Chloe Kwon and Peter Li's parents have a long standing feud. Chloe's family runs a Korean restaurant in the Riverwood Mall food court while Peter's runs a Chinese restaurant at the same food court. Though neither initially knows why, the animosity is always palpable and has extended to their children encouraged by their respective set of parents. Chloe has always heard "that Peter Li is no good" from her parents and vice versa but when Riverwood Mall is in danger of being shutdown and demolished, the unlikely pair makes a truce to save the mall. Chloe is tackling saving the mall while competing in a prestigious art award competition and Peter is tackling the uncertainty of what he wants to do with his future. While navigating all of those obstacles, Chloe and Peter also realize that they are attracted to each other. Eventually the pair uncovers the family rivalry is stemmed from a desire to blame the other family for an unfortunate case of being swindled by the town embezzler, and achieve having their families move past that issue. Chloe and Peter end up dating in spite of the feud and are able to keep their relationship once their families reconcile. Overall, it was a fun read.

Two households, both alike in dignity, In Riverwood Mall, where we lay our scene.

The Romeo & Juliet vibes are strong in this one. Except, neither is an idiot child willing to die for someone they just met and this story gets a happy ending.

Chloe is an artist who specializes in photography and makes extra money taking photos at the local mall’s Santa’s Village. She’s entered in a prestigious photography contest at her friends’ insistence. And she spends any remaining free time helping at her family’s mall court restaurant.

Peter is a chronic underachiever in the eyes of his family. He’ll never be as good as his older brother so he’s made it his thing to be upbeat and just go along. His after school job is running a Christmas themed VR attraction at the mall when he’s not helping his family’s mall court restaurant.

Chloe and Peter have had a lifelong dislike of each other. Their families have been at odds since before they were born and they were just fine carrying on the family rivalry. Well, except for the under the radar food swaps in the alley behind the mall.

That was until they learned that the mall they grew up in, that housed their families’ restaurants and only source of income, was on the verge of closing. Then they join forces to work to save the mall.

I absolutely loved the slow evolution of their relationship from being unable to say the other’s name without contempt to food swap dinners in the alley which Peter increasingly improves on from just a little table and folding chairs to table cloth and flowers.

Chloe’s analytical and organized ways are perfectly balanced by Peter’s ability to charm just about anyone. Together they have all the skills to convince others to join their charge to save the mall.

This was a joy to read. A wonderful reminder that sometimes great things happen to good people. The author included many facets of her culture into the story giving me better insight into it. Suzanna Park is definitely going on my authors to watch list.

The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park is an enemies to lovers story with a long standing feud between two families and their competing restaurants at the center of it. Peter and Chloe are forced to work together when they find out the mall, where their parents' restaurants are located, is in danger of being sold and demolished.

What I liked:
-The story is told from both Peter and Chloe's POV. When they aren't trying to save the mall together, they both have their own side stories that further develops their personalities.
-The setting. Most of the book takes place in the mall and I loved that throwback feeling, especially since the mall in my hometown is going to be knocked down and turned into a biotech campus.
-The Asian representation. Peter is Chinese and Chloe is Korean. I enjoyed reading about their family dynamics and how they both felt similar pressure from their parents as the second child. While my experiences were different, I still related with them on a cultural level.
-The added focus on anti-Asian bullying and the resulting sticking up for and being true to yourself response.
-The all around cuteness and natural flow of the romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This book was so fun. I really enjoyed it. This book kept me interested and i enjoyed the book and this genre

The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park is a cute young adult holiday rom-com about rival families who operate restaurants in their local mall food court. The characters and their dual POV throughout was nice. The story was unique, and I enjoyed the humor, yet wish it was a more Christmasy! Besides the title and a few mentions of the mall Santa, I think the holiday aspect of this book fell short.

This is a cute rom com for middle grade to teen readers. The plot follows a common trope of frenemies bonding to save the family business. Older readers like me might have a hard time relating to the pop culture references and teen speak terms. I did not get a lot of Christmas vibes from the story.

I received this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions here are entirely my own.

Chloe and Peter have a rivalry that runs deep - right to the family. Their families own and run competing restaurants in the local mall - because of this, Chloe and Peter just don't like each other.

But then they find out that the mall is getting ready to close and condos built in it's place. It's up to Chloe and Peter to work together and save their family restaurants.

This is a YA book and while it takes place during the Christmas season, I didn't get strong christmasy vibes. However, I love the author's writing style and it was overall a very cute story. The characters were really well developed and it was fun to see them also grow.

Rated 3.5 - I enjoyed reading it, I would definitely recommend it to a YA crowd.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a sweet book set during the holidays in a small-town mall. It's a little predictable, but aren't all Hallmark Holiday shows? I think if you're a consumer of sweet holiday content, adults and teens will like this book.

A very cute book to get you into the Christmas mood! Of course it have a bit of a Romeo & Juliet feel, as the families are enemies, but who doesn't love that in a ya romance book? I only wish I'd waited to read it because I would've been more in the mood for it around the end of November/early December.

There's something about Suzanne Park's writing that immediately draws me into the story! This was a great YA holiday read, and I loved the romance sprinkled within it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

*Thank to you netgalley for the arc, all thoughts are my own*

This book was definitely not my favourite. The cover and the title imply it's a christmas book, but aside from taking photos of people with santa, there was absolutely no christmassy stuff. oh and the characters were never even enemies. Like they argued a bit and then by 25% in, they were friends... wha.. no, just no.
oh and asides from all that, I felt like I have read this exact same plot 500 times. It reminded me of tweet cute, and felt like an exact copy of a pho love story. Im so sick of the restaurants-owned-by-two-rivalry-families-where-the-kids-fall-in-love troupe. It happens so much, and honof estly, I'm just sick of reading the same half baked plot.

4/10 entertaining, but it felt like there was no actual substance to the story.

This is an adorable YA rom-com, although I feel as though it reads more like a middle grade.
I appreciated the dual POV of Chloe and Peter as well as their family rivalry and witty banter. My only complaint was that I went into this with the assumption of it being a Christmas book and Christmas was very mildly there.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for a copy of this ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review.

Super cute YA rom-com about the children of 15-year family feuding enemies finding true love lol.

Chloe Kwon and Peter Li have been enemies for as long as they can remember. Their families own restaurants at the Riverwood Mall food court and each has been sworn not to cross into enemy territory. Except that the mall is now about to be demolished and both sets of parents have been keeping it from their kids. Chloe and Peter understand the importance of their family livelihoods on the line and team up to find a way to possibly save the mall. In true rom-com fashion, they find out they actually like each other too.

I enjoyed this cute story even if it was predictable. It was a book I looked forward to picking up at the end of the day and losing myself in for a few hours. A definite sweet read.

This book seemed more like an ode to the shopping mall with its nostalgia and it just so happens to take place near Christmas time. The storyline was cute; two teenagers of rival mall food court restaurant owners trying to save their shopping mall when the owner wants to tear it down. Chloe and Peter decide it’s better to team up if they stand the chance at saving their mall. Do I feel like this seems a little impossible for real life? Yes. Was it a cute story? Also, yes. The plotline of Close and Peter saving the mall doesn’t seem realistic for today, but I enjoyed the way the storyline played out. Chloe and Peter were very loveable characters and I think the enemies to loves trope played out well. This novel read very YA and the conflict that arose between the two was not that big a deal, in my opinion. I just wish it had been more Christmas centered and the author could have use that to her advantage with trying to save the mall and the idea of a “Christmas miracle.” Overall, it was cute but could have been more Christmas themed.
Review- 3.5

The Christmas Clash is pure mall nostalgia vibes, whether you grew up in mall culture or you just got it from watching Stranger Things. Chloe and Peter come from rival food court families and have to band together to help save the mall from demolition. Readers who grew up working in their parents' restaurants will definitely identify with these MCs.

While the Christmas spirit is a little bit light, it’s still a very enjoyable contemporary YA read. Chloe works at the Santa's Village photo booth, and they celebrate Thanksgiving, but that’s kinda it for holiday cheer. You can tell Park was trying to give a holiday-set story a little more heft with a B- and C-plots about Chloe entering an arts competition and the backstory on the rivalry between the families. And I really liked the messages around empowerment and showing up for what you believe in.

The romance is very cute (and chaste), which opens it up to slightly younger YA readers, though there are a handful of swear words throughout..

3.5 stars

It's a novel for the holiday season and it didn't disappoint. I liked it and I found it a good read for when it's snowing or when the holiday music begins playing.

This book wasn’t super Christmassy but I really enjoyed the storyline.
And it felt more like trying to achieve one big Christmas “miracle” rather than having a ton of smaller holiday references and activities.

I love this book’s focus on mall culture. I wouldn’t have thought of that wording but I like the way the author summed it up in her notes. This book is a love letter for those of us who grew up going to malls. It’s sad seeing malls failing and closing.

Chloe and Peter are enemies pretty much entirely because their parents insisted on passing down their distaste for the other family.
Both of their families have Asian restaurants at the mall and the teenagers have assumed that this is entirely where the rivalry came from.

But Chloe and Peter choose to partner up this year to tackle a challenge together. They have found out that the mall is heading towards closure. The new owner is planning to tear it down completely. This will cause untold upset for their families’ restaurants. Their parents don’t have a plan b. They’re basically ignoring all the notices and hoping the situation resolves itself. But their kids know something has to happen to change the owner’s mind. They start to pursue several projects to try to save the mall from demolition.

I found Chloe and Peter to both be such lovable characters. Their determination and loyalty was wonderful.

The Christmas details in the book were mainly in the fact that Chloe and Peter both had part time jobs at Christmas themed kiosks.

The food in this book also sounded amazing. I pre-ordered the book and got some fun book swag from the author including a recipe for pork bolgagi which I definitely plan to make!

I had received an early copy of this book by ebook from NetGalley but had already pre-ordered the book by the time the approval came in. So, I waited till I got the physical book before reading it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

An adorable little enemies-to-lovers YA RomCom that had just enough of everything to get you into the Christmas vibe! I enjoyed the character development of both Chloe and Peter and their interactions with their families. Families can be complex, and with so much riding on the line, it was cute to see their relationship grow.

Park did a fantastic job of writing these characters and the turmoil that can exist in generational families. I look forward to her next book.

This was a cute story. I wish there had been more of a focus on Christmas, but it ended up being more of a background. Chloe and Peter’s romance was very sweet, but it definitely wasn’t enemies to lovers, more like rivals to lovers. It was a little unrealistic how much these kids had on their plates, but overall it was an enjoyable read!

The Christmas Clash

I'm not sure where to start with this review, as it there's so many things I want to talk about with it. Starting with what the book did well, I liked that the characters had their own interests and desired outcomes for their lives. I liked that Chloe was interested in photography and Peter was interested in sports. I also liked that the book sort of touches on the anti-Asian rhetoric which is so often not talked about when we're discussing issues of race. It felt like the author was genuine in discussions of racism, and didn't just mash it in to the storyline.

However, I felt like there were things that I just didn't understand when it came to this story. Questions were sometimes left unanswered and up to my imagination, where I wish I had been walked through more things. It was shocking to me that people could just ignore the fact that they would lose their livelihoods and not involve lawyers. It was confusing to me how these children managed to stay afloat with all of the things that they were working on (helping their family, trying to save the mall, having friends, going to school, doing a job on the side). It felt hectic sometimes, with so many good ideas that just weren't fleshed out all the way. I understand having a bunch of good ideas and wanting all of them to have a part, but the book already felt long sometimes. It would have been better to parse down the number of ideas and do those well, than to have every idea in there and do it poorly.

As to the setting of Christmas, it was more like a backdrop and setting than the actual happening itself. I'm not sure it's a Christmas clash... it really took place all before and then slightly after Christmas. Sure, the kids worked in Christmas-y businesses at the mall and it was cold outside, but it wasn't *centered* around Christmas.