Cute, sapphic holiday romance. Very much a hallmark feel. Was not super memorable but, it was an enjoyable book.

Woman returns to small town after "something" goes wrong in big city, only to be confronted with old friends and feelings, but when someone threatens to destroy the little town can they team up to save it and find love in the process?

This book was everything I have ever wanted in a sapphic holiday movie. Fantastic chemistry, comedic timing, and two swoon worthy female leads.

At 18 Morgan Ross ran away from Fern Falls, with a broken heart and no plans to return. When her successful event planning career implodes she agrees to go home for the holidays and plan a local fundraiser. Only to realize she has been tricked into working with her ex best friend, and the woman who still has her heart, Rachel Reed.

3.5/5

In the Event of Love is a super sweet sapphic rom-com set that gave me major Hallmark vibes! Morgan hasn't been back to her hometown since she and her best friend Rachel had a falling out after their senior year of high school. Now it's 7 years later and a scandal at the job she loves sends her back to her hometown for the holidays.

I loved seeing Morgan and Rachel reconnect and rebuild their relationship. The side characters were all great, and each of them added personality and depth to the story. I personally found the book a little too predictable and the spicy scenes didn't really work for me, but it was still an enjoyable read!

This was a cute holiday book, and it's perfect for someone looking for a cozy book with little angst!

Things I loved:
•Queer representation
•Small town romance
•Ben & Adam!
•Only one tent
•Vanilla lattes

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Courtney Kae for an eARC of this book in exchange for my review!

PLEASE GIVE ME THE HALLMARK MOVIE RIGHT NOW!

"In The Event of Love" is a warm blanketed hug on a frigid winter night and a charming slow burn second-chance estranged-besties-to-lovers sapphic holiday romance (with a dreamy lumberjane). This beautifully written story is the perfect mix of soft and steamy, set in a whimsical small town filled with lovable characters and a spoonful of found family.

Morgan Ross is an event planner living in LA, but after falling victim to a career-disrupting tabloid and social media rumour, she reluctantly returns to her hometown of Fern Falls despite being doomed to run into her one-time best friend turned crush who left her heartbroken. When Morgan discovers Rachel Reed's family tree farm is struggling and about to fall victim to corporate greed destroying the heart, soul and livelihood of the town, she decides to plan a fundraiser. If it can also get her her dream promotion and rehabilitate her image at the same time, all the better.

I absolutely LOVED the fairy farm where you get assigned a name and now need to know what mine would be. I'm going to go with Autumn Moonshadow until I can be assigned an official one. Also, everyone needs a Ben in their life as he showcases friendship that transcends time and distance. I hope Courtney gives him a sequel.

There were also small mentions of Jewish traditions including lighting a menorah with a shamash and eating latkes with sour cream during Hanukkah. It was nice to see another holiday acknowledged in a Christmas story, especially because the inclusion doesn't affect the story, but offers representation.

My only complaint is that the miscommunication aspect felt underdeveloped and Morgan and Rachel's reasons for not talking to each other was hard to fathom. That said, READ "IN THE EVENT OF LOVE"!!!

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

hell yes!

in the event of love definitely feels like a hallmark holiday movie with a queer spin on all the feel-good tropes; coming home, set in a small mountain town during the holidays, found family, best friends to lovers, and second chances.

what worked for me:
- the bisexual representation and how the book didn't just revolve around the main characters' coming out stories.
- fern falls, a secluded mountain town, was magical. it was pretty progressive for a small town which i absolutely adored. i mean, it had a bar that looked like a library inside, a bookstore with a great selection of queer books, and a badass trans woman mayor.
- ben, who i'd like to believe was the perfect representation of the type of friendship that transcends time and distance. he was a gem.
- the fairy farm where you get assigned a fairy name!

what didn't work for me:
- this book has one of my favorite tropes which is a second chance at romance. however, i really had a hard time feeling the chemistry between morgan and rachel. there wasn't enough yearning and pining for it to work for me. there were times where i felt like morgan's attraction to rachel was purely physical and there was no mental and emotional connections at all. when they eventually got back together, i didn't get the feeling that their relationship would finally work.
- the main characters were under-developed; i hated it when morgan did the exact same thing that she did in the past when things got tough because it only proved that she didn't grow as a person and it's a shame that we didn't get to see the inside of rachel's mind since the story was told solely from morgan's pov making rachel seemed too good to be true.
- i get that morgan's past played a big role for her growth and self-discovery journey but the re-telling of a particular past event got so repetitive to the point that it was irritating.
- there were too many cliché story plots towards the ending and some dialogues were cringeworthy.

overall, i still enjoyed reading this. thank you netgalley and kensington books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited when I saw the trailer for Happiest Season (I know, I know, there is some valid criticism surrounding that movie, but I couldn't help loving a sapphic Christmas movie), and I feel as though this book fulfilled the same space in my heart as that movie did. In the Event of Love is the PERFECT holiday read for someone looking for an wlw storyline. I loved the journey that Morgan went on, facing her past, and I thought that Rachel complimented Morgan's character perfectly.

Can't wait to read the other books in the Fern Falls series!

This sweet and steamy sapphic romance has all the best elements of a Hallmark Christmas movie plus a healthy dose of spice. After experiencing a career-disrupting tabloid and social media storm, LA event planner Morgan returns to her small childhood hometown to rest, plan a holiday-themed fundraiser, and rehab her image.

But there are multiple reasons that Morgan has been avoiding a return to Fern Falls. And Morgan's return throws her directly into the path of all those people, memories, and feelings that she has been avoiding and suppressing for years.

A bit small town versus big business, a spoonful of found family, some reuniting of estranged childhood friends, a shot at second chance romance, a return to home, a share of healing, and a dram of finding where you belong and what you truly need--In the Event of Love will pull on your heartstrings, comfort you, and bring you cozy Christmas vibes.

CW: alcoholism, death of a parent (past), divorce (past), abandonment

I received an advance ebook copy from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

In the Event of Love is a gorgeously picturesque holiday romcom that seems MADE for Netflix. I could basically see the scenes unfolding behind my eyes while I was reading and I loved it!

In ITEOF we follow Morgan who is forced to go back to her hometown to "regroup and recharge" after a scandal nearly wrecks her thriving career as an event planner. Fern Falls is a sleepy, out-of-the-fairytale town full of family business, lush trees, and coziness - and Morgan is supposed to throw a fundraiser there to make sure her ex-crush's family tree farm doesn't go down under. This seems impossible at first but when she finally has some big talks with her old friends and former flames, things start looking up - and there might even be a chance for love.

I loved this "quaint little town fights big bad corporations who want to make it into a next hip resort" plotline - all the side characters were mostly business owners of cute little establishments (like a cafe, hotel, etc.) and it added a homey feel to the whole story that just made me happy.
I also absolutely adored all the characters - Morgan and Rachel stole my heart with their tenderness (though I do admit their relationship developed fairly quickly, but they HAVE known each other for years before their falling out a few years back - the DRAMA there! Also the STEAM! I would highly recommend this one to people who enjoy some spice with their romance books), all the older characters like Morgan's dad, Mrs. Hart, the hotel owner, and Holloway, the prickly but actually goddamn queenly neighbour, etc. I also NEED to learn more about Ben and Adam or my head will explode - we were given only bits and pieces of their story but the chemistry was 100% there and I am curious if the second Fern Falls book will be about them?

All in all, In the Event of Love was a cute and wholesome holiday romcom about fighting for love and for what you believe in, about owning up to past mistakes and trying to do better every day. I enjoyed it a lot and I already know this book will make holidays for many people very special this year.

On paper, this offers several tropes that I like to read in romance: coming home, small-town community, holiday/Christmas, and second-chance romance. Second-chance romance is rather tricky, though. For me, it should have good balance of yearning, musings, growth, forgiveness (if the break up happens because one's mistake), and I have to believe that the love still strong.

In the Event of Love , unfortunately doesn't provide that well enough. This book is written solely from Morgan's perspective. In my eyes, Morgan doesn't show enough maturity since she leaves Fern Falls. I feel that she's still carries a lot of resenment; Morgan thinks that nobody understands her reasons to leave, and just because Rachel (her girlfriend at that time) doesn't want to come with her, Morgan is not enough for her. Morgan carries that reasons for years, and when she returns, I have a hard time believing that she suddenly grows up and learns her mistake.

In addition, I feel that Morgan's attraction to Rachel is still heavily leaning to sexual attraction. I like my romance (especially second-chance romance) to focus more of the meetings of minds and hearts. Morgan doesn't pay enough attention to Rachel's hopes and dreams (and concerns and worries). She pays alot attention to Rachel's physique, though. For me, that's not interesting to read.

What save this book is the small-town community. I love the plan to save the town. I love the event that they manage to pull off. I love the secondary characters - from Ben, Adam, Whitney, Tanner, and several others. It's too bad that Rachel, being Morgan's love interest, is still a bit of a mystery.

In the end, this is only an okay read for me.

I absolutely loved this book. Such a comforting read. The characters were easy to love and the relationship was so sweet. Absolutely highly recommend this one to everyone.

This was another slow start for me. I will say I was definitely not in the mood for a Christmas type read, but once I got in to this one, I really liked it. There was excellent steam and some really sweet, sentimental moments too!! Overall the storyline of this one was enjoyable and I think it will be a great addition to any holiday reads this season!!

You will not want to miss out on this great holiday romance and first book in the Fern Falls series. Kae manages to weave together a super swoony & steamy second-chance romance, complex characters who have to deal with there issues and a warm & cozy Christmas holiday filled atmosphere in one perfectly delightful story. Morgan, Rachel and the Fern Falls gang are loveable and I very much look forward to reading their stories. Grab some cocoa and cuddle up with this very GAY Hallmark-style holiday read, you won’t regret it.

Morgan is an event planner at the top of her game, that is until she inadvertently becomes embroiled in a scandal with one of her clients. Morgan returns to her quaint hometown waiting for the dust to settle and attempting to salvage her career. While in Fern Falls, Morgan must face the friends and family she hasn't seen in years. She is also forced to take a good look at herself and finally be honest about her own dreams and desires.

In The Event of Love is a warm hug on a frigid winter day. It is a very sweet queer love story. Fans of Hallmark movies, small towns and second chance romances will love this book. I am typically not a huge fan of second chance romances, but I think it really worked here. I loved the setting of Fern Falls with its adorable businesses and quirky cast of characters. The found family in Fern Falls is made up of wonderful characters. Morgan's character arc was done well. However, I felt like there was this big conflict building throughout the book that was ultimately resolved a little too quickly and neatly.

I am so glad I got to read this book with the @lovearctually crew. Thank you to Kensington Publishing Corp. and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my review.

⭐️⭐️⭐

A glorious cup of Christmas hot chocolate in book form! All the winter wonderland you could ask for in a romance!

"Then the girl I love kisses me in the snow, before trees bedazzled with lights, and cameras and crowds and a whole wide world we made together"
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trope: 2nd chance, small town romance 
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rating: 4,75/5
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Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 
After her career nearly exploded because of a scandal, Morgan comes back in her hometown where she runs into Rachel, her old crush. Together, they have to plan a fundraiser to save Rachel’s farm. I adored this book, if you loved those rom-coms that you see on Christmas, this book is for you. I adored Morgan and her evolution and how she came to adore Fern Falls that she didn’t really like. I also really liked the relationship between Morgan and Rachel, they were so cute, especially that last scene in the forest. 
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rep: bisexual mc +li (wlw), queer and transgender side characters
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 genre: Adult Romance (+steamy scenes)
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#NetGalley #InTheEventofLove

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

100% YES.

Courtney Kae, what a wonderful debut- Sapphic, holiday magic! This book was like a steamy, Hallmark movie set in the quaintest, queer town.

Morgan Ross, esteemed event planner, travels back to Fern Falls after finding herself in the middle of a controversy with one of her high-profile clients. Morgan left Fern Falls 7 years ago with a broken heart and no intentions of ever returning.

Due to her meddling former best friend, she finds herself planning a fundraising event for flannel wearing, ax wielding, Christmas tree farm owner, Rachel Reed. Rachel also happens to be the woman who broke Morgan’s heart after a disastrous graduation party.

This book is first and foremost a love story, but also follows Morgan as she repairs her relationship with her father and attempts to save failing Fern Falls businesses from a corporate buy out. There was so much representation in this book which was wonderful. I really liked both Morgan and Rachel. They had so much chemistry and there was so much tension. I love that they got their happily ever after!

Highlights:
• Sweet Home Alabama (the movie) vibes
• Vanilla lattes
• Only one tent
• Coming home
• The shyest, sweetest, Lumberjane
• BEN
• The epilogue (deceased)

What a cute Christmas story!
This book follows Morgan who, through some unfortunate events, ends up back in her small home town in the mountains. There, she is confronted with the consequences of the way she had abruptly left the town a few years ago. She is not only meeting her former best friend and first love Rachel again, but also her other former friends and her father - all relationships that have been strained by Morgan’s actions. In an attempt to save Rachel’s tree farm and with that the entire town from comercialization, she grows closer with all of the community again, but especially with Rachel.

This book is not only a cute, also steamy, sapphic Christmas romance, but also a book about friendship and family, which I loved. Courtney Kae’s way to create such a lovely, and diverse community was amazing. Is it realistic that a small mountain town has a pride themed bookshop? Perhaps not, but I loved it nonetheless.

I really enjoyed the characters of this book, and I particularly liked the slow-burn part of Morgan’s and Rachel’s romance. Them slowly growing closer together, tension rising, was a treat to read.

My only issue with this book was the ending. Without spoiling anything, I want to say that I would have hoped for a different way to resolve the main couple’s issues, but I also get that this is a Christmas romance, which basically calls for big gestures.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I really hope for a book 2 about a certain best friend and brother.

What a wonderful, heartwarming and beautiful story.

In the Event of Love tells us a second-chance romance story, filled with emotions, a special atmosphere, and lovely characters.

Morgan left Fern Falls seven years ago after breaking Rachel's heart. So, when she discovers that Rachel's 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.

Her mission? Planning an event that returns the spirit and soul to Fern Falls. The obstacle? Not falling in love... again.

I did really enjoy this book. Courtney Kae's handwriting is amazingly hooking. She sets a perfect setting, building a story that takes place during a holiday, and with a narrative that will have you reading until you finish it.

Morgan and Rachel were absolutely adorable, with true feelings, strong desires and settled goals. That's why I enjoyed their relationship so much! Because they want grow up together as a couple and they both always encourage each other.

I was wiping the last part of the book, but I will attribute it to the fact that I'm really emotional.

This first book has already established us with a beautiful place to be (us❤️Fern Falls), welcoming writing, and extremely memorable characters that I look forward to seeing in future books. (Adam and Ben, I'm looking at you 👀)

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc.

Morgan dreads being back in her hometown.Returning to a place she hasn’t seen in 7 years, and the girl she ran from. Rachel is fighting to keep her family tree farm business up and running while a corporation threatens to take over. Can these two former friends work through their issues and find a way to save a business? Morgans job in event planning is the last chance Rachel has in saving her business. Can Rachel work though Morgan’s leaving long enough to accept her help to plan the event that might just be what she needs? This book is too cute. Courtney Kae did a great job keeping the readers interest throughout this book.

Put this book at the top of your Christmas wishlist!

This is a witty, lovable almost-Hallmark romcom with a bi main character who makes this book perfect for any season. Well, okay, Morgan is a disaster. She works too hard, seems to make all the right choices (but really the wrong ones), and is the queen of burned bridges. She's bad at making friends (and keeping them), her love life is even worse, and her career is hanging by a thread. To top it all off, she's headed home to a quaint village she thought she'd never need, and to top it all off, it's almost Christmas.

Ben, though, is my actual favorite character. (Can he get his own sequel, please?) I adore the Found Family trope, and it is perfectly done here. This small town is everything! "You will always belong here." (54)

Without seeming too ironic, the best line belongs to nosy neighbor Ms. Holloway: "The world needs more queer holiday romances, don't you think?" (246)