The Christmas War Paws

by Terreece M. Clarke, Lacy Laurel (narrator), Winston James (narrator)

Experience the magic of the season with the small-town, enemies to lovers Christmas romance "The Christmas War Paws."

Dr. Francesca Johnson-DeWitt is ready for a Bahamian Christmas vacation, but her post-divorce plans take an unexpected turn when fate intervenes. In the charming town of Ohio Falls, her college nemesis, the smug Dr. Sebastian Bing, rekindles an old rivalry, sparking a hilarious and heartwarming Christmas War that turns the quaint town upside down.

Join the festive chaos in this delightful, heated, rom-com novella filled with pranks, pie, forgiveness, and unexpected love.

Genres: Christmas, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Holiday, Novella, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published February 4, 2025

About the author

Terreece M. Clarke has written for various websites, magazines, and newspapers and as a YA and children's book reviewer for CommonSenseMedia.org.

Her work has garnered the attention of the New York Times, Disney.com, and Jezebel.com. Her company's digital marketing clients have landed media appearances for national outlets including Fox Business News, BET, CNN, Ebony Magazine, The Root, and MSNBC.com.

As a successful writer, journalist, entrepreneur, mother of three, and wife to one, she is often asked to lead discussions and presentations on women and parenting issues, business strategies for writers and entrepreneurs, and diversity issues including diversity in media, pop culture, and tech.

"Olivia's Potty Adventures" - a #1 Amazon New Release - is the first in a milestone series featuring children of color.

Heartbeat is her first adult romantic suspense novel.

You can find her writing through life on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook - come join the conversation!

Reviews

[Steph's Romance Book Talk · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars / 3 Steam Fans

Ahh, so sweet, funny, and heartwarming. If you are looking for a Christmas romance, this one is perfect. I wasn't a fan of the mid-story name change because it took too long for the explanation, but otherwise, this was a feet kicking great time.

CW: Evil Ex, Misunderstanding, Grief, Small Town, Rival Hijinxs

Read in Week 6: Feb 2 – Feb 8, 2025. Video book reviews available on my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk (https://www.youtube.com/@stephsromanc...) and TikTok: Steph's Romance Book Talk

[Rachelle Banuelos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so fun and sweet! Cute smut cute lovable characters Christmas cheer. Just a big warm cup of hot chocolate! The perfect amount of cheesy!!! I smiled almost the entire time! The author was able to build up tension and story in less than 200 pages. I’m impressed

[Toya Davis-Stokley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first read by this author, and I love her writing style. The laughs began almost immediately and never stopped. Francesca and Sebastian both went to college together to become veterinarians in Ohio Falls. They were everything to each other until they weren't. There was some sort of miscommunication/misunderstanding that occurred, leading Francesca to run and Sebastian in a world of trouble. From that point on they were enemies, and let the wars begin.

Francesca "Frankie" came back to Ohio Falls to settle her grandmother's affairs and has a mishap with a small dog that left him severely injured. She rushes the dog to the local vet, not knowing that it is now run by her nemesis Dr. Sebastian Bain! When they encounter each other, the insults start immediately and the fun starts.

The petty pranks, and tit for tat between these two has the small town in a frenzy. Social media is in an uproar, and everyone loves this! The snowball fights in town square, the light show debacle, and the pie contest snafu were hilarious, it left me wondering what the hell happened between these two. Underneath all the nasty words thrown back and forth, one could sense that there was still love shared between the two. When we finally find out what happened to cause this rift, you can't help but to be sad for them both. They got caught up in a war they didn't start and became casualties that broke them apart. But the reconnection chile..... whew!! 🥵

I hope to see more of these characters in the future, as I really enjoyed them. 👍🏾👍🏾

[Brittany S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fast paced. The nicknames? Perfect. This was a Hallmark movie for sure. They did get spicy but it wasn't much. The banter was perfect. I had so much fun reading this and I laughed far more often than I usually do when I read.

[sweetconnectionswithtoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fun, cute, and sweet.
Francesca & Sebastian 🔥🔥🔥

I read along while listening to the audio, Epilogue is on Audio, Winston and Lacy definitely brought the book to life! 🩷

[Lisette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

This was a really entertaining Christmas, enemies to lovers rom com.
I enjoyed all the shenanigans that these 2 got into.

[Carmen Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Christmas War Paws" by Terreece M. Clarke

Book Type: Novella
Genre: Rom Com
Troupe: Enemies to Lovers & Second Chance Romance
Star Rating: 5 Star

I want to start by saying I initially got this book because of the cover. It was super cute with BIPOC representation.

What I didn't know was that I would be kicking my feet and laughing out loud from the first couple paragraphs.

I so wanted to be a fly on the wall in the small town of Ohio Falls. The banter was top notch, and I felt the characters were great.

I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Keisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of the 'enemies to lovers' trope but I did enjoy this cute novella. It's a Christmas Hallmark movie in a book with spice.

[Amy Guttenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not at all what I was expecting.

[Jazmyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute, with some spicey moments.

[Cleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read!

This was laugh out loud funny! I enjoyed every part of Ohio Falls! This is the first time I’ve read this author and I had to finish this in one sitting! Well written, great dialog and smoking!

[Ineshia ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

absorbed via audiobook 🎧 | blindly went into this after seeing it recommended on threads. i loved the dual narration, but the storyline started off a bit cheesy & didn’t keep me entertained. 🫤

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Start laughing

You will start laughing in the first paragraph and keep on to the end of the book. I greatly enjoyed this story. I look forward to reading more of Ms Clarke's writings.

[LaTosha Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

RomCom Shenanigans

Terreece Clarke strikes again. This was fun, festive, and heart warming. She writes the best MMCs and the coolest FMCS and this was no exception. I enjoyed every moment, I could have you a little more dessert but I won’t be greedy.

[Sherley's Reading Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute and festive read. It was nice, short, fast-paced, and packed with the best of holiday chaos.

In 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐰𝐬 we meet Dr. Francesca Johnson Dewitt who had planned to go on a sunny vacation after divorcing her good-for-nothing, terrible, cheating ex. But fate had other plans. After the passing of her estranged grandmother, Franchesca travels to small town Ohio Falls where she finds an injured puppy. She heads to the only vet in the small town to get the puppy some and comes face-to-face with Dr. Sebastian Bing, the man she gave her virginity to and the one who ended up breaking her heart.

These two hated each other with a passion and the entire town knew it. After a crazy snowball fight, that had me cracking all the way up, the mayor orders them to work together on the planning committee for the town’s Christmas week events. Not only that, but these two decide to compete against each other in those same events. Frankie and Sebastian were the pettiest exes ever and I loved it!

I laughed so much reading this book. Francesca and Sebastian were a hoot. These two got into so many shenanigans that I had to remind myself that this was a fictional story because what do you mean a smart, college educated woman would climb a tree just to cut the power to her nemesis’ house so she could win a Christmas light competition. WTF?! These two were crazy funny and I absolutely loved it. Francesca and Sebastian’s back and forth banter and their not-so-nice nicknames for each other were so hilarious that I had to take out my notepad and pen to take notes. Where did the author come up with these?! Too funny!

This book wasn’t just funny; it was also very spicy! My goodness, I will never look at a gingerbread man the same way again. Yep! These two brought the heat to this cold winter town.

I also really liked the secondary characters. I am for sure going to look to see if Tonya and the mayor have their own book because I need more of them!

If you are looking for a sweet Christmas read with a bit of spice, this one is for you. Add it to your winter reading TBR. You will not be disappointed.

𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤: I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Winston James and Lacy Laure, and these two did a fantastic job brining Sebastian and Franchesca to life. I give the narration a 5/5. Great performance!

🆆🅷🅰🆃 🆃🅾 🅴🆇🅿🅴🅲🆃
🎄Enemies to Lovers
🐾Small Town Holiday Magic
❤️Christmas Novella
🎄Rom Com
🐾LOL Pranks and Hijinks
❤️Second Chance | Blast from the Past
🎄Spicy (Open-Door)

🆀🆄🅾🆃🅴🆂
❤️ “— ‘I should be a** up, as you say, but fate has me here with you. You hate me.’ —‘I do.’
—‘And I hate you.’ — ‘Right…we could hate f*ck.’ ”

❤️ “The past stops being important when we decide to focus on what we do next. And right now, I want to hold you in my arms and treat you like the precious spirit you are. You have been walking through this world, wounded and alone. Let me be your strength.”

[tre be · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not let this sweet, cutesy, innocent cover fool you!! This 3 hour long audiobook was not only hilarious, fun and witty - it was boiling hotttt 🥵

I was not expecting the big belly laughs I got from these 2 petty people trying to upstage each other.

Fran is back in the small Ohio following her grandmother’s death. She comes head to head with the man she despises, Sebastian, and from there, it’s a holiday war.

There are several holiday events where these 2 are competing for bragging rights and they will stop at nothing to take the other out.

It’s funny, festive and oh-so spicy!! The things 2 freaks can do with a sweet potato pie 👀 Meanwhile I ate every one of our pies 🤦🏾‍♀️😂

I usually can’t get into enemies to lovers, but it was done so right here. Their snapbacks and shenanigans were too funny and made for a great holiday read. This is the kind of story I’d want to read every year to kick off my seasonal reading.

The book was great but can I talk about the narration?! I believe this was my first time hearing Lauren Lacey’s voice but … it was stunning, sultry and so seductive. I had to take multiple pauses because why is this woman’s voice so damn sexy?! Made me blush the entire 3 hours of the audiobook! Her voice is the equivalent of loopy, fancy script fonts. Very much exquisite 🤏🏾🤏🏾🤏🏾

[Barb (Boxermommyreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this from KU for a readathon over the Thanksgiving break. When I saw it featured two veterinarians, I assumed there had to be a cute puppy somewhere and I wasn't wrong!

Frankie has returned to Ohio Falls to settle her grandmother's estate. When she arrives, some wood collapses at the residence and she ends up rescuing a cute puppy she affectionately calls Puddin'. Puddin' needs medical attention and since the local vet office is closed, Frankie, a vet herself, breaks in to get treatment. She is soon met by her old best friend and her brother Sebastian, whom Frankie dated years ago. Frankie and Sebastian despise each other and continue to go out of their way to make each other miserable. Then one night of hate sex in a stranded truck opens the way for communication to start and they realize they may not hate each other after all.

I really enjoyed this read but I will warn you, this is a pretty spicy novel. Considering it was rather short, there was still plenty of plot and backstory woven in which made for an enjoyable read. Puddin' was a very special pup, and his appearance really works into the ending and tugs at the heartstrings. I would recommend this for anyone wanting a cute Christmas romance with a side helping of puppy breath!

[Felecia Rodney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook Review:

The Christmas War Paws by Terreece M. Clarke
Narrated in Duet by Lacy Laurel, Winston James and Xavier Black

If you love laugh-out-loud holiday rom-coms with just a sprinkle of drama, this novella delivers. Dr. Francesca Johnson-DeWitt is ready for a peaceful Bahamian Christmas—until fate (and Ohio Falls) tosses her right back into battle with her college nemesis, Dr. Sebastian Bing. Their prank war is comedy gold, and I was cracking up at every escalation. The father subplot? Painfully frustrating—THEE worst—making the eventual heartfelt moments hit harder. Lacy Laurel embodies Fran’s fire perfectly, Winston James oozes smug charm as Bing, and this was my first taste of Xavier Black’s work (I’m hooked!). A quick, cozy listen with humor, pie, and holiday romance in equal measure.

[Yasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from this story. I was skeptical I'd like it by the cover and the synopsis but I got it for free and decided to give it a go.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this novella. It's an enemies to lovers, second chance rom com. The book was actually funny, the characters were interesting, the beef was real, the spice was good and the dogs were cute. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of physical description of the characters. At no point was anybody's skin color described. I know this is a black romance and the characters were black but because of the lack of telling us that, these characters could've been white tbh.

Besides that, this was a cute hilarious holiday novella.

[Jacknthebooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me tickled from beginning to end. It was a true enemies to a lovers' story. Francesca and Sebastian had a falling out years ago, and the hatred is real. Turns out the falling out they had was a result of others around them. The shenanigans that they got into while they still hated each other were hilarious. The pie contest was hands down, my favorite prank that was pulled. I was so glad these two were able to clear the air. Francesca's dad and ex-husband were trash for how they did her. I'm almost certain her dad has one of the warmest seats in hell. The spice in this book was hot from the them being in the truck to them being in the sleigh. This is definitely one of my favorite Christmas reads of 2024.

[Tulip_OnTheTBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

This enemies-to-lovers was such a treat! So many laugh-out-loud moments! The banter was spot on, at times exaggerated, but still super funny. A page-turner for sure. I loved the originality of the story and how it unfolded.

Two complaints: First, there was a transition that happened so quickly it gave me whiplash; when the MMC and FMC went from hating each other to being madly in love. Like, WTF and HTF did that happen??!! 🤔 Second, I’m not a fan of having to sign up for a newsletter to get the epilogue. I mean come on maaaannnn!!

[Sherrie Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Every Single Thing about this Book! The Characters and Plot were flawless. It was laugh-out-loud funny and hit you with all the feels. I enjoyed Ohio Falls so much. Nothing better than the love and support in a small town. This was my first time reading this Author but will not be my last. I Immensely Enjoyed this Story. I look forward to reading more of Ms Clarke's writings. Definitely Your Next 5⭐ Read..

[Geri Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rom Com At Its’ Best!! 🥰🤭🥰

Oh What Fun, It Is!! What a wonderful story this was!! I thoroughly enjoyed this and the author is divine!l This is my first read by this author, but it’s certainly not the last!! Look, I love a good Christmas story and I received one with this book!! I highly recommend everyone read this! You’ll be oh, so thrilled you did!! I promise!! Kudos, Terreece!! 💜

[Tara TJ Olenja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun & flirty anctics

I really enjoyed the fun & flirty antics of the lead characters. Overall a fun read! While it's obvious that simmering chemistry is about to boil over, there's no satisfying explanation for why Francesca's father was such a horrid, disgustingly so, person. The lengths he went to isolate his daughter & still yet unlove her is mind blowing. There is a gigantic leap from enemies to love-of-life, but hey anything can happen at Christmas!

[Kylie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry, but you're telling me as adults they couldn't have worked out the misunderstanding back in college? You're telling me that as adults, she's still going around literally destroying his property to win a contest? You're telling me that her ex husband actually backed off that quickly, and that she didn't get the Bing's money back by proving it was a false lawsuit? She is so self-centered and ignorant I had to skim most of this. And the amount of cringe sweet talk was so ridiculous.

[Ebony Essence · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read by this author. Listened to the book via hoopla.

Yea i will definitely be reading more of her work. This book was so fun and cute. I laughed out loud a few times because the banter was hilarious. The characters flowed together so well and the spice could have melted the snow in this book. Loved the snow ball fight and the pranks throughout the book. Especially at the baking competition 🤣. Francesca and Sebastian are truly made for one another.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

love love!!

I absolutely love a good Christmas story — and when it’s mixed with a second chance at romance, I’m all in! 💕

This was such a cozy, feel-good listen that had me laughing and smiling the whole way through. The narration by Lacy Laurel, Winston James, and Xavier Black made it even better — they brought the holiday magic to life! ✨

If you love a heartwarming, Hallmark-style Christmas story, this one’s for you! 🎅🏽🐾

[Jd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was basically a good concept. Unfortunately, it came across as rushed. This can be seen in the plot disconnects and typos.
Frankie and Sebastian have some major misunderstandings that stem from one college incident. It snowballed to impacting others. The reader has no idea how long ago this happened. Actually a lot of things are glanced over that could have given the story more depth.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t care for this one. Super cringey and the epilogue had nothing to do with the story. The conflict between the characters got solved way to easily. The spice felt so randomly placed for the sake of it. The characters calling each other mean names was just immature. Again, I found it too cringey, but glad I read a Christmas romance before the end of the year.

[Alicia J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute story of second chance at romance. I love the competitive side of the them both and I love how the “second chance” trope was written. This is the first time I can agree that the love interests should get back together. This is a feel good read, cozy, and I laughed at some moments. I really enjoyed this book.