Morgan isn’t heading home for the holidays after her career is starting to implode. Instead, she’s decided on more of a strategic retreat in breathtaking mountains full of quirky townsfolk. The catch, it’s in Fern Falls, her hometown where her crush, Rachel Reed still lives. Soon, she finds herself trying to save the Reeds’ struggling tree farm from some corporate greed.

I was really excited about this book. A sapphic winter romance sounded perfect. There was something about this one that simply fell flat for me.

The atmosphere was great. It had such a cozy vibe and really would make a great winter read for the atmosphere alone.

Beyond that, I really had a disconnect for this book that I can’t quite place. I could never connect with Morgan and since I couldn’t connect with Morgan, I found myself not able to connect with the romance. There seemed to be a lot going on that while it made for angst, which I do love, but the development for a number of those issues wasn’t there.

In the Event of Love was a decently cute read, but I don’t foresee myself picking it back up. This is one that I feel like a lot of people could enjoy, especially when they wanted a wintry read and to curl up with a warm drink.

I've tried reading this book over five times now, every time in different moods. Sometimes in a slump, others at peak reading speed, but I can't finish it. I've never once DNFed a book, but this is where I start. This book must’ve been enjoyable for some, but it's too fast-paced. Even if that works for the plot, it seems too clicjé, even for a hallmark fan like me. I might read another of the author's books, but this one didn't do it for me

Morgan Ross has the perfect job in event planning and is looking forward to a possible promotion from her job in L.A. to head of the soon to be opened satellite business in New York. Everything seems perfect, so she decides to finally let loose and blow off some steam. Only, which dancing with a stranger she makes a huge mistake and ends up caught in a tabloid scandal. To try to dust herself off, buy back favor from clients, and for a much needed break, Morgan returns to her hometown. A hometown she ran away from years earlier, with no dreams of returning. Hopefully, she can come in for her job, gain some much needed good publicity, and avoid the father she never felt cared for her and the girl who broke her heart.

This is like the quintessential holiday romance. It has everything you could want in a swoon worthy, snowy, tree capped Christmas town. Morgan is a workaholic avoiding her emotions and a painful past. She just goes through the motions and only seems to find joy in doing a great job. She has closed herself off from others for fear of rejection and it is actually quite sad. Her pain was so palpable on the page, I just wanted to wrap her up in a warm hug. So, even if it seems she was being overly evasive of her past and those in it, you begin to understand the real hurt and heartache she is trying to avoid.

Rachel Reed, the girl who broke Moran's heart, oh my gosh!!!! Her plaid, her tree chopping, her overall sunshine demeanor. This girl is a dream and it is completely understandable how Morgan fell in love with her in the first place. As you get to know Rachel a little better, you see cracks in her heart, the pain she has also endured. The reasons for her falling out with Morgan are heart breaking. These two women were fractured by figures they trusted and loved most. Unfortunately, their own past traumas lead to all of their misunderstandings and inability to truly communicate and be honest with one another.

I felt like I was in tears for these two women throughout this novel. Morgan's fears that she is not enough for anyone to actually want her, honestly had me welling up. This is a story that seems cookie cutter Hallmark, but is really an exercise in healing. Morgan has to confront her hard past in order to grow and to truly feel loved and love others in return. It was so beautiful and truly added to the romance of the novel.

I loved the found family that Morgan has acquired through the years. From her supportive boss, to her wonderful coworker, to her high school best friend Ben, and Rachel's older brother Adam. As well as, the confident bar owner (Tanner) and bubbly coworker of Rachel's (Whitney), who also has a fairy side hustle (honestly the best!). Morgan also has a wonderful motherly figure in the host of the B&B she worked at when she was younger, Mrs. Hart. This book is about a whole community working together to heal a town, and to heal the hearts of two women who truly deserve happiness.

There was a bit of cheese in there, but it would not be a holiday romance if there wasn't. But, don't forget, there was also steam, and not just from all the delicious sounding beverages either! A holiday must read in my opinion. Cannot wait for the next in the Fern Falls series.

A quintessential christmas romance! I LOVED Fern Falls and Morgan and Rachel and Ben and Adam and I'm so excited for the rest of this series!
I do wish this book was dual POV, because I feel like having Rachel's perspective during key moments could've really added to their chemistry and development. But I loved being inside Morgan's head and understanding where her hurt and fears come from.
All in all a fantastic debut from a debut author who surely has amazing stories to tell in the future! I can't wait for Ben and Adam's story!!

There’s not enough sapphic romance so when I got the chance to read this I was very excited. This book kind of fell in the middle for me. The romance was believable and had you cheering for the two but they story itself didn’t stick with me

Thanks so much for the opportunity to review this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

This book is such a precious warm mug of hot chocolate, and it's perfect for wintry fun. I loved Morgan's sweet, spunky nature, and she's a relatable protagonist. I also love Kae's representation of bi, queer, and BIPOC characters. This reads like a sexy version of Hallmark with much more depth and heartbreak.

This is a very sweet novel! The plot is not the most intense, but it still keeps you interested and it's great for times when you want to read a book that's calmer!
Morgan and Rachel's romance was amazing! They are one of the best couples I've read about!
The ending was also pretty satisfying and I think fans of Hallmark movies will love this book!

I received this book for free from Netgalley for an honest review. Very cute and sweet. I'm happy I read it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

This book was great, enjoyed.

This was a great second chance romance! I loved the secondary characters and the snowy small town. It was a cute and fun read! It was steamy and the characters had fantastic chemistry! It was cozy and a great winter read.

I found myself torn on this book. I was very excited about the premise, looking forward to a hallmark—esque small town holiday romance featuring sapphic leads, but it didn’t quite deliver what I had hoped. I found myself pushing through it, not savouring it as I’d intended to when I began reading.
I didn’t connect with the main character, or find the romance between her and her love interest entirely believable. While I did enjoy Rachel more between the two, she felt painfully clichéd, down to the flannel and beanies. It felt out of touch. It didn’t ever feel like the MC had done enough for the love interest to let her back in— though admittedly, I’m of the opinion that the conflict that had driven the two apart in the past had been a little anticlimactic.
The problems felt too easily solvable, and the main conflict was wrapped up far too neatly in too short a time for the trouble dedicated to it.
To put it simply, nothing that occurred felt earned, and I had a hard time staying in it.
I am interested in the sequel, as I found myself enjoying the side characters more than the main leads on a number of occasions, but I’m still disappointed I didn’t love this one, as sapphic representation means the world to me. Here’s to hoping the next instalment of the series sweeps me off my feet!

Enjoyed this one very much. It was soft, joyful holiday story that made me all gooey and ready for Christmas. Can't wait to read more from this writer.

I always love a good cheesy Christmas book! I enjoyed the setting of this book and the holiday spirit of the whimsical town you could feel through the pages.

I liked the overall concept of the book but the humor was definitely not for me but I still enjoyed the read and recommended it to several friends!

Thank you Kensington for this ARC for an honest review!

I loved this! The perfect winter read but it would be great at any time. I really enjoyed the community of Fern Falls and the way that Rachel and Morgan helped each other figure out what they really wanted. I definitely felt like the characters had grown by the end. It did feel a bit insta love for me even as a second chance romance, which doesn’t always work for me, and some of the dialogue felt SO explicit. I’m very excited for the second one though.

When Morgan's event planner career all but crashes and burns, she returns to her small hometown of Fern Falls and comes face to face with her childhood best friend and crush, Rachel. As Morgan tries to pick up the pieces of her career and consider what's next, she is confronted by some ghosts of the past and the grief of losing her Mom comes flooding back. As well as grappling with her distant relationship with her father, all her old feelings for Rachel come bubbling to the surface. When she discovers Rachel's farm, and potentially some other of the small-town businesses are in jeopardy, she decides to help Rachel and her old friends host a fundraiser to save the farm.

This sapphic romance was a sweet, festive, spicy and cozy winter read. I loved the small-town vibes, Rachel's sexy lumberjack thing that she had going on and the side characters too (will be looking forward to Ben and Adam's story!). As well as the lighter moments there were some truly touching moments that brought a tear to my eye. Would definitely recommend this festive read and can't wait to revisit Fern Falls.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

3,5*

Queer love in a holiday setting. I think this is slowly becoming my favorite genre. The book reminded me a little bit of One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, which I devoured in hours. The book is steamy, romantic, cozy and has all the ingredients to become a holiday best-seller. However, the book could have done with a little more character building/development, because it was hard to connect with the first person writing at times. If that were to be improved, this book would've been great!

A sapphic hallmark Christmas movie. Small town, holidays, romance. Truly enjoyed bundling up with this sweet story over the holidays.

This is the Hallmark-y winter love story that I have been wanting to read! I really enjoyed this book and the characters and plot were very dreamy. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

First, thanks to Netgally for letting me read this in advance in exchange for an honest opinion.

Over my reading life I have read many LGTBQ+ books. However, I haven’t found a romantic book about two women which I like. Unfortunately, this is not the exception. At first I was really interested in the story a love that didn’t end well. The trope of second chances is one of my favorites. I enjoy the struggle between the two main characters and how they, besides everything, try to be together again. Yet these books gave more stress than enjoyment.

We start the story with Morgan, a successful woman who, because of internet gossip, has to take a break from her job and has to go back to her home town, where her high school love lives.

Back in her town, she meets Rachel, her best friend and love of her life. They have to work together to put on an event to save Rachel’s tree farm. Until here, everything sounded fine. My problem, the situation for them to be together again, wasn’t that much of a deal, but in the first half of the book it felt like a massive snow ball and in a couple of pages it just dissolved like nothing, the plot itself wasn’t very strong.

Reading this reminds me of watching some trashy Christmas movie, where they don’t have a big plot and everything is resolved by a Christmas miracle. I was expecting a little bit more, it just didn’t come. Still, I don’t think this is a bad story or a bad book. I guess if you want a break from heavy books, this one would be perfect. Also, it works to set the Christmas mood.

this book was fine. i was expecting more, with the premise of a second chance friends to lovers sapphic holiday season. maybe if i had not read this book right after some other 2022 sapphic holiday books. it was enjoyable, but not anything that will stay with me for long.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.