Book Review: The Christmas Cafe by Eliza Evans

December 23, 2024

I have really wanted to read some lovely Christmas books this year, and lean into seasonal reading. I kind of always want to be reading seasonally, but what is more fun than a Hallmark movie in book form? Honestly, it depends on the author.

We follow the story of a clumsy baker named Sylvie, who works at The Christmas Cafe in Silver Bells, Wyoming. She has a, very naughty, rescue pup named Crumpet, who she absolutely adores, and who lands her into trouble within the fist couple of pages. She is not a very worldly gal, and doesn’t recognize the movie star that shows up in her little town while they are filming a movie there for The Holiday Channel. The local gossip happens to tell her that her beloved cafe is going under, and when she confronts her boss about it, he confirms and tells her that she has through the end of the year and then she will be without a job. Of course this is heartbreaking, because she grew up in this cafe, but she takes the movie being filmed in their Christmas-y little town as a sign and tells her boss that she can save the cafe. With help from her dairy provider Abe ( a goat farmer ), her cobaker Jen, her waitress Teagan, and her family, she sets off on a mission to save the cafe and all the memories it holds. Royce, the lead of the movie, seems to want to help too, and starts pursuing Sylvie pretty aggressively. He even talks the director into shooting a scene in the very cafe that she works at. She is flattered by all his attention, but there are feelings stirring between her and a certain goat farmer that she cannot ignore. Who is the right guy to choose? Can she save her beloved cafe?

This book came out last year and was written like it was taking place in 2015 at best. The main character, Sylvie, is always wearing jeggings and festive sweaters. She is such a “pick-me” that she talks multiple times about how she doesn’t care about her appearance or health, she is just naturally charming due to her clumsiness ( not in those words but it is more about how she is described and describes herself ). The whole book, she spends a lot of time self deprecating and trying to make herself smaller. This book was hard to read at times, even though there were some really sweet parts with her mourning the loss of her Grandmother, working hard to keep the cafe that her grandmother so loved afloat, and falling in love with a boy who had loved her since elementary school. Even for a cheesy, festive, read, this was hard to get through. I am not sure that I would suggest this book. I did not like it and am very glad that I rented it from the library and did not purchase it.