In the Case of Heartbreak is a sweet Hallmark-movie-esque type of story, a companion book to In the Event of Love, which I read (and loved) last year. In the last book, we got a winter wonderland type of a setting, and now we're following the characters we've already met for some summer fun.

In the Case of Heartbreak opens with Ben, a baker, as he's filming the first episode of a reality TV Show he's a part of, and follows him into an awkward interaction with Adam, his friend (who he's in love with). Ben walks out of that situation feeling utterly humiliated, as it's now commemorated on camera that Adam "rejected" him. As if that's not stressful enough already, he receives a cease and desist letter from his estranged father regarding a family recipe he's using on the show. He's trying to put worries aside as he goes to his grandma's week-long birthday celebration. However, his grandma has ideas of her own, and she's hired Adam's band to play at her parties, so Ben is forced to confront his feelings and the situation at hand.

I will skip the long intro to my thoughts and start off with the things I enjoyed. This is a friends to lovers romance, and I thoroughly enjoyed the main characters and the romance. I really loved seeing Ben and Adam interact and have no complaints directed at the "core" of the story. I also really enjoyed seeing all of the characters from the previous novel, as well as Adam's grandma, I thought she was great.

Some things I enjoyed slightly less was the fact that there seemed to be one too many things happening at all times. In a different setting, perhaps this would've worked better, but as is it felt like things were overlapping but not actually connecting. As well as the storyline regarding Ben's father, which seemed overly dragged out and dramaticised. There were a lot of times I felt like the issue at hand could've been solved by Bell talking to someone, instead of internalizing everything.

Overall, this was a sweet, feel-good story, and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you've read In the Event of Love, and want more of the Fern Falls crew!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

A sweet romance that I quickly flew through. From beginning to end, the progression was evenly paced but still engaging, and I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next! I definitely will be keeping an eye on this author in the future 🩷

This book was fantastic. I didn't love the first in the series but decided to give this a second chance. I found the characters more relatable in this novel. I really enjoyed the baking, the second chance romance, and the fun queer rom com. Gave me vibes like Alexandria Bellefluer.

It's been a couple weeks since I finished this and that's on me for not writing a review sooner, but I cannot remember anything about this book. I do remember that when I was reading it I posted on my Instagram stories but not liking it So I'm going with that.

I think generally I feel the same way about this one as I do the first book by this author and that is ambivalent. It's fine it was cute it's whatever but I didn't love it and it's not memorable. I also was really disappointed by the lack of baking in this book. If you're going to have a character in an apron described as a baker I want some actual baking. Now that I'm sitting here I can vaguely remember that I think there's just too much going on. I didn't love the romance and this one just wasn't for me.

Absolutely amazing story. I healed. I sobbed. I laughed. I screamed. Courtney rights and amazing story and they're one of my favorite humans and authors. 🖤

I have been looking forward to Ben and Adam’s story since I read In the Event of Love and we got that little tease about them.

Oh, what a sweet book Courtney Kay has written. It’s clear from the very first page that she cares so deeply about these characters and this story. It is earnest and heartfelt from the jump, and that carries through the entire book.

Ben is the sweetest gooiest cinnamon roll of all the cinnamon rolls and there are times when you want to just give him a hug and tell him to get out of his own head. He’s so loved by so many and needs to just remember that! This is partially why the third act falling apart of it all didn’t sit right with me. There was so much that could have easily been done or said.

But overall, Kae is able to get to a cathartic moment for readers, writing words that they need to hear to heal old wounds. That’s what Kai does best.

3.5 stars rounded up

i loved Courtney's first book but within minutes of this one, I was bored. And annoyed. There's something about hearing bookstagram lingo in books that annoys me to no end and I just couldn't continue after the words "my found family" appeared in the first chapter. Maybe I'll give it another try one day but not today.

Courtney Kae has a talent for keeping me awake and making me cry over her characters. I found myself wishing I could be in this book the whole time I was reading it. Ben and Adam are amazing characters, both feeling very well fleshed out. Their storyline felt true to them, as well as true to the world they exist in. I also liked the continuation of characters that had been introduced and focused on in the previous book. Even though In the Case of Heartbreak follows the events of In the Event of Love I feel like it would've been easy to jump into this one without having read the first. I think Kae did a great job pushing the bounds of the typical romance script. All in all, this was a lovely read and I've already recommended this book and its predecessor to a couple of friends who I think will enjoy.

I absolutely loved this steamy fun romcom! It was so much more spicy than I thought it would be. Won’t be my last by this author!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this advanced copy.

This was such a romantic book, I love their relationship and the conflict.

I really enjoyed In the Event of Love and was so excited for In the Case of Heartbreak, but I just didn't enjoy it. The book felt so chaotic and some of the plot lines just didn't make sense or felt unnecessary. I really like Courtney Kae as an author and I'll be eager to read her other books, but this just wasn't it.

Thank you so much for the eARC though!

I was really looking forward to these two when we were first introduced to them in In the Event of Love. Unfortunately, I didn't love this book like I'd hoped I would. But first - the good: I really loved the characters as well as the anxiety rep and the emphasis on taking care of yourself and your own mental health both within and outside of a relationship. I loved all of the relationships with friends and family, as well as the couple.

My biggest issue with this story was the dad's involvement in the plot. I felt as though my frustrations with everything going on with the dad and the show really overshadowed the romance, which left me feeling unfulfilled at the end.

That said, I believe this is still worth checking out if you are intrigued by the synopsis and I do still plan to continue this series (if there are more coming), but this wasn't my favorite.

3/5 stars

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

The best way to describe this book is queer Hallmark. I did enjoy it but I would only recommend if you're in the mood for it.

Take it as you wish.

This book started out well, but overall, it lost me a bit of the way through. I thought the writing felt a bit repeated at times and the connection between Ben and Adam didn't feel entirely believable

This book was a quick, pleasant enough read. I think the most successful elements were Ben’s struggles with trauma and his father. The descriptions of flashbacks and self-care taken were excellent. I also found the imagery of food well-done.

However, as with many romantic comedies, the plots were needlessly intertwined and weakened both aspects as a result. If the story cut the conflict of Ben’s father re-entering his life, the drama of Ben’s overcoming his trauma and building a relationship with Adam would have been stronger. Or, vice versa, if the conflict with the father and dealing with trauma were the focus and the relationship with Adam cut down, then the other aspects would have been stronger.

In Case of Heartbreak, is a charming followup on Courtney Kae's debut novel In the Event of Love. In the Event of Love is an adorable winter romance set in a small town about two friends coming back together after a falling out. However, It’s possible I loved the second book even more than the first because it’s a summer book about two “cinnamon rolls” who finally realize that they’ve been in love with each other forever when one of them ends up on a reality baking contest show because of his family’s delicious cinnamon rolls.

If you like friend to lovers and stories about being true to yourself, you'll love this book. It deals well with past trauma and complicated relationships within families. I highly recommend this lovely MM romance.

In the Case of Heartbreak is a delightful, queer, summer romance. In this second installment to the Fern Falls series, baker Ben suddenly finds that his childhood crush on his friend, Adam, might be more reciprocated than he previously thought. It is full of fun and romance and I couldn't put it down!

Ben & Adam's romance felt like the perfect addition to the Fern Falls series (despite taking place largely outside of Fern Falls). What can I say, I just really love romances that follow side characters from the previous book. And since we were already introduced to Ben & Adam in the first book I felt like it helped avoid the problem I had with Morgan & Rachel's relationship in book one not feeling developed enough.

It's not all just sweet cinnamon rolls though. The book addresses anxiety and abandonment in a very thoughtful way. I appreciated that the characters were able to discuss their issues and be so open about what they needed.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book!

I found the beginning of this book to be quite heavy. Specially when you go into the book expecting a light romcom it gets very dark with no real relief for the first 20% of the book. It needs some comic relief or something to lighten it ever so slightly or I feel like it had the potential to discourage readers before they have reach the romcom part of the book. I also had a few issues with the characters. I found Adam to be a very strong personality and some of the love scenes could range into cringy rather than cute. I also felt like I didn’t really understand some parts of Bens personality like the scene at the end that his family organized was really cute but also they where so stressed about how he would react under the camera the first time but then they sprang another tv appearance on him and just expected him to be ok with it.

I loved going back to Fern Falls for Ben’s story!

This book is so full of queer joy: found families and representation. I noticed that small, unnamed characters were referred to as “a person” instead of assuming a gender. Multiple characters use they/them pronouns.

I went into this book knowing that there was a pretty heavy plot line having to do with a parent who deserted the main character as a child. And I knew there was going to be depression representation. So I thought I would have to take this one slow and it would be fairly heavy. But even with those themes, I thought this was overall a very joyful book and it didn’t feel heavy. (I did just finish two heavy books the week before, so maybe my taste is off.)

Overall this was a sweet and satisfying love story!