Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC.

Unfortunately, I did not love this book. I initially picked it up because of the connection to Taylor Swift but I felt it was a very weak connection.

The characters felt very flat to me, I didn’t believe in their relationship at all and really struggled to connect with them. I also found many other elements of the novel unbelievable in these circumstances.

The songs for each chapter were a nice touch but I felt like many of them had little relevance to the contents of the chapter.

I would not picked this book up had I known it was by such a young author. I found the writing to be not as mature as I would like out of a romance novel.

It is a huge accomplishment of Kimi to get a novel published so young and I’m sure this book would be enjoyed by younger readers.

2/5 stars.

After a big Hollywood scandal, singer and actress Aspen Moore moves back to her small hometown in Pennsylvania. There, she is forced to once again confront her feelings about her high school ex but also best friend, Roman. Will their on again off again relationship go on, will they make sacrifices to finally be together, or will everything blow up in her face?

This was a pretty cute and easy read! Although I feel that the story was lacking in depth and the dialogue and interactions often felt stilted and unnatural, this a promising debut from a 16 year old author. And the Taylor Swift references don’t hurt either!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book, which featured well-known clichés like friends-to-lovers and second chances, was incredibly adorable and simple to read. The chapter titles for each chapter are titled after different songs, indicating the book's influence from Taylor Swift's song "'Tis the Damn Season," which gives the story a special musical dimension. Even though I felt a little detached from the protagonist, the novel was nevertheless interesting and effectively captured the sense of a tiny town. I want to thank you for giving me the chance to read this book, and I'm looking forward to Kimi Freeman's upcoming projects.

I love it when authors prescribe songs for every chapter. I love it even more when those songs are Taylors. That's the reason I picked up this book, and also the only reason why I continued to read it. The plot itself was pretty standard, but I just felt like there was far too much going on. Additionally, every single character was so unlikable and so unbelievably conceited. I do appreciate the social commentary on the turmoils of false media and being a celebrity, also the fact the celebrity was the woman, when in most celeb romances they are male. I would recommend this book, but only to swifties, because they would appreciate the quotes, the songs and the parallels, but for everyone who isn't one, then I think you would rate it even lower than I did.

I received this book as an e-arc by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, Thank you!

Rating: 3.5⭐️
Genre: Romance
Pages: 356
Series?: Standalone

This is a cute book for any Taylor Swift fan. I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it. It was a bit more YA than I usually like to read, even with it being romance. The storyline is cute enough and it's an easy read. I wouldn’t say it blew me away nor was I hooked/read it again.. I did think I would love it more than I did but I found it a little less developed. I think had the story been a bit more developed and the characters a little more developed, it would have been really good. It read as more fan fiction, the first draft.

3.5 stars

This was a very cute story and I really enjoyed having the playlist with a song for each chapter.

However, while it's labeled as New Adult, the writing reads more Young Adult than I was expecting it to be. I think YA would be a better fit, especially with how short the chapters are, and the content being pretty surface level.

Thank you to NetGalley, Parson Press and Kimi Freeman for providing a digital ARC copy. All options are my own.

This was a good and easy romance read that includes a few tropes that I enjoy reading.
The tropes I'm talking about is following:

Friends-to-lovers (or perhaps in this one it is more like on and off again relationship between two friends)
Second chances
Small town

The story was easy to follow but unfortunately I didn't really felt connected to the main character for some unknown reason.
Don't get me wrong I enjoyed reading about her past and her present but there was just something missing for me.

The book is inspired by the Taylor Swift song 'Tis the Damn Season (hence the title of the book) and I really loved the idea the author has with naming the chapters after different songs and just not only after Swift songs. One chapter was called Wake Me Up - Avicii, another one Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol and of course there was a chapter called 'Tis the Damn Season - Taylor Swift.

Only thing I felt like I missed in this book was POV of Roman.

Thank you so much for letting me read this one and now I am looking forward to see what Kimi Freeman is up to next.

To start off, I really do love books that are inspired by Taylor Swift songs. Taylor writes a great song, which always lends itself to a well written story. And I think this book encapsulated the story very well! The Taylor details sprinkled throughout felt so fun. This was a fun Christmas read! I had a bit of trouble connecting with the characters, as I felt they could have been more developed. A good debut, overall.

I wanted to love this one so badly, but I just never got there. I really didn't connect with the main character, and it never got better.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️,5

This was such a cute book !
It was well written with an amazing timeline change. I loved the past and present POVs and I think that they were really necessary to the understanding of the story and allowed me to connect with the characters. I would have be so happy if we got Rome’s POV.
The pace was perfect and I’m so grateful for the short chapters.
However, I feel like the evidence of the relationship between Aspen and Rome is not jumping out at me. The dialogues felt a little forced and cringy. I also feel like more information about their past (in between) and Rome’s POV will really add to the story and amp their relationship up !
Overall, it was a great promising debut novel.

Undeveloped would be a word to sum up this book, the story is there, and the potential was there but I just needed more. I needed more from the characters that came across as cringy at times, more from the story involving the instant reconnection and more growth from Aspen. The Taylor Swift references were immaculate, and I loved the playlist. I think this could have been a great easy young adult book but as a 30-year-old reading this some scenes just felt highly unrealistic and silly.

The author masterfully weaves a love story that's refreshingly low on angst. The strong and resilient female lead Aspen takes center stage, her determination and grace making her a character to admire. The male lead Roman, equally compelling, is utterly adorable, making it impossible not to root for this couple.
Set against the backdrop of a quaint small town, the narrative oozes with the charm of tight-knit communities and the magic of love rekindled. The pacing is swift, keeping you engrossed from start to finish. It's a heartwarming read that tugs at your emotions and leaves you with a contented sigh.

First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley and Kimi Freeman for this E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐ 5 stars

wow. WHAT A BOOK. let me start off with my favourite quote from this book.

"I'm sorry about last night. I should have never been reckless. It was stupid. I'm sorry I scared you. I'm embarrassed and pissed at myself that I was mean to you. I was sad and mad, and I was taking that out on you. Obviously, that's no excuse for what I said and did. If one of us didn't have a life before we got together, it was me. My life hadn't begun until I met you. I just didn't know it yet."


i was liking the book, but from this quote on.. i loved it.

tropes:
> friends-to-lovers
> second chance
> small town

anyways, let start with the plot.
aspen moore is 23 and a singer-songwriter, rich beyond her wildest dreams. she has fame and fortune. her own TOUR. but shes not truly happy.
after a scandal involving her emerges (which is not true), she goes back to her hometown, where she reunites with her first love, roman torres. will they both be able to navigate the twists and turns of their rocky relationship, and will they end up together? and will the people involved with the scandal get the karma they deserve?

obviously, this is a romance book. its a sweet rom-com with no spice, just how i like it with these types of books.
this was a friends-to-lovers kinda book, so it wasnt my favourite, but it was still good.

also, the NICKNAMES were everything. i love how aspen had a nickname for roman, and he had one for her.
and roman, or rome (iykyk). THIS MAN. he was so sweet and kind and caring and loving and just everything. him calling pen 'mi cielo' (my darling) made my heart MELT.
also i was SCREAMING at him saying you are in love the whole book.

and aspen is about the same. even though shes famous, shes so down to earth and she loves everyone and everything. in a nutshell, shes a bundle of joy. i was also SHOUTING at her this love between you and rome IS REAL.

you can hear it in the silence. hear the tension and love and joy and EVERYTHING between roman and aspen.

now.. the moment you've all been waiting for.. THE SWIFTIE REFERENCES!

"nothing new," I reply.

death by a thousand cuts.

perfectly fine, as you can tell.

halfway out the door.

wildest dreams.

fearless.

"Don't blame me,"

I almost do.

'Tis the damn season, I suppose.

Christmas tree farm.

ours.

holy ground

endgame?

it was time to go.

out of the woods.

reputation


so overall a 5 of out of 5 quick and easy read! and also, if you love better than the movies, this is the perfect read for you!

Super freaking cute cozy romance!! 3.5star

I loved how the timeline changes from past to present and creates a better understanding of the characters. The Taylor Swift references are perfect! This book was very enjoyable and very well written.

This new author sure has a future in the book world. I’m excited to see how far she will go.

Thank you to NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

love a good taylor swift themed book. 'tis the damn season was a very low-stakes romance with a happy ending :)

The book was very committed to the alternating past/present/past/present/etc. timeline which I did feel was a hinderance to the timeline and story line at times. I also wish the side characters and references to plot lines that were not the main one were a little more fleshed out.

but i did love that the story was easy to follow along and low angst. plus i love a second chance romance.

An adorable debut novel that had me in all my Taylor Swift feels. ‘Tis the damn season is one of my favorite songs and this book is cute!! This book is a famous fmc x small town mmc, second chance romance and it was a perfect read in this weather as we slowly transition into fall and the weather gets cooler. The book made me feel cozy and wanted to get cozy! The back and forth in the timeline was introspective to read and the short chapters made the book fly by. The characters were lovable for the most part however I think they could’ve had a bit more depth. It was one of the aspects that I felt that it was very noticeable that this was a debut book. I think some more research about how Hollywood works would’ve helped to flush the plot of this book out more. This might be because I was reading an ARC but there was no trigger warning for the sexual assault that was mentioned in this book and I think that is critically important to include and hopefully will be in the final copy or somewhere readers can see easily. Overall a lovely read to get me into the fall mood and another author that I’ll be keeping an eye out for new releases.

Thank you NetGalley and Parson Press for the ARC, and for giving me the chance to read and review it honestly.

This was a very sweet and fun read! I loved the dual timeline of the story (really two stories in one)! There is major character growth with Aspen, the main character, that I was happy to see as well. I felt like this story could have gone a bit deeper; but it was a sweet book!!

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this electronic arc!

Very cute, surface level romcom of first love and second chances. I loved the present/past POV along with all the Taylor Swift references!

'Tis the Damn Season is told from dual timelines and it weaves together a story of first loves and second chances. Aspen is just a small town girl who made it big in Hollywood. She's had a hard time dealing with the fame and when she becomes front and center of a cheating scandal she decides to head home. While Aspen is home she reconnects with her first and only love, Rome. She has to figure out how to juggle her Hollywood life with her small-town life. I thought this was a cute read but it did feel a little long at times.

Lots of Taylor Swift references, which was delightful. Otherwise, Tis the Damn Season is a fairly straightforward, surface-level, uninspiring romcom. The characters don’t have a lot of depth and sometimes feel caricatures of ideas, plot has a lot of deus ex machina, and while the playlist is a cute idea, just looking at the list of songs revealed all of the book’s plot twists to me at a glance.

The story had a lot of potential, but I do not think it was executed well. Still, a valiant attempt.

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