Yes yes yes and yes. This book was so cute and was an absolutely perfect read for me as the weather got colder! This story has Hallmark written all over it in all the best ways—LA career woman whose career implodes and goes back home and runs into who? Her one time bestie turned crush who is now a hot lumberjane with a family tree farm. It’s a slow burn, but it’s just sooooo cute! It’s the queer love story we’ve all been waiting for this winter!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I think it will be one that I come back to when I need a cozy Christmas read. The characters were both fantastic to read and their motivations and behaviors were understandable. I really enjoyed the relationship between them, they had fantastic chemistry :)

In the Event of Love is a romance set in a small town in California during the holiday season, where Morgan begrudgingly returns after her work and personal life collide, and then blow up in her face. She returns to Fern Falls in a last ditch attempt to save her career and promotion, only to run into her ex-girlfriend Rachel (quite literally, she crashes into her farm). As it turns out, the project she came for forces her to work alongside Rachel, and the two have to confront their past - and the feelings for each other that they never got over.

First of all, In the Event of Love was SO cute, when it was pitched as the equivalent of a queer Hallmark holiday movie they weren't kidding. I loved rooting for Rachel and Morgan, and watching their personal growth, as well as their relationship with one another! The rest of the cast was super lovable as well, I adored Whitney, and I'm really excited to read Ben and Adam's story. Kae managed to fit quite a lot into the story in terms of developing both Morgan and Rachel's lives, in both the past and the present. I do wish that the epilogue was a little less... abrupt? It lowkey felt like it was a rushed ending, and I'd have rather have found out about some of the details in the following books instead, but that might be more of a personal preference than anything else. Either way, it was still such a heartwarming and fun read that I could easily overlook it.

Overall, In the Event of Love was an excellent holiday romance, definitely try picking it up when you need to get into the holiday spirit!

Cute, easy to read, fun setting, but ultimately not very likable characters and we learned nothing about the love interest to make us care. Good, but not great.

Cute winter read but a bit of a let down. It’s a second chance/enemies to lovers set in a small town. I wish it was dual POV because I didn’t feel like we really got to know Rachel that well and I wasn’t a fan of Morgan. It’s definitely cute and a nice holiday romance, just not my favorite and took me a bit to get into it.

This book was so stinking cute! I can't wait to recommend it and read it again in December. The characters were just so well written!

I was really excited for this book: a steamy lesbian romance set at Christmas time sounds dreamy! But this was far from dreamy...unless you count the amount of times I snoozed reading it.

I thought the beginning had some cute promise to it, but it was just so trite and cheesy. And this coming from a girl who loves Hallmark movies! I thought there were some loose ends, things that didn't really add to the story or came up out of nowhere randomly throughout the novel that just didn't lend any substance to the plot. I thought Morgan's character was sweet, and Rachel was a good character as well, but nothing about them really stands out to me. The "villain" in Chrissy was super shallow (very Hallmark villainess vibes) and almost laughable.

I really didn't care for this novel, although I tried. I ended up skimming a lot of the text towards the end because I just wanted it to end. The "steamy" parts weren't that steamy and were too quick for my liking, but this is no reflection on the rating/review as it's my own personal prerogative. :)

My Christmas mood continues as I read this book and it was such a delight!! First of all I love a good small town romance but make it christmas and sapphic and steamy? I’m there! I felt so cozy while reading this and it definitely got me so ready for the holidays! Morgan and Rachel were so sweet together and honestly the book had me swooning the entire time. It dealt with some deeper topic at times, but it blended nicely with the story and made for a great read. It can be cheesy at times but that really adds to the Hallmark feel and makes it even more great! I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a Christmas romance!

This is one of the rare books that is exactly what you expect from it: a fluffy hometown hallmark style Sapphic romance. And I gotta say, I really don't know how the author did it, but this felt exactly like watching a hallmark movie.
I really liked Morgan and Rachel and thought they made a great couple. As it often happens with single POV, I do wish we could have gotten to know Rachel a little better. While I liked her, I never fully grasped her as a character.
The storyline and supporting cast created a great atmosphere and backdrop for our main couple. It is a tiny little bit kitschy, which I'm not a fan of normally, but I'm just glad we actually have Sapphic romance now, that can be kitschy.
All in all a nice story with a bit of spice, to get you in the mood for the holiday season.

I received an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Overall I thought this book was cute. How can you go wrong with a Christmas-themed queer romance reminiscent of Hallmark movies? That sounds perfect! I unfortunately didn't find myself very invested in the characters; there wasn't a lot of depth to them to make me really root for them and waiting to see what happens next.

I wish more Hallmark and other rom-coms had this kind of representation, which is why I was excited about this book in the first place. It was a cute, Christmas-y read that I'm glad I read but was overall underwhelmed with. I definitely recommend reading this around the winter holiday season.

thank you to the publisher for sending me an EARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

okay, i have several mixed feelings regarding this book?? like some things i LOVEEEED (like the happy part of the relationship, it was great; or the amount of rep the side characters had like the hijabi character or the trans mayor 🥹🥹🥹) and things i wasn’t really a fan of? (the first 5% of the books was a little idk… ?? wasn’t vibing with the conflict that begins the whole thing, and it was repetitive as well for the first 20ish percent). that being said, i love the sapphic feel-good christmas joy this book has! i definitely felt it!!! also wow this was spicier than i thought and i truly enjoyed it!

one of my issues was the mc, who frustrated me sm at times! also the conflicts felt a little idkkk, like not enough to be as bad for me?

honestly this a very feel good, cliche christmas romcom but it’s also very queer and also wayyy more diverse than the usual christmas romcoms which i honestly ADORE! it’s an aspect that made me keep reading and i truly loved when it was mentioned or included! all in all, i saw nothing wrong with this book it just wasn’t always my cup of tea, so if you’re looking for a cute queer christmas story to feel good and relax, i definitely recommend you pick this up!!

This was such a warm, cozy, and steamy second-chance holiday romance. The feeling of community was so strong, that I felt transported to Fern Falls.
Rachel and Morgan's relationship was amazing to read. Seeing how each woman grew into their own self and learned what they truly wanted was heartwarming.
The supporting characters of their friends, and the people in the town, added depth and another dimension to the story. Life had been hard to both Rachel and Morgan, and there were struggles ahead for sure, and that made things feel so much more real. It was inspiring to see how they were planning to take on the challenges together.

This was the queer, sapphic, second chance, childhood friends to lovers, holiday romcom of my dreams!

Set in a small town complete with failing inn and Christmas tree farm, In the Event of Love follows Morgan Ross an event planner in LA who has just suffered a career destroying event and her childhood best friend Rachel Reed who still lives in the town Morgan fled a decade before. We’ve got not one, but two chaotic bisexual leads with fantastic chemistry. I’ve seen this compared to Hallmark-style holiday romances, but I’ve not watched any of those and I have to imagine just based on what I know to be true about Hallmark movies that this book is a lot more queer and way steamier. This one gave me Just Friends vibes just based on the storyline of old friends—one nursing a big flame—reuniting after one leaves home for a long time and comes back for the holidays due to circumstances mostly beyond their control.

Morgan never ever plans on returning to her childhood home, but finds herself reluctantly happy to be back and grateful to be able to use her skills to help the small businesses that make up the heart and soul of her town. I related heavily to Morgan crushing on Rachel’s new lumberjane vibe complete with the arm muscles one gains from hauling Christmas trees. HOT. I also loved how quickly Morgan fell back into a groove with her old friend group and how much they love and support one another. In the Event of Love is cozy AF, full of charming small town details and enough holiday vibes to have you ready to celebrate in October.

This one is out now and I loved it so much. I have no doubt I will return to it every year and if you haven’t read it, you’ve got plenty of time to get your hands on a copy in time for the holiday season. Thanks so much to Kensington & Netgalley for the early copy!

5 feel-good, love-hate, holiday romance stars~

This was just the feel-good romance I needed to start kicking off the holiday season. I loved the characters, the story, and the inclusivity of this one. Who doesn't love a romance where you get the warm and fuzzies? The background story and character development was also great - getting to know all the characters made it even harder to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing a digital ARC for review! :)

A charming and cozy book that's perfect for the holidays. I can easily see this being a Hallmark Christmas movie so if you like those (I do), you'll love this book.

This was such a beautiful and cozy read!!! I love second chance romances and this was just written so well! Morgan and Rachel had amazing chemistry that just really brought everything together. Perfect read!

Thanks to Netgalley I had the chance to read an ARC of the fab queer holiday romance “In the Event of Love” by Courtney Kae already. It was a really sweet time into a fabulous Hallmark-y winter wonderland town and the people who live there. The bi representation in it was fantastic. The main character, Morgan Ross, is an event planner who - as to be expected in a holiday romance - returns to her small town home after her life and career in LA hit a rough patch, and faces the dragons of her past there, as well as some real cocoa-sipping, Christmas tree decorating holiday cheer. Morgan also reconnects with her high school crush, Rachel Reed, who runs her family’s Christmas tree farm. The story is about connection and community, and overcoming emotional struggles as well as financial ones. It’s heartwarming and I didn’t want to stop reading. It’s also a steamy love story which was amaze, since WW romance still doesn’t get as much space as MM romance, at least in my own perception of romance publishing and bookstagram chatter.

At its best, “In the Event of Love” hits the notes of “Holiday Swap” and “Delilah Green Doesn't Care'' but some of the time the writing is more rough and ready than that. The plot and conflict are also clunky at times, with too much unnecessary explanation that could be avoided by streamlining the action and also trusting the reader to interpret and remember the novel, that she’ll know what things mean. Lastly, while I appreciate the many attempts at racial representation, it’s a bit lackluster and in the end the novel still is mostly a story about a couple of white people falling in love. That said, the novel still does a lot more in terms of bringing a variety of people in than most others so need to give it credit for that.

ITEOL novel also reminds me of last year’s "Snowflakes at the Little Christmas Tree Farm" and that kind of diy-y millennial women who do their own take on Hallmark; what is it that so many holiday happy ends hinge on the heroine becoming an entrepreneur?

Overall, I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it. I’m also quite curious about the author’s next book - I think there’s a lot of talent for story-telling there, and if she hones her craft just a little bit more, she could be the next big thing in holiday romance.

TW death of a parent by disease, alcoholism

Fun, sexy, steamy and full of chances and love, this was a really enjoyable book. Very nice rom com about love , and lots of inclusion , that is so hard to find sometimes.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great book. I really enjoyed the characterizations and depth of emotion. I think this would be a great addition to any library collection.

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I had high hopes going into this book. I mean, it’s a wintry sapphic romance, what’s not to be excited about! I want hot cocoa and snow and women falling in love! And while the book does deliver on a lot of this, it unfortunately just didn’t entirely work for me.

One thing I have to compliment this book on is its atmosphere. I feel like an important part of any seasonal romance is properly setting the scene and making readers feel like they’re also there in that season, even if in real-life it’s an entirely different time of year. This book did a fantastic job of it, and even though it’s only the early days of fall here, I felt like I was in a cabin, buried in inches of snow. It made the book so cozy overall, and I can honestly see this being a perfect read this winter just for this alone. It was incredibly atmospheric, and I can’t wait for it to be winter and for the holidays to come around again now!

Unfortunately, that’s the only part I really loved about this book. While I generally liked the romance, I was never quite into it because I couldn’t fully connect with Morgan. I actually really liked her problems (abandonment, feeling like you’re never going to be enough, etc.), and the angst that came with it, but something about the way she was developed didn’t really work for me, and she remained feeling a bit two-dimensional throughout the book because of it. It kept me a bit more distanced from the romance, too, and the third-act breakup only solidified that distance for me. I wasn’t a fan of what was chosen as the issue here, and how some characters, especially Morgan, felt out of character during that scene. Since I was never truly invested in the relationship, it also made the many cheesy moments a bit too cringy for my taste, which ruined a large part of the ending for me as well. I also just wasn’t a big fan of the epilogue, and felt that it was quite rushed and fast overall. It was hard to tell the exact timing of when the epilogue takes place, but it seemed like it was only a few weeks/couple of months after the end of the book, which only contributed to the rushed feeling.

Overall, this book was a cute, snowy read, but not one I’ll find myself rereading this winter, unfortunately. I do think many people will still find it to be the perfect holiday read, though, especially paired with a massive mug of hot cocoa!