Aspen, a famous singer, returns to her hometown as a scandal hits her career. She reconnects with her high school sweetheart, Rome, and, as much as she tries to stay away from him, she cannot.

This is a debut novel from Kimi Freeman. I enjoyed the dual timelines (their high school love story and present time) as the storylines came together to show everything Aspen and Rome went through in their lives/relationship. Each chapter also has a song associated with it, many of which are Taylor Swift songs (hence the title), so if you are a Swiftie, you will enjoy that! The romance and storyline felt PG to me though, so, as an adult reader, I wasn’t overly impressed with the slow buildup or the writing style. Teenagers are a more appropriate audience for this book, as they will love the song associations/ cutesy romance.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing this ARC for an honest review.

I love the song this is based on so the title drew me in. Only a few pages in I got the feeling I was reading TS fan fiction written by a teenager… and it turns out that’s because it is. But that teenager wrote a book with a great hook and is now self publishing it, which is impressive. I did enjoy finding subtle TS references throughout the text. Ultimately, though, I don’t think this was for me. It would probably be more enjoyable for a younger audience - ie teenagers. It felt much more YA than New adult, as it was labeled on Netgalley. My biggest issue besides how immature it read was the romance itself. The relationship lacked any development - as in we didn’t get to know the mmc at all or see the relationship develop / witness anything they had in common or bonded over so it was hard to believe how they instantly acted together. I also found how the mmc acts really off putting. There were a few allusions to sexual assault, which I suspect will come up later in the plot, although I did not make it that far. There probably should be some trigger warning though.

Aspen decided to escape LA after a scandal. She loses her friends, home, and best friend all in the same day. She returns home to PA to reset and find the joy in creating music again.

Returning home means running into her childhood sweetheart Roman. The hot Dominican man with curly hair and soulful eyes is on her mind 24/7. Aspen has never let go of her feelings for Roman.

The two always supported one another growing up, but when Aspen moved to LA and Roman stayed in PA to take care of his sick mother things changed. LA forced Aspen to grow thicker skin meaning she had to push away her best friend back home. Missing him hurt too much and with everything that came with being in the spotlight that was the one thing she could control. However, being back in the town where they fell in love makes her realize that he may just be her forever man.

The story between the two characters was heart-touching. You could feel how much love and comfort was between them. You couldn’t help but hope that life would take a break when it came to trying to knock Aspen down. She had a strong backbone for having endured everything that she did. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would recommend it to anyone looking for a light second-chance read.

This book was so cute. I am a sucker for anything Taylor Swift inspired. The characters were well written and the plot moved along at a great pace. This story follows Aspen as she is caught up in a Hollywood scandal and returns to her hometown to take a break from the drama. There, she reconnects with her friend Roman (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) as they navigate this new normal. This book was cute and sweet and was a fun, quick read. I also loved the subtle mentions of other Taylor Swift songs throughout the book. I am excited to see what is next from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Parson Press for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.


I really wanted to enjoy this; the Taylor Swift references seemed so fun, there is a cute playlist that goes with every chapter, and I hoped this would just be a cozy fun read.

Unfortunately this was not an enjoyable read for me. Very quickly, the writing proved to be poorly structured. In the first chapter, we are to believe that adult women are texting each other like this: “I mean, how dare you break girl code like you have?!” Similarly, the romantic lead is introduced in a very flippant manner, asking if Aspen is okay and immediately declaring his romantic intentions to her.

I think realistically there are two factors leading to my disappointment : while Kimi Freeman is a promising young writer, I think her youth when writing this showed in the narrative and created an unbelievable adult character- and the fact that I am simply not the target demographic. I assumed this would be a new adult rom-com but it reads entirely as YA, and maybe I’d like this a lot more if I was in high school.

I hope the release goes well and the author keeps practicing her craft!

Aspen Moore has it all - fame, fortune, success. But she's not happy. Then a scandal rocks her carefully constructed life, and she's forced to return to her hometown in Pennsylvania. She reconnects with her first love, Roman Torres. She knows they have to keep their emotional distance - she'll be going back to California, and he won't move to LA.

❤️ Loved all the Taylor Swift references. My kids grew up on her music, so I'm a little fond of it. Loved how well it was integrated into the story.

Wonderfully written clean romance. Perfect man. Love the slow burn, the music references, the perfect cozy feeling to curl up by the fire. I'm really impressed with this from a debut author. I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

DNF'd at 50% - Therefore 1 star

This actually makes me genuinely upset, I really wanted to love this book and was looking forward to reading it. I love Taylor Swift and love anything that references her and her music. But this just didn't hit for me, I wasn't a fan of any of the characters, the short chapters made it a bit difficult to determine which time period I was reading as the main character seemed to act just as childish and naive in both settings, and I noticed a few grammar mistakes throughout the first half.
I'm sure other people would love it, as it does read as it being for a younger audience (obviously I only got halfway I cannot comment on what happens after that point).

Also author should definitely be including trigger warnings.

Cute little romance, definitely felt ‘extra’ YA. I didn’t feel anything for the romance between Aspen and Roman. Sure, they were high school sweethearts but as adults there wasn’t any tension or build-up.

3/5 stars!

After dealing with a scandal that greatly shook her singing career, Aspen returns home to Pennsylvania. There, she once again feels a strong attraction to her high school sweetheart. Years ago, she had left him to allow him to chase his own dreams, just as she had planned to do in LA. However, every time they are together, resisting their emotions becomes increasingly difficult. Aspen now begins to question whether her aspirations in LA are truly worth setting aside her dreams in Pennsylvania.

The story shows their relationship both from their past and present perspectives. I enjoyed witnessing their initial meeting and how they gradually fell for each other. I've never encountered a high school boy who possessed such self-awareness before! I was also REALLY excited for the playlist of this book! Each chapter was accompanied by its own song, and I absolutely loved the vibe it gave reading the story.

I truly appreciated Rome's unwavering affection for Aspen. He consistently stood by her choices and never criticized her due to the rumors circulating around her. Regrettably, I don't feel that Aspen reciprocated this same level of support. Although she seemed to care for him deeply, she frequently made decisions for Rome without consulting him, assuming she knew what was best.

Despite my occasional frustrations with Aspen, I found this book to be heartwarming and lovely. Whether it was the constant backing from Aspen's parents or Rome's unconditional love, the story was truly touching and filled with affection.

For lovers of Taylor Swift, both the title itself and the subject matter will be big pluses when first getting into this book.

The book tells the story of Aspen and Roman and follows the basic premise of the song while being told from two timelines.

I liked the storyline itself, however, I am not a big fan of the two timelines and the jumping back and forth, though I will say it was used very well and helped the story line along.

If you like multi timeline books, or you’re a swifte with an open mind; this would be a great book for you.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up.

I think this was a really good debut. There were definitely some moments that didn’t quite flow or that I would have liked more from. There were moments that weren’t necessarily written as well as they could be, but the story was enjoyable. The characters were lovable. The emotions were all there. I will definitely be giving further works of hers a read, I would say Kimi Freeman is an author to watch for!


Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I was expecting this book to be right up my street, being an avid Taylor Swift fan, but i have dnf'd this book about 50 pages in because i just was not enjoying it and did not want to read anymore.
i am not a huge fan of dual timeline narrative, especially when there isnt a significant time difference and i found it difficult to keep track of which timeline i was reading in this book. additionally, the chapters are so short that it jumps between each timeline very quickly so it feel choppy and disjointed. this also meant it was really hard to get into the story, hence the perhaps rather hasty dnf.
finally, this book does read like fanfiction, or perhaps just underdevloped writing that could do we reworking.

This is a great first effort from a young writer. There were moments that hit the mark but others that fall short.

We could have used more time to get to know the characters so that we could form a real connection with them but by the time we read a few pages we are whisked to the past without really having the time to get attached.

Just taking the time to let the characters breathe would have added so much depth to the novel.

But there is a good story here and I look forward to seeing the author improve as she continues writing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing this eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Told in a dual time line, Tis the Damn season tells the story of a scandalized young starlet who returns to her hometown at Christmastime and finds a second-chance romance. I think the short chapters, named for songs from the books playlist, worked well. Swifties will appreciate the Taylor Swift references throughout and also, I wished all books came with a playlist! Impressively, this is the author's debut novel at just 16 years old.

Thank you Netgalley and Parson Press for the eARC!

'Tis the Damn Season feels like a book that would be enjoyed by fans of Jennifer Peel. It's a cute story that takes place on a current timeline over the span of a few months, while every other chapter, you travel 5-7 years into the past. It's nice to have the accompanying glimpses into the past so you can see the character progression for both Aspen and Rome, from age 17-approx 24.

I did feel that this was a tad bit too centered around Aspen being famous (it's mentioned a lot!!), and of all the "scandals" that seem to keep involving her/dragging her into them through no fault of her own. It just seemed like Aspen was on the defensive the entire time, but never really fought back against anything that was happening until the very last minute.

*Synopsis- Aspen is a bit of an outcast in high school. She's shy and is tormented by her peers, until she meets and falls for high school football player, Roman. Fast forward six years into the future every other chapter, and you'll see that Aspen has left her small Pennsylvania town for the chance at stardom in Los Angeles. She had been pursuing her acting and singing dreams, until being falsely accused of trying to sleep with her best friend/roommate's boyfriend. Feeling it's best for her career to take a bit of a hiatus from the spotlight, Aspen takes an extended visit to see her family back in PA, where she immediately reunites with her former boyfriend Roman (Rome). These two never got over one another. Aspen's father asks the two of them if they'd be willing to co-direct the annual Christmas play at church, to which they agree. Will this finally bring them together again for good, or will scandal after scandal in the press tear them right back apart?

Ok let’s get started first I’m not a total swifty so I didn’t get some of the references but I asked my friend and she helped with that part

I didn’t hate the book at all I loved the romance I think I just missed the smut lol

I’ve been reading dark romance for far too long but yes this book was really good and I really liked the playlist the author came up with it was a fun quick read

For a debut novel, it was extremely good. It was very well written and I have enjoyed the dual timeline, from past to present.

We got to know Aspen, actress and singer, coming back to her hometown after a scandal broke loose; and we meet Roman, her high school sweetheart, whom she still loves.

I have loved how much I enjoyed this book. It made happy, sad and so incredibily involved with the story and what was going on in Aspen's life. She was incredibily likeable and became self-assured in the end. It was an incredible growth journey for her. Roman is such a gem!

There were no miscoommunication nonsense - something I fiercely hate in romcoms - the chapters were short, which want to keep on reading. I would have enjoyed a few Roman's POV chapters, to see what was going on in his head in specific point of the story.

Thanks to Parson Press and Kimi Freeman for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

Undeniably easy and captivating to read.


When I started the novel, in the early chapters, I didn’t think I would be much invested in reading it. But as I kept reading, I was already 40% done with the novel and now I’ve finished it. For a debut novel, this is definitely 4 stars for me. Don’t get me started on the Taylor Swift references, there were so many and I can sense she inspired this story too. As a swiftie, this was definitely a plus point for me. ONE BIG STAR FOR THAT.

The storytelling is divided into two parts: Present and Past. The present narrates her current turbulent life; sadly a price that comes with fame. To get away from all the upheaval caused by rumours and media, our main character Aspen returns to her home and there starts a journey of reconciliation, rekindling of old love and finally, taking back her narrative. The past shows us how our lovebirds, Aspen and Roman started their high school love [they have beautiful chemistry, everyone can feel that] and the difficulty their relationship went through, which eventually leads to breakup.

I have read people (even the characters) talk about how selfish Aspen is but in my opinion, anyone would have reacted the same way Aspen did. How would you react when you’re kept under dark about your own family’s matters and everyone knows, even your ex but not you? So yes, I am Aspen defender here. Proud of my girl for standing up for herself at the very end. She is a strong character, going through all of that and still standing up. Roman’s continuous love and support definitely played a major role.
There were times Roman made me feel off but I get where he is coming from. He realised his mistakes immediately so it’s okay.

Now, if I continue, I’ll start writing major spoilers. All I can say is, this is a good romance novel, not deeply focused on Hollywood biz only so everyone can enjoy reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley for e-ARC.

Last note; Is there going to be another book sharing this universe? Because Leila and Aaron have tension brewing between them and their chemistry is just SO GOOD.

"Tis the Damn Season" by Kimi Freeman is an enchanting debut rom-com novel that takes readers on a delightful journey into the glamorous world of Hollywood. Through the eyes of Aspen Moore, a captivating Hollywood star, we get a peek behind the scenes of fame, fortune, and the complexities of love. Freeman's writing is engaging and filled with humor, making it a joy to read. The story beautifully balances the glitz and glamour of Hollywood with relatable and heartfelt moments. Whether you're a fan of romance or a lover of Hollywood tales, "Tis the Damn Season" is sure to leave you with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart.

i will be so honest, the taylor title compelled me to pick this one up but it really didn’t deliver on that front. whst truly is a sweet, well written romance just didn’t grab me the way i’d normally want with my novels and i’d check out her work again, but sadly this one just didn’t work out for me