A heartwarming small town story. Sylvia needs solutions fast! In the small town of Silver Bells, Wyoming, baker Sylvie works at the Christmas Cafe, where it's festive all year long.
Overall, there was a lot going in this story with its myriad of subplots, but it can be a satisfying read for someone looking for a quick Christmas read!

Sylvie- Introvert, hasn’t left much, wants to see more, baker extraordinaire
Abe- the rough around the edges, quiet, goat farmer, friend, veteran

When a film production comes to town, Sylvie sees it as an opportunity to save the cafe she works at. If she can get the film to use the cafe, it would give them enough to keep them open. Abe is solidly friend zoned. He would love to take things more serious with Sylvie but she doesn’t see him that way.

It reads like a Hallmark movie. Sweet and warm. Has a lot of heart. I am a sucker for Christmas books with ALL the cheese!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Loved this! Fun, festive, heartwarming, with great characters and some depth. Great holiday read! Will definitely be recommending for holiday reads!

The Christmas Cafe" serves up a delightful dose of sweetness - and that's a good thing if it's your cup of tea. It's not aiming for the literary heights; instead, it's a short, endearing, and heartwarming holiday romance novel.

Set in the charming town of Silver Bells, Wyoming, Sylvie, a talented baker, works her magic at the Christmas Cafe, where the holiday spirit never fades.

When Sylvie learns that the cafe she holds dear might be sold, she orchestrates a plan to have the Holiday Channel film a scene there. Enter Royce, the charismatic lead actor, whose interest in Sylvie leaves her practically melting. Yet, her heart is also drawn to her old friend Abe, who returns to town to oversee his parents' goat farm.

Amidst this light-hearted love triangle with a dash of celebrity romance, you'll find a mischievous canine companion named Crumpet, a heartwarming family with cherished memories, and even a festive Christmas festival and parade.

"The Christmas Cafe" is a guilt-free indulgence as sweet as Sylvie's delectable treats. It's the perfect escape for those seeking a quick and lighthearted small-town romance .

First thought: I truly loved this one! It has all the makings for a perfect holiday story. It’s truly a love letter to the essence of Christmas that reminds us what the season is about. If you love stories with quirky MCs, small towns, tight knit families, rambunctious pets, holiday traditions, baking and the spirit of Christmas this one’s for you.

Sylvie is an introvert that doesn’t care what other think, she is genuinely unapologetically herself. She learned how to bake/cook from her grams at a young age and was luckily to turn her passion into a career. She puts her heart and soul into running the kitchen at The Christmas Cafe. Nothing brings her more joy than making dishes for the community she loves, she goes above and beyond to make sure everyone is taken care of.

A little over two years ago Slyvie lost her grams to cancer, since then the holidays have not been the same for her family. But this year will be different as the small town of Silver Bells has been taken over by a film crew to film a new holiday movie. And Slyvie may have bumped into the star actor Royce not knowing who he was and invited him to eat at the Christmas Cafe.

Later that day Slyvie finds out that the owner of The Christmas Cafe plans to sell after the holidays, she can’t let that happen the kitchen is full of memories of her grams. She will do anything to save it and she enlists some help from Royce as a little publicity never hurts.

However things take a turn and Slyvie soon realizes she’s in over her head. Abe is the local goat farmer and has always been there to lend a hand when she needs it. He’s a man of a few words but he’s secretly been in love with Slyvie since 5th grade. Will she ever realize he has feelings he for her?

This book takes you on a Christmas journey full of so much hope, love and quirkiness you won’t want to put it down.

Tropes you’ll find:

* Quirky MC
* Love Triangle
* Celebrity
* Small Town
* Closed Door
* Christmas

3.5 ⭐️

The Christmas Cafe follows Sylvie in her small town of Silver Bells trying to save the cafe that her grandmother worked in, trying to put it on the map to increase revenue so it doesn’t get sold. While there isn’t anything bad about this book it was lacking some things like chemistry and pacing to make it a great read for me.

This is the typical hallmark Christmas movie in book form. It follows the formula almost perfectly. The main character, however, annoyed me terribly in the beginning. Her main personality trait was that she was klutzy & overly awkward. Sylvie did have her good moments but I felt like the “not like other girls” quality was pushed too much for me. Gramps on the other hand was great! I loved Gramps’ grumpy humor and how much he loved and missed his wife. Plus his love for Sylvie was touching. As for Abe I really did like him a lot but the whole “he doesn’t say much, so he must not really like me” sub-trope is SO good and I love it when it’s done well. It had the potential, but it fell a bit flat for me.

Also- this is so random but ever since we got our dog professionally trained (I promise I’m not a snooty person!) there are just some things I cannot overlook when it comes to dog behavior. Sylvie had NO boundaries for her dog and let Crumpet (which I do have to say is a very cute name!) walk all over her. She had no reliable recall which proved to be incredibly dangerous multiple times in the story and bargained with him one too many times for my taste. The fact that she couldn’t communicate effectively with her dog and allowed how badly she felt about him being a shelter dog cloud her emotions made me irritated that I just HAD to knock a star off for just that. Sorry :/.

I felt like I stopped skimming at about 60% through. The book I believe is less than 300 pages but it took me 4 days to read it. As much as the synopsis interested me at first, it did not keep my attention when I started it. Also, I am not opposed to reading closed door or low spice books but The Christmas Cafe only features kissing. Which of course is FINE but the way that Sylvie was SO INTO kissing the one character (plus I think these ppl are in their 30s) it was weird to me that nothing progressed further!?

This is a cute, cozy, cheery small town romance with the quintessential lesson learned at the end. I think would be a hit with the right audience. Unfortunately while it was sweet, it wasn’t totally & completely my taste!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is so cozy and cute, and hits the same silly spot as a Hallmark movie. No complaints here, it's incredibly good at its job.

You give me a book with a main character that’s a baker who lives in a small town, that needs to overcome some adversity or save a business….I AM GOING TO READ IT AND GOING TO LOVE IT!!! This book was a Hallmark Movie to the T, and I love love loved it!

If you read this book I think you are almost guaranteed to feel all the comfy cozy romcom vibes that you deserve this holiday szn!

This book is OUT NOW and definitely deserves to be on every romance girlie’s winter TBR!!

3.5⭐️

Special thanks to NetGalley and G.P.Putnam’s Sons for a review copy of this book!

I was quickly all in once I started reading this heart-warming story. It's everything I want in a sweet holiday book. It’s romantic, festive, and heart-warming in all the best ways. There was warmth and realness of the small town setting and cafe with the perfect mix of characters. Hallmark holiday movie addicts will love this book. .

This reminded me of a cozy Hallmark movie, especially with the actor filming a movie in the town!! This book was a bit on the cheesy side, but if you don't mind that (and I didn't) then you will love this one. It is perfect for the holiday season! This is a closed door (kissing only) romance.

I was a little nervous in the first chapter that I wouldn't like this book - Sylvie was a little much BUT I am so happy I kept going because shortly after I fell in LOVE with her! She is sweet, quirky and lovable. I love that this was not a normal predictable story about a big famous person coming into town and sweeping a town person off their feet. This was a charming story about love, family and community. One of my favorite holiday reads this year.

This is the quintessential Hallmark Holiday story full of cheesy lines, a clumsy female main character, typical love interests (love triangle), and all the small town vibes, including nosy gossipy neighbors.

I would have enjoyed the way everything turned out in the end if Sylvia, the FMC, wasn't so one dimensional in the beginning. I couldn't stand how her clumsiness and awkwardness was her main character trait. I knew she was described as clumsy but I didn't expect the cringe worthy antics she got herself into. The secondhand embarrassment was so bad. She had her redeeming moments but honestly I think she was more comfortable being a doormat.

Other than that...Gramps and Abe sound like cool people and made the story more enjoyable. So they are the reason I rounded up my original rating up to 3 stars. Obviously this book was NOT my favorite but it did have good moments.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book has all the fun holiday things: hallmark vibes, holiday cheer, klutzy main character, small town, animals, etc. And all of these things were done really well, but just felt like it was missing something to tie it all together. I recommend it for fans of hallmark movies .

This book is a literal Hallmark movie in book form. It is such a cozy holiday romance and, just like Hallmark movies is a little cheesy at times, but it works really well in this book. If you're looking for a read that will get you in the mood to watch all of your favorite Christmas themed Rom-Coms, this is definitely the book for you.
Sylvie is your typical Christmas movie main character- doing too much for everyone else around her and barely taking care of her own needs, trying to save the cafe she and her now deceased grandmother loved. She is obsessed with old school romance movies, and gets distracted by a "new love interest" while not seeing the person who has been in love with her all along. Sylvie's awkwardness is too relatable, and only adds to the charm of this book.

This was a cute and easy Christmas read. I feel like I judge Christmas books a bit differently than other books. This one had the feel of a Lifetime/Hallmark Christmas movie but lacked a bit of the depth. But it was a very cute, sweet, and easy read to get ready for the holidays.

I usually rate Christmas Romance in a different type of scale - this one definitely hits a lot of my personal requirements as a good Christmas read! The focus here is definitely Christmas first, baking, holiday spirit, the usual Christmas activities. There’s a healthy dose of family and small town charm. This would translate to a Hallmark movie excellently. The romance is very light, and the downside for me is there is a “love triangle” that goes on for much longer than necessary. But overall, a pleasant, happy Christmas read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

This was a cute read, felt similar to a Hallmark movie, which is obvious given the premise of the book. It was lighthearted, but also not the greatest read. There were some pretty major plot holes and it was hard to figure out if the main character was supposed to be American or not. There never really felt like any real romantic connection between characters and it felt more odd than anything. Overall, it was a fine read and a cute short story for the holiday season.

I received this ARC for free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book for free for an honest review from Netgalley

Perfect Christmas book! I highly recommend.

If you are looking for a low-stakes, cozy, predictable, Hallmark-movie Christmas read...maybe this is the one for you.
Sylvie is a baker at a Christmas Cafe in a snowy small town in Wyoming. She finds out the cafe may be sold and wants to do anything she can to save it. When a movie is being filmed in town, she tries to get a scene filmed at the cafe. Lead swoony actor, Royce, asks her out on a date but she is also having feelings for her childhood friend who is a handsome grown up man now.
Who will she pick? Will the cafe be saved? This one was just a bit too fluffy and predictable for me, but that might just be exactly what you're looking for this Christmas.
Thank you, NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam Books, and Eliza Evans for the ARC!