I unfortunately had to DNF this book. The writing felt underdeveloped and I found the characters to be flat. I really tried to push through but it just wasn’t for me. There weren’t enough transitional scenes so it felt jumpy when moving from one plot point to the next. The dialog also felt forced when Aspen and Roman are supposed to have known each other for years. The way they spoke to each other lacked familiarity.
I feel like with a couple more rounds of editing, this could be good. The plot has potential, it just needs some work.
This is also this authors first published book so I think that there is a lot of room for growth. Like I said before, there’s potential here. With more editing and time spent writing, I’m sure this author will do great things.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to like this book at first. I am older, therefore I wasn't knowledgeable on a few of the terms used. I also didn't get the Taylor Swift songs. But this was better than expected. And after I read the acknowledgements, and learned more about the author, I think it well done. It's lighthearted at times. Though it does cover some heavy topics. It's main focus is Aspen and Roman. Aspen comes home after experiencing backlash in her career. We learn their story between duel timelines. I was worried about this at first, but it's made very clear which time period your reading. Therefore it was never an issue. So if you want a book with all the feels, or you are a Swiftie, I highly recommend it.

The description really caught my attention with this one! Unfortunately it just didn't hit the mark with me. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and I thought the storyline had tons of potential. I really liked the dual timeline, and thought that was done very well! It helped me understand the relationship between Roman and Aspen, as well as the consistency was great!

I look forward to more from this author in the future!

This book came with all the warm and fuzzy feelings of the holiday season along with the laughing and crying that comes with a Hallmark movie. The Taylor Swift references were the icing on the cake. This is a very good debut novel and I cannot wait to read more by Kimi!

thank to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!💕

4/5 stars

There is no pepper rating of this one. If you put together Taylor Swift and hallmark christmas movie, this is for you. The endearing tale of coming home to someone from your past and thinking what if you do come back together one more time and would it hurt.

When a scandal occurs making our girl come home to center herself, her high school love reappears and the old flame starts igniting.

The story is very sweet, gripping tale. This one is for the Swifities. I would recommend this one for a palate cleanser as it's wholesome and a growing up story of once true love.

A story based on a Taylor Swift song, sign me up!
This story has all the feels of a wintery romance, you're drawn into from the beginning.
There were elements of the story that could have benefitted from more depth, but on the whole this is an enjoyable, heartwarming read.

Tis The Damn Season
By Kimi Freeman
October 24, 2023

This book is a story about Aspen Moore, a Hollywood starlet who is plunged into the chaos of a scandal. Aspen is obligated to go back home to Pennsylvania and reconnects with her first love Roman Torres.

This has a dual timeline going from past to present. I loved the playlist at the beginning of the book, I like most of all of the songs. The chapters were fast and easy to read.

Thank you to Parson Press and NetGalley for this early review copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book was a great lighthearted read that left me happy and excited for the holidays in a few months. I enjoyed reading Aspen and Roman’s story.

It is a great romance read that gives you all of the happy feels. I also loved all of the Taylor Swift song references!

Thank you to @kimifreeman_ and @netgalley for this ARC. Check out this book when it releases on 10/24/23!

I was *enchanted* to read this book.

This debut title could easily be mistaken as the work of a seasoned rom-com author, yet Ms. Freeman is only 16!

A terrific addition to the Hollywood vs hometown rom-com genre, Aspen and Roman are both incredibly likeable protagonists who show extreme growth throughout the book.

When soap opera star turned singer Aspen returns home after a scandal, she immediately falls back into a routine with love-of-her-life Roman.

The author's matching of songs to each chapter, with chapters switching between the past and present, give even deeper context to the content.

As a Swiftie myself, I loved finding the song references within each chapter and found it impossible to put the book down until I was finished,

The only suggestion I would have would be to include a trigger warning at the beginning of the book due to the sexual assault situation within the book.

If this is just the debut of the author, we are sure to see many more great books ahead!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and provide my honest opinion.

2,75 stars
This book would've been great... if the main characters had both been in high school. I assumed this was an older YA/NA romance based on the characters' ages. But instead, it read like a classic YA romance, except the characters were adults. That said, this is a book you have to place in the context. This book felt very young, but the author is also only sixteen. It's a Christmas book and just like Christmas movies, they're meant as a feel-good. So I placed this book in that context. I ended up rating it 2,75 stars.

First, I want to talk about what I loved in this book. It's a "superstar who returns to her small town for Christmas and sees her childhood boyfriend again"; one of my favorite Christmas plots. The chapters jump back and forth between the past and the present and each chapter fits to a (Taylor Swift) song. I loved the short chapters with inspired songs. The songs felt very accurate to the chapters and plot.

But overall, I didn't fall in love with this book. I feel like I'm just too old for a classic YA romance, even if the characters are older. I could just not get into the relationship of the characters. I felt like there was no chemistry between them. The drama between the main character and the side characters also felt unrealistic to me, looking at their ages. I'd also like to include a trigger warning for rape, as this isn't given in the book. I felt this part didn't add to the plot at all. For that reason, it should've been left out.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who's looking for an easy YA romance.

This book was a 4.5/5 stars for me, I could not put it down. If you are looking for a cozy romance then I would 100% recommend. This second chance romance was the perfect lighthearted winter book.

While this was meant to be a lighthearted read, it ended up being too shallow for me. The book suffers from flat, underdeveloped characters and stilted dialogue. All the characters sounded like robots talking to each other. I also couldn’t feel any chemistry between the MMC and FMC. Overall, this is a quick read, but it feels too… juvenile.

Tis the damn Season is a new adult romance book by Kimi Freeman. The story follows a 23-year-old popular singer-actress named Aspen Moore. After a Hollywood scandal, she returns to her hometown and reconnects with her first love, Roman Torres. Amidst the games of push and pull and all the scandals, will they find a happy forever after?

Ratings: 2.5 stars
TW: The book displayed the loss of a loved one and rape (both off-page).

The story altered between two timelines (the present and 7 years ago) in the first person POV of Aspen. The chapters were short which made it a flowy read. It was written in a basic language and was easy to follow.
However, I did not relate to the characters, no matter how hard I tried. It was quite boring at times and I wanted it to be over with. The main characters did not go through much character development which made it feel like a drag. Also, the playlists and the reference to songs as chapter titles weren't very interesting.

I thank NetGalley for giving me an Advanced reader copy of this book and allowing me to review it.

I really enjoyed this book! The dual POV kept me interested & the narrative had a perfect mix of romance and drama. The Taylor Swift references and short chapters kept me hooked & it was easy to enjoy the style of writing.

To find out at the end the author started writing this book at 14 made me like it even more, she will be going places!

’Tis the Damn Season follows Aspen Moore, a actress/singer, who has been caught in a massive gossip scandal in LA, and was forced to go home while she waits for the rumour mill to hopefully run its course. Back home, she’s reunited with her high school boyfriend and first love, Roman Torres. Will they get back together? Or are they too different now to work as a couple?
Trope: This is a sort of second chance story.

CW: Death of a loved one (off-book); past mentions of sexual assault. I wish there were content warnings at the beginning, as they can be triggering even if the book doesn’t go in great details.

It’s a breezy, easy read with the narrative jumping back and forth between the present and the beginning of Aspen’s and Roman’s love life, but remains in Aspen’s POV the whole time. I did not get the Taylor Swift references at all, but I can see this being right up a Swiftie’s alley.

I felt like the characters could have been developed further as individuals and also their story (especially their history) could have been explored more. The beginning of their relationship as teens feels very abrupt and out of the blue.
This is very dialogue heavy book, I wish there were more scene building, especially since it’s holiday themed. I was missing the whimsical feeling Christmas spirits normally can imbue into stories.

Overall I felt the book started out a little cringey, but got slightly better towards the end. But considering the author is incredibly young and this is her debut novel, I’d say this is a mighty good effort. And I look forward to more work in the future as she fine tunes her craft.

Thank You Netgalley and the publisher for the free access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There's a certain curse books have which is that if it includes a playlist the author created before chapter one, it's going to be a very badly-written tik-tok oriented book. By that I mean it clearly throws a bunhc of buzzwords that booktok loves and tries to create a plot around it but this never works! It just reads as bad and one-dimensional

'Tis the Damn Season unfolds a story of a young singer and actress caught up in a scandal. Aspen decides to head home and finds herself entangled with an old flame. Will she get herself out of the scandal? Will she

This is a solid debut book for an author that is just 16 years old! Quite an impressive feat! I picked this book as a Swiftie. I did enjoy the Taylor Swift song references. I also liked that the chapters were built upon different songs. The story is told in a dual timeline. It was a quick and easy read. The writing was good and easy to follow. Even though the timeline was alternating, I didn't find it confusing at all. I was swooning over Roman and Aspen. The Great War was also playing on my head as I was reading this.

I believe there should be a trigger warning on this as it delved into sexual assault as well. However, I wish it was expanded more in the book so that we could feel the gravity and intensity of what Aspen has been through more. Issues were mentioned but the main focus was a cheating scandal that led to a friendship break up. I just wished that the author expanded more on the other issue that Aspen has been through. Also, it seemed like Sierra was a really close friend of her and I just wished there was a chapter about them, just so we could understand more the bond that they had.

Overall, it was a good read. I would recommend it for a someone looking for something light or as a refresher after reading something heavy. I think this is such a good book to read during the Christmas season!

Tis the Damn Season is cute and fun and so perfect for your Swiftie friend!! A heartwarming contemporary romance to get you ready for the holiday season. For me this seemed to fall more into the YA rather than NA demographic.

Kimi Freeman was able to write an endearing story about second chances, overcoming the ups and downs of life, and self-discovery/acceptance. It follows the two main characters, Aspen and Roman, as they navigate their relationship over the years. Freeman bounced between past and present flawlessly and in a way that helped create a full picture of their relationship rather than a distraction.

It was slightly predictable, but in a way that feels cozy. Like how you rewatch your favorite movie over and over. You know how it’ll end, but that’s half the reason it’s your favorite! Definitely recommend this for a fun and lighthearted read!

This was such a cute and breezy read! I really enjoyed the duel-timeline which really added to the angst. Plus all the little Taylor Swift nods are A+.

This book also had the childhood best friend/second chance romance tropes that I love, but I wish the two main characters/their relationship was developed a bit more in both timelines. I would, however, recommend this book! You can get your hands on it on October 24!

Thank you NetGalley and Kimi Freeman for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank You Netgalley and the publisher for the access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didnt really enjoy this novel as much as I would have hoped. There was surface details in the characters' backstories which made them un relatable, The plot line for me was mid and cheesy and I could tell early on what was going to happen. There was not much on character development and at times it fell flat and had me skim reading.

I liked how there was flashbacks to when they were younger. And there was defiantly some trigger warnings I did not see coming. As someone who is not a Taylor Swift fan I did not realize that this book referenced her songs as chapter titles at all.