Give it up for this trope-y but entirely fun and fresh take on second chance romance between two terrific women. Morgan left town years ago when Christy Vaughn, a rich and wealthy woman, rejected her father. It might have been her dad but the whole fall out also messed up Morgan's relations with Rachel. Now, Morgan's had her own scandal in Santa Monica and opts to take a fundraising job at home- for Rachel. Turns out Christy is about to take over Rachel's family Christmas tree farm, knock down the downtown, and build a giant outlet mall to go with her ski resort. The let's put on a show and save a business aspect of this is as engaging as the renewed romance between Morgan and Rachel. This has just the right amount of grit to go with the sparks (even though you know more or less how it will end). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This is the queer holiday cinematic romance we’ve been waiting for. It has all the cheesy holiday tropes that make those movies so lovable and comforting, and it has a lot more spice to it as well. A lovely comfort read for the holidays.

courtney kae’s <i>in the event of love</i> is second chance sapphic love meets hallmark. the book is steamy enough that if turned into a classic christmas film, i am convinced it would kill a large portion of hallmark’s target audience. an extra star from me.

i say this as a compliment, this is everything you imagine it will be - cute, funny, full of tropes, and set in a small town that needs saving from a ruthless corporation at christmas time. kae’s writing is simple and easy but full of care for lgbt stories, allowing for a quick read. to put it simply, i loved it. i was invested in morgan and rachel’s love the moment they met again after years of them both secretly pining for the other as they were separated by a misunderstanding, distance and silence. the payoff of their shared journey was special to witness after spending countless years watching and reading heterosexual couples get their happy endings in the hallmark rom-coms that came before this one.

<i>thank you to netgalley and kensington books for this arc and for allowing me the opportunity to visit fern falls before the publication date.</i>

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC!

As a cheesy Christmas movie lover, this book was right up my alley. I loved the set-up of Morgan having to return to her home town, the big holiday event, the small town setting. The book definitely gives you a warm and cozy feeling.

The characters were a likeable bunch, I especially loved Ben as one of the side characters, because he seemed like such a genuinely lovely person. I was also a fan of the queer rep in the story – it was great to see more than one bi character.

The relationship between Morgan and Rachel worked for me, although I sometimes wished things weren't happening as quickly, particularly at the beginning and the end of the story. A very subjective note: I wasn't exactly a fan of how the sex scenes were written.

Overall it was a lovely wintery holiday read that I'm hoping to revisit when it's not burning hot out anymore.

I really wanted to like this. The setup is so great. Morgan Ross must come back to her sleepy mountain town after an embarrassing mishap that causes all of her fancy event-planning clients to drop her. In order for her to obtain the shiny New York event planning job she wants she has to return to her hometown and make nice with all of those people she had left/ seemingly been betrayed by years prior.

A lot of this did work for me. I liked the premise and I really loved the inhabitants of the town as they slowly wormed their way back into Morgan's heart. Ben was a particular standout and I am deeply invested in his relationship with Adam (book 2?). I also thought there was a lot of potential with Morgan's relationship with her dad and the repair of that and what happened with him and the woman who dumped him (and this storyline was not really resolved).

I loved Rachel too, the hometown Christmas tree best friend turned old flame who Morgan tries to reconnect too.

I think this book would have benefited from being dual pov because just being in Morgan's pov was not enough. She SHOULD have gotten fired from her job and I don't think she is very good at planning. One passage in the book is made a joke because she's so good at planning but seemingly forgot to bring boots to the mountain town she GREW UP IN, in December.

Maybe it's because I'm not as big of a fan of childhood friends turned more turned second chance romance storylines but this one felt both slow and too fast at the same time. Something felt off with the pacing and I never really felt the two of them fall in love to the extent I was rooting for them or that their ending felt earned.

I'm disappointed because I had really high expectations for this book but if you are looking for a fun, queer romance to read this holiday season I do think I would recommend this.

Thank you very much to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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

When her holiday plans blow up after a tabloid scandal cancels the event she was planning, Morgan Ross takes a chance on heading home to Fern Falls to help organise a holiday fundraiser, hoping it’ll help her tarnished image. She hasn’t been back to her mountain-side home for years, not since she packed up her life for bigger things in LA, leaving behind her father, friends, and her former best friend-turned-crush Rachel Reed. Morgan’s plan is to be in and out of town before she has to see too many people, especially Rachel, but that plan is foiled the moment she arrives and accidentally crashes into the sign for Reed Family Tree Farm, and she’s suddenly face-to-face with the girl who broke her heart. Turns out, her other best friend Ben has set her up, hoping that Morgan’s event planning expertise can help raise funds for the tree farm to save it from the corporate business sucking the life out of a neighbouring town. Morgan and Rachel have to face their feelings for one another, and the events that lead to their heartbreak after graduation, if they stand a chance at saving Fern Falls, their friendship, and maybe even a future together.

This book had me at Hallmark vibes and had me hooked from the very first page! There’s nothing like a cute Hallmark holiday film, so I adored having those vibes in book form – Courtney aced all the cute, snow-filled Christmas fun with a generous serving of sapphic goodness! If Hallmark is looking to make their Christmas films a little more queer, this is a story they need to adapt!

Second-chance romance is always a really fun trope, and I particularly loved Courtney’s use of flashbacks to help us experience first-hand the history between Morgan and Rachel, alongside their reconnection in present time. The development from high school crushes, to heartbroken ‘enemies’, to working together to try to save their town, to rekindling their relationship, was an absolute journey and I loved being on the ride. It was a rollercoaster of feels, and I couldn’t get enough of these characters and this world.

Escaping to Fern Falls was such a joy, and while I adored following the romance between Morgan and Rachel, I also really enjoyed exploring this setting and learning about all the townspeople – as someone from a small town, I felt very at home, even though I don’t live anywhere near the snow.

I am SO keen for the next book – In The Event Case Of Heartbreak – because I fell in love with the next two protagonists from the moment we met them and I just know Courtney is going to deliver another fun queer romance! Hurry up April 2023!

Make the holidays gay with this snow-filled queer romance that will have you booking a ticket for a snowy mountain escape to find your own flannel-wearing, axe-wielding girlfriend!

this was really really cute!!

this story follows morgan, an event planner, having to go home to the small town of fern falls when she’s involved in a scandal. when she arrives, she realizes that her former best friend and crush, rachel, has taken over her families tree farm. however, due to a corporate enterprise wanting to take over the town, the farm is struggling. morgan and rachel work together, along with some other friends, to try to save the farm and the rest of the town by having a fundraiser.

i absolutely loved the setting. while it starts in LA, the majority of the novel takes place in fern falls. fern falls is small but has beautiful mountains and amazing people. i’m a sucker for small town romances because i love seeing how close everyone is and all the small businesses.

morgan was an interesting character. i liked her for the most part but she definitely could’ve used more development. rachel was an excellent love interest. i just wish that we got her pov as well. the friends that morgan made were all so adorable. i loved ben a lot and im excited for his book with adam.

morgan and rachel’s relationship was very adorable once they hashed out their issues. they used to be best friends but everything changed for them after they kissed and morgan moved (ran) away. i thought the second chance was done really well. they had some tension but you could see they really cared for one another even after not seeing each other for so long. one thing i would've liked was more conversations between them about their adult lives because a lot was focused on the past. i do understand that they needed to talk about it a lot because they were best friends but i wanted their current relationship to be fleshed out a bit more.

thank you to netgalley and kensington books for giving me this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Morgan Ross and Rachel Reed shared friendship and a kiss in high school. A few events after the kiss left them not speaking until 7 years later when Ross come barreling into her hometown to help run an event. Ross reconnects with her high school group of friends and some new people who run/work at local businesses. A main love story and some side love stories ensue as well as Ross reconnecting with her family. I especially loved the role the inn keeper, Mrs. Hart, and the B&B played. Most of this story revolves around a plethora of miscommunication or misperceptions.

I was very happy to see (and read) a queer hallmark-esque novel! While some parts/conversations of Ross's past were repetitive, I appreciated this story line and seeing some parts from both angles. It was also interesting to reflect on career vs relationships and what we think we want. I finished this book in a day and was entertained the whole time. Petunia pie and pickle pop forever!

3.5

THANKS NETGALLEY AND PUBLISHER FOR THE ARC!

This book is really cute! It’s a comfort Christmas romcom, like the movies I usually watched where I was a teenager. The fact that know we can have Christmas queer romcoms make me cry. This is unbelievable! We made it!
However, the novel is cute. The story is really simple, but the characters are very relatable and there are a found queer family! Love it! I can’t wait to read the story of Ben and Adam too!
The low of this book is the relationship between the two female leaders, Morgan and Rachel. They are cute together, but there is too much physical attraction (that’s okay, and I like it a lot!), but too little connection moments about the two. They don’t really resolve their past trauma, the things that broken their relationship years ago.
It’s a pity, because the book is good! However, this is a debut, do I’m sure the author will improve in the next ones. I will find for sure, I really want to read her new book!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a really high quality sapphic romance - I was impressed.

Small town, Christmassy, second chance vibes generally scream “Hallmark!” but this book had spice, sass and deeper plot lines that pulled it out of sugary-trope land.

My major piece of feedback is that it felt a little long - there were some descriptions of places that went over a page in length, and at times I was keen to jump ahead to the dialogue. I think it could be a fraction shorter and sharper to hold engagement.

I’ll be recommending this one at Christmas time! (Or in between, because the Christmas spirit lives year round….)

Old flames trope? Check!
Friends to strangers to lovers trope? Check!
'I stayed near you so you won't have a hard time finding me' trope? Check!
'It has always been you' trope? Check!
Angst? Loved it!

I don't know what y'all are waiting for, but this book deserves to be read!

The short memories going back and forth on Morgan's mind made me know her and Rachel in the past. Young innocent love. (Insert a song by The Neighbourhood: Are we too young for this~~~) There was more to Rachel's story than Morgan ever knew. I deeply understand why Morgan avoided going back to where she was from and the unintentional self-sabotage due to her emotional capacity. I mean, why go back to a place you had your heart broken? They were young and naive, but now that they've matured, the chance of getting back with your old flame is higher than they think.

I love Courtney Kae's writing style, how she put the story together, how Morgan found out the little details about Rachel after she left Fern Falls, and overall the POV of Morgan. This book captivated me the moment I read the first chapters, and a hard time putting the book down. I even forgot to keep track of what chapter I'm in; when I was at the end of the chapter, I wasn't ready to let go. I was left speechless for days because I couldn't convert my love for this book into words. Until now, this review falls short of conveying my adoration for In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae.

I associate these lyrics from All Too Well by Taylor Swift when Morgan saw the message of Rachel wanting to meet up:
"Well maybe we got lost in translation
Maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece
'Til you tore it all up
Running scared, I was there
I remember it all too well
And you call me up again
Just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
'Cause I remember it all, all, all
Too well"

I was so excited for this! This seemed like such a good way to kick off my 2022 holiday reading, what could be better than a queer Hallmark type Christmas book?

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out for me. It was a lighthearted and fluffy Christmas book but it lacked any sort of depth or character development. It also lacked the emotion that I think a second chance romance needs (they see each other again after seven years and are pretty much in love again right away without a lot of convo about what happened before and what they want now - and guess what, they repeat the exact same mistakes as they did the first time around)

It also started off VERY slowly and took a while for me to get into it. Some of the humor I just didn't connect with (she tells a coworker she doesn't like to "go fuck a pair of plaid capris" ... I don't know what that means?) It's told strictly from Morgan's point of view and I didn't find her to be a particularly likeable character so it was hard to root for her.

If someone is looking for a fun, fluffy, low angst holiday book with a bit of steam then maybe they'll love it! I just needed a bit more.

I was really hoping to read this and while it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, I still enjoyed it.

I fell in love with the atmosphere immediately! This story takes place in a small, cozy town called Fern Falls in December. Winter and a sapphic romance? Sounds like the perfect book to me.

The characters were great as well! I loved watching them grow closer together after everything that happened in the past, as well as make new friendships and fix bonds that had been broken.

Plot wise, I was rooting for the characters the whole time, hoping that they would be able to save the farm, and the town by extension.

(minor spoilers start here!! I don't go into specifics though!)

However, I do have a couple complaints about this book.

My main issue was about two thirds into the book, when everything was starting to come together and work out. Of course I expected something to go wrong around this time since there was still a bit left in the book, but I wasn't a fan of the way the fallout happened. Throughout the book, we saw the main characters growing and learning from their past mistakes, and allowing other people into their lives when they hadn't before, but should have. At this point, I was thinking that they really had changed from that, but unfortunately, not so much. One problem turned into a big argument, with the two main characters acting just like they had seven years ago when they stopped speaking to each other. They both made the same mistakes again, without a second thought, and didn't realize that until they separated themselves again. Usually at this part of a book, I start thinking things like, "how are they gonna fix this?". But this time, I just really didn't care that much. I was just disappointed. It all worked out beautifully in the end, but I just couldn't feel bad for them.


This one is just a matter of personal preference, but I wasn't a fan of the spicy parts of the book. There were 2 or 3 chapters dedicated to just that, and again, this is just a personal preference, but it was a little much for me. There was also some dialogue during other chapters in the middle of a conversation or during an event where a character would suddenly just start making sexual advances and I was just like, wow okay, that's happening. Some of it just felt a little weirdly timed to me. It just seemed... excessive.

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have been waiting and anticipating this book since I first laid eyes on the cover. I finally got a chance to read the ARC and not only did the book take my breath away, but I couldn’t put it down. I was rooting for Rachel and Morgan the entire time. They were such an easy couple to fall in love with. I read it in one sitting and loved every page. It’s a touching love story about second chances, finding what’s important to you, and loving who you are. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

If you love winter drinks, being cozy, cheesy hallmark movies, and romance I highly recommend this book. It was everything I could have hoped for and more 💜 it’s definitely going to be one I read every time it snows! ❄️

A special thank you to Courtney Kae for writing this book. Growing up there was absolutely no queer representation in cheesy holiday movies, and for years I’ve been wishing for one. Thank you for making my dreams come true with this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for letting me review this book.

This was a Hallmark movie in a book, just make it sapphic and open door. Unfortunately, I'm not a big Hallmark fan, so this was a little TOO cliched and therefore predictable to be a standout. While I know a lot of romance has some level of predictability, I knew from about the 10% mark EXACTLY how the story would wrap up - which just doesn't work for me personally. Plus I probably spent about 30 minutes trying to sort how a lemon tree is successfully growing in a locale that's completely covered in snow in the winter when I can't even grow one in Texas where we only get measurable snow every few years. Yes I had to stop reading to research on google. No, the location portrayed in this book could not have had a fruiting lemon tree growing outdoors. Yes, I tend to get hung up on and overanalyze small inconsequential details.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't actively dislike the book, it just wasn't to my taste. It was a relatively quick read, the story moved along well, and there were lots of sappy and heartwarming moments (as would be expected). If Hallmark holiday movies are your thing, this is your book.

This romcom was sweet and it’s always nice to get a holiday setting in sapphic romance novels. We do not have enough of that.

This book is cute and worth the read if you love romance and the holidays, just fell a little short for me in certain areas such as humor and some other things that felt a bit bland. Especially since this was such an anticipated read for me this year. Maybe my expectations were just a bit too high.

I loved this established atmosphere and setting. I was transported into a small town during the holiday season every time I sat down to read. The found family trope in this book is also super comforting.

I am looking forward to reading more of the Fern Falls series despite this not being one of my favorite books by any means. I do not want to say goodbye to this universe yet!

Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review.

I was always going to enjoy this book. You’d have to write pretty darn poorly for me to not enjoy a small town Christmas second chance sapphic romance!

This book was just very sweet and so full of emotion. I found myself laughing out loud at times and crying at others.

Morgan was such a relatable character. Her own self doubts and the way she treated people because of them, the way she put up walls around herself as protection, felt so real and raw and I understood her completely even if I didn’t always agree with her.

Rachel, I found a little harder to understand, but she was still an absolute delight to read. She was smart and passionate and funny and sweet and the perfect book girlfriend, really.

The supporting characters in this book are all delightful too. I really adored Ben. He’s such a wholesome, patient, kind character and I hope the next book in this series focuses on his and Adam’s relationship!

This was a super cute, sapphic holiday story that had a large amount of representation. It is very comparable to a Hallmark movie and included the spice that I'm always craving. The side characters really made this story and I cannot wait to see them all again. A few times it did feel like it dragged on a bit in the middle, but maybe I was anxious for their happy ending. I know grand heroes are a thing, but I would've liked Rachel and Morgan to have worked out their happy ending together. Overall it was a really sweet read.

If you love Hallmark movies, this is definitely the book for you.

One major theme of this book is the idea of belonging and who belongs where and the idea of finding your place both spatially and emotionally.

I feel I would have connected with this book more if I had liked the setting more - it was just a little too quirky for me.

In the end, this is a LGBT+ fairy tale and it definitely succeeds as that. I highly recommend it to people who need a fairy tale in their lives or any lovers of small town romances.

This book is well-paced, well characterized and excellently written.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and the publishers for review free of charge. Opinions remain my own.

Thanks Netgalley for the copy of this book!
It was adorable, sexy, and left me wanting another book about two of the side characters. That’s always a good sign.

I’m always on the hunt for more sapphic romances and this one really was great if you’re looking for a holiday small town romance. My only complaint would be the ending felt a bit rushed.

Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.