e-Audio, 08:17:54
Narrated by: Jay Lai & Jennifer Sun Bell
Release Date: October 4, 2022
Published by: Dreamscape Media (Sourcebooks Fire)
Read from: October 23-24, 2022
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Racial slurs
For Readers Interested In: Realistic Fiction, Romance, Holidaze (Christmas), Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Foodie Fiction, YAWho’s naughty and nice at Riverwood Mall? In this hilarious holiday rom-com, two rivals get together to save their families’ livelihoods, and Christmas, too!
Chloe Kwon can’t stand Peter Li. It’s always been that way. Their families don’t get along either: their parents operate rival restaurants in the Riverwood Mall food court―Korean food for the Kwons and Chinese food for the Lis. Now it’s the holiday season and Chloe’s the photographer at the mall’s Santa Land, and Peter works at the virtual reality North Pole experience right across the atrium. It’s all Chloe can do to avoid Peter’s smug, incredibly photogenic face.
But it turns out the mall is about to be sold to a developer and demolished for condos. Eviction notices are being handed out right before Christmas. Their parents don’t know what to do, and soon Chloe and Peter realize that the two of them need to join efforts to try to save the mall. Just when it seems like they can put aside their differences and work closely (very closely) together, they discover that the Kwon and Li feud goes far deeper than either of them realize…
*MY THOUGHTS*
The Christmas Clash sounded a lot like A Pho Love Story by Loan Le. which I loved, so I was in a hurry to read it. AND it was set at Christmas? Hell yeah I was interested! I grabbed it as soon as I could get it from my library. And what a good decision that was lol
Ok so the one thing that’s been bothering me since I read this was the fact that there wasn’t enough Christmas. It was mostly about the fight between the kids and the parents, etc. And like she was a Santa photographer and when she was taking pictures of him it was mostly about the kids she was helping take cute pics. I WANTED MORE CHRISTMAS. I understand that their cultures may not always celebrate Christmas, but for this to be a Christmas story, it didn’t have enough Christmas for my liking? I’m sure I’m the only one who cares, but this stood out so much to me because I’ve been binge reading holiday romances and I was HELLA excited for a romance one. But it didn’t fully give what needed to be gave.
Ok so now that that’s out the way, the other thing I didn’t like was Chloe. Ironically I did like Peter lol I liked that he was so smart and super sweet. Like that arrangement they made was very cute. I too would have made the same agreement with no judgement lol Both dishes sounded amazing.. And I LOVE bulgogi, so I immediately wanted some while reading this book. Anyway, I wasn’t a huge fan of them apart, but I did like them together. They were so cute! I loved when they found out new clues about their parents and were so excited to tell the other. And I loved seeing them realize that they were falling for each other. It was super cute.
I did like the other characters. Like both of their parents. Though they were stubborn, I could recognize the passion they felt for their restaurant and their sacrifices. They felt like authentic real characters. Especially with the way they were so protective and stubborn. I loved getting to know them more.
The foodie in me was so excited for this. But the problem was, THERE ARE NO SPOTS NEAR ME THAT HAVE WHAT I WANTED. No bulgogi and I’m not a huge fan of lo main, so I was just depressed lol But really it was ok because there weren’t that many descriptions for it. Park doesn’t really describe anything really. Definitely could have done with more of it all around.
This wasn’t really great, but it also wasn’t terrible. I was entertained, but it had the potential and I know I could have liked it a little more had those things been different. BUT the narrators were super helpful in this area, They helped me stay hooked to this story because they made this listen so fun. They added the emotion and the imagery that the words did not. Definitely a 10/10 narration.
This book was cute, but ultimately I wanted a little more in some areas. But don’t pass on this one because it didn’t completely work for me. Give it a read and let me know what you think!
Overall, I give this
