Overall this was an adorable and light hearted Taylor Swift themed read! Roman and Aspen are two well structured and relatable characters that draw you into the story more.

I love how much we see of both of their pasts, learning why they are the way they are in the present. My only complaint was some of the thing Roman said during arguments to Aspen. His feeling were 100% justified but I believe he should have had more consequences for what he’d say to her.

I also appreciate all the hard subjects Hollywood stars face being brought up (trigger warning for rape).

This book was so cheesy in the worst way possible and sometimes felt childish. I know it was inspired by a Taylor Swift song but it just played into that too much. I rolled my eyes every time there was another reference. The dialogue felt stunted and like a lot of the story was missing. It was almost like the author tried to include too many things but never really went into detail with any of it. I was really intrigued by this book because of its Taylor inspo but I was very let down. And then I got to the acknowledgments and saw the author had written this when she was 15 and a lot of my complaints made a lot more sense. The teenage perspective is just not able to write in depth about an adult romance/love story. There was so much naivety in their interactions.

This book was the perfect balance of the heartfelt side of romance and the funny and steamy side as well. All the characters were so cute and lovable that I couldn't help but root for their relationship and over all life success. I will definitely have to reread this when Christmas comes around.

Even though I didn’t enjoy this story, I will say the writing had a very breezy quality—it was pleasantly fast paced and easy to binge.

Told in past and present, it follows singer-actress Aspen Moore escaping to her hometown after a vicious scandal. While there she reconnects with friend and first love Roman Torres, as together they organize a church Christmas production.

The romance was cute, but it lacked a concrete conflict. I found the unfolding of events a bit nonsensical, many chapters seeming to serve no importance and ending abruptly.

But my main issue was the juvenile tone to the story. I suppose it fit the timeline set in high school, but the maturity in the present timeline (seven years later) did not improve. There was a lot of cattiness between characters, which is simply not the type of drama I enjoy reading about.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tis the Damn Season was a story about a young up and coming Actress/singer/songwriter dealing with the fall out from a media scandal with her so-called best friend. Aspen is forced to return home while hiding out from the media. She reconnects with her high school sweetheart while working on a play for her fathers church. I enjoyed the dual timeline which gave insight on Rome and Pen’s past relationship. I loved the message behind the story and feel it’s a great reminder to everyone to be kind to people because you don’t know what they’re going through. Once again, one of my favorite stories to read….a second chance at love rom-com! I highly recommend this book!

First of all anything Taylor Swift inspired I WILL READ. I love a good second chance romance and this was just the cutest! This book is sooo Taylor coded I love it. I think this is a good easy read but nothing too in depth. The writing is a bit juvenile (sorry) but I really enjoyed the concept of the book.

3.75
This has some of my favourite tropes
-second chance
-friends to lovers
-holiday romance
I really enjoyed this book and I flew through it. This really gave me a whole new view on celebrity relationships and the media.I loved the story and Aspen's character growth. The only problem was i didn't really feel like there was a lot of chemistry between the main characters at the start. I really enjoyed how each chapter had a song at the start for you to listen to that chapter and the song always fit PERFECTLY. It had chapters not too long which was so rewarding as well as being fast-paced
Thank you so much for gifting me with this arc

This was a cozy read with enough cuteness to get me through an otherwise just ok plot. Did not enjoy the slight SA mention near the end without the tw for it. Here for the Taylor title and the pretty cover tho.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review

I’m a sucker for a celebrity second chance romance, so when I was offered the opportunity to read this book, I jumped!

I loved this book so much I read it in one go! Kimi portrayed their past and present relationships beautifully, the storyline was easy to follow while still keeping me guessing as to what was coming next, and I couldn’t help but root for Aspen and Roman to finally get their happy ending! I loved the drama that the side characters brought, it added to the story without taking over too much of the plot and some of them even got their own small character arcs!

Overall, I definitely recommend this book to anyone, whether you love romance already or are just starting out!

*I received an advance review copy for free (thank you NetGalley), and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*

✨ ¡Gracias a NetGalley y a Kimi Freeman por mandarme una copia avanzada de este libro a cambio de una crítica honesta!

✨Primero de todo, felicitar a la autora, ya que escribir y publicar un libro a los 16 años no tiene que ser nada fácil.

✨Ahora, tengo que reconocer que se nota que la pluma de la autora todavía es muy juvenil -acorde a su edad-, y que teniendo en cuenta que está escribiendo sobre personas al rededor de los 23-25, no me termina de cuadrar.

✨Además, el asunto de los flashbacks -un capítulo es en el presente y otro en el pasado, de manera que se cuentan dos historias simultáneamente-, no me termina de convencer, aunque eso es únicamente un gusto personal.

✨Trigger Warning que no aparece por ningún lado en el libro: la protagonista ha sido abusada sexualmente. Me parece que es un tema al que le hubiese venido bien un poco más de trabajo.
Spoiler
Se menciona a lo largo del libro que algo ha pasado con Keith y que no lo quiere recordar, y cuando se destapa en la entrevista del final, salvo llorar por la noche un rato y publicar una declaración escrita en la app de notas de su móvil, no tiene mayores repercusiones. Entendiendo que es un hecho muy traumático, tanto el abuso como el hecho de que se cuente en la entrevista, creo que no tiene el espacio necesario en el libro.

Tis the damn season is a magical, seasonal story about aspen as she navigates the ups and downs of celebrity life. Mainly the downs. When her best friends boyfriend tells the world that aspen came onto him, aspen begins to drown in the bad publicity and press about her. Deciding she needs a break from it all she goes back to her home town. Back to her parents and back to the boy she fell in love with all those years ago. Over the years, Roman and Aspen have had an on and off relationship everytime she has come back from LA. But as childhood sweethearts, did they ever really move on. Set in dual timeline between the present and several years ago when they were both in high-school, we follow the journey that brought them together and the one that is still going. A journey full of sacrifice and learning curves but most of all, full of heart.

I really enjoyed reading this ARC and am so grateful for the opportunity to review it. Aspen and Roman have a deep and complicated connection but through it all is an overwhelming love and appreciation for one and other. This book is a mix of lost loves, regrets and learning what is most important in life. The surrounding characters also had great definitions. The ones put there to stir the pot, I hated completely and the ones there to save the day, I adored. I like that whilst the season and Christmas play is present its not overwhelming. It's just enough to feel cosy and joyful.

THIS BOOK NEEDED A TRIGGER WARNING FOR SA AT 90%

Aspen returns home after a major scandal in Hollywood. The only reason this is the worst thing for her is because she runs into her high school ex-boyfriend, Roman. Being back home, brings back all those feelings she tried to forget.

I have not a lot of thoughts, but I will say that this book is obviously inspired by the Taylor Swift song and the playlist has a lot of Taylor songs. The dual time lines became too much for me. The fact that she was an outcast and bullied in school in the past then in the present there is another girl that was treated like she did and it's supposed to be a parallel.

Roman randomly being Dominican, and I can tell you exactly the amount of times it mentioned the fact he is Latine. He visited his family in the Dominican Republic, his mom was making empanadillas and arroz con pollo, and he calls her mi cielo.

The SA in the book did felt random to me, cause I do think it was hinted to something happening before the 90% mark but having another character talk about the SA before the FMC does just was AWFUL to read. I feel so many things I can't think straight.

I get the idea of the book. I get the parallels to what Taylor Swift goes through, but it was kind of annoying. The book seems very unrealistic. I just didn't like it.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Reads like it is a debut novel, which it is, but still had cute moments. Loved the TSwift inspiration. It’s the right amount of cozy holiday feel. Props to the author for writing and publishing her debut at the age of 25!.

This book was a super cute debut novel, full of subtle Taylor Swift references!

I loved the flashbacks showing them as kids together because it just made me fall more in love with their characters, and I really loved going through and highlighting all of the shifty references like little Easter eggs!

I also adored the playlist that went along with each chapter - too cute!

Giving a 3/5 because although I thought it was very cute, it was a little predictable and long winded at times and I think I would’ve preferred a bit less fluff to make it a quicker read.

If you’re looking for a fun, easy, & a little bit cheesy romance and you’re a Taylor Swift fan, I definitely recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and can’t wait for y’all to give this a read!

This was a good book and I enjoyed it. It is a cute holiday romance book that will keep you entertained. I highly enjoyed this book.
I just reviewed ‘Tis the Damn Season by Kimi Freeman. #TistheDamnSeason #NetGalley
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This took me quite a while to get into. The characters were fine I just felt like the writing just felt a bit disjointed. I did like the way our heroine dealt with her adversity towards the end though even if I was confused by her treatment of the hero.

It was a little slow in the first part but I enjoyed this book. I love the play because it reminded me of my childhood, in which I played as Mary minus the speaking and singing parts.

I also love all the Taylor Swift references, which made me enjoy the book even more! The first Christmas read for the year! Thanks, once again, for approving!

A sweet second chance Romance set during the holiday season.

Aspen is a famous singer and actress but when a rumor turns her life upside down she is forced to run back to her roots and doing so she is forced to face the man she has always loved and and never got over.

I found a lot of the relationships in this book very unrealistic and somewhat forced. The idea of the play was a good one but it did feel like Aspen was playing a little favoritism when casting. Romans character felt all over the place for me. One minute he was sweet and super supportive and the he's violent. I get protecting the person you care about, but there is a time and place.

I did love the Taylor swift nods and the I think including the playlist in every chapter is cute.

I honestly found the present story line the most interesting and the strongest part of the story. I liked seeing the negative side of the glamorous lifestyle Aspen lead. People were vicious and backstabbing and that felt raw and true.

The Christmas show plot was with the kids was interesting and I was happy to see the younger kids grow from being cruel to Ella to helping her when she was nervous. I also felt that the way Aspen was explaining breathing techniques was accurate, and not always something a non singer knows, so it was cool to see how great of a performer aspen was not just by her lyrics but but her vocal coaching skills.

Overall I think this book has a lot of potential with interesting plot, the backstory for Aspen, the drama with cane and the rumors going around about her made for an interesting story and I would have liked to see more of that. My biggest complaint with this book is that the characters felt all over the place and I wasn't sure what they wanted or what their end goal really was. I think if the characters were fleshed out a bit more it would really help the story flow.

With that being said If you are looking for a story with second chance romance set during the holiday season, with lots of Taylor Swift nods then definitely try this book out for yourself.

📚Book 256 of 2023📚

This was a cutesy rom com! At times predictable, with jerky transitions. Still a fun holiday read!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Publication date: 10/24/23

Going into this book I had high hopes maybe its the swifitie in me but I was very excited.

With these high expectations I tried to keep them at bay at to not overwhelm myself.

Now the actual book itself, it was fun to read, it was cute but it didn't blow me away. I really liked the spilt timeline pov but it felt like it didn't really add to either timeline. I liked the main character but she also felt like someone i wouldn't like irl.

Overall it was good just not great