I wish I could rate this higher because I want to support alllllll the queer romances we can get. But even for a hallmark-esque movie this was saccharine beyond what I could handle. The descriptions of, well, pretty much everything-from the snow to the trees to the sex-was over the top and laden with clichés and tropes. I finished it because I did want to see what would nearly break the happy couple a part (again) but it did not leave me wanting to read the next in the series.

Love cheesy Hallmark movies? This one is for you. This book brings a new twist to the Hallmark movies we love to cringe over. LGBT representation. Girl falls in love with the small town Christmas tree farmer. Charming and heartfelt. What more could you want ?

A queer holiday romance that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. In the Event of Love is a small town, second chance romance that is perfect for anyone who enjoys Hallmark movies but wants more LGBTQ+ representation.

Morgan Ross has worked hard to climb up the ranks of celebrity event planning in LA and is in line for a promotion to lead the new New York branch. One rough night puts everything she’s worked for at risk. Her only chance is to return to her hometown, Fern Falls, and plan the perfect fundraiser. She hopes to make it through without having to face the people she left behind, especially Rachel Reed, but fate won’t let her avoid the sexy lumberjane.

I really enjoyed that this wasn’t only about Morgan reconnecting with Rachel but about her reconnecting with everyone from her past. There was good backstory on both Rachel and Morgan’s families as well as the friendships. It felt like the MCs forgave each other a little too quickly and there could have been more conflict. Ben was one of my favorite characters and I would have liked to see more of him. Luckily, his story seems to be the next in the series.

Overall, I enjoyed this while reading it, but I’m not sure it will stick in my mind.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This adorable novel is set in a small town in December and it has all the magic of a sappy Christmas movie. Morgan fled her hometown for LA after high school, never looking back and leaving her best friend/crush Rachel behind after a kiss and a fight. Now a very high profile event planner, Morgan makes out with someone in a bar one night and it turns out to be the fiancé of one of her clients. Now a target of the paparazzi and reviled on social media, even though she didn't know who she was kissing, Morgan heads home to her childhood small town in the mountains to weather Christmas. When she gets there she realizes that Rachael's family Christmas tree farm is in trouble, and so is the whole town. Can Morgan pull together the means to save the town, work closely with Rachel, repair old relationships, and save her career?

If you want Christmas cuteness and sappy romance, this is the perfect book for you. The plot is reasonably predictable, but despite knowing exactly how the story would play out, I couldn't put it down. This one will be going on my Christmas feel good book rotation.

"The world needs more queer holiday romances, don't you think?"
Yes, Becca Rae, yes I do.

In the Event of Love was downright whimsical, y'all. I loved it, absolutely loved it.
Fern Falls was the perfect picturesque little mountain town with a library bar, a charming B&B and even fairy gardens. Courtney Kae did such an excellent job bringing Fern Falls to life in my mind. I got this ARC in March (thank you Kensington Publishing and Courtney Kae!), so I wasn't sure if I would get the full effect, but just reading this book filled me holiday cheer. The descriptions of the snow, the holiday lights, Enchanted Evenings and all the festive drinks that were had really got me in the holiday spirit and I find myself looking forward to the holidays this year.

I loved Morgan and Rachel's story so much. I love how sweet they were with each other and how passionate and on the same page they were most of the time. The chemistry between these two was so beautiful, and the spice was everything I wanted it to be.
I'll be honest, I was initially slightly disappointed that this wasn't duel POV. I think I've gotten used to with so many romance books choosing to go in that direction, but I actually really appreciating getting Morgan's full POV the whole time. Morgan was so relatable to me, and I started to fall in love with Rachel too.

My heart soared through this entire story and the epilogue made it swell with joy.

Courtney Kae’s debut will undoubtedly be among my top romance reads of 2022. Kae has a fresh, true, perfectly millennial voice that brings her characters alive with quick one-liners, devastating romcom mishaps, and emotion that practically vibrates off the page. I’ve read very few romances as soft and tender as this one, where the balance between longing and hesitation was so finely drawn.

Briefly: Up-and-coming event planner Morgan accidentally torpedoes the wedding of the year, earning herself a month-long reprieve to let things cool off at the event planning company she works for. She retreats to her hometown to regroup while planning a fundraiser for a local tree farm operated by Rachel, the sexy, axe-wielding, door-leaning lumberjane who loved her and left her years ago. Pratfalls, hijinks, and scheming ensues, as does tenderness, steam, and happy ever after.

What struck me about this book, time and again, was how perfectly Kae has written the book she set out to write – a “steamy queer [branded holiday movie]”. Think of every trope you love about Christmas movies: adults returning to the struggling small towns they swore they’d left forever, local businesses fighting off generic big-box encroachment, so many hot people with outdoorsy jobs you’re practically tripping over them, second chance romance, family reunions, burying of grudges, hot chocolate and singing and love that feels like magic. Everything you want in a Hallmark movie is in this book. Everything.

I can’t wait to read more beautiful romance from Courtney Kae. Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for an advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Kensington Books & Netgalley for this eARC!

A wlw, second-chance-at-love, Hallmark-esque romance, set in a small hometown, at Christmas? Why aren't they already working on the movie of this for Xmas '22?!

This book was great. Honestly, it was so well done, it's a fantastic debut. Morgan was a great protagonist, and Rachel and appropriately hot love interest. I would have liked to have the book from both their POV, but that's honestly a minor qualm. The supporting cast, what we get of them is great. The romance is cute, and when it gets steamy, ooof, does it get steamy.

If I had any major qualms about the book, it's the inevitable 3rd act argument/misunderstanding/break-up. I am genuinely never a fan of it, no matter how much of a trope it is in the romance genre. Sometimes it's done better than others, but this one feels particularly forced. Morgan spends so much time going on about how much happier she seems, not just with Rachel back in her life, but being around these people she cares about, and in Fern Falls in general...and yet she doesn't hesitate to accept the promotion in NYC as she would have at the start of the book, in spite of how much she's changed otherwise, and what's more expects Rachel to go with her, as if that was ever going to happen. It seemed so forced! It frustrated me so much, I nearly took off a whole star for it, but in the end, the rest of the book, and the wrap-up, meant I couldn't.

So, other than that minor issue, great book. 4.5 stars

Morgan scoffed at the idea of returning to her hometown when she was asked to plan a fundraiser to save a local Christmas tree farm. But after a disastrous viral photo puts her L.A. event planning reputation at risk, Morgan is grateful for a chance to hide out in Fern Falls—until she realizes the owner of the tree farm is none other than Rachel, the former best friend who broke her heart years ago. Morgan quickly learns that there's much about Fern Falls, and Rachel, that is worth revisiting.

This lovely holiday romance is full of quirky characters, small town charm, and winter cheer. Morgan is a protagonist you can't help but root for, and her love story is the perfect balance of steamy and sweet. I wish I could visit Fern Falls in real life!

This was the most Hallmark-style romcom you could imagine. Were there some plotlines that sort of faded away in the middle? Yeah. Was the romance a little fast after them being away from each other for seven years? Also yeah. But was it cute and cozy and the wintery lesbian Hallmark book of my dreams? Absolutely.

I really had a blast reading this - it was a fast, lighthearted read that really transported me into a winter wonderland. All of the characters had great character development, the cast of ensemble characters was all great and everyone had real personalities, and there was a huge sense of found family, which really made everything better.

I didn't personally care for the spice, it felt a little rushed to me and I've personally read better spice, but that's fine, I enjoyed the overall rom-commy-ness of the story, so this was just a small drawback.

I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a fun sapphic winter romcom. I really did enjoy it and I will be checking out the author's future work.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wish I liked this book. I really wanted to. I just couldn’t get past the main character’s negative and vague inner monologue.

I loved the premise of In the Event of Love-- Morgan, fleeing bad press, returns to her small town to help plan a local charity event-- which turns out to be for her ex-best-friend-slash-crush's family farm. Morgan and Rachel had a falling out just after high school graduation and haven't spoken since, and feelings immediately come back up. Morgan decides to help Rachel raise the money she needs to save her farm from the large corporation trying to buy it (spearheaded by Morgan's father's ex-girlfriend).
The dynamic between Morgan and Rachel is great-- there's a lot of tension, a lot of sweet moments, and a lot of steamier ones, too.

I liked In the Event of Love. I wanted to love it, and I almost did, but there were a few things that held me back from that:
1. When Morgan decides to return to her hometown, her boss offers the company's support in planning the event, which is never really mentioned again. Morgan does reach out to her at the last minute, but it was kind of jarring for it not to be brought up before then. I kept waiting for the moment when she leaned on her team of professional event planners, but it never came, and there was no explanation as to why.
2. The epilogue kind of ruined it for me. Morgan and Rachel have a big blow up and don't speak for seven years. Then they're together for less than a month, and then have another big blow up and get back together. The epilogue takes place a few months later, when Rachel proposes to Morgan and leads her straight to a surprise wedding when Morgan says yes. It felt way too rushed and pulled me out of the story enough to knock down a full star for it.

Courtney Kae's In the Event of Love is the steamy, sapphic Hallmark movie of your dreams! Kae creates the coziest holiday winter setting in Fern Falls, while the budding romance between her two leads burns red hot. Morgan and Rachel are both loveable characters working through relatable issues, and readers will quickly root for them to make it work this second time around. The themes of broken family and grief are handled with care, and the cast of secondary characters screams to have books of their own! I couldn't put this one down! It is truly a cup of hot cocoa in book form.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for proving this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I start this book just was everything you want in a sapphic holiday romance it was so cute !! Both characters were written so well and extremely likeable in their character and character development and I think the author did a good job at the characterisation of them both. I also loved the town and the way the town was described and portrayed, as someone from a small town this felt very realistic ! Also the smut scenes were written very well and i didn’t find them to be cringe in the slightest which sometimes tends to happen when i’m reading contemporary romance. I think the author did an extremely good job with that.

Going into this book I didn’t expect any found family and was pleasantly surprised there was some (I don’t know why I didn’t think there would be any it’s a Holiday book after all) !! I just think this part really made the book even better and I was glad to see that not only a romantic relationship was explored but there were also a lot of friend and family relationships that were explored and built. While I would have loved a bit more development (especially family wise) I was very happy it was there to begin with.

The only negative thing I would have to say is, it did feel a little rushed sometimes with the romance in my opinion (that could completely be up to the fact that they use to be best friends and had that history) but I would have loved to see a little more development in that area. It felt like they were still struggling with what happened with the main character leaving the town for years and no contact between them and the ‘make up’ section felt short in comparison to the hurt the li felt when she left and came back suddenly. I was glad however that they showed the li brother being weary of main character coming back because the best friend seemed to not be that hurt at her leaving for how many years? and it felt like at least someone was cautious of her which you would expect after she left for 7 years I believe with no contact. I know personally I wouldn’t just be okay if someone did that to me. Despite that though as I mentioned previously I was rooting for the main character and i’m glad they built on the reason she ‘runs’ when things get tough almost and the author did a good job of getting resenting real characters instead of two dimensional ones that we sometimes see in romance.

Apart from that though I just really loved this book and the writing and I cant wait to (i’m hoping) to see other characters and relationships to be explored from this book in future books !! I think this book has the potential to become very big especially for readers getting into contemporary romance and I cant wait to read more of this authors work. I would 100%, definitely recommend this book to others !!

THIS BOOK!!!! Courtney really gave us the steamy, Sapphic, second chance romance, Hallmark movie book of our dreams and we can only thank her for her service. Five stars to everything from the festive small town charm to the incredibly sexy lumberjane love interest - I read this book in two days and haven't stopped thinking about it since!

Oh my goodness, IN THE EVENT OF LOVE was one of my most-anticipated books of 2022 and it did not disappoint. This is holiday romance at its best. Morgan is such a delight, and her chemistry with Rachel sizzles. ITEOL is swoony, fun, and heartfelt. I want to live in Fern Falls forever.

Cozy, heartwarming, and ADORABLE! Morgan travels back home to help save her first love Rachel’s family tree farm and their town from a corporation along with their childhood friends. This romance has the vibes of a steaming cup of hot chocolate with a generous amount of whip cream and marshmallows.

If you're looking for a Holiday romance to get you into the spirit of the season, then this is your book! Morgan is living her best life in LA until a media scandal sends her back to the small hometown she ran away from. And literally back into the arms of the woman who broke her heart (there's a tripping incident). Will Morgan and Rachel make amends? Guess you're going to have to find out and read this book!

What can I say about this book other than it is MAGICAL?! Courtney's debut is swoony and so sweet. Like a Hallmark Christmas movie, but with strong character development and a f/f romantic pairing. Everyone buy this book!

When I seen the cover and read the description I knew I had to snag me a copy of In the Event of Love.
And it was better than I anticipated.
Courtney Kae draws readers into her book with a pretty cover and a cute synopsis.
The author more than delivers with her amazing and lovable characters, engaging plot line, swoony romance, and unique setting.
This book was so special. It was beautifully written, full of touching moments, amazing people, wonderful humor. Everything I look for in a great romance novel, this book had it.
I absolutely loved this book and Kae has a new place in my heart for all the romance stories my little heart can stand.
I can't wait for book two!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Kensington Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review closer to pub date.

Delightful. I love second chance romances when the main characters haven't waited decades to reconnect. Morgan Ross is an event planner in Los Angeles. She has been steadily building up her career to get A-list events. When she becomes part of a viral blow-up her boss suggests she take a month and lay low. She returns to her hometown in the mountains five hours away. She hasn't been back since after her high school graduation. On day one at home she re-meets up with her HS best friend and first love Rachel Reed. Her tree farm is behind on payments and a big corporation wants the land for an outlet mall. Morgan wants to rally and plan an event to help Rachel and the town itself.

This is such a sweet book. The characters are kind but everyone has had challenges. There is snow in the air, Christmas on the horizon and a community that needs someone to bring them together. I like how the author lets Ross and Rachel (I smile every time I think of them that way) talk about their miscommunications from their past. Morgan's insecurities and her relationship with her dad are realistic. I love the friend group that welcomes Morgan home after she's been gone seven years. This is a formula book that is so well written it makes me laugh, cry and leaves me feeling very happy. I got a chance to read this early but it will be available for a winter or holiday read. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.