end up meeting Lauren Badini. Lauren just came to Cedar Bend to help her aunt with her bakery. After having her heart and trust broken back in Denver, getting away from everything was exactly what she needed. But little did she know that coming to Cedar Bend would hold a lot more than just helping her aunt with the bakery. And she certainly wasn’t expecting “Mr. July” to show up in the bakery kitchen one morning. To think, it all started with a loose donkey and some protesting gingerbread men!

“He wanted a relationship like theirs. Someone who got him, just the way he was.”

I absolutely adore the main characters of this book. Dustin is very much the silent knight, dark horse kind of character, who you really want to get to know and see their personality unfold. However, Lauren is the character I feel dominates this book. Though we get both perspectives from both main characters, we learn so much more about Lauren than we do Dustin. Yet we these characters come together, I feel like we can truly see the kind of person Dustin truly is. And the quote above is probably my most favorite line Dustin says throughout this whole book, truly.

I think my most favorite part about this story was the themes of found family and new beginnings. I won’t give anything away, but truly this book has lovely themes in it. The found family Dustin has with his most closest friend is so wholesome and would warm any heart. And though there are many new beginnings, Lauren is the one character who stands out the most for the new beginnings. As she works through her trust hardships, she’s given opportunities that are paving a path for her to have a new, happier future.

“Legend has it if you kiss someone under the branches of the tree, you’re destined to fall in love with that person.”

There’s also the little legend of the “Kissing Tree” in this book. I thought this was such a lovely little detail and addition to the story. Not to mention with this being a holiday book, instead of the typical mistletoe, there’s this tree, the oldest tree that has a legend of love surrounding it. And every year this town holds a little holiday market around this tree. You all know how much I love small town vibes and anything that shows off small towns. This truly left me missing my own hometown and the little things it would do for the holiday season.

“The black denims she wore held a dusting of two man-sized flour handprints on her butt.”

While this book has wholesomeness and is easy to curl up with, there’s plenty of steamy moments. And let me tell you, the author delivers right from the beginning with sparks flying. While I can’t speak for other readers, I love when my romance books have sparks flying, almost immediately. The slow build to streamy moments is well worth the wait. I think my only complaint about this has been the fact that this book is so short and there could have been more sexy, steamy moments added in. Despite that, I really loved the intimate moments between the two main characters.

Overall, I had a wonderful reading this book. I enjoyed curling up with my coffee being able to sink into this lovely little town with these two delightful characters. As I said, the connection these two characters have is immediate and it really kicks your drive to read through, to find out what happens next. And with this book being so short, it makes for a quickly holiday read to unwind with at the end of day. Truly, I can’t recommend this cozy little book enough!


The quotes above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

A delightful Christmas Cookie romance! Lauren Badini is visiting her Aunt Josie in Cedar Bend, Colorado. While there she is helping her aunt in her bakery, Josie’s Delights. When local firefighter Dustin Keith, aka “Mr. July” notices smoke coming from the bakery it is not a fire, but a burned sheet of gingerbread cookies. He is instantly attracted to Lauren as she is to him, but she is still recovering from a cheating boyfriend. Will Keith’s responsible reputation be enough for her to give him a chance? If she leaves once her aunt is fully recovered, can they make a long-distance relationship work? Lovable characters in this enjoyable feel-good story. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Fireman Dustin Keith didn't realize women would be coming out of the woodwork after he posed for the local fundraiser calendar. But the one who catches his eye is a baker with trust issues. Can he scale the wall she's built around her heart, or is fate destined to extinguish the flames of desire before they engulf his heart?
Lauren Badini came to Cedar Bend to lend a helping hand at her aunt's bakery, not fall for Mr. July. The image on the calendar she received last Christmas fueled her fantasies, but the in-person version is too hot to handle. But if life after her ex has taught her anything, it's okay to look...but don't touch.

Our Review: When it comes to teaching the basic elements of writing romance, the experts have always said: Put the hero and heroine together immediately and keep them together. Give each strong, relatable and realistic goals. Individual conflicts—internal and external—must be realistic, reasonable, and impossible to overcome. And they must be in direct conflict of the other’s, enough to make the reader think ‘these two will never get together’. Sounds simple but it’s not.
In Kisses and Lemon Snowflake Cookies, author N. Jade Gray clearly demonstrates she learned the above rules, puts them down on paper, and turns out a beauty of a story. It’s sweet, simple and a total delight to read. Congratulations.

On a scale of 1-5, Kisses and Lemon Snowflake Cookies earns a 7.
Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters were described well. This is a great heartwarming romance. It is set in Colorado and it will make you want to visit there. I highly recommend this book. It is a quick paced romance, between a firefighter and a baker. It will make you smile from the first page. This ebook is in stores for $1.99 (USD).

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an arc. This was a cute short story by N. Jade Gray. I would recommend this to all.

Short and sweet with a little steam. A delightful meet cute. Great friends, family and firemen. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley.

Really sweet read! Easy to follow and quick to get through. The story is not super clean from a romance perspective, but I always flip thought all of that and move forward. It is always fun to see where the love will begin and what will happen from it. You will enjoy this easy read filled with twists and turns and of course, a happy ending!

I liked Dustin and Laurens story. The minor characters added a lot of fun too. He is a blend of shy and sudo outgoing and she is outgoing and a bit reserved. Makes for some fun moments

Kisses and Lemon Snowflake Cookies is a novella that is part of the Christmas Cookies series.
Lauren and Dustin meet in a slightly unusual way. Lauren was baking cookies at her aunt’s bakery and Dustin was out looking for a donkey who had wandered off. The meeting involved burned cookies and a donkey that was on the loose!
You will have to read this book because it is a great feel-good small-town holiday romance. read.
Everything about this book just clicked for me.
Thank you NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press, Inc for this book. This is my personal review.