The Gingerbread Pact: A Spiced Christmas Short Story

by Wendy Owens

Clara is determined to save her family’s bakery by winning the Christmas Village Bake-Off with her signature gingerbread creations. But when her rival, charming restaurateur Luke Bennett, accidentally destroys her display, he proposes a a holiday menu collaboration that could save her bakery—and his reputation.

As sparks fly in the kitchen, Clara begins to see a different side of Luke. But when she discovers a betrayal, everything she’s worked for—and her fragile trust in him—crumbles. Luke makes a grand gesture to win back her trust, but will it be enough to melt her heart?

Full of festive charm, sizzling chemistry, and second chances, The Gingerbread Pact is a spicy holiday romance as sweet as gingerbread and as magical as Christmas morning.

Genres: Christmas

70 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 13, 2024

About the author

Wendy Owens is a thriller writer, born in the small college town, Oxford Ohio. After attending Miami University, Wendy went onto a career in the visual arts. After several years of creating and selling her own artwork she gave her first love, writing, a try. It’s become a passion ever since.
When she’s not writing, this dog lover can be found spending time with her tech geek husband, their three amazing kids, and three pups. She loves to cook, watch movies, and play games.

If you want to follow her on social media you can visit:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WendyLOwens
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wendy-...
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Reviews

[Sarah M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though it's January, this book took me right back to Christmas. A cute and quick Christmas romance. I enjoyed it.

[Cady Lehrke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little holiday read. Pretty innocent until the author blasts you with a quick smut scene at the end. I’ll take it. If you’re looking for a Christmas quickie, this is for you.

[🐷Shay loves books🐷 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the sweetest holiday read ever! I fell in love with the characters. It’s an easy fast paced read and it’s perfect for your holiday TBR!

This wld make the perfect Hallmark movie, without the spice at the end but the story and the characters make the perfect scene for a movie!

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the perfect holiday read! Fast paced, short and can finish in one sitting! Highly recommend reading this! You won’t regret it!

You get a little bit of it all within this short story! You get Clara who cannot stand Luke. You get just enough back story/depth into them. You also get the story ending with spice!

This was well done! This book is proof that a short story can have it all and be a quick fun read!

[Angee Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute short Christmas story featuring a baker and restauranter. They are enemies unbeknownst to him. She thinks he stole her recipe for his restaurant opening. Then he ruins her chances and the yearly bake off. He wants to make things up to her by doing a holiday menu collab. Strike 3 happens when she reads the newspaper article about the event and he seems to take credit for everything. A customer and friend tells her she should hear his side of the story. Turns out, misunderstandings across the board. He feels horrible are rights his wrong on the evening news. She didn’t see it but comes to work to see a line of customers waiting that reaches around the block. He comes over to help her and they end up with a spicy HEA.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

The Gingerbread Pact follows Clara, who is determined to save her family's bakery by winning the Christmas bake-off with her signature gingerbread cookies. But when her rival Luke, a restaurateur Luke accidentally destroys her display, Clara thinks there is no hope. But he then proposes a collaboration that could benefit both of them. Soon, the two see a different side to each other, and they might actually end up falling for each other!

This was a very cute short story. I do wish it were longer because I love an enemies-to-lovers book. But if you are looking for a short, fun Christmas story, I highly suggest this one. This book makes me want gingerbread lol!

[Sierra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick read, but unfortunately not quick enough. The pacing is extremely slow, the story itself is lacking an actual plot, because I cannot even remember why they are supposed to hate each other, and the FMC spends 90% of the book acting like a monosyllabic grunty cavewoman! Do not recommend!

[Lex Burris · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

I wish this book would have been 50 pages longer so the plot could have been developed more and so we could have learned more about the two main characters. The two main characters were supposed to hate each other but I never felt like they actually hated each other. The book also felt rushed. I think it is a cute Christmas romance book. However, I just wanted more.

[KellyReadsToo · Rating 4 out of 5]

How I consumed it: Kindle Unlimited
Length: 70pages
Rating: 3.5
FMC: Clara
MMC: Luke

My Thoughts: This was a cute short spicy read that was perfect for the holidays.

A bit about the book: The Opposing Bakers. This was a sweet holiday story about a misunderstanding when a new restaurant opened in town. The bakery right across the street had the best treats in town until the new owner swiped her specialty. They end up having to try and work together for the town’s gingerbread contest.



Tropes:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Small Town
- Festive/Holiday
- Misunderstanding

[Jen Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

Pick this up and get your gingerbread on! Very cute and just a little bit spicy. Perfect little Christmasy read. Mrs. Jensen is the perfect instigator. Clara is the headstrong baker and who wouldn't love friendly competition with Luke?

[Brigitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a cozy read with nice descriptions of the sights and smells that the bakery has to offer. Loved the charters and the spicy ending. Fun read for the holidays!

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clara and Luke, super cute Hallmark like movie. Zero spice. One steamy scene. Bakery vs restaurant. Bake off. Nice banter.

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely Christmas themed novella with a great storyline, lovely characters and sweet romance. I really enjoyed this Christmas read

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was cute. The ending kinda took me by surprise I was not expecting any spice in this book but I’m not mad about it.
A lot of twists and turns for such a short book so it was a quick read and enjoyable