I've just finished reading the ARC of this book, and it's absolutely wonderful. It's a perfectly LGBT hallmark film in book form. The characters are loveable, the town of Fern Falls is like a dream- I felt represented in this book, and frankly I want to live in it. Can't recommend it enough, especially if you liked "Delilah Green Doesn't Care" by Ashley Herring Blake - however I'd say this is even more romantic than that book!

Straight up Hallmark movie right here! Morgan returns to her hometown after seven years to get away from a scandal in LA. She reconnects with old friends as well as her former best friend, Rachel, who was “the one who got away”. You know what, let’s also throw in saving the small town and it’s businesses (a Christmas tree farm and small B&B!) from a money grubbing corporate takeover.

Now, can I please read Ben and Adam’s story next?!?! 😉

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Kensington Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A queer love story that’s absolutely heartwarming, sweet, well crafted with the perfect character choices.

This book was the epitome of sweet and heartwarming. The characters, while I couldn't necessarily relate to them beyond being queer, were interesting to read about and I became invested in them and their journeys throughout the story. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book considering I don't usually enjoy Hallmark-style romances, but this one was a ball to read. It was heartfelt and steamy and everything I could want in a holiday romance, enjoyable even when read in the middle of summer!

I think that I would give this book 3.5/5 stars, but I'll round up to four. Although I enjoyed it very much, I thought that it dragged at times and occasionally I was bored. I felt like the main character, Morgan, didn't learn very much until the very end so her character development seemed very sudden. However, I don't think that majorly impacted the story in a negative way; it was just a minor issue that I had with the story. I'll definitely read anything else that Courtney Kae writes, especially if it's sapphic!

While this is far from a beach read, this sweet and spicy winter read is a lovely repreive from the heat. Morgan and Rachel demonstrate how hard it can be to reconcile past hurt yet love can persevere with communication and community as the cornerstones of support.

I loved this book. It’s the perfect sapphic Christmas time hallmark like book.

Morgan such a great main character and her romance with Rachel was perfection. The slowburn, second chance, childhood friends to lovers was done so well. My favorite part of this book was probably the epilogue because it was adorable and so perfect.

Morgan leaves her small town, Fern Fall, the summer of her senior year after a family heartbreak tears her relationship with her dad as well as with her first love, Rachel. Though she goes to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams, she is still haunted by the ghosts of her past. It takes one incident to send her career tumbling and sending her back to her hometown after seven years away to recoup. Rachel’s tree farm and the town however are in jeopardy and it’s up to Morgan to help save them. Rachel and Morgan are the second chance love story that we all love, and the way we get to see them hash out the past as well as trying to save their present is what makes this one of the sapphic romances. Courtney Kae will be an author I follow religiously! In The Event of Love is the Hallmark version of the sapphic romance we all crave.

Nope, apparently it’s not too early for the first wave of Christmas-related romance novels to hit the market.  In The Event of Love is sweet and just a touch quirky, making it a fun and fast-paced intro to the season. 

Morgan Ross is an event planner extraordinaire.  She’s busy and successful, but when she gets a business offer from her home town, Fern Falls, she’s reluctant to return to the nest.  Then a video of her making out with the scandalous Chad McTannum in a nightclub goes viral, and suddenly, Fern Falls looks awfully appealing.  She saves her job by convincing her boss that making good with the charity event she’s been asked to plan in Fern Falls will save her reputation.  Then she learns she’s been hired by her high school crush. 

Rachel Reed was Morgan’s first crush and best friend back when they were kids.  Now she’s a lumberjane who owns a tree farm and even though Rachel shattered her heart years ago, Morgan is drawn to her.  Rachel and Morgan both struggle with family issues and try their darndest to prove themselves in their individual industries.  But will it be enough to get them where they need to go? 

The interesting thing about In the Event of Love’s setup is that it absolutely subverts expectations while happily playing into the tropes that tend to be found in good, solid small town romances.  You get Christmas cheer, a warm town that’s queer-friendly and rooting for Our Couple, and a sweet and tender romance between two women.  But Morgan and Rachel are dealing with distant parents, one of whom is alcoholic, so it’s not all sweetness and light, and Morgan works hard to reclaim her relationship with her father, which is truly touching to watch.  This book is like sinking into a nice warm bath, or indulging in a Hallmark movie just as the first fat flakes of winter snow start falling.  

Between all the holly and snowballs and mugs of hot chocolate, Kae makes  pertinent points about slut shaming and familial expectations, and her writing is tops, smart and fluid and easy to fall in love with.  But I had to dock this one a little bit for some pacing issues when a little too much timeis spent dawdling in the midsection before leading into a truly wonderful final act. 

Even with my quibbles, In the Event of Love is a good read, and the perfect novel to put you in the Christmas mood. 

Buy it at Amazon or your local independent retatailer
Visit our Amazon Storefront

This is an adorable story! In the Event of Love is a feel-good contemporary romance set in a small mountain town a few hours outside of Los Angeles. The tight-knit community of Fern Falls is a charming place where everyone knows everyone and has for years. However, the town has fallen on some hard times and Morgan Ross, event planner extraordinaire and Fern Falls native, decides that a gala fundraiser with her big-wig LA company is just what the town needs to bring it back to its former glory. It’s her hope that it will save the town and get her that promotion she’s had her heart set on.

Readers can’t help but fall in love with the quaint and lovely town of Fern Falls. It’s simple, laid-back and easygoing lifestyle is brimming with appeal. The same goes for its quirky, but diverse residents. They are real and down to earth people that readers can believe in, relate to and root for. They want Morgan to succeed in saving their beloved town. But more than that, they want her to reunite with her first crush, Rachel Reed!

Though the love affair between Morgan and Rachel remains central to the plot, friends and family add a nice layer to the storytelling. They bridge scenes nicely and unify the storytelling masterfully. These secondary characters give the story arc an interesting dynamic that provides personality and texture. They aren’t just fluff; they add substance to the narrative.

Morgan and Rachel make a lovely couple, but they can stand alone in this sweet tale as well. They have spunk, and readers like them right away. They are honest, loyal and hardworking women with passion for the things they love—and that includes each other. They just need a nudge from their friends for that to become a reality. The romance is worth the buildup though. When things do heat up between them, readers are quickly swept up in the couple’s over-flowing chemistry. Their sensuality and passion hits them in the feels.

Final thoughts…

This is a charming second-chance, returning-to-home romance. The characters are more than likable and completely charming. The story premise is light-hearted and romantic. There are moments, however, that are a bit far-fetched. Fortunately, it doesn’t get in the way of its narrative. It’s fiction. It’s meant to be a Hallmarky, feel-good, happily-ever-after, and on that note, it completely succeeds.

Strengths…

Entertaining
Delightful
Likable, fun characters
Immersive story world
Good romantic chemistry

This book is so sweet and touching, and steamy! Morgan was hilarious and sympathetic, which made me root hard for her second chance with Rachel. Fern Falls as a setting is charming and cozy, and the type of place I'd like to visit. 5 enthusiastic stars.

Oof. This was not it. The characters were all flat and bland and I felt that Morgan and Rachel had ZERO chemistry. Morgan was really annoying. Also, for a cutesy small town setting, there was so little atmosphere! Too many side characters who weren't developed and oh dear lord the sex scenes were bad. Cringeworthy. I had to skip through them. And that epilogue? Major cringe. I really hated that. Major letdown.

Finally! A hallmark movie FOR ME! This book was pure honey. Everything one could want in a holiday romance! I did find myself having qualms about the ending but it's hard not to get wrapped up in seemingly good things. It would be fun to read a sequel of this book. I want to see the drama continue!

This is a darling, feel-good Hallmark-style queer Christmas romcom and I ate up every second of it.

I loved the second chance romance (and friendship!), and coming together to save a small-town Christmas tree farm? Perfection. I smiled my way through so much of this and it was genuinely a delight to read.

The characters are so fun, and I want each and every one of them to have their own books so I can read more about them and their lives in Fern Falls.

I love a solid cozy read! I just wanted to curl up in a blanket every time I picked it up! Plus it was steamy! A great combination!

If you're dying for a good, queer, Hallmark holiday movie, stop waiting and read this book instead! Morgan Ross and Rachel Reed are former best friends who are thrown together by the need to save Rachel's small town Christmas tree farm from being bought out by a soulless property developer. Morgan, who has been working as a big city events planner, returns to the town of Fern Falls after a disastrous scandal, in order to plan a fundraiser for the farm and, of course, to show her boss that she still deserves the promotion she has been waiting for. When sparks reignite between the two, will Morgan choose to stay in Fern Falls or go back to her big city life?

The characters in this book were all very entertaining - I'm happy to see this listed as Fern Falls #1, because I already can't wait to delve into the lives of some of the supporting characters from this book! The quirky small town setting is just what I like in a romance. Overall, a sweet and fun holiday romance.

Morgan is an event planner in LA then disaster strikes and she goes back to her small home town where she's asked to plan an event to help the town. N She hadn't been back in years and a lot of people resent her

In the Event of Love is a sweet rom-com style story. Throw in a few popular tropes; second chance, friends to lovers, return to hometown, and you get an easy to read, feel good romance.

Morgan and Rachel grew up together and were best friends, until their high school graduation where everything went pear shaped. Looking for an escape, Rachel leaves their small town, hoping to find her way in the city, which she does. Six years pass and a scandal within her workplace forces Rachel back home to face her demons and the woman she still clearly loves.

Shenanigans ensue, friendships are restored and Christmas festivities bring the town together. A fun and sweet story with a guaranteed happily ever after.

this was the cutest thing ever! a perfect winter romance that i sped through. the sapphic rom-com i have been wanting to read for a while. i couldn't put this down it was very addictive. i loved the characters and the romance and just everything. the descriptive writing style might not appeal to everyone but i didn't mind it.

Courtney Kay immediately draws you in with this small town romance following Morgan as she goes back home and runs into her “one time best friend turned crush” Rachel. Morgan back in her hometown to not only work on an event, she’s facing her past and moving forward.

I adored this book so much. After picking the book up I couldn’t put it down. If you aren’t into overly descriptive books, this one might be a little off putting but I would still highly recommend giving it a read. This book will have you rooting for the characters and is the perfect binge read.

Morgan, the main character, is a businesswoman from a small town, who moved to the city to run her own company some day in the future. She gets tricked into going back home for a bit, where she falls in love (again) with her former best friend after they haven't seen or talked to each other in years due to a falling out after high school. Unfortunately, this character ruined my enjoyment of the story. She fulfills basically every stereotype of a "businesswoman who needs to slow down because she's forgetting what life is truly about" and it drove me nuts.

It says it right in the book description: "Offering a steamy, queer spin on the feel-good tropes of a Hallmark movie," so I should have known this would be cheesy and cliche. It's not a bad book, certainly, and I would definitely recommend this book for fans of cliche romances, who want to see common love story tropes from an LGBTQ+ lens.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC for review.