Thank you Courtney Kae, Kensington, and Netgalley for the gifted eARC.

After a huge tabloid scandal is threatening her career as an event planner, Morgan Ross is heading home to Fern Falls for the holidays. She's not heading home for a vacation, but she has plans to help her career.

Rachel Reed is Morgan's once best friend and crush. They shared a perfect first kiss in high school and haven't spoken since.

Rachel needs Morgan's help saving her family's struggling tree farm. If the Reed's sell the tree farm it can hurt the entire town of Fern Falls livelihood. Now Morgan has to decide to put aside her heartbreak and help save the farm by running her best fundraiser yet. Morgan is determined that she and Rachel will not have a happy ending because that would be unprofessional. Or will it?

In the Event of Love is a second chance, friends to lovers, slow burn, spicy romance. It's set in the small town of Fern Falls during the holiday season, but doesn't read like your typical holiday romance and is prefect to read all year long. The chemistry between Morgan and Rachel is hotter than a Florida summer. This book is about forgiveness, friendship, and community. It was like reading a Hallmark Movie. There are parts where you will laugh and you will cry. I really hope that Courtney Kae continues writing about Fern Falls. I would love to read a book with both Ben and Adam's and Whitney and Tanner's stories.

If you're a fan of steamy romances and Hallmark movies (albeit with a sapphic twist) this is the book for you. It was a quick and fun read, and it's great to see the classic Christmas love story formula written for a queer audience. Love to see happy endings between two women that's rare in other types of media. If you're not a fan of descriptive sex scenes, you should probably skip this. I'm not prudish about them at all, but it got to be a bit much. I can appreciate a horny character, but I felt like there was a little too much of their relationship being built on their physical connection over them getting to know each other again after years apart. (spoilers) Also was a little weirded out that their first time being intimate with each other was in a tent while camping near their close friends and the love interest's brother, but maybe that was just me.

The story was sweet and the writing easy to read, so if you're looking for a smutty second chance romance, give this book a chance.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC

I usually keep my holiday reading to November-January, but I had the chance to read an ARC of sapphic holiday romance In the Event of Love by @court_kae and just couldn’t resist.

This book follows Morgan, an event planner who flees Los Angeles after a tabloid scandal. She heads back to her hometown, with all its complicated history, and is roped in to planning a holiday fundraiser to save her ex-girlfriend’s tree farm. Small town drama and romance ensues.

In the Event of Love is the embodiment of being wrapped in a warm blanket by the fire with a mug of hot chocolate, but queer (which, I would argue, makes it even better). It’s trope-y in the best way, funny, well-paced, and in places downright steamy. You will not want to miss this @holigays22 release!

Out August 30!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One thing you should know about me: I love cheesy Hallmark-style Christmas movies, and I love queer romances, so this book was an auto-request for me. And it definitely delivered. It was heartwarming, the characters were flawed but lovable, and the romance was cute AND steamy.

Was it predictable? Well, of course. Most Christmas movies usually are, but that’s part of the fun of them, sometimes, you just need to turn your brain off and enjoy a sweet, second-chance rom-com about two bisexual woman who fall in love at Christmas time, and this book definitely delivered that,

I unfortunately had to DNF this one pretty early on. I found the main character, Morgan, to be really immature and kind of insufferable, so I perused some reviews to see if I could look forward to some character growth from her, but it looked like that wouldn't be the case. Kind of disappointing, I was looking forward to reading this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If I wasn’t already counting the days until Christmas, this book would have made me start for sure! Perfect for anyone who loves Hallmark Christmas movies and second chances romances with strong LGBT characters, In the Event of Love will have you ready to put up your tree and hang the lights. Fern Falls was a delightful setting and I loved the tight knit community of characters, especially “The Coven”! Our female MC, Morgan, was flawed and lost, but her journey of finding herself again and healing old wounds was really well done. I loved her friendship with Ben so much. The romance between her and Rachel could have used a bit more communication because it came across as more of a physical attraction than an emotional one at times, but I did love them together. And that epilogue though! So perfect! I highly recommend you add this to your winter 2022 TBR. Now I would like another book in Fern Falls with Ben and Adam, please!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

“The world needs more queer holiday romances, don’t you think?”

I absolutely adored In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae. A cute, second chance, friends-to-lovers romance, this book swept me off my feet and continued to surprise me from beginning to end. If you are looking for a sapphic romance this holiday season, this book is perfect for you, but honestly it was fantastic to read even in the middle of the summer. I laughed and I cried, and absolutely fell in love with the whole cast of characters. I really can’t recommend this book enough for when it comes out on August 30th! I was fortunate to get a later ARC copy from Netgalley- thank you to them, the publisher, and the author for this opportunity to read such a fantastic book and leave an honest review!

In the Event of Love was the perfect holiday read with amazing Hallmark vibes. This book had me hooked. I never wanted it to end.

Morgan, the wonderful event planner, is lovely and holds herself in a way that exudes confidence. However, she felt unworthy and not enough. Some may not like Morgan, but I truly felt for her character. I was rooting for her the entire time. Rachel, first love and tree farm owner, is everything. She deserves all the happiness in the world and nothing less. These two together just seemed perfect, despite the mistakes and miscommunication.

Now the real joy of the story, the friendships Morgan formed along the way. Ben is a character I can’t wait to get more of. Ben immediately became my favorite character. Adam is a good older brother to Rachel and i love their sibling dynamic. Whitney was a close second favorite. I just fell in love with her character. Tanner was a great addition to the friend group. He was very cheery.

Overall, every character played a lovely part. Morgan and Rachel deserve only happiness from here on. Can’t wait for the next book!

In The Event of Love is a sweet, fluffy, and cozy holiday novel that feels like injecting caramel in your veins, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Our main character, Morgan, left her small hometown years ago after a falling-out with her father, friends, and long-time crush Rachel. But an LA mishaps causes her to head back home for the holidays. Morgan has an opportunity to reconnect with her small-town roots and the people she left behind, resulting in a heart-warming story about home, love, and family.

Besides the charming characters, this book's biggest success is probably its setting. Courtney Kae truly nails a christmassy vibe and I loved reading all of the descriptive passages in the book. It felt warm and homey throughout the narrative.

Queer representation in this book includes bisexual main character and love interest, several queer side characters, and a trans woman as the mayor.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for holiday joy or a cozy fireside read.

4.25 STARS

First things first, I was given a copy of this book as an ARC, in exchange for an honest review. A big thank-you to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Courtney Kae for allowing me to be an early reader!

TW: death of a family member, alcoholism.

This book follows the lives of Morgan Ann Ross and Rachel Reed. Morgan moved to Los Angeles to become an event planner, while Rachel runs her family farm back in Fern Falls.

Morgan and Rachel are childhood best-friends to lovers. After their high school graduation, they have a falling out.

Now it’s many years later, and Morgan is back in Fern Falls for a business opportunity. Her plan is to enter the town, sort out her work, and head back to LA. But what happens when she runs into Rachel, along with many other people from her past who made up her childhood? Heading back to her life in LA may not be as easy as she thought.

Reading a Christmas/winter-themed book in the summer isn’t really my thing, but I loved how this book made me feel. I would definitely recommend checking this one out. I love Courtney Kae’s writing style, and I found the characters to be quite likeable.

If you are looking for a good holiday, small-town, sapphic romance — that also has childhood best-friends to lovers — then this is the perfect book for you!

Rachel and Morgan are childhood best friends who lost touch after knowing they had feelings for one another and haven’t seen each other since Morgan left for LA to plan large scale events.

Morgan is now back in her home town of Fern Falls putting on an event for her company for Rachel’s tree farm. This book had everything I love from a Hallmark Christmas movie plus a little spice. It had the cute falling in love montage in a home town, the friends and business owners in a small town that come together and finding the true source of joy and love and this was even better as it had two female bisexual leads who fall in love during their second chance romance.

Truly I couldn’t have asked for a better WLW Christmas Rom Com, it was perfection. This novel provided all the feelings of cheer and happiness you’d expect and it never focused on homophobia or bigotry, just a sweet and spicy romance.

If you love that as much as I do then this book is for you!

5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading this one was fun for the most part. I absolutely loved the beginning as it drew me in immediately and I found myself so eager to know the story of Morgan and Rachel. The backdrop of Fern Falls was also lovely. It was like hitting the jackpot after weeks of a reading slump. Well, those were my thoughts until 80% in, where it took a wrong turn. The rest of the story was difficult to read for me despite a strong start. I guess it was because of the cliches and because Morgan became so infuriating and the conflict, forced. It felt to me that the story could have ended at 80% and I would have been a happy camper.

However, for a debut novel, this was pretty good. I would definitely look out for Courtney Kae’s next releases. She holds lots of promise as a writer.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 of 5

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.
In the Event of Love is the sapphic hallmark rom com we all deserve. Packed with all the hallmarks( haha get it?) of the genre, such as snowy walks, last minute break ups, grand gestures and small towns that have the best hot chocolate, in the event of love was so fun and cozy. As with all good holiday rom coms, you gotta suspend belief for a bit with all those grand gestures that always manage to go *just* right, but to be fair, it wouldn’t be true to the genre if it wasn’t like that. Morgan and Rachel are such an adorable couple, and I’m a sucker for second chance romances. For me, the idea of long lost lovers finding their way back together is the epitome of romance and fate.
That all being said I wish the author used the words ‘growled’ and ‘nuzzled’ a little less.
Overall, this was a sweet and cozy story that will be perfect to read during the holiday season. 4/5 stars

A cute and steamy sapphic romance that has all the Hallmark vibes!

Full of steam and second chances, In the Event of Love is your typical holiday feel good romance set in the small town of Fern Falls. Perfect for those looking for a cozy Christmas read!

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
In the Event of Love was essentially pitched as a “queer Hallmark Christmas story,” and it fulfills those expectations. With LGBTQ+, and especially sapphic, fare often absent from holiday movies (we don’t talk about the dramatic mess that is Happiest Season), I love that Courtney Kae was inspired to create a story inspired by that concept.
And I did like the idea of it. The atmosphere of the small town is wonderful, and I love the community and found-family dynamics among Fern Falls. And I’m a sucker for the “save the small town from the predatory corporation” element.
But this definitely felt like this was a victim of the issue going around where the book is marketed on fun tropes like “Hallmark movie” and “friends to lovers” and “second chance” without a lot of substance to back it up. The characters are…fine? Morgan is reasonably well-defined as a city girl returning to her roots, and Rachel’s investment in saving her family’s Christmas tree farm is something fun that stands out.
But I just didn’t feel the long-term chemistry between them. Did they even like each other? I wasn’t even sure at points. They definitely had sex, so it’s a bit steamier than Hallmark. But I didn’t feel any real emotional stakes, telling me why I should care if they got together or not.
While it didn’t really work for me, it was a lot of fun. And I can see why other readers might want something that’s just pure enjoyment, especially with the holiday season around the corner.

This book is like a Hallmark Christmas movie, in queen book form. I really enjoyed parts of it, although Morgan was kind of a pain, and maybe it's just me, but her back story didn't illicit much sympathy from me. And Rachel was not much better. I think I had a hard time connecting with them in certain parts.

Also, the miscommunication trope drives me insane!!! I know others out there like them, but that made this book harder to read for me. In the beginning and near the end, especially at the end, that fights bothered me. I didn't quite understand Rachel's initial anger about everything. Sometimes I like her and sometimes her character really infuriated me. Also, why are so many stories so hard on the character that wants to have a successful career, can't they have both?!

I did really like the representation in the book however, and the town sounds like it's out of a fairy tale. All-in-all, this book is a solid 3.5 star read. It's perfect for a Holiday story. It's a little cheesy in parts, but who doesn't love cheesy when looking for a festive book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC.

This book is so soft, romantic, heartwarming, and beautifully inclusive that it tugged hard on my sappy heart. I choked up on SEVERAL occasions. I loved all the relationships from the romance between Rachel and Morgan and the "will they or won't they" mutual crush between Adam and Ben to Morgan's relationship with her dad and basically every resident in Fern Falls. There was just so much GOODNESS in this book - the Ted Lasso of romcoms!

Imagine you are an event planner longing to being promoted to director of the NYC branch of your event company but your ambition is thwarted due to a scandal. What would you do? Would you cry your heart out and wait to vanish into thin air? or would you rather return to your hometown to enhance your reputation by helping in the plannings of a fundraiser event? This last option is the one Morgan, the main character of this story, chooses... Little does she know the fundraiser she is willing to help involves her ex-girlfriend.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed this book: the characters are complex and loveable, the plot is consistent and the book as a whole warmed my heart. Moreover, the chapters are short, which makes this book a good option for people who juggle with keeping up with both responsibilities and readings.
However, if I had to change some elements of this book, I would improve the books' narrative prose, which several times felt like I was reading Morgan's journal instead of a book from her point of view, especially the sex scenes. Having mentioned that, I believe Kae's writing failed to create a sexy atmosphere in the novel's streamy moments, which made me disconnect from the book in those scenes.
Overall, if you are a "She gets the girl" who's wondering what to read next, look no further. In the event of love may be your cup of tea.

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange of an honest review*

A hallmark movie with an extra serving of steam! This one was a fun story of former best friends, reunited to save the local town from takeover by a business mogul and rekindle their relationship in the process. A lovely, queer Hallmark romcom with the spice you want!

Check this one out for feel good holiday cheer, warm love, and a great cast of supporting characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for this ARC!

Oof. I wanted to like this one so much (I mean hello, steamy sapphic hallmark christmas movie sounds like exactly my vibe) but everything about this felt clunky and oddly flat.

The small hometown was cute and should have been more fun but it felt like a wooden set piece instead of a vibrant community of side characters. Some of the plot points felt shoehorned in and several of them were overly ridiculous even by hallmark movie standards. The resolutions to all the big conflicts were so abrupt and unearned!

And of course, the cardinal sin - the sex scenes were super cringeworthy. Before reading this I would have said there was no way steamy scenes featuring a hot lumberjane love interest could be bad but uh. I was proven wrong here lmao