‘tis the damn season by kimi freeman*, a review🎄

*thank you to @netgalley and the author @kimifreeman_ for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️please check trigger warnings before reading this book as there are some heavy topics mentioned/described within the book⚠️

synopsis: Aspen Moore is living proof that money doesn’t buy happiness. At twenty-three years old, the singer-actress has it all. Fame. Fortune. Her own headlining tour. And yet something—or someone—is missing.

When a scandal rocks Aspen’s carefully constructed Hollywood life, she’s forced to return to her Pennsylvania hometown, where she reconnects with her first love, Roman Torres. Aspen knows they must keep their relationship strictly platonic. This game of push and pull, catch and release she plays with Roman is bad for her. She’s not staying in Fertsville, and he’s not moving to LA. But their chemistry is undeniable, and amidst rumors and drama, the bright lights of Hollywood begin to pale in comparison to the dark brown eyes she fell in love with all those years ago. Could Aspen be willing to give up everything she’s ever wanted for the best thing she’s ever had?❄️

this book was so much fun, it was entertaining, atmospheric and full of sexual tension! i absolutely loved the dual timeline this book had and found both equally as entertaining! seeing how Roman and Aspen met and how their relationship developed was really nice and wholesome🥺

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars)

this book was just a really good, fun time! i really loved the writing style as it was quick and easy to read. overall, i think this is such an ideal read for winter/christmas time and i loved that the whole plot wasn’t just the romance, there were other things going on in the background. if you’re looking for a fun read that you can finish super fast, this is the book for you!🫶🏻

*despite being gifted an arc of this book all opinions in this review are my own. thank you again to netgalley and the author for a copy of this book in e-arc form in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the premise of Tis the Damn Season. A celebrity coming home and getting a second chance with her first love sounded right up my alley. I actually think the plot of this book has a lot of potential, but there is a lot more focus on drama between the characters and side characters then some of the serious issues this story deals with. I didn't feel like the emotional depth was there with this one. The characters seemed stuck in issues from high school and the characters were pretty black and white. I think this one would have worked better as a YA romance where the characters immaturity would have made more sense. There are so many great holiday romances out there I recommend giving this one a miss.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Parson Press for the advanced copy in return for my honest review.

When I first read that this was a Taylor Swift inspired book, I was all for it! And set around Christmas? Absolutely down! However, that’s pretty much were my enthusiasm lies. This was a charming debut novel from a 16 year old author but the book was just not for me. This is labeled as a new adult but I think a better genre fit would be young adult / teenager romance.

The book has a dual timeline going – one that follows the characters in the present around 25 years old and the other follows the characters in high school when they first meet and start their budding romance. I really enjoyed reading the characters when they were in high school and trying to navigate this new relationship and high school and life pressures. The author exceled at expressing the feelings of a teenager, because she is one. I would absolutely read more of the backstory of Aspen and Roman! My issues with the book lie mainly in the present timeline. As a second chance romance, I would expect more angst and pining but you don’t have that. The characters in their 20s have good character development but they seem to lack depth. I honestly thought Aspen and Roman were in their late teens or very early twenties instead of mid 20s. I believe this is mainly because the author doesn't quite have the life experience because teenagers and those in their 20s are vastly different. The author has such amazing potential at such a young age and believe she will grow as an author once she gets more experience (both life and writing) under her belt.

This book does deal with some heavy and triggering issues of sexual assault, death of parents, and narcissism/ gaslighting and hope there are some trigger warnings for these.

Tis The Damn Season is cute and wholesome and makes for a good palate cleanser. I enjoyed the song tie ins for each chapter. As a Taylor Swift fan, it was really easy to keep the soundtrack of the song in my head as I was reading. While the pacing was good, I wish there wouldn't have been quite so many flashbacks because they made things feel choppy at points and didn't add much to the story other than symmetry.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I thought that this was a really cute premise and would be an easy, light read. Considering that the author is only 16 (!!!), I was impressed with the plot and characterisation, but the dialogue fell very flat for me and didn’t ring quite true, nor did some events in the text.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was a super cute book! I picked it up because it was inspired by the Taylor Swift song, and I could definitely see the similarities

It’s dual timeline between high school and adult life, following Aspen as she falls in love with Roman for the first and second time

Besides the romance, I loved the plot. The present day storyline follows a major hollywood scandal, which I found interesting. My favorite part was the Christmas play Aspen and Roman work on together! It was super cute and reflected on Aspen’s prior experiences. However, I don’t really think that the high school plot was needed. Maybe it could have been told as flashbacks instead

Additionally, this book has a playlist. Each chapter has a song at the top of it that fits the mood. I did not listen to music while reading, but if I did, I would definitely be listening to this. Most songs were (of course) Taylor Swift, but there was a good variety. There’s a playlist on spotify for anyone who’s interested :)

Also knowing that the author is in high school and is able to write a book like this is incredible! I didn’t realize that until I got to the acknowledgements at the end of the novel

If you like…
- small town romances
- second chance romances
- hollywood scandals
- dual timelines
- evermore by tswift
READ THIS BOOK <3

✮ ✮/5

The title of this book lured me in, and finding out it was based on Taylor Swift songs, I was sold! However, it was a major miss for me.

It felt like a very childish approach to what was supposed to be mid-twenties adults second chance romance. I just didn’t connect with it at all. I was expecting a story about the one that got away but it was really just the one that moved away but still hooked up with whenever she came back… didn’t have any of the angst I was looking for in a second chance romance.

I didn’t connect with the characters and I thought the dialogue was pretty juvenile and boring. The story had the potential to be a cute Hallmark style romcom, but it just missed the mark on the execution.

I found out after reading it that the author Kimi is only 16 and it’s her debut novel! Fair play to her for publishing so young!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes:
- Small Town Romance
- Second Chance
- Closed Door
- Holiday Romance
- Dual Timeline

this was so good!! such a quick and easy read. a second chance romance where they dated in high school but split due to their different life circumstances. i loved the dual timeline storytelling & the taylor swift vibes of it all.

Had a hard time finishing this one, pretty bland in my opinion. Not much spark between the main characters :(

I liked the Taylor Swift references and how the songs from the playlist each had their chapter that corresponded well to the chapter. Aspen went though a lot and was stronger for it and the hard work she put in so I didn't like how she was not putting work into protecting herself to the world until the end, Roman is a sweetheart and totally obsessed with Aspen from the beginning. There were some parts were the dialogue between characters were I felt the flow was off. Overall sweet, fun holiday romance with cute ending.

Although I love a second chance romance this felt a little too corny for me. The storyline felt a bit all over the place especially with the then and now chapters. I did love the celebrity and regular person plot. Overall 2.5 stars.

Aspen Moore is a Hollywood actress who has been caught in a scandal, supposedly sleeping with her best friends boyfriend. She returns to her hometown where she reunified with her high school boyfriend and the two direct the towns annual nativity play.

This was ok! I do enjoy a good second chance romance but idk it felt a bit flat 😂 I didn’t really relate to either character, the idea was good the execution not so much. I thought the twist at the end came a bit out of nowhere as well

Sadly this book was not for me. While I enjoyed the premise, this felt a little under developed. I think if the characters had been in high school not 25 that would have made this story a little stronger. While the author did an incredible job for someone so young, I feel like the editor and publisher should have been more helpful in cleaning up the story and pushing her towards a younger subject matter.

Thank you to the publisher and author for giving me early access to this book.

I found out about this book from the author’s Tik Tok page. The description and obviously the Taylor Swift reference caught my attention. With all that being said, this was a cute book. I do think this book should have been marketed towards young adult more. I enjoyed reading about these characters, but something was missing for me. On a more positive note, I like the book giving us present chapters and past chapters. It really helped me understand the characters more. The song choices before the chapter started were incredible. Lastly, there is a trigger warning that readers won’t know about until they start reading. For future books, hopefully this is something that can be warned about. I do recommend this cute book, and will read more of Kimi’s books.

First, thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Romance? Based on a Taylor Swift song? Sign me up. Beyond that, I liked the concept of the dual POV over different times and the Taylor Swift references scattered throughout.

Unfortunately, the book wasn’t quite for me. It read younger than I expected (both POVs) and that greatly impacted my experience. A lot of the drama felt petty most of the time and the characters felt underdeveloped.

A lot of people did call out the surprise SA - I did see it coming based on context clues, but there should be trigger warnings for that stuff.

I did almost DNF but did choose to finish.

There is so much potential here but the story did fall flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Parson Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

As a Swiftie for 15+ years, the title caught my eye, and when I saw the synopsis, that it's inspired by the Taylor Swift song with the same name, I just HAD to request this book, and I'm so happy I was approved for it!

This story is about Aspen, nicknamed Penny or Pen to family and close friends, a small-town Pennsylvania girl who's moved to LA. She used to star in a TV series, but now she's expanded to singing, which she has done since she was a child. But of course, it being LA, there's drama and the press exaggerating things, and Aspen ends up leaving early to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas at home with her family, where she reunites with her high-school sweetheart, Roman. All very "tis the damn season"!

The story is told in dual timeline, alternating between present-day Aspen in her hometown, and years ago, when she was still in high-school and first met Roman, and their relationship developed. It properly gives off that "road not taken" vibe from Taylor's song! Every chapter has the title of a song and who it's by, and about half of these are Taylor Swift songs. I also kept finding lyrics and titles of her songs casually throughout the book, which I loved! To mention a few, Roman is "the guy on the football team" from Fifteen, I got some Dorothea vibes as well from the whole "coming back home" story line, and I found mentions of "all too well", "tolerate [it]", "[mr] perfectly fine", "leave well enough alone", Reputation... So much Taylor! And I loved it!

Anyone who's read my reviews before will know that I love anything with either a dual POV or a dual timeline, and anything that makes a book unique, and I thoroughly enjoyed this!! It was fast paced, so easy to read, and I adored the story lines!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 from me!

First off-there are some triggers readers should be aware of-there is past sexual assault to a character.
Overall, I liked this book! I liked the chemistry between the characters, and the idea of how the romance could happen. There were some inconsistencies in the fmc that kindof bothered me. Some people may not notice them but for some reason they glared at me. There were parts of this story that I absolutely loved too! I think this is definitely worth the read, and I know I am going to follow this author for future books! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Absolutely loved this book!

The authors writing style is amazing!

I look forward to reading more from them!

It’s The Damn Season was such a cute read! The name being inspired by a Taylor Swift song is what drew me in to start! It’s a dual timeline in Aspen (the FMC’s) POV. The author of this book is just a teenager but she did a really great job writing this book I would have NO IDEA if I hadn’t done some research after reading it! It follows a girl Aspen who’s currently a Pop Star who has run into tabloid troubles when her best friends boyfriend accused her of coming on to him. Which she most definitely did not. But the whole country believes she did and she’s hurt and sad and needs an escape from the public eye. So she goes home for a few months and with the help of her high school boyfriend Roman, takes over the responsibility of directing the children’s Christmas play at church. There’s the perfect amount of. Inflict and resolution. The world building and character development is great. And there’s a perfect HEA. Kudos to Kimi Freeman on a job well done! I’ve already ordered my published copy since reading this ARC!

I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book from NetGalley. My review is honest, unbiased, and completely my own.

Unfortunately I had to dnf this one, the writing wasn't for me. I really wanted to like it but I it just didn't click for me.