this was a cute, simple romance book that’s a perfect pallet cleanser between books! i really enjoyed this book because the plot was easy to follow and it was a quick read. i read it in 2 sittings. i would highly recommend!

Ok, so where to start?
I actually loved this book more than what I was expecting
This story follows Aspen, a pop-star caught in a scandal. She goes back to her hometown and meets her first love, Roman.
So much going on, celeb drama, heartbreak, loss, undeniable fire burning love, etc.
This is the perfect holiday read tbh! i love a good second chance romance and their love was so pure, i was just blushing and kicking my feet all the time.
This book has a past/present timeline, short chapters and a lot of Taylor Swift references ;)
It truly kept me interested, I had to read it in one sitting.
It is an amazing debut novel and I loved it, I just wish that we could have gotten Roman's pov.
I stayed up all night finishing this book, that is when i know that a book was THIS good.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publishers to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after reading this book.

tropes:
second chance romance
holiday romance
one bed
small town
closed door

LOVED. Nothing more I love than a dual timeline and a fantastic strong minded FMC. Swifties will love it. But the nods to the song aren’t so strong that people will miss out if they’re not. 11/10

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I'm sold after I read that this book is set around Christmas time, and about second chance romance, plus this book have Taylor Swift references. ''tis the damn season is a quick romance book to read during Christmas time. The premise seems promising to me, however there are some things that sadly I didn't enjoy when I read it.

First, this book is labeled as new adult category which makes sense because the main character Aspen is 23 years old. But, the writing made the characters a little bit childish with how they acted. Okay, so Roman is the male mc and also Aspen's first love. He's short-tempered and that could jeopardize Aspen's reputation. The lack of communication between them are not fun to read either. I feel like if this book was set in high school and labeled as YA I can understand it more.

The chapters that goes from the past to present timeline was okay, I love the past storyline to understand the characters better but I was expecting more from the present storyline. I love how the author put song titles at the beginning of every chapter.

Overall, a good and enjoyable book! The fact that the author is only 16 and she already published this book is amazing! I know that she have the potential to go big with her writing! I hope she can improve her writing and I truly look forward to her next book if she's planning to write more!

A cute little holiday read. Perfect for swifties! Loved the forced proximity and small town. Wasn't life changing but still a good fluff read.

Lovely, lovely book, I love it super cute and cozy!
Highly recommended 💕
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the copy

This was a super quick read. And it had me till the 75% mark. I loved the dual timeline. Getting to see Rome and Aspen and how they started out was sweet. I loved how close he was with her family. The story of her coming home to get away from LA life was fun and them helping out with the play was cute. However, I didn't appreciate the way they treated Aspen. Did she over react when her dad had his accident? Yes. But rightfully so. They all made her feelings seem insignificant for something she just learned about it!! And the fact that they told Rome before her was a low blow. I also was confused on when they got together in the present time? It felt like Rome was constantly pushing for it just for her to be like we can't do this and then the next chapter they were holding hands. I also was kinda annoyed about how she spent the whole book hung up on her friendship with Sierra just to be over it in a paragraph. All in all it was a fun little read. Loved the Playlist and T. Swift references.

As Christmas crazy as I am, when I saw this book I knew I had to get into it because I knew I was going to enjoy it no matter what. And it has been a super good read, which has put me fully in the Christmas mood and with that I'm already won.

It is true that it has remained a very simple story, which I liked, but perhaps there is nothing that stands out incredibly over another facet of the book. I think it's a pretty complete package of feel good story, which in the end is enjoyable because it's a lovely story that you enjoy as you read and while it's not a complete marvel, it's a very cool book.

It's a rather more juvenile book than I was expecting, I must say, and that I think has made me like it a tad less than I perhaps expected to like it. But I still enjoyed it a lot and a juvenile book doesn't bother me.

This book felt like it lacked emotion. I liked the concept and was intrigued by the characters but missed the emotional depth and connection. It felt a little young and immature. I think it has a lot of potential but unfortunately missed the mark.

I loved Ms Freeman’s fresh voice in romance - she delicately danced around some major tropes (two people, one bed; Highschool sweethearts; etc) but did it so well that I believed it could happen (rather than it being a tried and true plot device to force movement in the story).
Great characters in Aspen and Roman - i loved how they interacted.
A new voice in romance - hooray!!!

Great debut for the author. Loved the premise and can’t wait to see what she has in store next.. Cute feel good holiday read!

Thank you netgalley for this copy and the author. I was intrigued at first but it got on and on and more Taylor Swift was involved. I dont care for her music. Not everyone does and thats ok. But i would have preferred less mention. But thats what the author wanted and there is nothing wrong with that. She likes what she likes. And i like what i like. I liked the story in general so it wasnt horrible just not my favorite. By all means it was a beautiful story but it was a bit too much for me. Main thing is im judging the book i read for the storyline and the authors writing style. I loved the story plain and to the point but no i would not read again. But still amazing job on the story.

The thing I loved the most about this book was that each chapter had a music you could listen to in the beginning and would set the whole mood.
Apart from that, it was a regular friends-to-lovers book, but with a special touch of the reality of a pop star.
Overall it was a pretty good book considering the age of the author! I hope she continues to write and evolve her writing skills and hope to, in the future, read another book from her!

while i have nothing against teenage authors publishing books and i think kimi freeman can be very proud of her achievement, i wish i had known going into this story that it was written by a 16 year old. what attracted me to this book was the title and the premise inspired by the taylor swift song. i'm a big taylor swift fan and 'tis the damn season is a song i adore. plus i'm always a sucker for a holiday romance! sadly, this book didn't live up to my expectations because you can tell it was written by someone younger than the characters are. the parts of the book when they are in high school felt more realistic, probably because this is something the author has experienced, but the parts in the present, when they are in their early twenties, missed the mark for me. as a debut novel written by someone so young, it's a great book! but in terms of the new adult second chance holiday romance it's sold as, it didn't deliver as well. i think the author should've opted for more of a YA/high school romance as her debut. there was also triggering content towards the end of the book, which we were given no warning for. it definitely wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't for me. however, i will definitely keep an eye on what kimi freeman writes in the future as i think her writing has a lot of potential, she just needs more experience that only comes with age.

This book was just what I needed for an early intro to the holiday season! It was a light read with uplifting moments, but had enough of the serious moments that it didn't feel like a fluff piece.

I was surprisingly drawn to Aspen's story and the chemistry between her and Roman was enough to feel pretty believable. I found myself rooting for them in the end.

It did feel a bit more in the young-adult category, but it was still a fun holiday read.

2 Stars

As a huge Taylor Swift fan, and a big lover of the song Tis the Damn Season, I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I didn’t. I think the concept was an awesome one, I just think the execution was done really poorly.

This book is about Aspen and Roman. A friends to Lovers story and set around Christmas. What more could you ask for.

It was such a sweet read. I absolutely loved it

“𝐼’𝓂 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜...” 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓅𝑒𝓃𝓈,”...𝒶𝓅𝑜𝓁𝑜𝑔𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒸𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒫𝑒𝓃,”

A book with a playlist!! When I saw the list I was like yes let me get on the straight away. Each song was perfect for each chapter and I may have had a dance break every chapter if the song was still going.

I read this book in just under 3 hours! That’s how much I loved this book. I just couldn’t stop I was driven by Aspen and Romans Friends to Lovers story. And around Christmas time I was just eurghhh

Aspen may have been a famous singer, but she still had the small town girl in her no matter where she went. And can I say the hints to miss Tay Swift.. was such a vibe.

Though a cute Romance book, this had so many emotions that you just felt. The songs were the perfect touch.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc to review! This review is voluntarily and honest 🫶🏻

‘Tis the Damn Season was a really cute romance set in the present around the holiday season, as well as in the past, starting 7 years prior. I was shocked when I found out the author was 15 years old when she started writing the book?!? I loved that the book came with a playlist, and I felt that most of the songs fit the chapters to a tee!

The book tells the story of Aspen’s life in the spotlight and her relationship with Roman. This couple had its ups and downs for me; I loved them in the beginning, but began to be frustrated by their ongoing poor communication! I did really relate to many of the deeper issues Aspen was dealing with (although mine were not caused by anything like her own circumstances). The book did go back and forth between past and present a lot, and while necessary to give details, it also made the book feel choppy at times. Overall, this was a sweet read with some powerful messages woven throughout!

At just 23 years old, Aspen Moore looks like she has it all - fame, fortune, a booming career. And yet something—or someone—is missing. It all comes to a screeching halt when a scandal rocks her life and she's forced to return to her hometown in Pennsylvania, the only upside is that her first love, Roman Torres, is still there. Aspen knows they have to keep their relationship strictly platonic, neither of them are uprooting their whole lives to move across the country. But their chemistry is undeniable, and amidst rumors and drama, the bright lights of Hollywood begin to pale in comparison to the people she left behind.

First off, I have to give the author props for publishing a book at such a young age, 16 years old and a published author is a huge accomplishment. However, with the naivety of the story, unfortunately you can really tell. I hadn't realized she was so young until the acknowledgements section at the end and the whole time I was reading I was thinking something was just very off about the story, and that seems to explain it.

I requested this book because 'Tis the Damn Season by Taylor Swift is a favorite of mine and the blurb sounded up my alley, but it fell short big time. The book is told jumping from present day to flashbacks of their high school years, and with incredibly short chapters, it's just hard to get into the book when it's essentially whiplash every few pages. That said, neither storyline had any depth and it was all very surface level - the characters weren't fully fleshed out, the dialogue was all incredibly awkward and felt a bit clunky, and the storyline was... juvenile.

All in all, I think this is a good jumping point for the author. She's got one book under her belt now and it will be nice to see how her writing develops with some more experience. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.