This was really cute! If you are a fan of Hallmark movies and sweet holiday romances (but make it queer), I strongly recommend IN THE EVENT OF LOVE.

Though fun and swoony, I do wish this book dug a bit deeper with these characters. The writing and characterization were a bit surface-level for my taste, but I nonetheless still really enjoyed Morgan and Rachel’s romance. I loved the cozy vibes and Gilmore Girls-esque small town setting.

I would recommend IN THE EVENT OF LOVE if you are looking for:
- Hallmark-like love stories that bang
- Great bi representation + f/f romance
- Queer joy + no on-page homophobia
- Estranged childhood friends-to-lovers
- Lovable side characters
- A sweet “save the integrity of our quaint town” plot line
- Cozy Christmas vibes all around

Looking forward to Courtney Kae’s follow-up novel about Ben and Adam!




Content warnings: death of a parent (past), alcoholic parent

Delightful. I love second chance romances when the main characters don't wait 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.

I requested this audiobook because I recognized the authors name. I thought it was a new book and didn’t connect it to an ARC I read early from Netgalley because the cover is different. I liked the animated cover better. It has been six months since my reading and I happily listened to the book. My review is the same. I can pick at a few more flaws in the story or comment on the Hallmark factor but I still enjoy the story. Thank you to NetGalley, Tantor Audio and the author for an audiobook in exchange for a review.

Reasons to Read: In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae
Second chance romance
LGBTQIA representation
Homecoming
Winter vibes that aren’t just Christmas themed
The sweetest love
Small town vibes
I am OBSESSED with this book might be my top of the year so far. Morgan and Rachel are the cutest main characters and their story arc cannot be better. The growth they have individually and together is beautiful. Kae also uses incredible imagery that makes me want to curl up with some hot cocoa and read under a blanket all day!

2.5 stars

*SPOILERS AHEAD!*

I didn’t really like this book. It was basically a hallmark movie in book form, and I am not a fan of those movies. It also felt really, I don’t know, one dimensional? I didn’t like the MC, she seemed rather, idk, high on herself? Or, she had these ideas in her head that were totally not true, but she just kept thinking them. Like, she legitimately thought so poorly of her high school friends, because she was convinced they hated her, but they were just hurt that she fucked off and severed all contact with them?

I also didn’t believe the love story. Like, the MC, whose name I’ve already forgotten, dumped her high school gf because she was mad? I don’t quite know… they kind of explain it poorly. So, treated ex like shit, didn’t even response when the ex reached out, still acted badly when she returns to her hometown because of *insert hallmark trope here*, but then they are in love and everything is sparkles and rainbows, and she’s made up with everyone and life is perfect. Until she takes a job on the other side of the country and expects her now gf to just drop everything and join her, because they’ve beat the big bad guy who was set to ruin the small town, so there’s nothing tying her to her home town anymore. Right?

Overall, I just felt like it was a poor remake of about a thousand hallmark movies in book form. I’m trying to read more sapphic romances, but this one just wasn’t good, unfortunately. And that’s not just because I don’t like hallmark movies. I didn’t feel like the writing was very strong, the characters were all very one dimensional, or not even that, they were just kind of there? Not a good start to the holiday romances I have lined up…

I've been debating about writing this review because if this was a Hallmark Christmas movie, I would have known beforehand how much suspension of disbelief would have been involved. With that type of film you know to expect saccharine sweetness and an excessively Hollywood happy ending that involves a Christmas miracle.

But I did not have any of these expectations going in and so I found this book to be a bit too much right now... And of course I tried to work around that phrase because I have Greta Gil on my head and I'm perfectly aware that someone's "just too much" is someone else's "just right." However, I must write about my personal journey with this book.

I fell in love with the book's cover and asked the publisher for a digital ARC. The ARC gods smiled upon me and I excitedly started reading. Immediately Morgan does something incredibly stupid which is hinted at in the Goodreads plot summary and she realizes that the only way to save face is to redeem herself by planning a successful fundraiser in her small town. (A small town she had left after her father became a changed man as a result of an act of public humiliation.) This last fact was unbeknownst to me because I bailed on that digital ARC. However, the ARC gods also gifted me with the audiobook ARC-whose cover is not at all appealing compared to the eBook's-and I listened to that one in about a day.

Back to the review: Going back home also means she must face her first true love, Rachel. And face her she does because the second Morgan returns to town she has a car accident and destroy's the sign to Rachel's family's tree farm. It quickly becomes evident that Morgan is persona non grata and the reader wonders what she could have done to upset her former friends.

However, one friend had a grand plan that would heal old wounds: The fundraiser Morgan has to plan is to save the Reed farm. This is where the Hallmark movie plot comes in because of course is not just the farm, or the local inn, but the whole town! You see a developer with whom Morgan has a history with wants to buy out these key plots of land. This developer is well-known around town for turning a nearby community into a generic, soulless ski resort. And while yes, the developer is courting small businesses in Fern Falls with their money, Morgan and her allies do not want Fern Falls to to lose its charm.

As they work to save the town Morgan and Rachel discovered that their attraction is still intact. I found that both these characters reverted back to their high school selves because of trauma they have not gotten over, but that didn't make me root for them. In fact, I felt bad for Rachel because she was unaware of Morgan's ulterior motives and it was clear that her heart would be shattered a second time.

I did enjoy the town, the townspeople, and their businesses. And like I said, had this been an actual Hallmark movie, I would have probably found this tale more endearing.

Audio Review: Absolutely adored this narrator! They sound exactly how I imagined Morgan to sound. This narrator was lively and sounded sultry when needed.

Book Review: This book was lovely. It’s the perfect read for the holiday’s, especially with a cup of hot chocolate.

Morgan holds herself confidently. While she has her internal negative feelings, she doesn’t let it show. I loved that about her, but sometimes it’s okay to be vulnerable. I’m happy that she was able to be vulnerable and let herself feel things. Rachel was the perfect love interest. She deserves all the happiness she can get. I was rooting for these two since their first interaction. While they suffered from some miscommunication, they were ultimately perfect for one another.

I love when books have an amazing supporting cast of characters. These side characters didn’t feel like they were just thrown into the story. They each had their own things to help further the plot, but none felt forced. Ben and Adam, I cannot wait to see more of you. Whitney, I definitely need more of you. Whitney was just amazing. Tanner is another character I would love to see more of. He is just a bundle of joy.

Overall, I can’t wait to see what Courtney Kae does next. Truly a wonderful debut.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the early listen. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

So in rare fashion it's only been a few days since I've read this and I still can't remember a lot of the details. This book is cute and it's very much a rom-com, but it isn't necessarily memorable.

I enjoyed the story while I was listening to it and it's one that I would recommend as a low angst holiday read, but it's not going to blow your mind.

I don't think that all books need to be revolutionary and not all stories need to pack a huge punch, but I do wish that our characters had a little bit more depth to them.

We get two sapphic bisexual main characters which is amazing and small town romance with a side of party planning and saving a local business. It's cute.

ABSOLUTE perfection loved the audiobook the story the character the steam wowwwww that was just so dang good in every single way i will be placing my preorder for thia book and will be my new personality from now untilthe holidays loved it all the stars chapter 19 had be rushing forbthe coldest shower. I cannot wait for her next book autobuy author!!!!!!

This book is absolutely fantastic with an amazing narrator to match. I found myself trying to listen to it during my 15 minute breaks, during my walks to and from my car, just to get a couple of extra minutes in. It really feels like a queer hallmark movie, in the best possible way.

I really, really enjoyed this dual POV, spicy Hallmark movie-esque holigay romance!! Big city girl Morgan is told to take a break from her Event Planning job in LA and returns home for the first time in years. While there she reconnects with her former best friend/first love Rachel and also comes to terms with long carried grief over her dead mother.

I loved the small town charm and all the cozy holiday vibes with some delightful open doors scenes you won't find in any real Hallmark movie! Perfect for fans of Lovelight farms, Kiss her once for me or Season of love and great on audio with two narrators. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies in exchange for my honest review!

“Love never stops being scary. People choose to keep being brave.”

IN THE EVENT OF LOVE is exactly what you’d get if you mashed up a classic Hallmark holiday movie with a sapphic romance novel. It’s a very sweet second-chance love story about Morgan, an event planner who now lives in LA, and Rachel, her former best friend and high school crush who stayed on in their small town of Fern Falls to run the family tree farm. You know how it goes: the ambitious, stressed out city gal who’s been suppressing all her tender feelings is pulled home for the holidays, pushed into proximity with her love interest to save the town’s small businesses, and emerges with her own happily ever after. This wasn’t a particularly original or compelling story to me, and at times even felt a bit bland, but overall it’s a lovely little sapphic holiday romance. I could say more but honestly, the more I think about it the more critical I become about the aspects that didn’t work for me, so I'll leave it there. Thanks to Kensington Books and Recorded Books Media for the eARC/ALC! The narration, performed by Melissa Moran, is lovely. This novel is out 8/30.

Content warnings: loss of a parent, alcohol addiction/recovery

In. Love.

This book was absolutely all my favorite things about feel-good holiday romances rolled into one.

I ADORED Morgan and Rachel’s romance. They were so so sweet together, and I couldn’t get enough of the love scenes. The little stories from their past completely endeared me to them, and I loved how Rachel kept Morgan’s memory alive even after she left town.

If you love sweet holiday romances, saving the small town, and steamy f/f love stories, you absolutely need to read this book! I cannot wait to read what Courney Kae writes next. This was the best debut I’ve read this year! Definitely a must-read this holiday season.

Audio Review: Melissa Moran was the perfect fit for this story! Her sweet voice pulled me right in and made me want to never press pause!

This was such a fun book! I loved the contrast the main character has to deal with going from her LA life to her childhood small town life. I loved the large group of small town queer friends fighting against capitalism. I also loved the main character and her love interest. The audiobook narrator leant a sultry and energetic vibe to the book and it really did an amazing job of immersing me in the story. Fun!