Cute YA romcom. I enjoyed the family love and devotion in the story. I never felt there was actual rivalry between Chloe and Peter, but I did feel like it was being forced to look like there was. They went from rivals in the very beginning when being introduced to real friends as if there was nothing really happening. Even the rivalry that was between families I never actually felt or completely understood what it was as it was just implied and never really explored. I think more than overcoming this supposed family rivalry, this was a story of Chloe and her growth. I'm giving it 2.5 stars, not because the story was bad but because I didn't feel like I was reading what was actually the books description.

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The Christmas Clash written by Suzanne Park, narrated by Jennifer Sun Bell & Jay Lai

PUB DATE: Oct 4, 2022

This is such a good YA rom-com! I love the characters. Teenagers Chloe Kwon & Peter Li who have been rivals since forever but need to get together to fight to prevent the closing of mall where both their families own small restaurants.

Park's stories are always so innocent and sweet (my preference!!) and the rivals to lovers troupe was definitely very cute. I thought Peter was really sweet. It's frustrating because it seems that Asian parents everywhere just depends on their children so much. I thought it was just mine. But it also shows how hardworking they are and the expectations they have of us.

I love the spotlight on how photojournalists use their craft to tell stories.

Really enjoyed the two different narrators and Jennifer's Korean is really great!

Thank you @Suzanne Park for always including me in your new published (amazing) books! I am always in awe of your talent.

Thank you @dreamscapemedia for the audiobook.

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. The narrators did an excellent job pulling both points of view in and bringing across any necessary humor or gravity. Overall this was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very sweet YA romance set in a failing mall at Christmas and the two main characters are from rival/competing families with food court restaurants! Delightful. This wasn't exactly a hit for me because the end felt extremely rushed but, otherwise, I would absolutely recommend this looking for a light YA read/Iisten.

I really really wanted to love this book, but it really felt like it was just missing something. It's supposed to be a Christmas book but I didn't really get that most of the time. I think that it was cute but not something I'd read again. I probably only would recommend this if you wanted to listen to something cute.

Chloe Kwon and Peter Li are rivals due to their families competing restaurants in their malls food court. When they learn that the mall is closing, they panic knowing the mall and these restaurants are their parents livelihoods. In an attempt to save them, Peter and Chloe join forces to find a way to keep the mall open, and learn the origin of the feud between their families along the way.

I love Christmas books, so I was really excited to read this! I thought it was cute and the setting filled me with nostalgia, which I loved. This book actually starts out in October, and it doesn't focus much on Christmas at all, other than the holiday jobs that Peter and Chloe have, which was a little disappointing because I was looking for all the holiday vibes. I also thought this was a YA romance, but the romance was definitely more of a sub-plot, and it focused on other parts of the story much more. Looking past that, the story was interesting and I was able to relate to Chloe in a lot of ways, so I enjoyed it. I just wish it could've been more Christmas themed to considering it is a holiday book.

Thank you NetGalley for this book in exchange for my honest review!

Audiobook Review - The Christmas Clash was a cute and fun YA rom-com set around the holidays. The story features the families of two rival food court restaurants. When the two teens find out that the mall is scheduled to be sold and torn down they decide to team up to save their families businesses. The holidays were not featured strongly in this book and if the word Christmas wasn't included in the title this story could hold up year round.

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.

The audiobook has fun narrators for the dual povs.

The Christmas Clash is a cute YA holiday rom-com about rival families who operate restaurants in their local mall food court. The characters and their dual POV throughout was nice, along with the narrators in the audio version. 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.

I was in love with these characters from the start! First, I have to admit that when I selected this audiobook, I didn't look closely at the description. I saw Christmas themed rom com and was all in as that fit my mood. I realized quickly that this was a young adult book as the main characters are 16-year-old high school students and I am thrilled that I selected this book. While I am definitely not the target demographic, I loved how authentic and realistic these characters were and how relevant the plot is to today's world. The characters start out continuing a long-time family feud, but quickly realize that they need to team up to save the mall that both of their families have long time businesses as well as the businesses of the other mall tenants all while managing daily life of sports, extra-curricular activities, exams, planning for college, part-time jobs, friendships, family drama, helping in the family business and cultivating their blossoming friendship. As a former teacher, I felt that the author nailed the realism of the daily life while creating a wonderful budding romance and urgent life altering goals to achieve. The narrators did an outstanding job of bringing the characters to life and bringing their emotions to the surface. I am quite excited to see what else this author has for me to devour and can't wait to dive into another of her wonderful stories. Oh, and in case you didn't guess, yes there is a very happy ending!

This engaging book describes the budding romance between Romeo and Juliette type high school students. Their parents have been enemies from times before Chloe and Peter were born. Both families have in-mall restaurants. The mall will be closing and is scheduled for demolition. Chloe and Peter are determined to save their family businesses while also pursuing their own goals in life. Each one of them has to overcome personal and societal obstacles to achieve their dreams and goals.

The book is well written and raises points about the difficulties of immigrants and people who are different in some way. I recommend this book for people of almost all ages.

I listened to an audio version of the book and the narrators did a great job.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was a cute, quick read. Not all in your face Christmas like I was expecting which was a surprise but not a bad one! Overall an enjoyable read, with a good narrator.

I'm probably being generous with this 3 star rating. While I was super excited to get to this book I found it just didn't really deliver on a lot of its promises.

The synopsis of this book combined with the title make it seem as though this is going to be a Hallmark movie level in your face Christmas book and it just wasn't. In fact there was hardly any mention of Christmas in this book at all... she works taking pictures for a mall Santa and he works at a North Pole VR experience and that was the extent of the holiday vibes. One of the things that really sells a Christmas romance for me is the atmosphere. I want to read about cozy cocoa drinking in the snow, Christmas tree decorating, cookie baking, the whole 9 yards and this book had none of it which was a disappointment.

The plot line was also very basic - I've definitely read similar books before and there wasn't anything particularly unique about this one. I found the characters also seemed REALLY young. I know they're supposed to be in high school and I don't read a ton of YA so maybe that's a me problem but to me they seemed more along the lines of twelve year olds. This was also supposed to be an enemies to lovers but other than them being told they should hate each other by their parents they seemed to get along fine right from the start.

One really weird thing I feel I need to point out is the guy in this book makes a couple comments/innuendos that I thought were super out of the blue and pretty cringey given they read like middle schoolers. Idk something about that just didn't sit right with me.

Overall, it was an okay read but definitely not anything super unique or Christmasy. Audiobook narration was good.

I liked the cute little romance in this book- enemies to lovers is a great trope. However, it seemed almost too easy for this couple. Sure, they snuck around a bit but it felt like they breezed past hating each other pretty quick.

The other reason I’m not giving this the best rating is the cultural aspects. It discussed how hard it is for foreign families to understand the law and even just some English documents. While I’m glad that they found a way to overcome it, I’m sure this is a very real thing that happens and I wish there were more permanent solutions to help this population.

🌀Synopsis
Chloe Kwon and Peter Li are from families that have been enemies for as long as they both have known. Their families operate competing restaurants in the mall- one Chinese and the other Korean.

The rivalry continues with Peter and Chloe, too. Chloe works at Santa’s workshop as a photographer and Peter works at the competing North Pole experience.

One night Chloe does a large promotion at their restaurant and ends up in a situation where she owes Peter. She ends up taking pictures for him and it’s the start of their friendship.

When Chloe finds out that the owner of the mall wants to demolish it and this destroy all businesses, she pairs up with Peter to stop it. The two work together to dig to the bottom of the family feud and find a way to save the mall.

Really enjoyed the narrator for this story and it was such a cute read. Getting me ready for the Christmas season.

This was a sweet YA Christmas Rom Com. Chloe Kwon’s family owns the Korean restaurant in the mall and Peter Li’s family owns the Chinese restaurant in the mall and they’ve been rivals ever since Chloe can remember. They both now have individual jobs in said mall, Chloe as a photographer for Santa and Peter at a VR North Pole.

When Peter and Chloe find out the mall their parents restaurants are in they band together to try to do what they can to save their respective families livelihood. At the same time Chloe has made it to the finals of a photo competition that os very important to her.

As Peter and Chloe continue to work together to find out the source of their families feud they find themselves falling for one another on that sweet young love way.

This was a cute and well paced YA read with a fun holiday spin.

The audio narrator did a good job with this story.

4 stars!

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Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley sourcecasa What a delightful adorable sweet book. I love suzanne her books are some of my favorite ya books highly recommend it..

Rating: 3.75
Release Date: October 4, 2022
Format: Audiobook
Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Halmark Christmas Rom-com, Enemy-lover & Family rivalry, Oh My!

About the Book:
In this holiday rom-com, two food court family rivals get together to save their families' livelihoods.

Chloe Kwon can't stand Peter Li and it has always been that way. Their families don't get along and have a shared history while operating rival restaurants in the Riverwood Mall food court. Korean food for the Kwon's and Chinese food for the Li's. Now during the holiday season to make extra money for upcoming college plans, Chloe's is the photographer at the mall's Santa Land, and Peter works at the virtual reality North Pole experience right across the atrium.

Everything is ok until Chloe finds out the mall is about to be sold to a developer and demolished for condos. Eviction notices are being handed out right before Christmas. Chloe and Peter realize that the two of them need to join efforts to try to save the mall and their families livelihoods. Just when it seems like they can put aside their differences and work closely (very closely) together, they discover that the Kwon and Li feud goes far deeper than either of them realize.

Review:
This is an enemy to lose young adult novel that I would have loved to read in high school but couldn't get into as much now that I am closer to my 30 than high school. I did really like that they put their differences aside to work together and it did not drag on very long where they hated each other. As they spend more and more time together they slowly begin to realize that maybe the other isn't as bad as their parents have made them out to be all this time. I
I enjoyed the book but not the pace. I felt like this book was trying to bite more than it can chew. There were so many moving parts that it seems nothing got the attention it deserved.

Also, why was there an entire workout plan listed out in the middle of the book????

The audiobook was narrated by Jay Lai and Jennifer Sun Bell, they sounded good together and made the characters believable. It was easy to follow at 2x, they were good, but not great.

🌶️ Spice Meter 🌶️ : 1 out of 5 Peppers


Final Thoughts: Overall, it was a sweet, high school Christmas romance that touched on some heavy topics but ultimately had too many topics that didn't get the love they deserved.

TW: Deragatory Comments made about the character

Disclaimer: Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Quick Summary: A cute, sweet, serious recipe romance with charm

My Review: The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park was a sweet treat. This cute YA rom-com was an enemies to friends to first loves story. More than that, it was a story about family, friends, life, tough choices, taking chances, and fighting for what you believe in. It was a charming listening experience.

Worth Mentioning: I absolutely loved the Asian American influence that was incorporated in the story. I also really appreciated how the author wrote about mall culture. It was written with such truth. I kept thinking... I know THAT mall.

My Final Say: The conflicts and dilemmas in this book were so real. It made the story more relatable, more personal. The dynamic that existed between the parents alone was especially interesting.

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: YA/T

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher, and to NetGalley, who provided access to a digital audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily listened to this book without expectation or compensation. All expressed opinions are my own and have not been influenced by the aforementioned in any way.

* A Goodreads review has been posted.

Solid 4 stars for a YA rom com.

Chloe and Peter’s parents own competing restaurants in the local mall, and they’ve been sworn enemies for as long as Chloe and Peter can remember. This has bled into their relationship, with Chloe and Peter shooting each other barbs whenever they cross paths. Now that the mall is in danger of being sold and demolished, can they work together to save the mall?

The rivalry didn’t pop for me. Their parents for sure hated each other, but the animosity between Chloe and Peter melted away too quickly for this trope. That said, I did really enjoy the story line and how responsible these teens were.

Suzanne Park does a brilliant job of demonstrating the unique perspectives of young Asian Americans, and making them relatable to a larger demographic.

Enjoyed the audiobook performance. Both narrators were good, not great.

Thanks to Suzanne Park, NetGalley, and the publisher for giving me a free copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.