The Christmas Cafe by Eliza Evans (Review by Shay Tibbs)

Rating: 4/5

This holiday season, adorable romcoms just seemed like a MUST, and when this book arrived right before Christmas from Putnam Books, I knew getting to read and review it would be a treat. 

To start, this cover is just a whole mood. Before even opening up the book to page one, I knew baking was going to play a role in this title and there’s just something about the guarantee of a small-town holiday romance with a baker that warms your heart. I mean just LOOK at those cookies on the cover!

Sylvie was such a sweet protagonist, it was easy to like her and want her to get everything she wanted, especially getting to keep the Christmas Cafe going after the new year if she makes it profitable once more. She’s gotta come up with something big to pull it off, and when she bumps into leading man Royce, who’s in town filming for an upcoming Christmas movie it starts to seem like kismet. Getting the cafe in the movie will make it possible to save the cafe, wrapping up her happily ever after. 

As the people she loves band together to support her after years of her being the community caretaker, you’ll find it impossible not to fall for this small town. From her dog, Crumpet, to her recently widowed Gramps, her siblings with personalities so different from hers, this entire cast of characters will fill your heart with all the cheesy emotions you expect, with swoon-worthy surprises to keep you turning pages. Instead of the typical Hallmark movie scenes we all know and love, this one just seemed to keep providing a little bit more, with an idyllic setting.

As Sylvie gets to know Royce, who tries to sweep her off her feet with romantic grand gestures, she starts to realize she may have feelings for her longtime friend, Abe instead. As a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, I was all for this development. Plus, he’s a goat farmer (how cute is that?!) and always willing to lend her a helping hand, no matter the situation. As their relationship moves from childhood crushes you’ll have a hard time not wanting more!

This festive atmosphere gave our love triangle plenty of messy moments that made me love this book, and truly set it apart from the Hallmark movie vibes of other books I had read before. I really enjoyed the twists that each of our male main characters provided, and I know I’ll be recommending this book for future holiday reading to others.