I have become a big fan of Samantha Chase's and was so excited to listen to this book. This is the first one I have listened to and this book was an amazing book to listen too. Melanie Mendez was the narrator and I LOVED how she told this story. Her voice held my attention and kept me entertained throughout the book. Daphne was the sweetest character. Daphne is a baker that has set up a pop-up gingerbread house in an office complex. Every years everyone loves her delicious treats. Tristan who has his architecture firm in the office complex isn't thrilled to have this pop-up gingerbread house there. It makes it look unprofessional in the building. So he starts giving Daphne a hard time while everyone else is supporting her. Then his mom asks him to help plan a few holiday dessert parties. Daphne is the only one available to do them. Of course things start off rocky with these two while preparing these parties. Will this make things more complicated or bring them closer? I loved all the characters in this book. They were so much fun and the side characters were so supportive of Daphne. This story was well written and so enjoyable. I had so much fun reading this small town, enemies to lovers, romance story. I would HIGHLY recommend this audiobook.


Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this ALC for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed the story. The fake dating sort of came out of nowhere but opposites attract sure is a real thing! Daphne and Tristan do not get off to a perfect start in their relationship, but they end up working together to create some fabulous Christmas time memories.

The play time for this book was about 6 hours, so it is a quick read or listen. The narrator was a hard 4 stars for me. She was a good actress but her voice didn't always match what I was envisioning for Daphne.

Thank you for the copy, this is my honest opinion.

Really enjoyed this audiobook. A cute festive read. What's not to love. If you're a romance reader and love holiday books then give this a go. Solid 4 stars.

I listened to the Audiobook version of this book
Narration 3/5
The narrator had a snobby-uppity voice that did not match with the character well. The slight whiney edge nearly ruined the story for me. I really like this Author and have read a lot of her books. It was a disappointing choice.
Story 5/5
Classic Samantha Chase. Romance, Enemy-to-lovers romance. It is a great read for the upcoming holiday season.
The grumpy architect meets the nerdy Baker.
It has all of the classic warm
Fuzzies we all love in a Holiday Romance. A fight, a little bit of steam and ultimately love.

This is a super cute, small town enemies to lovers romance. The narrator was excellent and brought out of the joy to the story. Who doesn’t love a fake dating romance!! This story had me hooked from the very first page.

What an adorable Christmas story! It’s definitely of the Hallmark variety but it was so cute. I really enjoyed the grumpy and sunshine element. Daphne and Tristan were a cute couple and I felt like their relationship timeline progressed accurately. Would have loves a dual narration though

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ALC!

The perfect modern Scrooge retelling just in time for Christmas! This enemies to lovers with a swing through fake dating is the emotionally sweet rom com that you need to listen to or read if you would rather. The narrator does a great job of bringing the characters and their emotions to life just like the author intended. A fun plot with a Christmas twist to put your Hallmark movie loving heart into a swoony rhythm just in time for the holiday season to kick off! I personally have loved this authors books in the past, but this one definitely hit my Christmas loving heart right in the feels and wrapped it up in tinsel and bows! Witty banter, Christmas cheer, sweet romance and more makes this the next audiobook you should download!

A quick, fun holiday read! It has lots of fun, festive (and sweet) events that will have you dreaming of your next holiday party. I would love to attend a party catered and hosted by Daphne any day!

It is a enemies to lovers kind of book which isn't my favourite unfortunately. I have a hard time overcoming the fact that Tristan was such a jerk to her for most of the book to root for them as a couple. There isn't much that makes you want to like him even when he seemingly has changed. Daphne is adorable and sweet and kind and I found myself hoping she would find someone else.

The story is fun though and there is lots of drama especially near the end to keep you reading. The audiobook narrator does a great job and gives the characters life.

I received an advanced audiobook copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Baking it Merry is sure to get anyone in the mood for Christmas festivities. Daphne is a fun and enthusiastic character that loves spreading holiday cheer through her deliciously baked sweet treats. She would love to turn her bakery from a small holiday pop-up into a full-time gig. Daphne’s popup gingerbread house bake shop is located in the same building as Knight Architecture, which is run by none other than Mr. Grinchy McGrincherson himself, Tristan Knight. Tristan appears to be controlling and pretentious, always sneering at Daphne and the other fellow pop-up shops. He utterly hates the holiday popups and their flamboyant decorations, especially Daphne's over-the-top giant gingerbread house. However, Tristan’s seemingly stuck-up, better-than-you attitude may just be a façade. When Tristan is tasked with throwing multiple holiday parties, he begrudgingly has to ask Daphne for her help. Through their bickering and badgering, the two form an unlikely bond. This modern reimagining of the classic Grinch will surely get you in the mood to pull out all the Christmas decor, blast merry music, and bake a few sweet treats.

Opposites really do attract! Such a sweet story about Daphene, the Christmas spirit embodied baker, and Tristen, Mr Scrouge himself as an architect. Great twist on fake dating and never feels forced or uninteresting. The ending everyone can hope and cheer for! Perfect to get you in the Christmas spirit!

Baking It Merry by Samantha Chase
Narrator, Melanie Mendez
I was not familiar with either this author or this narrator and I do not intend to actively seek out either one in the future. The story had a slight Hallmark vibe but something was sort of off about it. I get the enemies to lovers trope but this was a bit much. The MMC was so hateful and obnoxious at first and then, suddenly, it seemed like he had a personality transplant. I liked his mother and his personal assistant way more than him. The FMC was named Daphne Noelle, a bit too cutesy Christmassy for me. The audiobook is only six hours long so I did get through it and it was okay but that was about it. And the ending was weird.
The narrator had a couple of habits that I found annoying. She frequently used upspeak at the end of a sentence almost making it sound like a question. Also she had an odd way of pronouncing words with the letter t in the middle of the word. Most notably in the word button but other places too. Her male character voices were good and it was easy to tell what character was speaking.
Altogether it was okay but not great. The cover was cute.

This was a fun, cute hallmark style story with a hint of spice. Christmas reading is my favorite 😍

My biggest issue was Tristan was a little quick to turn from hate to love. It seemed off. I wish there was a little more build and not just she’s the worst, be my fake girlfriend, I love you.

But I still enjoyed it! It was warm and fuzzy and definitely made me go on the search for baked goods ❤️

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review!

This is a cute holiday rom com and I enjoyed this audio book. The narrator was great. Overall the book was good, it was a little cheesy in spots, but would definitely recommend.

What a fun quick story to get you in the holiday mood.
I listened to this book on audio. Baking it Merry is an enemies to lovers/fake relationship story.

Tristen took a little while to warm up to. He was quite rude at times to Daphne. But her cheery disposition and baked goods seemed to rub off on him and before you knew it they were spending time together.

Tristen and Daphne shared some ups and downs but ended up working their way to an HEA.

Christmas romance novels are like holiday desserts: they come in many different recipes, baked with different flavors to suit all tastes, while completely satisfying readers with much-needed happy endings.Baking it Merry by Samantha Chase combines the enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, and fake dating tropes, with a generous helping of spice, to create a sweet but sassy story to be enjoyed anytime of year.

Daphne Noelle loves Christmas and creating sweet treats to sell at her holiday pop-up shop in the lobby of the office complex where Tristan Knight’s architecture firm has a home on the top floor. He wants her and all of the people crowding the elegant building out of his way, even threatening to get Daphne thrown out. However, everyone loves her muffins and cookies, which Tristan’s assistant has delivered to the office for a meeting, much to his chagrin. When Tristan finds himself in need of help for some holiday events, he grudgingly turns to Daphne for catering assistance. A miscommunication leads to a fake relationship, and sparks fly.

This romance is a bit on the spicy side, though the premise and the cover make it look simply sweet. If this were a holiday movie, it would be rated at least PG-13. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Melanie Mendez, with a running time of 6 hours. It’s a great book to enjoy while cooking or decorating for the holidays to get you in the spirit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this delightful, enemies to lovers holiday romance. Daphne Noelle is living her dream during the holidays running her pop-up gingerbread house bakery in the lower area of an upscale high rise office building. Everyone loves her sweet treats except for Tristan, the grumpy architect. He is under stress and doesn't think the pop-up venders are a good look. He especially clashes with the cheerful Daphne, until he is forced to hire her to cater several of his holiday parties. Tristan doesn't like to give up control and Daphne challenges him at every turn. Their heated bantering leads to heated kisses, and more. The more time they spend together, the more they balance each other, and begin to open their hearts to each other. But when Daphne is faced with losing her dream, will they be strong enough to support and fight for each other? I really adored everything about this sweet, heartfelt, and sizzling story. I loved the push/pull between Daphne and Tristan, how they realized that being opposites was their perfect match.
Melanie Mendez brought this story to life so beautifully. She did a terrific job capturing each characters personality, and I loved the emotion, and passion she brought to her performance. This is my first time listening Mendez, and she had me completely invested in Daphne and Tristan's story. This is a sweet and spicey holiday romance, and a wonderful addition to your holiday tbr!

Samantha Chase does it again in her newest novel, "Baking it Merry." This book gets you ready for the Christmas holiday and puts you in the Christmas Spirit. This is a faster read that you just can't reading.
Daphne is working towards her dream of owning her own bakery. In order to earn money she sets up a pop-up bakery in the lobby of a building for the holiday season. She fast becomes a favorite of many in the building. Enter Tristan, he is not in the holiday spirit and can't stand the shops in the building. Tristan ends up needing Daphne to help his family. As they start to work together the feelings switch from hate to love.
Highly recommend this book!

This was an adorable holiday read. I loved the story and the main characters. The ending felt a little rushed to wrap everything up, but i would recommend it as a light book to get in the holiday spirit.

🎄🧁🎄
Super cute cover & premise but unfortunately this was a miss for me. I LOVE hallmark-y holiday tropes but could not get past how unlikable the MMC was. Not only was he rude, he is elitist, manipulative and an all around Scrooge. While I didn’t feel the chemistry between the love interests, I did enjoy the side characters.

Method Read: 🎧
Melanie Mendez’s performance was amazing 🎙️

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy.

This was just “eh” for me. I needed the characters to have a little more depth. Follows the typical enemies to lovers story line though I think Daphne and Tristian fighting was too much. Perhaps cutting down on the constant bickering and beefing up the sexy scenes.