
Member Reviews

⭐⭐/5
• "save the town" holiday sapphic romcom
• flat characters
I did enjoy our cozy and welcoming small town setting, Fern Falls. But I didn't really enjoy much else. The relationship wasn't believable to me (dare I say cringey) and I felt like they hardly connected as adults. Our MC comes off as immature and whiny for most of the book. This one just missed the mark for me.
🗣️ Thank you to @netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

I just loved this book! It’s all the feels :) and I didn’t want it to end. I hope we get an Adam snd Ben story and get to be back in fern falls with everyone and see where everyone ends up with the hotel and farm together. I’m already recommending this book to everyone on my book account. It was a very perfect holiday read (yes very hallmark vibes and I am completely here for that) !! Will def read any future books by her

TW/CW: vomiting is mentioned briefly, death of a parent due to cancer (off page, before the story starts), minor character struggling with alcoholism, kids with parental issues all over the place
Rep: 2 bi female MCs, sapphic side couple, achillean side characters, Asian trans side character, Jewish side characters
"The world needs more queer holiday romances, don't you think?"
When I saw that this book was pitched as a Hallmark movie but sapphic, I knew I had to read it. Honestly, that's exactly what it is. It follows all of the usual plot points, but adds palpable sexual tension and deeper discussions of what will truly make someone happy.
I did predict most of what would happen thanks to the holiday romcom formula, but isn't that part of what we love about them? You know you'll always get your happily ever after in the end.
Anyway, this was incredible.
Quotes are from an early copy and may not reflect the final version.
Huge thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for an ARC of this!

In the Event of Love is a super cute sapphic Christmas romance that was the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit for me. It reads like a hallmark movie, with the typical “city girl returns to her small town for Christmas” plot. It’s cheesy at times, does a good balance of the heartfelt and emotional moments with the silly and slightly ridiculous plots. It was the a good way to get into my holiday reading. Though I enjoyed the vibes and the atmosphere of the small town Christmas, there were some issues with the writing that personally made me a little concerned, that I hope were changed in the final copy (I read an ARC).
For example, there was a moment near the end where a white character talked about burning sage, which definitely wasn’t a necessary addition to the story of plot. So, this was fine but there are definitely some issues with it that I hope we’re addressed in final edits. If anyone has read a final copy and knows if it was changed, I’d love to know!
Thank you netgalley for an e-arc of this book

This book is so cute. I love the second chance romance aspect in this book. Morgan and Rachel was a delight. Fern falls seems like a nice place to live and visit. The pacing is medium and character driven plot.

Super cute! Super fun! Definitely something I would read again, it's the perfect queer hallmark-esque holiday read.

Mistakes and heartbreaks lead Morgan Ross to leave her hometown of Fern Falls right after high school and go head first into a successful event planning career in LA. A career-threatening screw-up lands Morgan right back in Fern Falls and face to face with her first love, Rachel Reed. An opportunity to salvage her career forces Morgan and Rachel to work together to help a beloved town institution and possibly rekindle their relationship. Can they pick up their relationship where they left off all those years ago? Will they pull off this event to save both Reed Christmas Tree Farm and Morgan’s career?
This book is cozy, sweet, and STEAMY just like a latte from Peak Perk! The characters will warm even the coldest of hearts, as will the sexy scenes. By the end of the book you are rooting for, well, everyone! Do yourself a favor and take a trip to Fern Falls. You won’t regret it!
**I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

This has all the ingredients to be the perfect lgbtqia+ hallmark movie. I loved all the elements of this book though I sometimes got a bit frustrated with the main character. I loved the save the tree farm storyline where the girl who had her heart broken is transported back to her hometown. I can't wait for the next book.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publishers for an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
November comes and the anticipation of the holiday season builds. Right before Thanksgiving I get out all my Christmas DVDs and begin watching. By December 1st I'm looking for all my Christmas themed books and begin reading. During that last month of the year all I want to read are Christmas themed books, preferably the romance kind. And each year I'm looking for new Christmas books to add to my reading list. It's not that I don't reread Christmas stories from past years, it's that I want to always have new ones to enjoy with the ones that I really like and will reread each Christmas season. So....this year I've read In The Event Of Love and it is now in my every other year (because I have so many I love to read) Christmas reading list.
I just really loved this book. One, it takes place around Christmas. Two, It takes place in the winter with lots of snow and mountains. Three, it has great characters, Morgan Ross and Rachel Reed are just adorable together, and the writing was well done. Absolutely recommend and I am so looking forward to the author's upcoming book which features Ben and Adam from this novel. It is written in first person perspective so if that bothers you you might not enjoy this story as much as I did.

A very cute low angst Christmas romance! I really enjoyed this one, but it is a single POV story, so we get to know Morgan really well, but we don’t get to know Rachel as well as I’d like. I didn’t enjoy the third act conflict but the ending was so sweet and brought it back together for me. Very much looking forward to the next book from this author!

In the Event of Love is a delightful and perfect read for the holidays or anytime you want a wintery read. This feels like the queer rom-com of your dreams and fans of holiday movies will love this one. I am so happy to have a queer romance to add to the shelf of Christmas and winter stories to recommend. This feels like a gift from your best friend who knows you so well! Readers of Alexandra Bellefleur will love this book.

In the Event of Love started strong. I loved the tension between Morgan Ross and Rachel Reed (Ross and Rachel - was this intentional???) and enjoyed learning about their back story.
What fell flat for me was the fight that drove Morgan five hours to LA for 7 years. Also, the ending felt pretty reachy to me, even for a romance. Also, while I am all for a steamy romance, some of the dialogue was a bit over the top and they characters were SO hypersexualized, I had a hard time seeing their attraction to one another beyond sex.
All in all, I enjoyed this book for the most part and look forward to what Courtney Kae has up her sleeve for the next book in the Fern Falls series.

This is a new to me author and I have to say I am looking forward to reading more by this author! I loved this book

Do you want a cute, sapphic literary Hallmark movie? This book is for you! I couldn't put it down. Five stars, and I honestly wish I could rate it higher than that.

this is your typical christmas romance but make it sapphic. and i mean typical in the best way possible. it has that plot line of the work aholic main character who ends up in their childhood small town, falls in love there and decides to move back. and i love that plot: i’ve read it again and again but it hits when done well. and it was done well. the christmas spirit was there, the small town community feeling too, maybe it was a little cheesy that they had to fight a big corporation but, hey! it’s a christmas romance!! and the fact that this was pure queer joy added to that christmas spirit. if you’re looking for a cute and sapphic christmas romance, this is the one!

This was really cute and I want to go spend Christmas in a tiny mountain town now!
I’m not generally a fan of the lying/ withholding of information trope so I was a teensy bit annoyed with Morgan for that.
The epilogue was ADORABLE and I am obsessed with Ben and Adam and all their stolen glances. I can’t wait to read their story.

The two main character had zero chemistry. The conflicts felt overdramatic and childish. I might still read the next book in this series though, since one of the few things I liked about this book was Ben.

Thank you so much for this wonderful Holiday read with sapphic characters! It took me a little bit to get into this book, but once I did, I absolutely loved it. Perfect for curling up by the Christmas tree with a cup of hot cocoa, I will definitely be revisiting this book in years to come. Thank you!

to whoever writes book blurbs: please stop claiming that every queer romance is “for fans of casey mcquiston.” no ❤️
in the event of love is a hallmark movie of a book about an event planner returning to her hometown post-scandal to save the local christmas tree farm (coincidentally owned by her first love) from a corporate buyout. i wanted to like it, but i found it generic and contrived with none of the heart i expected from a small town holiday romance.
the setting was easily my favorite part—fern falls is a quirky, charming town and i would have liked to see more of it and its residents.
the plot is unrealistic and barely there, which i don’t necessarily mind in a romance if the romance itself carries the book. unfortunately, it doesn’t here. morgan is immature and all i know about rachel is that she’s hot. i never felt any spark between them despite morgan constantly fantasizing about rachel, and there is too much focus on their bond as teenagers and not enough on their relationship as adults outside of their supposed intense physical attraction. they also have significant communication issues that are never resolved.
all the relationships suffer from telling instead of showing, so what should be meaningful moments feel unearned. i wish some of the time dedicated to multiple cringe-worthy sex scenes had been spent on character development or conflict resolution instead.
i love that mainstream publishers are finally publishing more sapphic romances, but this one was a disappointment for me. it reads like a checklist of romance novel tropes with nothing to set it apart aside from an unlikable main character and a quaint, progressive small town setting.

I think this is the perfect, cozy-time holiday read for me. I fully recommend it to anyone looking for a solid festive wlw story!!