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

When Morgan's event-planning life blows up in her face, she knows it's time to get out of town so the tabloids can cool off. She decides to head home to Fern Falls, up in the mountains five hours from her L.A. home where the view is breathtaking and memories run rampant. Of course the first thing she does is crash directly into the sign of her once best friend and crush, Rachel Reed.
Rachel was just fine minding her own business, cutting down trees, chopping wood, and making the occasional sign. She wasn't anticipating her best friend Ben to arrange for her former best friend and crush to plan a charity event for her struggling tree farm.
As the two women reconnect, for better or for worse. over vanilla lattes and memories they find themselves working through old issues and against the greedy corporation looking to take over the town as they took over their neighbors.

*SPOILER marked at the VERY end*
This is a cozy, steamy, wonderful hallmark book that will make you want to break out the hot chocolate or cider no matter the weather. This book grew on me even after finishing it. I liked Morgan's character, but I loved Rachel. Ben was such a great stable character to include and I can't wait to hear his story. I also hope to hear more about the coven, they were my favorite side characters of the town. I liked that the town wasn't thriving. In small-town books you see a lot of the town doing fine with little or no work. That's not realistic in my experience, especially when it's next door to a corporate ski town. I really connected with Morgan, feeling out of touch with old friends who are still close-knit, feeling the hurt from people you once cared so much for and who you thought cared for you the same way. I waffled over whether or not to give this book four or five stars and I think I have to go with 4.5 because of the epilogue. **SPOILER HERE** I couldn't figure out how to explain this without a spoiler, but I didn't like that the proposal led immediately into the wedding, it just felt really odd to me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review

After reading this book blurb, In the Event of Love became one of my most anticipated Christmas romance books of 2022.

While it has all the makings of a great holiday romcom, it didn’t quite meet all my expectations.

The beginning chapters were strong. I got invested with Morgan who had a major oops moment with a client forcing her back to the small town that she fled from seven years ago.

But after those initial chapters the book began to show its spots that it is a debut novel. Transitions were abrupt and the characters just came off as childish and plot points drove me a bit crazy.

Overall, I think this has all of the elements of a great Hallmark-esq holiday movie with some added spiciness.

You get the girl returning home from a long absence, a quirky small town with lots of interesting side characters, a “villain” out to change the small town and some broken relationships that need mending.

My biggest problem was that I didn’t buy into the reasons why Morgan fled and didn’t (or rarely in her Dad’s case) talk to her friends or family in SEVEN years. There had to have been a big falling out in my mind but it all came down to one conversation that was pretty lackluster.

And then the actual conversation in the present to address said issues was over in like 2 minutes and hardly addressed the points. I found that really frustrating.

Plus, after her “talk” with Rachel, they went into full on “let’s get it on” mode which felt forced, a bit icky and didn’t really have any basis in them having any time coming to learn about who they were now as adults seven years later.

The idea of the fundraiser was great as was the focus of the small town. Again- total Hallmark vibes.

But then you get to the crisis moment of the story and reactions were over the top. It was like everyone overreacted and I just wanted to roll my eyes.

I felt like I waffled between “oh this is cute” (queue the grand gesture scene) to “oh this is so cringe-worthy” (that epilogue was just so wrong) throughout the book.

The makings for a cute small town holiday romance are here but I just couldn’t get over the writing at times and the conversations which seemed more adolescent than I was expecting.

Props however to Kae for increasing diversity and giving bisexuality a focus in a holiday rom-com.
I’m glad that I checked it out and the set up for the next novel sounds great, but overall, it was just OK for me.

*I received an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This was the perfect romance book to read on a cozy day, under a blanket, and with a warm drink in your hand. And this was an even more perfect Christmas book. I loved the main characters and their chemistry, they were so cute together and, honestly, we need to see Morgan and Rachel's story on screen because this is the hallmark movie we all deserve to watch this winter. I can not wait to read more about fern fall and the other characters that were hinted to be together. If you are looking for a saphic, small town romance, that is cute and steamy with all the coffee and cute friend groups, then you need to pick this up!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!
Super cute and a quick read! I feel ready for Christmas because of this book even though it’s still summer! Overall I really enjoyed it but the epilogue especially felt rushed and underdeveloped

Everyone saying that In the Event of Love is like a queer Hallmark movie is right on the mark! ...which makes me sad that I'm not in the mood for a Hallmark movie right now. Will be keeping it handy for when the perfect moment strikes.

✨3.75/5✨ (rounded up)
Who doesn't love a sapphic hallmark Christmas story? I know this girl did! Small town vibes, big city spice! I'm not gonna lie I have so many books on my plate that this was a quick read for me, also in the same way that cheesy hallmark rom coms play in the background. It didn't get all my attention, but the high rating comes from the fact that it's something that I haven't read before, and it's good for what it is! Might pick it back up in the winter and give it another go next to a fire with some hot chocolate in hand!

Pros:
- Friends to Lovers
- Second chance romance
- Hallmark Christmas movie vibes

Cons:
- on the edge of too much sex
- some of sex scenes didn't feel authentic (kinda felt like a dude wrote some of that)

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

Okay, I'm not typically a slow burn kind of person. But it was done so beautifully that I may have just been converted to the dark side. Sapphic slow burn, childhood best friends to lovers might be my new favorite genre.

Morgan as the sweet, but closed off big city girl juxtaposed with the hot lumberjack childhood best friend Rachel is perfection. This whole story reads as a Hallmark movie in the best way possible. A failing Christmas tree farm and small vacation town that needs to be saved from the corporate overtake? Yes please. Woman who ran away from her hometown, but is now it's last hope? Sign me up. Unresolved tension from old lovers and years of pining? What more could a girl ask for.

The characters were well written and authentic. The setting was beautifully illustrated and perfect for the plot. The plot was well paced, and formulaic in a comforting way. Courtney Kae is a very talented romance author, and this book was everything I could have asked for. Go get in the holiday spirit.

Did I read this book while it was nearly 100 degrees outside? Yes. Did this book make me want to curl up in a blanket and drink a hot cup of cocoa? Absolutely.

Our protagonist Morgan is an event planner in LA and things are going great until she's wrapped up in a scandal that has her leaving town for a bit and returning home - for the first time in years - to put together a fundraiser for some local businesses. Morgan is faced with her past and the ghosts that come with it as she tries to mend both the broken hearts she left behind and failing businesses around this quaint mountain town.

This book summed up is essentially a queer Hallmark movie - and I mean that in the best possible way. We have a small town and a big corporation trying to suck the life out of it, while our main character reconnects with her dad, childhood friends, and childhood bestfriend/crush/ex (who is a lumberjane and owner of a Christmas Tree farm). It was absolutely adorable and heartfelt, and I cannot wait to read it over and over again. I fell in love with Fern Falls and all its quirky residents, and am not-so-patiently waiting for the next book to come out.

At times the story toes the line at a little saccharine, but honestly, isn't that why you'd read a book like this?

Thank you so so much to Netgalley and Kensington Books for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

MY RATING: 4,25/5 STARS

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This was such a cute and lovely sapphic holiday romance, that read like a Christmas movie. We got to see Morgan going back to her hometown after a scandal at work. After getting back, and reconnecting with the people from her past that she hasn’t seen in years, she realizes that the corporate business is trying to take over her old town. To combat this, she does everything in her power to host a fundraiser that will save everything that makes her hometown special.

The setting in the book was great, and it definitely got me into the Christmas spirit. I loved reading about this small-town set in the mountains during the month of December. This really added to the experience and made me want to curl up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate.

I really loved the relationship between Morgan and Rachel. It was great to see them slowly getting to know each other all over again, while also talking through the things that went wrong for them in the past.

Another thing I really adored was the entire friendship group, and how supportive they all were. It was super cool to see some of their old traditions still being there, and how Morgan got be a part of it once again. I especially loved Ben and Adam, and I can’t wait to read more about their story (and the rest of the group) in the upcoming sequel.

I would definitely recommend checking this one out if you want to read a quick and sweet sapphic holiday romcom!

4/5⭐️

At the time of this review, it’s August which means it’s basically fall which means it’s practically holiday season and the perfect time to dive into a holiday romance. Let’s get into it.

Morgan and Rachel are best friends who grew up together in small town Fern Falls, but grew apart after strong feelings and harsh words born out of insecurities ruined their relationship. Now several years later, Morgan is an event planner in LA but is forced to return to her old life after scandal jeopardizes her career. It’s only once she steps back into her past (and realizes Rachel never truly left her heart) that Morgan begins to see her life in LA might not be what she wants and Fern Falls might be where she truly belongs.

Now this book. There are so many great things about this book. Childhood friends to lovers? Hell yeah. Second chance romance? Sign me up. SAPPHIC HALLMARK CHRISTMAS ROMANCE OF MY DREAMS? Girl, just take all my money. The romance is adorable, it has all of the small town Christmas cheesy Hallmark movie vibes that keep me coming back for more every holiday season. Add on top of that lovable side characters and a riveting story, I’m sold.

My one and only complaint would have to be (as it frequently is with me) the dreaded miscommunication trope. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a well-written miscommunication but one that spans seven years and happens not once but TWICE? That’s pushing it. Rachel’s abandonment issues and Morgan’s insecurities about not being enough ruins their relationship twice in the span of a decade when both times could’ve been resolved with a conversation about their feelings and fears. I understand that a good book needs conflict but I think that one was beaten to death.

Despite my archenemy, the miscommunication trope, making an unwanted appearance in this story, it’s still an amazing novel and exactly what you would hope for from a cheesy Hallmark holiday romance. I eat that sh*t up every time.

Did I mention it was sapphic, which cheesy Hallmark holiday romances almost NEVER are? Hallmark is one of the straightest companies to ever exist and this representation in a normally straight cis white industry is everything.

Anyways, read this book this holiday season.

This ARC was sent to me by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Thanks to both!