I loved this small town romance!!!

The movie star, the small town boy, the Christmas Cafe, Crumpet- everything about this screams Hallmark movie!!!

Such a wholesome Christmas read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read it early! ❤️

A cute, cozy Christmas romcom that wouldn't be out of place on the Hallmark network. Good setting, charming characters. A pleasure to read, gets you warmed up for the holiday season!

I would like to thank Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. Sylvie lives in the town of Silver Bells Wyoming. She works as cook at the Christmas Cafe. Her sister is the town Mayor. Sylvie lives with her grandfather and her dog Crumpet. Her grandmother passed away 2 years and she taught Sylvie how to cook. Sylvie is a great cook, but she is a bit clumsy and accident prone and tends to blurt out just what she thinks. A movie is being made in Silver Bells and Sylvie hopes that the publicity will help the town and the diner. The diner's owner, Jerry, wants to sell out to a chain and retire. Sylvie has a meet cute with the movie star of the film, and starts to date him. There is also the local goat farmer, Abe,who seemingly has a crush on Sylvie, but is too shy to say so. This sounds a bit standard Christmas Hallmark movie, but it is not. It is well written and heart warming. There is even a recipes for Sylvie's signature dessert! I laughed, I cried, i enjoyed the book!

This wasn't my favorite holiday romcom but it was cute and fun. It had its sweet moments, it's cozy bits, but ultimately it was just okay. Nothing super memorable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a hallmark movie in book form, and I ate it up. This book is very cliche, and people who do not enjoy hallmark films or cliche predictable reads probably wouldn't enjoy this book. I thought this book was fun and cozy. I loved the characters, and the little bit of drama.

Rating: 4

Tropes:
- Holiday Romance

Synopsis: Sylvie resides in silver bells and lives with her gramps and dog, Crumpet. She works at a cafe and the owner is thinking about selling so he can retire, but Sylvie wants to save the restaurant. A Christmas film is being filmed in silver bells and the actor, Royce. She has a budding romance with Royce and a lot on her plate. Her friend, Abe, comes back to work on his parent's goat farm. Sylvie has to sort through all of the changes going on in her life and navigate the restaurants, gramps, Royce, Abe, the ball, the movie, and more.

What I liked:
- This is a quick simple read
- This is a holiday comfort read
- Sylvie is sweet, and I adore Crumpet

What I didn't like:
- The book does not dive deep into the characters and plot because it is a quick read.

What a perfect read for Christmas in July! I am excited to see this one published in October. I definitely see it being a hit this holiday season for sure. My patrons will love this book!

This was a cute, feel good Christmas book. I loved the relationship between the family and how they had everyone come together for Christmas. It also has me looking forward to holiday baking.

I love Christmas books and this one did not disappoint. The plot was so darling and the rom-com was so cute. This was cheerful while also addressing some serious topics and it kept me engaged until the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to honestly review.

This is a Hallmark movie in book form. It was cute and full of warm Christmas cheer.

I did love Sylvie’s character. She was goofy and quirky. Loved Abe, as well.

Overall, cute Christmas read.

What's a baker to do when she has to save her beloved cafe from being sold, juggle with a romance between a movie star who just came into town and the quiet goat farmer she's known all her life, and her own family drama? Tis the season for love. Sylvie West is a baker, she loves her family and her pet dog and she adores the cafe she works at... but when she discovers that her beloved cafe is going to be sold she is determined to save it! It also helps that a handsome actor is in town and she is determined to get the Holiday Channel crew to set a scene at the cafe. While there is a budding romance between her and the lead actor Royce, there is also her long time best friend, goat farmer Abe who is also worming his way into her heart. Now Sylvie will have to figure out where her heart belongs and how to save the one place that means everything to her. Unfortunately this one was a miss for me, I felt like reading this was so boring and it was a bit of a slog to get through however if it were a Hallmark movie or some Christmas movie it definitely would work better.

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This one was a slog to get through. The plot moved slowly and there was a lot of repetition. There were moments of humor and the male protagnoist could have been featured more. Patrons who enjoy cozy stories or culinary fiction will enjoy this one.

There is another heat advisory with temps exceeding 106° today, normal for where I live. This is why each July there’s Christmas movies on an endless loop on that TV channel I won’t name and I read holiday themed books. It gives me hope this too will pass. We get ice storms, snow here is rare, so I love reading about it.
This debut author has penned the perfect story to put you in the holiday spirit. It’s a cute rom-com with an adorable rescue pup who upstages the humans and some goats thrown into the mix. The Christmas Café is in Wyoming where Sylvie bakes memories of her grandma’s love of the season. This was her grams favorite time and it’s Sylvie’s busiest. The town will be decked out, there’ll be a parade, booths, endless hot chocolate and treats. All this will be topped off with the annual ball at a local mansion. If that’s not enough, a dreamy movie star is in town making a movie. He’s a hunk and might set his sights on Sylvie. Then her boss dropped a bombshell about the café.
Sylvie is a bumbler and a babbler, sorely lacking in social skills, a klutz with a heart of gold. Sylvia solves all problems with her baked goods. Her family is full of interesting and believable characters. The town has it’s cliques, gossips, farmers and businesses. There’s always somebody ready to spread rumors. I giggled and laughed out loud and dabbed tears. There are some subtle reminders to accept yourself for who you are, not what others may think you need to be. Pursue your dreams. I enjoyed this enough to reread during the next actual holiday season.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy of “The Christmas Café” by Eliza Evans, published by Penguin, G.P. Putnam’s Sons. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this ARC of The Christmas Café by Eliza Evans! This novel follows Sylvie West from Silver Bells, Wyoming, who’s a baker at the town’s coveted Christmas Café. But when Sylvie learns that the Christmas Café might be going out of business, she puts her best foot forward to ensure that the pillar of the town is safe. Pair that with a dashing leading man from a Christmas movie being shot in town, and the brooding goat farmer who may harbor feelings for Sylvie, and this novel is cute and fun and a wonderfully enjoyable read.
I liked the cast of characters we had in this novel, especially Sylvie. Although clumsy to a fault, she was strong and smart and overall a really great female MC to root for. I also really enjoyed the plot line of Sylvie still dealing with the grief of her Grams’ passing, and the way Evan’s portrays love and loss had me dabbing my eyes at multiple sentimental moments shared with Sylvie and her Gramps. This book showed that grief isn’t linear, but you can still mourn the loss of someone while embracing the happy moments you shared in the past.
There wasn’t anything glaring that I disliked about the book, maybe I would’ve preferred some more build up between Sylvie and Abe for their inevitable get-together at the end of the book. I initially assumed that Royce wouldn’t be the one she’d get with, so I was reading on hoping we’d get some cute moments that’d make me root for Sylvie and Abe extra hard. It’s just definitely a book where romance takes a backseat, and the big focus is Sylvie as a character and her family and the town of Silver Bells.
Overall, despite reading this in July, I had a wonderful time traveling to the town of Silver Bells! I could definitely see myself cozying up with this book or another Evans’ novel by a fireplace in the winter. This would be book best suited for fans of Codi Hall’s Mistletoe Romance series, or if someone’s looking for the small-town feel but in a spring/summer setting, Sarah Adam’s When in Rome would be a good fit.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Small town setting, likable characters, a cute story, and Christmas.

If you want a Hallmark Christmas movie in book format, this is for you!! A little cheesy at points, but oh so sweet! Set in Silver Bells, Wyoming, small town baker, Sylvie, lives with her Gramps after Grams death. Silver Bells is the location of a christmas movie being filmed, bringing in actor Royce Elliot. Can’t forget about goat farmer, Abe, who has known Silver since they were in grade school. So much love and life with lots of holiday sweetness mixed in😉

Thanks NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC🎄

Omg I loved this book!! Perfect Christmas in July book for me! I loved all of the characters and their banter! I can’t recommend this enough!

Thank you, NetGalley for this arc copy. Perfect Christmas Hallmark movie in the form of a book. If you are looking for something cozy that will create a festive atmosphere for you in any month of the year, then this is the book. And the main character is trying to save her cafe and here you will find the atmosphere of a family, of recipes for cooking, comfort, and much more. There was a feeling that snow had already fallen around me and it creaked under my feet, garlands were shining around me and small snowflakes were spinning and falling on my face. I recommend this book to anyone who loves Christmas.

Christmas in July #2 🌲

Sylvie from Silver Bells (I can't make this shit up) is the clumsiest, most awkward baker in the world. She has a very badly trained dog named Crumpet that eats things that dogs shouldn't.

This plays out like all of the cheesy scenes in a Hallmark movie, because, lo and behold, they are filming a Christmas movie in the area. And the star of the movie is seemingly into Sylvie. But so is her childhood friend. I wonder which one she will choose.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Reading this arc felt like watching a mediocre Hallmark Holiday movie, the characters are all just a little flat, there’s far too much noise going on and it’s too much drama without building enough romantic tension. It’s a perfectly harmless read, and there are parts I really enjoyed (the MC, her dog and the goat) but overall it wasn’t super memorable and nothing really pulled me in.

The Christmas Cafe was a very cute little read! It’s not as much of a romance book as I anticipated, but it was perfect nonetheless. It does give off somewhat of a love triangle which i’m not a fan of love triangles but in this book it is very good. This book is all about christmas, baking, family and Sylvie’s confidence growing.

Silver Bells is the perfect christmas town you see in all these Hallmark movies. Which makes perfect sense that a production crew is heading on down to Silver Bells to film a Christmas movie. But the lovely Sylvie isn’t as excited as everyone else that they’re filming a movie because she is so busy and so passionate about baking in the restaurant that holds so many memories to her.

It all begins with Sylvie chasing her dog Crumpet down the street with her bra in his mouth when a car almost hits Crumpet. The driver comes out of the vehicle and check and see if everything is okay. But they get to talking and Sylvie tells him to go to the Christmas Cafe to grab some breakfast. What Sylvie didn’t know at this point was that this guy was the famous Royce Elliot who is the male lead in the movie that’s about to start filming.

As the book goes on, Sylvie realizes that the Cafe is in trouble and her boss is getting ready to sell it. But Sylvie begs him to not sell the Cafe as she tries to find ways to help save the Cafe. Sylvie realizes that having the production team in town can help save the Cafe. Which leads to her and Royce getting together quite a bit but she hesitate about their whole relationship.

Having a relationship between them has brought more customers into The Christmas Cafe and the movie production has even decided to film a scene within the Cafe and have Sylvie play a role in it. As exciting as it sounds, Sylvie really isn’t into being all out there and wanting to be in the movie but she would do anything to say the Cafe.

While we watch how things go with Sylvie and Royce, we also see how things are going with Sylvie and Abe. Abe and Sylvie have known each other for years and have been friends for years too. He only recently came back into town for his family and works on his farm where we mainly see him with goats. He even helps out the restaurant with giving them milk, cheese and things like that. But, as the book continues you begin to notice that Abe has feeling for Sylvie.

Will Sylvie and Royce continue out their relationship or will they fall apart? And what about Abe? Will something happen between Sylvie and Abe?

You’re just gonna have to read and find out 😉