Cookies, Candles, and Cute Butts for Christmas

Christmas, Cute Butts, and Hot Romance #1

by Cameron D. James, Cali Kitsu

It’s gonna be a hot Christmas in Frosty Bottoms, when Braden, the new hunky veterinarian strolls into town, but this gorgeous man is no stranger, and he’s no longer a vet. He’s coming back to Frosty bottoms to bake cookies and dip his wick in Kellan, the local candlemaker, who happens to be his childhood best friend.

Kellan knows Braden is coming back to town and taking over BJ’s Cookies and he’s unsure how to feel about it. They have a past; Kellan felt something but then Braden moved away.

Sparks soon fly when Braden reunites with Kellan, but they want different things. Braden is only interested in a relationship, while Kellan is only looking for hookups. With mishaps galore, including over-excited family, unrecognizable otters, and motorboating a muscle chest, everyone and everything seems to be pushing the two men together.

When the initial ice between them melts, it’s not long before more than cookie dough is being rolled out on Braden’s counters…and a certain bottom is getting frosted.

Genres: Christmas, Holiday, M M Romance, LGBT, Friends To Lovers, Ebooks, Amazon

378 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2024

About the author

Cameron D James is a lover of books, coffee, chocolate, and cute Starbucks baristas.

Reviews

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Hella horny estranged besties reconnect and fuck it out, with a dash of Christmas cheer to make this a festive read.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧:
- small town holiday romance
- best friends to lovers
- second chance, sort of
- high heat

[Rod Lujano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come for the Cookies, stay for the Frosty Bottoms.

Braden and Kellan are childhood best friends living in Frosty Bottoms (yes, that’s really the towns name), but then something happens right before Braden leaves for college only to see each other again 12 years later when Braden takes over his grandma´s cookie shop.

Second chance stories are not usually my thing, but I’ve been a fan of both authors, and they did not disappoint.
I really enjoyed Braden and Kellan as a couple, they complimented each other really well and their chemistry was really hot.
Theres more than a few miscommunication issues between them which felt true to the story, 12 years of unconfronted feelings cannot be forgotten that easy but both characters dive back into their old relationship as if no time passed

There are so many amazing side characters which is something both authors always deliver, it was so fun to see Kellan and Braden interact with their families.
Also, this story is extra smutty, I’m talking 17 s3x scenes between the MCs smutty.

This book is the perfect Cookie for the holiday season. Cali and Camero deliver a great story once again.

[Kelsey’s Kindle · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for a smutty Christmas romance Frosty Bottoms is the place to be! We’ve got a candle maker and a vet turned/cookie maker, who were best friends in childhood and a miscommunication one night changed everything. Now a little bit older and wiser they are back in each other's orbits and realize that those feelings were real and after some push and pull they are ready to do something about it. This one has a cast of characters and animals that you’ll just fall in love with. The banter and tension will have you cracking up and blushing through the whole book. Did I mention something about smut earlier? Like I meant it, like a whole crap ton of smut 😂 like bring out the fans it’s going to be a toasty one! And you know it wouldn’t be my review if I didn’t tell you who my favorite is and it’s Kellan 🫣 He’s just so sweet you can’t help but love him - not going to tell you why because you need to read the book 🤭 Did he have a mild hoe phase… maybe but we love him for that too! This was a great smutty start to the holiday season! Highly recommended picking this up to kick off yours as well!

[ash[hearts]angst · Rating 3 out of 5]

I see and can appreciate the vision here: a cute cozy Christmas town, all the naughty references, and a swoon second chance romance novel come to life.

All of those things were the best parts of this book, however the writing just wasn’t for me, and I think it was a tad too repetitive and long.

I did really enjoy the story though, and there were some great laughs along the way. Could’ve used some tightening up, but it’s a very chill holiday read with adorable puns and very, very spicy scenes!

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a cute read. Lots of spice, a lot of it. But also a lot of very sweet moments between the leads. The only thing, for me personally, is that it was a bit too long and there too many filler scenes (including some of the spicy ones), and I got a bit bored throughout. I considered DNF-ing it at one point but I'm glad I finished it because the ending was perfect, very sweet, cute and heartwarming.

[Raquel Fuell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg stop this book was adorable and soooo spicy everything holidays and lots of holiday cookies

Absolutely perfect for a good splash of holiday romance

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was a MM romance when I downloaded it. I'd never read a MM romance before, but I was willing to give it a shot. Unfortunately, I don't think I can judge whether I'd ever read one again based on this book because this book was practically unreadable regardless of the characters/plot. First, neither of these authors apparently knows how to correctly use a comma or structure a sentence. It's hard to believe they had an editor. Beyond that, it was hard to buy either of the main characters as actual human beings, let alone friends who had pined over each other for 12 years since they kissed when they were 18. The dialogue made no sense, they only cared about sex (but were also apparently falling madly enough in love in 2 weeks to then immediately get married), and everyone around them was either also gay, or so proud to support gay people that they went around calling everyone twinks or twunks or tops or bottoms or just talking about cocks in general.
I skimmed this book starting at about 30% (after at least 2 very graphic sex scenes) because I couldn't take any more of any of it but hate to dnf a book.

[EvaReadsWithDog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frosty Bottoms is the place to be! Especially if you’re reading a Christmas book in May with temperatures already reaching 30 C degrees…
"You… uh, see something you like?”
“I actually don’t see anything. I’m sure this is a dream, I’m just gonna stay here until I wake up in the morning.”

I really enjoyed reading Braden’s and Kellan’s sweet peppermint story.
Kellan is a candle maker and Braden a vet turned cookie maker. Everything started many years ago, two best friends, a little miscommunication and here we are, 12 years later, trying to figure out things. Both older and wiser. Their story is sweet and emotional. There’s a lot of banter, some very steamy moments, their two cats - Senator Tunacan and Mister Flyuffykins -, a very meddling family, a Christmas Festival, candles, cookies and a well-deserved HEA.

“I love the way you taste.”
What do I taste like?”
“Mine.”

You need “Cookies, Candles and Cute Butts for Christmas” in your life. Because it will make you laugh and swoon over those two… Pinky promise…

[Wicked River Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute, messy, steamy fun time! Kellan and Braden were adorable together. It was clear from the start that the two felt a lot for one another and had for a very long time and seeing them try to understand these feelings and relearn each other made this so fun and a little messy. Kellan was sweet until he got jealous and then the claws came out which was hilarious and Braden was his own brand of sweet and jealous. It took some time for these two to get on the same page (even with both feeling the same things their outlook was a bit different) but once they did it was great! Making cookies, candle making, Snowflake Festival festivities as well as spicy times in a movie theater and one time with a 10 inch candy cane! Leora was a great side character as well as both cats Senator Tunacan and Mister Fluffykins. 💚❤️💚

[Tiff_Loves_MM · Rating 5 out of 5]

•No third act breakup
•Childhood friends to lovers
•Second chance
•Small town
•Dirty talk
•Felching

My friend Cali, and her friend Dylan, knocked it out of the park with this cute holiday romance book. This entire book is achingly sweet and festive that you can’t help but smile as you read it.

Braden and Kellan were best friends that grew up together, and something happened between the two of them the night before Braden left for college. It definitely didn’t go as planned, so their friendship came to abrupt halt, and they haven’t talked since that night.
Fast forward 12 years later: Braden’s grandma gets hurt, so she needs someone to run the cookie shop for her, and who else other than Braden himself. So he leaves the life he built as a veterinarian behind to go back home to help her. The first night he’s back in town, he runs into Kellan. Right away there’s an instant attraction on both sides and all those feelings from the past come back so it’s impossible for them to stay away from each other.

I just have to talk about the smut because *good golly molly* there is a LOT of it in this book. We’re talking like 17 scenes! These two cannot keep their hands off of one another🥵. So even though it’s heavy on the spice scale, it flowed well with the story and didn’t take away from the growth development within the characters as individuals and as a couple.

Not only is this book steamy, it’s also very wholesome and sweet. The banter between Braden and Kellan is so funny, as well as the sass from some of the side characters. As you read it, you’ll be blushing due to all the erotic scenes, and then you’ll be laughing at the funny moments. And all of this takes place in Snowy Bottoms (yes, that’s the name of the town where they live), and it’s during Christmas time so you’ll also feel jolly and festive while reading their story.

You can also find my review on instagram @tiff_loves_mm

[Mitchell Dufrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Cookies, Candles, and Cute Butte for Christmas” by Cameron D. James and Cali Kitsu

Yes, I know I’m little late for this review, and trust me I wanted to spend my time off reading books, but it was spent on the go with family.

Let’s get to the review, this book screams Hallmark Christmas movie, but very gay and very spicy. So…maybe not Hallmark channel safe, but it should be done on Netflix. This book is so very cheesy and so very corny and so very cute and so very funny. I have laughed way too many times, I’ll be honest I was made a little hot and bothered. I really don’t want to go too much into detail other than what I said earlier. You just have to grab this book and read it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🏳️‍🌈
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

[ConversationsWith APRIL · Rating 3 out of 5]

So there was a time or two or three that I was going to DNF this book. Braden and Kellan were infuriating when it came down to their miscommunication issues. I was thinking to myself how were these two best friends since kindergarten and secretly in love with one another but let 12 years pass without any communication??? Now there was an area within the book that does explain and provides more context to their radio silence. But still…… The cats were too cute. The way they made sense together was so cute but chapter eight I have to say it read as if Braden was gaslighting our boy Kellan. But at the end it had me smiling and congratulating both Braden and Kellan finally on their happily ever after……

[fanboyriot · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read filled with holiday cheer and its fair share of steamy romance of course. I didn’t get into this one was much as I hoped, some of the dialogue came off a bit stiff but it could just be me since I’m not the biggest fan of first person point of views.

📚READ FOR
✓ Small Town
✓ Friends to Lovers
✓ Holiday Romance
✓ Pet Parents (Cat dads)
✓ Second Chance (kinda)

POV: Duel, First Person
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Sad Level: 💧
Would I Recommend? Maybe
Favorite Character(s): Kellan

⚠️ CONTENT WARNINGS
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content
Minor: Injury/Injury detail

[Elley Murray]

DNF @ 8%
I am so bummed because I ADORE this cover, but the writing in this book was just not it. It feels like it really needed a pass through by a good editor and a round or two of edits, which is a bummer because I am here for a second chance (sort of), childhood besties, mutual pining holiday romance.
I'm going to give the second book in this series (Books, Balls, and Cute Butts for Christmas) because it's got jock/nerd vibes (one MC is a bookstore owner!) and a Halloween meet cute - just hoping it's better structured/paced than this one. *fingers crossed*

[Jasmine Morley · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I love the way you taste.”
What do I taste like?”
“Mine.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌶🌶🌶
Cookies, Candles, and Cute Butts for Christmas is a sweet and spicy second chance romcom! It was the perfect holiday read that I was looking for, it's a best friend's turned strangers turned lovers. I really enjoyed reading this book and couldn't put it down. I fell in love with Kellan&Braden in chapter one, they are just so adorable and had me swooning the whole time! I immediately started book 2. I highly recommend this cute&spicy holiday romance.

[Beth O · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, but way longer than it needed to be. The scenes became either repetitive or just unnecessary filler. Braden and Kellan were too similar and I struggled to keep up with which character was whom. Braden's mom was overbearing and irritating and he just let her be rude to him. I didn't care for how Nonna referred to Kellan as a twink constantly, it came across as offensive. And the sex therapist mom? Gross. I ended up skimming the last 20% to just get it over with.

[Maryroms]

I’m kind of disappointed in this book, I picked it up because the cover was really cute and the story line was interesting enough, and it did stared very good, very low angst and funny, but then I just feel like the story was being dragged, there’s a lot of misunderstandings because the main two characters don’t communicate at all, so it feel like you are going around in circles with the plot.
I really tried to finish it but DNF at 43%.

[Patdbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A warm always meant to be BF reunion

After 12vyeaes apart two best friends are reunited. A kiss at 18 misunderstandings separated them bur now the time is different. They stop running. This story has everything a mm Christmas story should have. Hot chemistry, misunderstandings, two successful young hot men, accepting family and community, two adorable cats and a number of sex toys. What's not to like about it.

[Lydia R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas Puns Galore!

In the future, when I talk about this book, I'll be thinking about puns, peppermint sticks, two awesome kitties, the sassiest of Nonnas, and the absolute joy that leapt off the pages. CCaCBfC is pure Christmas fun, and if you read it I hope you enjoy it as much as I did

[Devika Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry, but the writing style wasn't my thing. Everything also became too repetitive after a while.

And somehow, the two MMCs seemed too similar (apart from their oh-so-obvious different relationship stance that was being brought up all the time), especially as both are 1st person narrators.

LOTS of smut, not that I'm complaining about that...

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

if you’re in the mood for a cheerful, euphorically steamy queer Christmas escape, Cookies, Candles, and Cute Butts for Christmas is a strong pick. It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than frothy and flirtatious, but sometimes that’s exactly what a reader needs. For a cold fall evening, a hot mug, and a blanket-fort vibe, you’re covered.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf@58%
I just didn't care enough to finish this book. It was boring and pretty ridiculous (and not in a cute way) like when the grandma would say "how's my favorite twink" or the mom that's a sex therapist asks Braden if he's a top or a bottom 🙄 Who does that?

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hoped for this to end a reading slump & bring me a bit of festive holdiay feeling...i got all that and more..cookies,orange tabys and spice..and two absolute loveable characters

Another book I started on my lunch break and finished late the same night..

[LilLaurasaurus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute, full of holiday vibes and spicy fun. Some parts felt a bit repetitive and long. Could’ve probably been cut down just a bit, but overall I really liked this book. Braden and Kellan were heckin adorable. I loved all the silly pun names in the town 🤣

[Emily Bierman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deliciously smutty Christmas w/ Braden & Kellan, childhood besties who reunite after a twelve-year separation. Lots of smexy times & funny puns to get you in the holiday spirit.

[Angela I.]

DNF at 39%

[red · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s cute fluffy low conflict book. It’s a fun read, maybe a tad too long.

[Lucy Castle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I please move to Frosty Bottoms? 🥹 I loved this book! The chemistry between Braden and Kellan was perfect and the whole small town setting just made me so happy!

[Trish Skywalker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, funny, and super spicy…it’s Christmas time in Frosty Bottoms!
Over a decade ago, Braden and Kellan were inseparable best friends. For years they were always at each others’ sides, until Braden took a chance and kissed Kellan. It didn’t go exactly as planned, and led to them not speaking for years.
Then the chance to take over his nonna’s cookie shop comes around, and Braden finds himself back home. and with Kellan’s face in his pecs (🤣🤣it will make sense when you read it!!). They are instantly attracted to each other, but not on the same page; while Braden wants to settle down, Kellan has committed to only doing casual, no boyfriends for him. But Braden has a way of making Kellan break all the rules!
There are so many high points in this book: the banter and one-liners, the meddling family and friends (especially Braden’s very sassy nonna), the baking (that might just be me but this book made me so hungry!), and the STEAM!! Sweet Braden is a very different man in the bedroom!!
A very sweet holiday romance with:
-Childhood best friends to lovers
-Two adorable kitties
-A sexy baker with a man bun
-A candle maker who’s sworn off dating
-Some very creative uses of Christmas treats 🤣
Thank you to Cali and Dark Desires for this arc!

[Camille Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy hot cakes!

This was so deliciously good! I ate this book up.

My first time reading anything by these two authors and I’m obsessed!

I loved the character development and storyline. No 3rd act breakup. Just some good spice and a love story.

Hope there’s more!