Enjoyed the drama of this YA holiday romance. Both main characters are driven and work well together. I liked the setting and it made me interested in mall culture for the people that work there. Feel good triumph.

Adorable. A nice little escape from reality. Rival families, the saving of a mall that said families depend upon for their livelihoods, hilarity, and a sweet romance. A quick, fun read.

Deck the Halls with Feuding Food Families!

Or perhaps "Two Restaurants, both alike in food quality....in the Riverwood Food Court where we set our scene."

Either way, Suzanne Park, once again, delivers us a holly jolly rom-com in time for the holiday season. Super cute, quirky, and a diverse Christmas story, THE CHRISTMAS CLASH was a great way to put me in the mood for the holidays.

Chloe Kwon sees life and all its angles from the lens of her camera, whether it's for her entry into a prestigious Art competition or making a little extra money taking Santa photos at the mall. She also makes time to help her parents out with their restaurant in the mall food court. What she doesn't have time for is: Peter Li.

Peter Li is so tired of trying to live up to his brother, but he does have the energy to annoy Chloe when he gets the chance. Whether it's a wave to her from his own job at the VR booth across from Santa's Village or helping his own parents in the food court, Peter gets a kick out of Chloe's consistent eye rolls.

TIll the unthinkable happens: The grinchy landlord is determined to sell the mall in order to put up condos.

Now, Chloe and Peter must join ranks and enlist other stores in the mall to rise up and save their beloved home away from home or else there will be celebrating.

I loved this fun, swoon-emies book. Park brings such a realism to all of her work and CHRISTMAS CLASH is no different. I seriously enjoyed the shopping mall setting and the truth of them slowing disappearing from our culture. By the end of the book, I was fighting for them to #savethemall.

I laughed, I cried, I would definitely read this one again.

THE CHRISTMAS CLASH releases October 4, 2022.

My thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've read two of Suzanne Park's previous works (Sunny Song Will Never Be Famous and Loathe at First Sight). Neither were total knock outs for me, but were enjoyable enough for me to finish. Of the two, I enjoyed Sunny Song more, so I was looking forward to a festive Christmas YA book! Nothing can go wrong, right?

Unfortunately for me, this book read like a bad Disney Channel movie from the 90's. I recognize that it is Young Adult (and, for the record, I LOVE Young Adult!) but this read more like middle grade to me. It felt like it was targeted at 12 year olds. The internal narratives from each character had my face in a permanent "What the heck?" position and the dialogue was equally awful. And there was no differentiation of "voice" between Peter and Chloe, so the whole thing kind of ran together. The lack of character development....all of it was just missing.

There was little to no Christmas content in this book minus Chloe's photography job at the Santa stand, and the side stories of saving the mall, the photography competition, the Li/Kwon rivalry, and so much more made the entire story feel messy. It was going in 5 different directions at all times and none of the directions did a good job at holding my attention.

Sadly this one was a big miss for me, but the good news is that there are a lot of Christmas books ahead of me!

This was such an adorable YA holiday rom-com! Rivals-to-lovers is one of my all-time favorite romance tropes, and it is so well done in The Christmas Clash! Chloe and Peter are such endearing, well-rounded characters, it was so much fun to watch them have to work together to try to save their parents' businesses. I will definitely be reading whatever Suzanne Park comes out with next!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Notes for the publisher: this review will be published in full on my blog, To Read or Not to Read on 10/16, and in a partial format on my Instagram page, handle @reviews_by_nat, on 10/17. It will also be available on my Goodreads page on 9/03.

Suzanne Park's YA holiday romcom is a hilarious romp with a lot of heart. With everything on the line—from main character Chloe's chance at an artistic future to Chloe's and Peter's parents' livelihoods to the sense of community in their second home—Park crafts a novel that shares a necessary story in a funny and compelling way.

When I saw that Suzanne Park had been a comedian, I knew I was going to have a good time reading The Christmas Clash, and I was absolutely right! This is the definition of romcom; Park knows how to write in such a way that the hilarity of moments comes across. It also helps that she uses teenage slang in the perfect moments and doesn't take everything too seriously. The Christmas Clash is definitely for book people who love to laugh when they read, or who love those funny moments in the midst of serious storylines.

Balancing out the funny, there are some very serious elements to The Christmas Clash that kept me engaged with the story. I was so interested to learn about mall culture, specifically how malls are dying out and being resold or demolished. Park depicts the reality of this situation with a lot of heart. I could really feel the importance of community in this book, through the ways Park depicted the different mall-shop owners and how they all banded together around Chloe's and Peter's vision to save the mall. I was compelled to the end, to see how it all played out, and was so gratified by that happy, feel-good ending.

Holiday books are all the rage right now, and I loved how The Christmas Clash took place around the holiday season, but that its plot didn't hinge on it every getting to Christmas Day. The holiday cheer was definitely there—it was so fun to hear about Chloe's job at the Santa photographer, and to think about cool new holiday experiences like the VR one that Peter works for—as was the holiday-happy ending. But the book itself wasn't explicitly tied to Christmas, which meant that it felt more accessible to more readers, especially considering some of its themes of speaking out against racism and advocating for community. And of course, I loved how a holiday book was centered around people opening their hearts and minds towards one another, and working to save something they all loved. This was the perfect kind of holiday read, for sure!

Such a beautiful book. Christmas Clash is more than a holiday theme young adult book, it is a letter of love and affection to the mall culture, its community and the families behind them
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Through Chloe Kwon, a sixteen-year-old girl from a Korean family, and Peter Li, a boy of the same age from a Chinese American family, we can see what it is like to grow up with the mandate, the family responsibilities and the pressure to succeed
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Chloe and Peter are rivals and neither knows exactly why. Their families have restaurants across the Riverwood mall food court from each other and have always made of everything a competition. But when Chloe needs urgent help only Peter can help her, this small gesture causes them both to have a secret truce with an exchange of food in between, they begin to get along
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But an eviction letter at their parents' business makes them work together to try to save not only both families' livehood but both their second home as well
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I really enjoyed reading this book a lot, not only are Chloe and Peter good characters, the plot and the flavors are palpable and leave me wanting to read more about them. I think I'm going to need to read some backlist Suzanne Park soon
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Thanks to Suzanne Park and Sourcebooks fire for give me this beautiful book in exchange for my voluntary and honest opinion
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It is August, but I am reading Christmas books already.

Chloe Kwon and Peter Li are two teenagers whose families are not speaking to each other and have been holding a grudge from 15 years.
Chloe's parents own a Korean restaurant and Peter's parents own a Chinese restaurant, both at Riverwood Mall. But now Chloe and Peter need to work together as they find out that the mall is going to be demolished and their parents might lose out their business.

3.5/5

It’s Christmas season in the Riverwood Mall and Christmas cards, cookies, and eviction notices ring in the holiday season. There are two things Chloe loves most: photography and her family business. While one is taking off with a nomination for the National Art Council, the other is crashing faster than Santa’s sleigh with news of the mall, where her family business resides, being sold off and businesses being kicked out. She has to team up with the son on the other side of a family feud to try to save their futures.

This was a fun YA read! It had its funny moments where I laughed along with the characters and some sad ones where I could connect with Chloe and feel her emotions. She’s relatable with her public speaking anxiety and a need for her parent’s validation. She’s blunt and perseveres even when having to choose between her two dreams. Peter is so precious in that he’s trying so hard to be everything anyone needs as they both try to live up to their older sibling’s shadow.

For all the cute moments this book had, it also had its downsides. There was A LOT of cheesiness and feel good moments, but to the point where half of them felt forced and had me cringing. It was very innocent, which isn’t a downside and is to be expected with YA, but I found myself getting slightly bored of it halfway through as it was just the two big plots and very little outside of them. With the two plots, it sometimes felt they were mashed together. I wish one was the main plot and the other acted as something fun when the main plot had its slower times instead of both going and then dropping out. Lastly, the ending was cute and while the little hiccup was predictable, it was also fun to read and see play out. That said, it was so neat. Tied up in a little bow, cherry on top, perfect neat that left me wanting more.

Overall this was a fun read and a cute little YA book!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS fire for this arc!
I was originally excited about this book but unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. I thought It was a cute young adult story full of teamwork with a little bit of romance. I just felt like this book was too fast paced. The things that bugged me the most was how unrealistic it felt due to scenes that were out of the blue and rushed. I never really felt very connected to the characters or the troubles they were facing. As for the romance aspect I just felt like one day they were enemies and the next they just randomly kissed and were best friends after the fact. I just felt like I missed a few chapters and never felt any tension which to me is usually the best part.

This is a book about family, dreams, and food! I loved that this book represented the Asian-American community and explored the hardships people experience to provide for their families and achieve their own goals.

The story follows two teenagers, Chloe and Peter, who put aside their long-standing family feud and help unite the community to stop the demolition of their favorite mall. Chloe has a deep passion for photography, which she practices in a Christmassy photography studio. Despite her talent, her parents do not consider this a stable career path (which I absolutely understand). As Chloe and Peter work together, they slowly find their confidence (especially having perfect Asian siblings) and unravel the history of their family feud and rewrite the future of their relationship.

I adored the book and love that it discusses so much Asian culture, which can often be misrepresented. I do wish we got to see more of Peter and see him progress towards his dreams, rather than being only on the sidelines. I love this book so much and would love to read more from the author soon.

THANK YOU TO THE AUTHOR AND NETGALLEY FOR THIS ARC IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!

3.5/5!
This was a super cute lighthearted story, I really loved Chloe and Peter, their interactions with each other were really sweet.
This is definitely very YA. I would even argue middle grade in most places? But I found that really worked for the setting and vibe of the whole book. Their naivety (Chloe and Peter) really worked for the plot, they were always so hopeful and always trying their best to overcome their issues and bring their families together.

The only downside is that I really wished we could have spent some more time with the families, I really would have loved to read more about their cultures. I feel like we really didn’t get a lot of that, particularly in reference to peters family. Aside from that the book was very enjoyable, easy to read and definitely a good one to pick up if ur in the mood for a cosy Christmas story, or need something enjoyable that will fill your Goodreads goal.

My first Christmas read of this year, and I absolutely frickin loved it.

💫 YA, rivals to allies to lovers

💫 So many wholesome scenes! I esp loved all their food exchange + banter scenes

💫 A lot of Christmassy scenes - this book is basically all the months uptil Christmas, when the MCs work their Christmas related jobs and also work to save the mall - so time wise, now is a great time to experience this book!

💫 An almost perfectly neatly wrapped ending, I loved it smm! It was also open enough to have a hopeful future, and I'm gonna have fun imagining much more good things in the future for these characters

TWs - racism against Asians, vulnerable people scammed into losing their money/businesses by a trusted friend

(received ARC from Netgalley)

I wanted to enjoy this; The Christmas Clash was an earnest story that wanted to be a heartwarming, diverse Christmas tale, but just didn't quite successfully nail the main lures that made me request it: the romance, the Asian leads, the nostalgia, and the whimsical feeling of holiday media.

First, there wasn't much of a Christmas mood to the whole thing, besides Chloe occasionly photographing at the Santa mall exhibit and wearing elf ears a few times.

But my main gripe here is: it reads young. Very young. Not 20-somethings in a Hallmark holiday movie - teenagers, and not very mature ones. The book read like a middle grade story to me, and also like it wasn't plotted well - so much was going on that the reader doesn't get a rounded romance, fleshed-out family cultural moments, or even that much time with the mall setting.

It's also in first-person POV which led to nightmarish statements like "cold AF" being included in overall narration passages, not even dialogue or a text. Peter is introduced and at the end of his passage he thinks "you're on my naughty list" re: Chloe. That was my first grimace, and there were many more.

I appreciated the messaging, the attempt at a love letter to mall culture. But the generations who hold the most mall nostalgia probably cannot relate to kids born in 2006 very well; I think it'd have been better if the book were set in the Y2K era, though of course that might mess with some of the racial dynamics in play within the story...

I can usually suspend my eye-rolling and disbelief if I'm watching a sappy holiday movie, but for some reason, perhaps the time I sat with this book (I dragged my feet through it for like three weeks?), I couldn't handle my WHAT moments. The worst of them was...these characters end up appealing to the emotions of a real estate mogul in this day and age? And succeed? That would never, ever happen where I live and I suspect most of gentrifying America is the same.

Side note to the publisher - the inner cover said this was the copy for publication and I spotted at least two typos in here! I also wasn't a fan of some formatting choices, like how text messages were portrayed - in a font much tinier than the standard of the book, crammed in.

So...yeah, I'm disappointed this missed the mark.

Culls Kwon (Korean) cant stand Peter Li (Chinese) as do their parents who run rival restaurants in Riverwood Mall food court it's been that way their whole lives. However when they find out their beloved mall is threatened with closer they have to join forces to battle against the developers.

You may expect more focus to be on high school, there is a nod to to this in Chloe's photography classes and her entry to the national arts council award. She feels 'photography is the only thing I'm good at....but is taking a risk', especially as her older sister was so good in school and is now at law school which ties into the story later on.

Can all the small businesses get together in time and will  Chloe stop 'having an existential crises about public speaking when she talks to all the older business owners and her presentation to the arts council. There are just a couple of threads that keep the story going at the very end Park's brings up the topic of racism that both family's are facing as we are to they are in a sea of white faces.

Overall this novel is for very young teens or even below that as it leans towards short chapters and not to much characterisation therefore easy to follow.
However they are repeated swear words  in the novel that,  in my opinion don't need to be in there.

Many thanks  to NetGalley and the publishers as I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Christmas Clash is a YA dual perspective novel of Chloe Kim and Peter Li. Chloe and Peter's families were rivals since before they were born. Their families do not get along at all, and they both have restaurants in the Riverwood Mall food court. Chloe discovers that the mall is slated to be destroyed , and Peter and Chloe must come together and help save the mall and their family businesses. As they work together, they discover that they actually like each other. They work together to save the mall, figure out the mystery of why their families don't get along and take time for a relationship.

This book is supposed to be an enemies to lovers type of trope, but I didn't really feel that they were enemies perse. They just didn't know each other, and liked to have witty banter back and forth. It was a cute banter for sure, but not an enemies. I did like Chloe and Peter working together and discovering a friendship and then even more a "like" for each other. I loved their little dates at the back of the mall, where they swapped dinners and spent time talking.

I did enjoy the pace of this book, we worked through the holiday season and trying to save the mall. I did feel that this book was trying to tackle a lot. There were a lot of storylines going on, and I feel that if there was a focus on one or two storylines it would have made the book even better. It could have gone more in depth in those storylines, instead of being surface level. That said Suzanne Park does tackle a lot in this book. She explores microaggression and racism of Asian people in America, which is done in a way that allows the reader to process and see a glimpse of what it is like to live as a minority in America today.

Overall, this book is quite light hearted, which allows for a quick and easy read. If you like a cute Christmas rom-com, this is the book for you! Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

With a relationship that teeters from tourmenting to teasing and back again, Chloe Kwon and Peter Li can’t seem to get along. They come by it honest though, they’re carrying on the family rivalry tradition, especially when it comes to their competing food court restaurants.
But where their parents can’t seem to get along, Chloe and Peter are headed towards friends - and more - when they come together to try and save the mall that houses both the family restaurants along with their own side jobs. All that while trying to balance work, life, school, and a potentially life changing photo completion for Chloe. Adding in uncovering the secret that originally split their families apart - and trying to get the parents to work together (again) - adds a whole other level of messiness.

I thought this one was a cute YA Christmas story. Sweetly heartwarming beginning of young love, and an inspiration/hopeful plot. I’ve said it before, but I’m a sucker for the underdog and saving a mall these days? It doesn’t get much more underdog than that.

Thanks to NetGalley and sourcebooks fire for the ARC

I love Christmas rom-coms and this one was really cute. Chloe Kwon and Peter Li are two teenagers whose families have been holding a 15-year grudge and not speaking to each other. Chloe's parents own a Korean restaurant and Peter's parents own a Chinese restaurant, both at Riverwood Mall. Chloe and Peter are kind of thrown together when they find out the mall is going to be demolished and their parents livelihoods are threatened. They work together to try and save the mall.

This was a light, fun rom-com with cute high-school characters. The plot was interesting with the mall issues as well as Chloe's photography contest pursuit. I enjoyed the story. The characters were friendly and easily likeable. It's also a coming of age story as Chloe finds her strengths and Peter does somewhat. The book didn't really have anything to do with Christmas other than things were happening just before the holidays. The book was relevant to the times in that malls have declined in popularity and many have been shut down and lost their anchor stores - I know the one in our town has.

Thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Fire through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published October 4, 2022.

so so cute. one of my new favourite romance/christmas themed books. semi-slow burn but it was worth the wait because peter and chloe are honestly so freaking cute! i would definitely recommend this to anyone coming to robinsons if we get copies, and would 100% read again. only reason that i gave it four stars is because at some points it drags on, and there isn't need for the amount of description, but otherwise, it was amazing.

The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park, is a cute rom com about Chloe Kwon, a young Korean American girl, whose family owns a café in Riverwood Mall. Unfortunately, Chloe’s nemesis, Peter Li, is never far away, as his family owns a competing restaurant in the food court. When the mall is in jeopardy of being demolished, the two must work together to save their family’s livelihoods.

After reading the synopsis of this book, I was really excited to read it! It sounded similar to Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, which was adorable. While The Christmas Clash was cute, it fell a bit short of my expectations.

I will say that many of the characters were well-written. Park did a fantastic job with Chloe’s and Peter’s character development, and they both felt very distinct and unique. Similarly, both Chloe’s and Peter’s friends also had memorable personalities. I enjoyed the fact that the friends in the story stood out instead of feeling like part of the background. Chloe’s friends especially were very supportive of her, and I loved that they knew her so well!

Sadly, I was expecting more from this story than it offered. It’s clearly supposed to focus on the enemies-to-lovers trope, but I felt like neither the enemies aspect, nor the lovers aspect, were done well. At the beginning of the novel, when Chloe and Peter are allegedly enemies, they are swapping dinners from their families restaurants. That, along with other details, suggested that they weren’t truly enemies to begin with. Likewise, the romantic tension was practically nonexistent, both before and after they became lovers.

Other than that, nothing about the book necessarily stood out to me. While I read an ARC version, a lot of the writing was incomprehensible, which drew my attention away from what was happening in the novel. As a whole, not my favorite read this year.