Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an early copy of this book!!

This book was alright. The plot felt pretty underdeveloped and there seemed to be no real storyline in either timeline. Every conflict also felt underdeveloped and everything was resolved without any real communication between the characters and the chapter would end and we would switch to the next timeline.

Speaking of communication, it seemed like every time the two main characters had an argument or disagreement they would walk away and spend some time apart and then once they saw each other or spoke to each other next they didn’t do much other than say ‘i’m sorry’ and move on. It didn’t seem like either party ever wanted to talk about their feelings or what truly happened. The fmc also made assumptions about the mmc many times and instead of simply asking him how he felt or what he wanted she would assume what he would respond with and use that to make her decisions.

The past/present was cool to be able to see both times the characters were together in this second chance… although I’m not sure if it was truly second chance. It was alluded to many times that whenever the fmc was visiting home her and the mmc would hookup and I just don’t know if that really led to the clean break in order for the present timeline to truly be a second chance. The past/present flipping after every chapter was kind of confusing, there would be scenes in both timelines that would be multiple chapters and instead of just finishing the scene we would be interrupted by the other timeline in the next chapter. It wasn’t really confusing because the chapters are short, which is nice, but it was more of an annoyance at some points.

I think this book needs a trigger warning for SA that gets mentioned at the end of the book.

Overall this was a decent debut novel and I am excited to see how this author’s writing develops as she gets more experience and I will be tuning in for another book from her whenever it comes.

This was a promising plot that just never quite developed for me. The writing felt overly simplistic and there were too many subplots that were distracting.

Thank you to NetGalley & Parson Press Paperback for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a sweet and feel good Christmas time romance this was! And I love that each chapter had a song at the beginning, and it was usually a Taylor Swift song!

Aspen Moore left her small Pennsylvania town to move to LA and follow her dreams. After a successful run on a popular show, she’s now moved on to releasing music and finishing up her first tour. Wildly popular with the media and also her fans, she feels on top of the world.

Until a media storm crashes into her life; claiming she came on to her best friends boyfriend. She quickly flees LA to head back home, and straight into the arms of Roman her first love. Determined to forget the disaster that is waiting for her back in LA, she decides to direct the local churches Christmas show, together with Rome. She decides to not fall into old habits with him, and strictly stay friends. But as the media begins to wreck more havoc on her career, and her life begins to crumble around her, she dives head first back to Rome to support her.

But will their love story finally have a happy ending? Or are they destined to breaking up when she leaves to head back to LA?

A tale of first love, friendship, family, and finding your own voice, this was an enjoyable read. I think any Swiftie who enjoys romance novels, will enjoy this sweet one!

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

DNF @ 25%

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it fell short of the mark for me. The beginning felt extremely stilted, there is obviously context that will be 'revealed' later, but that way it was written made it hard to follow during the initial chapters and I found that very frustrating. The dialogue also didn't flow well, exacerbating how stilted the text felt.

I did enjoy that sprinkling of Taylor Swift references in what I did read, that was really fun and I love a good 'Easter egg' (although I wouldn't say they were subtle, the author knew what she was doing and it was fun!)

Tis the Damn Season (based on the Taylor Swift song) was overly tropey and very surface level. The characters were bad at communication, and needed to be more strongly convicted to their moral codes. Everything that happened was so easily resolved, so the entire book was just tiny problems one after another. The idea of using a song for every chapter was nice, and the romance itself was cute, but there needed to be less “plot” and more character building.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182670904-tis-the-damn-season" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="'Tis the Damn Season" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1688323725l/182670904._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182670904-tis-the-damn-season">'Tis the Damn Season</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/40820625.Kimi_Freeman">Kimi Freeman</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5903149076">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
3.5/5 <br /><br />at fourteen/fifteen, there is no way I would have been able to write a book as sweet and filled with so many taylor swift references. Kimi Freeman is truly so impressive for this. <br /><br />A book based on a Taylor Swift song?? yes please. full of little taylor references?? yes please. Past/Present timelines?? yess. <br /><br />Aspen & Roman were just so cute. Depiction of young love and innocence is heartwarming and wholesome. I feel like some things could have been expanded on. I wish their past was a little expanded on and the "5 years ago" scenes were longer because I couldn't get enough of them. <br /><br />over all definitely recommend.<br /><br />thank you netgalley for ARC!
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/66616418-isabelle">View all my reviews</a>

Think Hallmark meets Taylor Swift.
I do wish I loved this more than I did! But it was a cute read for romance lovers, The plot tended to go back and forth a bit where it didn't quite match up, but I still was rooting for the mc's to end up together and find their hea,

This was overall a good debut novel. It’s dual timeline - which isn’t for everyone but does give us context to the story. I enjoyed the side plot of the play and Ella and Millie were great additions to the novel. However, I felt like there could’ve been more depth added to really help with the relationship development between the two main characters. That being said, there were parts of the book that did make me swoon a little. I think that this author definitely has potential and I hope I get to see how she grows!

Side note: There is mention of sexual assault in the novel and, although it doesn’t go into details, I do think it should’ve been added as a trigger warning just in case.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author, Kimi Freeman, for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Tropes:
Second chance
Small town
Holiday romance

This was very cute! I loved the back and forth between present and past, and getting the glimpses into the love story’s beginning! I also really liked that there were songs and a playlist that went along with the chapters. I also was able to really see where the influence from the song came through in the story. Loved it!

dnf at 40%

I could see the that the story was slightly inspired by “tis the damn season” by Taylor Swift (it is even the title) and I do have to admit that I do love that song and that’s what drew me to this book. However, I did not find that plot well executed.

If I’m being honest, from the beginning, I found the writing to be a bit childish I have to say, it put me a bit off. I continued reading as I do not like leaving arcs unfinished but I cannot lie, it did not get better in my opinion. I had to stop at 40%. The characters felt bland and the story was not getting any better. The dialogue was awkward and again I have to repeat the word, childish. It did not feel in any way natural.

I just didn’t like what I’ve read of the book because of some of the points i’ve mentioned before. The idea of the book was good but it wasn’t well written.

I definitely feel like it should go through beta readers (again if it had before) and through an editor.

A Hollywood starlet caught in a scandal. The boy she never got over. A Christmas season they’ll never forget…

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?
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5 stars
thank you kimi for this masterpiece

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I received an early release copy in exchange for an honest review.

'Tis the Damn Season is a perfect little novel about a love that surpasses both time and life struggles, both issues that anyone can relate to. Rome and Pen's journey from teenage to adult love is beautiful, heart wrenching, and pure. Plus, who wouldn't fall in love with Rome? A cinnamon roll with a protective streak? Yes pleaseeeeee.

I loved that each chapter has a different song theme, and tried to listen to each song as I read it respective chapter. It was actually a super fun and interactive way to get involved more in the book and set such a beautiful backdrop to each chapter!

I only reduced to 4/5 stars because I wish there had been a little more organic flow and more spicy scenes. The back and forth perspectives were hard to keep track of and I think that it could have been done just a little cleaner but overall it was fantastic!

This book was cute. The playlist at the beginning shows a lot of Taylor Swift songs, so during the whole book, I had Taylor Swift in my head as the MFC. I loved the dual timeline that gave us a look at the main characters growing up, and where they are now. I think the only thing I didn't like was the lack of page breaks. In one paragraph, they would be doing one thing, and in the next paragraph it would be later that day or the next. It would throw me for a loop. Overall, the book was a cute read. If you like TSwift, I recommend this book for you!

This was such a cute book, and I was completely blown away when I saw Kimi Freeman was only 14 when she wrote it! I’m a huge T Swift fan, so the title of this book is what drew me in right away. I loved following super-star Aspen and small-town Rome throughout the story of their life. It really brought together small town PA and the hustle and bustle of LA. The story line was so similar to the T Swift song! This book definitely got me excited for the holiday season.
Thank you Kimi Freeman, Parson Press, and NetGalley for sending me an ARC for my honest review!

DNF (54%). This sounded really cute, especially with the musical references tie in...but the dialogue was hard to read through and there didn't feel like a difference between the FMC in the two timelines.

The book was a cute story, I liked the references to Taylor Swift songs and the whole theme of the book.

I wish there was a little more depth in the characters and it to be more age reflected in the present day chapters.

Overally a fun swift book!

DNF. This book is very poorly written. The writing is juvenile and the dialogue does not seem realistic in any way. If this MC was a teen or if this was a YA book, maybe the tone would have worked. But the present timeline scenes read way too young for a character that age, and it just wasn’t believable to me.

🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆 'Tis the Damn Season by Kimi Freeman

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Trope: Second Chance Romance
Pub Date: October 24, 2023
Rating: 3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This is the story of Aspen Moore, current TV actress/pop singer and Roman Torres, small town boy who works at Aspen's father's auto shop.

Told in a dual time-line, we learn how Aspen and Roman fell in love when they were 17 to their relationship in the present day.

Always there to lean on each other, these two are meant to be but Roman doesn't want to be in the spotlight.

'Tis the Damn Season, a book inspired by the lady of the year, Taylor Swift, is a cute, second chance romance that was a fun, easy read.

I have to say I was pretty impressed that a 15 year-old wrote this story. I can't wait to see how Miss Freeman's writing continues to grow!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of this e-book. This book was so cute and fun. It could be cheesy at times but I enjoyed it.

How sweet was this book!! Aspen is down on her luck and one bad PR incident after another when she returns to her small town to shake off the dust and take a break. While paired up Roman to produce the towns much anticipated Christmas play, Aspen comes to realize she was always more than she thought when she recognizes herself in some of the plays young talent. Aspen and Rome have fantastic banter and confidence in one another. Feel good story to sink into this holiday season.