This is a T-Swift inspired holiday romance about two high school best friends/loves and the story of their relationship through the ups and downs of fame, family struggles, and physical distance. This story is labelled 'New Adult' because the main timeline revolves around Pen and Rome in their early 20's, however, it reads so simple and is closed door so it feels more YA. Rome is the sweetest, most loyal male character I have maybe ever read--almost to a fault. But then again, you can't fault a guy for being amazing. Pen is navigating a media scandal and by the end, we find about something terrible that happened to her early in her career. A couple of triggers to check out prior to reading but in the end, this was an incredibly sweet read with an extremely happy ever after.

I want to praise the author of this book, who I believe is only 16, for putting herself out there and following her dream of writing and publishing a book! That's a huge accomplishment and I look forward to her future books as she grows as a writer.
That being said, this book reads very young. It had dialogue that seemed unnatural and choppy, and much too young for the age of the characters being portrayed. It's a strange mix because although the characters seem younger than the age we are told they are, they are certainly in some very young adult circumstances. This was tough to reconcile and made parts of the book seem awkward and uncomfortable to get through. Yes, it's a cute concept to use Taylor Swift lyrics in a book but that felt a little forced. I found myself wanting a bit more twisting and turning in the storyline and a bit more angst.

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I should have DNFd this but I kept hoping something would spark. It was sorely lacking in romance to me and read more as a YA novel than anything else.

And, I know why it was read now on NetGalley: the author is 16!!? I mean this is great for a 16 year old and I think we better watch for more to come from Kimi because I think she’ll only develop more as a writer.

I especially didn’t like the robotic, predictable conversations. They didn’t feel anything like what real people would say during conversations 🤷‍♀️ and overall just felt like things were very choppy and disjointed.

Not for me. Not what I was expecting based on the description.

Wow ok so the author is only 16?! That’s impressive and explains why this felt very teenage and not new adult! It was not my vibe but if you want teenage, holiday romcom, then this is for you!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book, provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book was super cute, and from what I gather, inspired by a Taylor Swift song. I learned about midway through the book that the author is 16 years old, so I'm pretty impressed! However, this book seemed limited by its author's age - and there's honestly nothing wrong with writing your age. But honestly, the characters were older than they should be for this story. It seemed like a YA storyline with NA characters. At first, I thought Rome was a swoony af book boyfriend, but honestly, he's just a YA fever dream. No man will ever be like Rome. They don't make real men like him haha

I was happy to get approved for this book because "Tis the Damn Season" is my favorite Taylor Song book, I thought it’d be cool. It had these cool references to her songs, which was fun, but overall, it felt more aimed at a younger crowd than I expected, kinda affecting how much I got into it. Then I found out the author's a super young newcomer, which totally explains the vibe. It's a decent read for Taylor fans, but I gotta say, there are some heavy parts that might not be cool for younger readers. The author being only sixteen makes me curious about what she'll write next as she grows. Maybe if this book was tweaked a bit, it could hit harder with the Young Adult crowd.

This was a really interesting premise. It written in a past and present timeline that seemed to connect both to the storyline of the characters! Surprisingly there was darker issues that were dealt with which was also nice to see them being given their light! For Taylor Swift fans there is a lot of fun Easter eggs throughout the chapters and as Swiftie I enjoyed seeing them. I could see teens enjoying this book. For myself, I just didn't fully enjoy it. Certain phrasings and nicknames really rubbed me the wrong way. And I couldn't really connect to Roman or Aspen so there was no buy in for myself.

I couldn’t get into this one. I love Taylor, but some of the uses of her lyrics as direct plot points was too much. I’ve thought this song would make a great book, but it needs further fleshing out.

For a new adult book it didn't really feel that way. It was more of a YA book to me but regardless it was so cute low angst and I loved the second chance. I liked the fact that Taylor swift was so heavily influenced in this book but I think overall it wasn't my cup of tea. Cute scenes aside I didn't enjoy myself reading this book.

I am very grateful for the opportunity given to me to read this in exchange for a honest review

I initially picked up this book because of the title and the fact that the story was based upon the song, "'Tis the Damn Season" by Taylor Swift. Filled with subtle nods to her discography, this was a fun read as someone who enjoys Taylor's music. While I did enjoy this book, the overall feel was more juvenile than adult, which did impact my overall reading experience. Upon further research, I learned that the author is a very young debut author, which fully makes sense in terms of the feel of the novel.

I think this book would be enjoyable for fans of Taylor's music, but I do want to mention though that while this is written by a fairly young author (teenage), there are some triggering components and adult themes to the story, so I would not recommend to younger readers. Given that the author is sixteen, I am curious about future releases from her as she grows into her writing. I think this book would have been a stronger release if it had been written for and marketed toward a YA audience (obviously with some alterations).

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Kimi and NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book!!

Aspen is a hollywood star who is from a small town, after a media mishap, she returns home to her family and ex boyfriend/best friend. They are put in charge of directing the annual xmas show.

You get a glimpse into Rome and Pen's past and how they got to where they are now, the growth of Pen and how the media can portray someone negatively ruining a reputation without knowing the full story.

The taylor swift easter eggs were adorable and i really like how every chapter had its own song.

I would definitely recommend this book and cannot wait to read more by Kimi. Perhaps a book on Leila.... hehe

The character development was incredible and the family in this book was so wholesome and supportive.

the main element of xmas is the show which although is a key plot point, i feel it could have more Christmas vibes but then again i am mad about xmas lol

I would check trigger warnings too x

At 18, Aspen left her small Pennsylvania hometown to pursue singing and acting in LA. When she moved away seven years ago, she left behind her first love, Roman, who after losing both of his own parents, is closer to her family than ever. When she finds herself embroiled in a scandal, she decides to return home for the holidays to regroup. Aspen and Roman are then tasked with directing a group of local kids in the production of the first Christmas story.

I feel like it’s important to start by mentioning that this was written by a 16 year old. Which is super impressive! And I really don’t want to take away from that but I would be remiss if I didn’t honestly say this was very juvenile. I truly think her editors and marketing team did her a disservice by not designating this as YA and for pushing the tie to the Taylor Swift song.

Pros: the cover is very cute and I love when authors include a playlist to their books! (*caveat though* - I think these are just songs the author likes. I really didn’t see a connection to the chapters’ themes whatsoever)

Cons: very juvenile, stilted, no chemistry, and kind of a lot going on for such a short novel

I think people will pick this up bc let’s be honest, the bar for holiday romances is lower than other romances but this was sadly also very light on holiday cheer too! :(

Thank you to NetGalley and Parson Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a little more juvenile than I was expecting, and I struggled to finish it. I’m sure if the audience targeted is high school, or right after it will be a definite hit.

Tis the damn season was such a fun read, I read with the playlist of songs alongside (yes there's a playlist)! It fit the themes and story so well throughout both in reading pace and storyline. The couple's story was a classic first love, messy and complicated - believable and so easy to root for. The themes of family, loss, love and ambition were woven throughout with a beautiful simplicity.

There were a couple of scenes that needed a reexamination in the writing, just because the sequence of the events didn't make sense (for example the diner scene). It also didn't feel as festive as I probably would have liked it to be or as the title suggests.

Thank you to Net Galley for the Advanced Copy of this book to review

This was a fun but juvenile read - very much a holiday teenage romcom, and not quite the debut New Adult it is being marketed as. But... the author is a late teen herself so she is writing what she knows! Loved the Taylor Swift moments and this would be the perfect stocking stuffer for a holiday gift! Thanks for the ARC!

It was just okay. The thing that got me is the dialogue. It just wasn’t realistic sounding. And the kids sounded so much younger than their age portrayed them to be. Pen and Rome as teenagers didn’t sound or act like teenagers either. It was a cute easy read, though.

Well, this book was overall enjoyable, it wasn’t my favorite. You can tell it’s a first book, and written by a young author. Well, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It just wasn’t for me! I finished it, and liked some things. But the overall flow and writing was a little off personally.

This was a cute story and would definitely appeal to a lot of swifties out there with all of the taylor swift song references. I felt like the short chapters and the jumping back and forth prevented the story from excelling as much as it could have but it was a very light hearted closed door romance!

obviously as a taylor swift fan i had to read this. it was really cute and worth it for fans if taylor

To be honest I feel weird reviewing this book now knowing it was written by a teenager 💀
I just love the song so much and have such a strong visual in my head of this story whenever I listen, so I wanted to add this to my Christmas tbr!

The writing just isn’t my taste, and there were a lot of traumatic subplots just thrown in. Also really did not feel Aspen’s “celebrity” and the way the media responded to her. Just felt very fanfiction-y.

However I adored the abundance of Taylor Swift references