A Christmas Boyfriend Recipe

Seasons of Sugar Creek

by Lisa H. Catmull

I’ve got the perfect recipe to find a boyfriend for Christmas.

The funny thing is, I wasn’t looking for one. He sort of found me. I was just supposed to go to Thanksgiving dinner with him, and I came home fake engaged to the boss’s son.

Now I’m spending the month of December with him and his twin in a small town called Sugar Creek, Vermont while he gets ready for a big shot celebrity chef cooking competition. He’s got all the ingredients to make a perfect boyfriend, so it’s too bad that this engagement has a built-in expiration date.

He’s not the kind of guy who gives up that easily, and he’s developing a secret sauce of his own to win me over. Even though things are heating up between us, there’s no way this relationship is anything but a half-baked idea.

Because I’ve got a secret of my own simmering, and if it spills over, there’s no way to clean up this mess.

Or maybe love is like an egg—sometimes you break your heart, and it takes a lot of scrambling to make things right, but when you do, there’s nothing better in the whole world. So, yeah, maybe my life is like an omelet. So cheesy.

Genres: Christmas, Romance

472 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2022

About the author

Lisa H. Catmull is the author of sweet contemporary and historical romances. Popular series include the Jane Austen Vacation Club and the Seasons of Sugar Creek.

Her books have been nominated for Swoony, RONE, and Whitney awards.

She earned a Bachelor of Art in English from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and a Master of Education in Elementary Education from Utah State University in Logan, Utah.

Lisa taught Middle School English and History for seven years before pursuing screenwriting and writing.

She currently lives near a canyon and a fishing pond in Utah with her husband, six cats, nine chickens, and two rambunctious kids.

Reviews

[Lis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look, the whole book I have no idea what is happening.
There are kind of two love stories going on at the same time and both there are no chemistry.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cooking Up Romance

I loved the cooking show, the sweet romance, and especially the Butler family. Their text message chain was hilarious and reminded me of the Callaghans in While You Were Sleeping!

[Dhay · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is soooo wholesome 🤍 its clean but the butterflies this book gave me *chefs kiss

i love the banter of the butler brothers and now i just wanna be part of their family

[Michelle Kimber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute romance that shows you can have a swoon worth story without the spice. The MCs were both endearing and I loved the playfulness. This was definitely written by a romance reader/lover

[Janelle Youngstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved this story! The food, the tension, the relationships. It's all right up my alley. So, so fun!

[Shananana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, Lisa Catmull, for the free kindle copy of this book. Once I was given the kindle copy, and maybe due to my audible membership, I was able to get a free virtual voice narrated copy that I listened to in conjunction while I read. OK, so originally, I thought this was a RH with the FMC going to stay in a cabin with her new, fake fiancé and his twin for a month. I was expecting a hot & steamy romance. I didn't realize this was a squeaky-clean romance until I got the book, which is, admittedly, probably why it took me a couple of months to read it. Usually I can't let my kid hear any portion of the audiobooks I usually listen to, but there wasn't anything here that an 8 year old couldn't hear. The story was cute, if a little cheesy. I wish there had more steam between the main characters, but maybe that's just me and what I'm used to reading. Most of the story is between 4 characters living in 2 next door cabins (a boys' and a girls' cabin), and the sweet flirting (or learning how to flirt) between the 2 couples. There's found family, heartache, some past trauma to work through, and some cute twin brother drama as the boys become men and start to live their separate lives. Despite the characters being 28/30, I'd describe this as a young adult romance.

[Michele Knepper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. Nice and clean Christmas romance. Virtual voice…meh, but doable. Story could have ended about 4 chapters quicker than it did. But overall good story and characters. A lot of spiral and repetitive conversations until final ending and decisions are made. It was good enough for me to finish.

[Haley Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story line of this book was great. I loved Brie and Jonah so much. My only complaint is how PG this book was. I wasn’t expecting extreme smut, but I also expected more than a few kisses. Overall it was good read, & I would recommend.

[Kali Hart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Over the top cheesy romance. Definitely a Christmas hallmark movie in a book. I honestly liked it enough to finish it but it was extremely cheesy and made me cringe so much. There were plot holes and way too many characters to keep track of. Not my favorite book. It ended cute and cheesy.

[Danielle Mccoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good clean romance which was a bit of a twofer since both twins ended up with the perfect match and a double wedding is coming in the next book. I didn't love it but it was worth my time and I wanted to know how it was going to work out with her dad.

[Leah Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cringy & the monotone audio book computer voice was hard to listen to. This family was too much (especially the mom) I would not have been able to do it.

[Allyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave 3.5/4 ⭐️

This fake-engaged, cozy romance story, although cheesy, was thoroughly enjoyable. The narrative was well-crafted, featuring witty characters and an engaging culinary theme. The author's incorporation of real chefs and the competitive TV culinary world added a unique twist, setting it apart from other stories in the genre. It was an ideal read for a cozy afternoon with a warm beverage and a blanket. Thank you #goodreadsgiveaway for the novel.