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.

I would give this read a solid 4/5 stars. It was the perfect read for the holidays and to snuggle in to that feeling of falling in love. It had the best tropes - enemies to lovers, found family, and small town romance. I am so thankful to have gotten my hands on a copy of this early!

Everything you want in a cosy, sapphic, Christmas, second chance romance.

Is this book full of tropes? - Yes. Did I care? - No. This book was like a warm hug. I liked that it was from just one perspective, Morgan. The small town girl who fled to the city after high school and never looked back. After being forced by her boss to take a sabbatical from her role as an event planner to celebrities after a PR disaster, Morgan reluctantly accepts an invite home to help plan a fundraiser. But with how she left 7 years ago, how will everyone from her old life react to her coming home.

I really enjoyed watching the relationship between Morgan and Rachel take off. It was subtle to start with and I liked that they talked through most of the issues from the first time like mature adults and the miss-communication trope only came into play with a recent event.

It had the best bits of a Christmas novel, small town, snow, warm drinks, cold days and Christmas trees.

We check off many many tropes in this book
The slightly comically evil corporation trying to take over a small town trope.
A second chance romance trope.
A miss-communication trope.
A friends to lovers trope.

Whilst this novel trends a fairly well worn path in terms of tropes, I loved that it was sapphic and it was just fun.

Is there anything purer than saving a Christmas tree farm from corporate greed? Event planner Morgan Ross retreats to the small town of Fern Falls just in time to help her childhood crush, Rachel Reed, save her family’s Christmas tree farm from being destroyed.

I was really excited to dive into Courtney Kae's debut novel. The world is overdue for queer holiday romances, and I'm so thrilled to see publishers acquiring more of them. I really enjoyed the community and friendships that Kae centered in this story, and the entire setup of saving not just the farm but also the town which is being threatened.

I love second chance romances, though there were times with this one where it felt as though so much of their connection was based on their past and not on who they've evolved into. I wanted to see a bit more of that growth and falling in love with the adults they've become. That said this is this author's first book, and I'm definitely curious to see what she'll write next!

Very cute story! This was such a cozy read. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing, it felt a little Hallmark-y to me, but still cute.

In The Event of Love, a young woman returns to her home town after becoming involved in a scandal, and gets emotionally tangled up in not only her town, but her feelings for her childhood best friend. I thought this romcom was very cute, and I loved the setting. This is a great book for anyone who likes f/f/ and wants to read a holiday romance! I can totally understand the 3rd act conflict, which definitely didn't come out of nowhere, and I loved the resolution and the ending. I can't wait for Courtney Kae's next book! 4 stars!

A lesbian Hallmark-esque book. Small town romance, friends, family, and the holidays...all of my favorite things! As a lesbian that goes to the local Christmas tree farm, thank you for bringing this to life!

Representation: Bisexual MC and love interest, several queer and a couple BIPOC supporting characters

Morgan Ross has a very successful career as an event planner in Los Angeles, working with many big names and celebrities. But it all implodes when she accidentally does something that gets her in the tabloids, so she does a strategic retreat back to Fern Falls. Her hometown is a tiny mountain town full of charm, quirky townsfolk, and a lot of past heartbreak. Rachel Reed is one of them, her doomed first kiss, and of course Morgan would crash into Rachel’s tree farm sign on her first day back. There’s a lot of past pain, but as Morgan spends more time in Fern Falls, she discovers that the town is on the verge of toppling into corporate greed snapping up all the properties, including Rachel’s tree farm. Morgan decides she can put aside the heartbreak and save the farm, and the town, by running her best fundraiser yet. She’ll be able to save the town and help Rachel, and get out without any more sadness. A happy ending is pretty unlikely anyway, right?

Rating: 4/5 I grew up in a small farm town in Washington, so I can relate a lot to all the small-town experiences. Knowing many of the business owners personally (or by face anyway), the charm and quirk that comes with being so small, everything’s crammed into one main street, and so much past history in one area. I enjoyed that aspect, and feel like Kae nailed that! I also really enjoyed all of the characters in this, Morgan included. I definitely was annoyed with Morgan in the beginning, because she’s so in her own head, can’t see past herself to the people who care about or try to care for her. She does go through some trials before finally getting it, and making moves to change. All the supporting characters felt like their own people, had distinct personalities and quirks, and absolutely felt like small-town people. I want to make it clear that I don’t mean that in a bad way! Just saying that people from small towns have a very different outlook and personalities compared to those who grow up in the big city or suburbs. I really enjoyed this sapphic romance, , and the suggestion of an achillean attraction. I also want to add that both Morgan and Rachel are bisexual!

Thanks to netgalley for an eARC in exchange for (a very late) honest review!

It’s a bit like reading a queer Hallmark christmas movie, featuring two bi best friends and their found family. There’s a christmas festival and shenanigans and saving a town and the local inn. A bit slow at times, but it hits for the holiday season

Such a cute romance for the holidays! Was a fun light read for Christmas and couldn’t put it down a great cosy read

Super cute, sapphic winter read with all the makings of hallmark movie. Lack of communication was the main issue with couple, nothing too serious or overly emotional (though CW: alcoholism). A good, light read.