This book is described as “a delightful second chance romance,” and I could not agree more.

Morgan Ross is a party planner in Los Angeles, gearing up for a high profile wedding party - until she accidentally makes out with the groom while drunk at a bar. The solution? To escape to her home town of Fern Falls, California, to plan an event - and stay out of drama for a bit. Until she runs into Rachel Reed, her childhood best friend and the one that got away. Turns out Fern Falls is in trouble, and Rachel and Morgan reuniting may be the only way to save it.

This book was adorable. Morgan was such a strong protagonist, with her impressive sense of self and her determination to somehow do the right thing, even when she can’t figure out what the right thing to do is. Her ambition and approach to balancing work and her life were motivating while not being overbearing, and the way she formed and strengthened her relationships with others was realistic and fun to read.

The romance. Oh, the romance. Rachel and Morgan were just too dang cute. I was rooting for them from the very beginning, and the progression of their relationship was realistic yet so much fun and kept me on my toes. And the steamy scenes were. Uh. Very good.

The other characters in this book were phenomenal. I NEED a Ben and Adam sequel. All of the people of Fern Falls, as well as the few we met from Los Angeles, were well formed and truly enjoyable to read. This may very well be the book I reread over Christmas.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to Kensington Books for sending me an advance copy of this book for review!

i caved and read my first holiday romcom of the season, and it’s not even september yet… i’m not even mad though because the cozy vibes in courtney kae's debut novel “in the event of love” made it so worth it. 🤩

the book is simple in premise, but complex in the emotions and characters it centres around. morgan, an event planner in la, decides to return to her hometown to launch an event after a kerfuffle with a big name client in la. little does she know the event is to help save the tree farm owned by her high school love, rachel, who she hasn’t spoken to in years after morgan fled for the city. will this event bring them together, or drive them further apart?! i think we can see where this goes!

the vibes of this book are what really made me tear thru it. courtney kae created a town with vibes similar to those of stars hollow in the winter, with the snow & the lights & the array of colourful characters. i think this book wrapped up a bit too nicely, and the timeline of morgan & rachel’s relationship felt very fast, especially considering they hadn’t spoken in 7 years prior to this story. but overall, the book was a delight, and i’m excited to read ben & adam’s story next!

With her career as a Los Angeles event planner imploding after a tabloid blowup, Morgan Ross isn’t headed home for the holidays so much as in strategic retreat. Breathtaking mountain vistas, quirky townsfolk, and charming small businesses aside, her hometown of Fern Falls is built of one heartbreak on top of another . . .

Take her one-time best friend turned crush, Rachel Reed. The memory of their perfect, doomed first kiss is still fresh as new-fallen snow. Way fresher than the freezing mud Morgan ends up sprawled in on her very first day back, only to be hauled out via Rachel’s sexy new lumberjane muscles acquired from running her family tree farm.

When Morgan discovers that the Reeds’ struggling tree farm is the only thing standing between Fern Falls and corporate greed destroying the whole town’s livelihood, she decides she can put heartbreak aside to save the farm by planning her best fundraiser yet. She has all the inspiration for a spectacular event: delicious vanilla lattes, acoustic guitars under majestic pines, a cozy barn surrounded by brilliant stars. But she and Rachel will ABSOLUTELY NOT have a heartwarming holiday happy ending. That would be as unprofessional as it is unlikely. Right? (Goodreads synopsis)

This is Courtney Kae’s debut novel. It is very much a Hallmark-style holiday novel that is sometimes cliche but has a ton of potential. The feelings of the 2 female protagonists are a bit too quick for my taste since they haven’t spoken in 7 years. And yet, them getting together is endgame.

I liked the fact that Ben didn’t let the lack of communication stop him from reaching out to Morgan for help. However, the way Morgan describes the town, I expected there to be more of a resilience to her and not the scandal from L.A. I liked that Whitney didn’t let rumors or, potential stories, determine how she treats Morgan.

Overall, I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars. I’ll be interested to see if Ben and Whitney get their own happy endings.

This one is a very sweet queer holiday romance, and as the book mentions as well, we need a lot more queer holiday romances. I'd recommend this book for Hallmark style movie lovers. But just like those movies, you can either overlook the details and enjoy it for what it is, or you'll get caught in the details like I did. I know this is an unpopular opinion and most people loved it, but I just couldn't get into it.

At the beginning of the book, the main character has a lot of anger towards the most important people in her life. For things that happened 7 years ago. The issue is that, not only did she blow things out of proportion back then, she still feels exactly the same way. From the very beginning I couldn't get over how she has not grown at all from her high school days. Even by the end of the book, I'm not convinced that any of the characters changed or grew at all.

On the other side of things, the love interest, Rachel, and other people in Morgan's life magically forgive her almost immediately for practically ghosting them for 7 years, even though they would actually be right to be angry.

And when it comes to their romance, I didn't see it. It felt like their only connection was in the past. They had no real bonding or connection as adults other than their sexual tension. It felt like a relationship built on nostalgia.

Even the classic premise of saving local businesses, which I usually enjoy, lacked oomph, since issues were resolved almost as soon as they came up, the stakes didn't feel high, and I couldn't appreciate the solutions they came up with.

What I did like:
👍small town setting & businesses
👍romance between side characters
👍the friend group
👍the vibes! 😍 lumberjane LI, snow covered mountains, cinnamon spice

I love romcoms. I like them sweet, sassy, and romantic, but I also want them to have some substance or they will fall flat for me. I want actual character development, relatable conflict (not just "do they love me?"), good dialogue and, of course, a happy ending. So when you take that combination, set it during the holiday season and add a queer twist? I'm in heaven!

Morgan Ross is a fancy Los Angeles event planner who runs into a snafu and has to head home (for the holidays!) to regroup. Home is Fern Falls, a picture - perfect small town except that, oh yeah, her former bestie turned mega-crush Rachel Reed still lives there. Morgan and Rachel once shared the perfect first kiss before life got in the way, and Morgan is still nursing a broken heart. So when Morgan literally falls flat on her face (in the mud .... just oof) and is rescued by (sexy!) Rachel, she's not sure what to expect. Cue the holiday music, because Morgan learns that Rachel's family's tree farm (yes, really) is the only thing stopping a major corporation from taking over their small town and putting just about everyone out of business. What is Morgan to do other than use her event planning expertise to plan the perfect fundraiser to save Rachel's farm - and maybe their love?

This book is just wonderful. Imagine a Hallmark holiday movie but with SPICE - witty banter, sexual tension - and also include fantastic, authentic, diverse characters (queer, POC). I was rooting so hard for Morgan and Rachel. And while this story was sexy and sweet, at no point did I cringe (which can happen *so* easily in contrived romance scenarios). I absolutely flew through this book and I think it will be a fantastic read for the holidays. I am so excited that it is a trilogy and I'm looking forward to the next two books!

Sweet, charming and full of magic, In the Event of Love is a great book for a cold winter night by the fire.

With great characters and a Hallmark worthy plot, this enchanting, second chance, queer romance is a great way to get into the holiday spirit and a beautiful escape into a picturesque snowy peaks book-cation.

4 stars and a an enchanted evening

Hard book to review in some senses. So, simply, I'll say this book wasn't for mw
I DNFed it at about 1/4 of the book, as I mostly couldn't deal with the snarky MC.
I think this will be a sweet read for many, even if kit hugely memorable. Good for those that like second chance, snowy holiday romances, and small towns.
It gave me the feel that it was one of those 'I come in, hace a huge revaluation, and save everything' type of stories, but couldn't corroborate the hypothesis.
Anyway, I think many will love it, just not my style, which is a shame, as I loved the premise.

4.5

"For the first time in my life, I feel nothing but cherished."

This book was an absolute joy from start to finish,

We meet Morgan Ross, who has just experienced a major PR nightmare. Her boss forces her to take time off work and she returns to her hometown to help with an event, thinking this will get her career back on track. She immediately runs into Rachel Reed, her ex-best friend and former crush. What follows is a heartwarming, sexy story about second chance love and the charm of a small town.

Morgan is such a wonderfully complicated character who has really shut herself off and needs to reconnect to her roots. She needs to face the family and friends she left behind and confront all of the difficult feelings that linger. And this is hard for her, so seeing her growth throughout the book is really wonderful.

I loved her relationship with Rachel, though their initial excitement over their reconnection prevents them from having honest conversations about what they want for their futures. The spark they had in high school has clearly not fizzled out. There is this deep caring that they have towards each other that is really beautiful. This definitely has the Hallmark vibes, but it's so much steamier and I loved it.

This book also made me laugh out loud on several occasions and honestly, I'm still laughing about the goats eating yoga mats. Morgan's inner monologue is so funny and relatable. I'm the type of person whose brain runs a mile a minute and I could completely relate to how her brain works.

"The world needs more queer holiday romances, don't you think?"

Yeah, it absolutely does.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

In the Event of Love is an adorable start to a new series and I am already obsessed. When her career as an LA event planner goes off the rails, Morgan Ross is forced to return to her small (perfect) hometown for Christmas. When she arrives at Fern Falls, she is forced to confront of her high school love and former best friend, Rachel Reed. Morgan must put aside her heartache to throw the most important event of her career - a fundraiser to save Rachel’s family’s Christmas tree farm, as well as all of Fern Falls.

I will always be obsessed with a hallmark Christmas movie story, but with more steam and banter. I loved Morgan and Rachel and their second chance romance was adorable. I loved the town of Fern Falls (“town is a character” perfection) and I immediately wanted to return. I cannot wait to see what Courtney Kae writes next.


ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae

Spike the eggnog and gather round the mistletoe, y'all! Spooky season isn't yet in full swing, but we have a wonderfully queer Hallmark special to cozy up to before the end of the year.

When the song said "make the Yuletide gay," Courtney Kae delivered. The main location of the book, Fern Falls, is the most delightful place and one in which I'd happily live. The quaint shops, a Christmas Tree Farm, and a very Fairy craft shop for kiddos? Yes, please! But it gets better. The mayor is trans AND THERE'S A TOKEN STRAIGHT IN THE FRIEND GROUP. Yes, you read that right. A token straight guy, and he's a himbo. -insert celebratory screech-

What else does this book have? An attractive woman chopping wood. (Yes, this is your cue to check out the cover again.) Rainbow trees. Extremely satisfying character arcs, and more spice than nutmeg and cinnamon if you get my snow drift.

Listen, I'm not telling you you have to buy this amazing book, but you'd be remiss not to considering it's all your favorite authors are going to talk about from now until Christmas (and then again in years to come when the rest of the series comes out.) This book deserves five out of five rainbow snowflakes!

Where can you get it? The preorder is still available through Kensington books, and you can also order it from your retailer of choice. Interested in preorder book swag? If you're like me, always. Courtney's doing a preorder campaign through The Ripped Bodice, but you only have until tomorrow to get your order in. So get to it! But if money's tight, you can still support the author by requesting it at your local library.

Happy reading, y'all!

xoxo, Katie Rose

What more could you want for a cozy reading that snow in a beautiful mountain small town, childhood friends, second chance romance, and queer characters in a tight community
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Morgan leads a busy life as a talented event planner, until a footfall lands her on a forced break and puts her promotion on hold.
Just before the holidays, the opportunity appears to redeem herself by organizing a great Fundraising in her hometown
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But with her return, she must face the people she left behind, her father, her childhood group of friends and the girl she couldn't forget
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I really liked the painted images of Fern falls, the flavors, colors and that united community. That group of friends I want to keep reading about. Every character is perfect and I can imagine how beautiful her books are going to be
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I definitely will be looking forward to more books by her
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if you like steamy and heartwarming small town romance between friends who meet again after a few years, with wonderful queer characters and a town with all the cozy and christmas vibes this is your book
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Thanks to Courtney Kae and Kensington Books for give me this beautiful book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion I really enjoyed reading it

This was a Hallmark-ish Christmas story about first loves coming back around and I enjoyed it. It was like 85% wholesome and 15% spice so it was a fun combo. I was mad at Morgan for Sweet Home Alabama-ing these people twice in her life by acting like their lives are small because they still live and work in their hometown. These people are business owners and have solid relationships with their friends and community so they're doing alright.

I cannot wait for Ben and Adam's book. I need that story desperately.

Thank you to Courtney Kae and the Holigays22 group for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

This was really cute! If you are a fan of Hallmark movies and sweet holiday romances (but make it queer), I strongly recommend IN THE EVENT OF LOVE.

Though fun and swoony, I do wish this book dug a bit deeper with these characters. The writing and characterization were a bit surface-level for my taste, but I nonetheless still really enjoyed Morgan and Rachel’s romance. I loved the cozy vibes and Gilmore Girls-esque small town setting.

I would recommend IN THE EVENT OF LOVE if you are looking for:
- Hallmark-like love stories that bang
- Great bi representation + f/f romance
- Queer joy + no on-page homophobia
- Estranged childhood friends-to-lovers
- Lovable side characters
- A sweet “save the integrity of our quaint town” plot line
- Cozy Christmas vibes all around

Looking forward to Courtney Kae’s follow-up novel about Ben and Adam!




Content warnings: death of a parent (past), alcoholic parent

In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae is a cute Hallmark movie esque book that will have many sapphics swooning over the holiday season. Two young girls had a blossoming friendship turned romance during high school, but after their graduation they go their separate ways because of an argument. After years of not seeing one another, circumstances lead Morgan back to Fern Falls and to Rachel. In order to save the town from being over ran by a corporation with plans to take over small businesses, the two and their childhood friends must work together before the holidays are over.

I absolutely loved the overall plot of this book. I am a sucker for Hallmark type stories, that are somewhat storyline predictable but always fun to read. I loved the characters individually, but I do wish the romance itself was written a bit differently. The conflict between the two characters seemed a bit dramatic for what it actually was and I feel like if the stakes were set a bit higher it would have kept my attention more. And while I am a sucker for a spicy novel, the content in this book just did not do it for me. Many of the lines made me physically cringe while reading them and felt out of character for the women to be saying after only barely reuniting with one another.

I think this story will be a fun read for people over the holidays, and for a debut novel fairly good! And seeing that this is going to be a series, I am interested to see Kae's growth in her next book. Thank you netgalley and Kensington Publishing Corp. for the eARC!

In the Event of Love is truly everything you want in your sapphic romcom, and I really enjoyed reading it! It was a super sweet story, it had all of the Hallmark movie vibes if that is something you're looking for, and I would highly recommend it!

In the Event of Love is a story following Morgan, who is a successful event planner in LA. After a social media scandal, she is pushed by her boss to take some time off and go home for the holidays. Reluctant at first, she decides to go to her hometown in the mountains. She left many things behind when she moved away - her relationship with her father has become frail, her friendships have dwindled and of course, the is Rachel. Rachel, her once best friend and crush, who's now in charge of the failing family farm. Morgan decides to plan a fundraiser to save the farm, and subsequently the town from being run over by big corporations. That means she is now working with Rachel, and while she is convinced nothing will happen between them some old feelings are definitely still there.

This was such a cute, endearing book about second chances, love, family, and friendship! It was a delight to read, and I truly loved the setup and the characters. This book is definitely character-oriented, and the cast of characters and the found family element of the story are amazing. Morgan is a fun character to follow, and I really enjoyed her character growth. She goes from being heartbroken and closed off when the novel starts, to someone who knows what they want and is willing to take risks to get it. In the true fashion of a holiday love story, she learns there are more benefits to having your heart open for love and letting people in than bottling your feelings and drowning in work.

The rest of the characters are great as well, and I enjoyed seeing their relationships. The friend group Morgan has by the end of the book feels more like family, and I do always enjoy a good queer found family element. I especially loved Ben, I think he was a great friend to Morgan, willing to both forgive and call her out when needed. He was really sweet and understanding and his crush on Adam was really cute. I enjoyed seeing Morgan work on her and her dad's relationship, them talking honestly and trying to resolve their issues. I even liked how Morgan's almost-stepmom gets her 'redemption', or more likely faces her own issues and finds new viewpoints herself.

This novel has such a cozy, lovely atmosphere, but I enjoyed how it dealt with more serious issues as well. The talk of Morgan's mom passing, issues with her dad, as well as Rachel's dad's alcoholism, and her mom leaving the family. I like how it went about all of these, it took all of that seriously, and the issues weren't downplayed as I feel like they sometimes are in romance books. I also really enjoyed that it emphasized forgiving yourself when you've grown as a person and in general just giving the characters the room to grow as people. I like that it let them have their second chances all around, and I think it really embodied what a perfect holiday romance should be. I am a big fan of second chance romance (especially if it's queer) so this comes as no surprise.

Some minor issues I had were mainly that miscommunication was used as a trope to convey conflict, and it's just something I'm never a fan of. It makes sense for these characters, considering there are years when they had no contact, but I wish it wasn't used. I also wish there was a bit more buildup with Morgan and Rachel's relationship as adults, I feel like we get some scenes of them as teens, and then almost too quickly they're back together. That said, I think there were slight issues with the pacing, but nothing too major.

I would highly recommend this book if you're looking for something cozy and fluffy that reads really fast. This would probably be perfect to read during the holidays, but if you're interested there's no need to wait :)

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

“I want to be overwhelmed by you. All of you.”

In The Event of Love is as sweet and cozy as a cup of hot cocoa (or maybe a spicy mulled wine??). The book was a sapphic spin on the small-town holiday romance. Morgan returns to her hometown after a huge professional and personal embarrassment, providing her event planning skills to help raise funds for the struggling Christmas Tree farm, owned by Rachel – her former best friend (and first love). Was it a little predictable at times? Sure. However, there’s a reason why predictability works with this book - you know you will feel good and fall in love with the characters along the way, which is exactly what this book brings.

If you want to read a light, swoony, charming, queer holiday book, I definitely recommend this one! Thank you to @Netgalley and @Kensington Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I feel almost bad giving this 3*, because In the Event of Love does exactly what it set out to do and exactly what I expected—it’s just that I didn’t like how it did it.

This is a fun, light, cheesy, ridiculous hallmark movie of a story. Sure, it was completely predictable and I could’ve told you the whole plot before I even opened the book, but that’s part of the hallmark charm! Sometimes you just want a warm and cozy little romance that follows that same over the top formula! And this book nails that on the head!

For me, though, I think that hallmark vibe just doesn’t translate super well into book form. Half of the appeal of hallmark movies, in my opinion, is that they’re a little bit (a lot a bit) garbage. This is great for a two hour movie, less great for a 300-something page book. Morgan’s inner monologue was tedious and repetitive, and I grew tired of it pretty quickly. Additionally—and this is admittedly a pet peeve of mine—this was so clearly written by someone late millennial/early gen-z. Wow. This is just full of slang and both gets dated very, very quickly and completely pulls me out of the story.

So, in short, this book does exactly what it sets out to do, but it wasn’t for me.

2.5 stars

*SPOILERS AHEAD!*

I didn’t really like this book. It was basically a hallmark movie in book form, and I am not a fan of those movies. It also felt really, I don’t know, one dimensional? I didn’t like the MC, she seemed rather, idk, high on herself? Or, she had these ideas in her head that were totally not true, but she just kept thinking them. Like, she legitimately thought so poorly of her high school friends, because she was convinced they hated her, but they were just hurt that she fucked off and severed all contact with them?

I also didn’t believe the love story. Like, the MC, whose name I’ve already forgotten, dumped her high school gf because she was mad? I don’t quite know… they kind of explain it poorly. So, treated ex like shit, didn’t even response when the ex reached out, still acted badly when she returns to her hometown because of *insert hallmark trope here*, but then they are in love and everything is sparkles and rainbows, and she’s made up with everyone and life is perfect. Until she takes a job on the other side of the country and expects her now gf to just drop everything and join her, because they’ve beat the big bad guy who was set to ruin the small town, so there’s nothing tying her to her home town anymore. Right?

Overall, I just felt like it was a poor remake of about a thousand hallmark movies in book form. I’m trying to read more sapphic romances, but this one just wasn’t good, unfortunately. And that’s not just because I don’t like hallmark movies. I didn’t feel like the writing was very strong, the characters were all very one dimensional, or not even that, they were just kind of there? Not a good start to the holiday romances I have lined up…

This book is EVERYTHING. It has a wonderful setting, top tier comedy, a vast representation of multiple LGBTQ+ identities, religions and ethnicities. What more could you wish for?

It has an adorkable protagonist, a love interest that honestly any reader would fall for, a crew of supporting characters that’s so diverse and beautiful that I wish I was in Fern Falls with them right now. There are witches, a real-life fairy smashing the patriarchy, an elderly bisexual novelist, a customized-sweater kind of dad… The characters are so alive through the pages and in my mind that I truly wish this book will grow a fandom because geez, the possibilities!

Also… I thought that reading a winter romcom in August would be “refreshing” but about halfway through the book it got REALLY HOT IN HERE. The spice is heavenly. There, I said it. I normally have a poker face for reading smut in public thanks to years of Wattpad training, but when the smut is full of fluff AND comedy I just can’t help but to giggle and squeal. That’s what I’ve been doing like half of the time as I read this wonderful book. Morgan, our protagonist, spends like 99% of the story thirsting and simping over Rachel, but honestly? Same. Morgan Ann Ross: you beautiful horny disaster, don’t ever change.

One thing I wish I knew before I read the book is that it’s actually a third chances story. In other words, you’ll have to suffer a little. But it will be worth it! And it has tons of amazing tropes, like found family, there’s-only-one-tent (this one is way better than the overused bed trope I said what I said), platonic soulmates (everyone deserves a Ben in their life), hurt/comfort, childhood best friends to lovers to strangers to enemies to lovers to idk to lovers :) yeah, a lot happens in this book.

This author now has my complete trust and admiration and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for two of my favorite “side characters” in their sequel, and I’m really grateful to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a cute holiday romcom! Coming back to the small town where one grew up in after years away. Reconnecting with old friends, family and a first love. All the holidays’ magic pouring in and coming together to save the day!

Morgan left her hometown in the mountains 7 years ago, and went to LA to get away from the hurt and feelings of not being enough for her dad and friends, and leaving as much hurt behind. Forced to come back now as a professional party planner to run a fundraiser and save her career, she will have to face the people and the hurts from the past.

One thing I really enjoyed was seeing their group coming back together and supporting each other as the found family they were meant to be. As a Christmas book, this party comes through beautifully. I also loved the side characters, especially Ben and Whitney. The second book will follow Ben and Adam, and I can’t wait to read it. Oooh, and I wanna try all of Ben’s pastries because they sound amazing.

The romance between Morgan and Rachel was ok, there was slow burn and spicy scenes, but I confess I didn’t feel much chemistry between them. I guess it came from them being in love with each other for all those years, so there wasn’t a growing spark. The love was already there, they just had to get over themselves and talk about their issues to finally be together. It was cute and nice, but couldn’t really hold my interest. To be honest, I was more invested in the romance between the side characters.

There was a lot of representation here, and it was interesting and nice to see a small town being so accepting of queerness. Maybe not too realistic, but I liked seeing it anyway. Towards the end, the author seemed to be trying to introduce even more rep and it all felt a bit jumbled together and, sadly, it didn’t really came through.

Anyway, if you enjoy Christmas books/movies, I’d recommend checking out ‘In the Event of Love’ because you’ll probably have fun with it.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.