This was a really solid debut for a first time author (who is 16 nonetheless!) I picked up this book as a Swiftie so I loved all the little callbacks to Taylor songs, but there were times where I thought it was a little too on the nose and it took me out of the story. I also really liked how each chapters was built upon a song because as a reader, this is something I do all the time! Those were the positives for me, but there were a couple negatives. I felt the dialogue was very terse and abrupt at times but I did see the dialogue become more natural feeling towards the end of the book. I felt like there was no character development for secondary characters ( they were very one dimensional), it felt like they were only there to benefit our main characters. I did adore Roma and Aspen though <33 I don't think I would reread this but I'm excited to see Kimi grow as a writer overtime!

Aspen Moore goes back home after a “cheating” scandal including her best friend and her boy friend. She stays with her parents and reconnects with her friend/ ex boyfriend Rome.
This book had all the makings to be great but it fell flat for me. It felt like there was to much happening and the story was not moving along.
The dialogue between characters felt flat and lacking chemistry. Aspen went home to take a break form LA and the industry but it felt like she did no growing while home.
I think this book would be good for new romance readers.

3.75⭐️ I really enjoyed and would recommend! I loved both of the main characters and how relatable they are. The writing is so easy and fact paced. I legit could not put this book down! The blitz ball drama and the way rome stood up for aspen had me SWOONING. I loved the second chance aspect and the way the characters found their way back to each other at the end! The story ended on such a beautiful note!

This was a decent debut novel. The dialogues fell flat from time to time and felt somehow oddly paced. The constant positivity bomb was a bit too much for me personally but I'm sure there are going to be many who will love this book for that very reason.

The characters, especially Aspen felt a little shallow in the beginning but she showed growth by the end. I really liked Rome, he was a good guy. Though, I must say, I grew a little bit frustrated by him being so unaware of the world outside of their small town. It's one thing not to follow celebrity news, it's a whole other story to be as unaware of everything as he was.

All in all, this wasn't exactly my cup of tea but I still think it makes a nice holiday read.

3.5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early.

CW in Book: mention of rape (not explicit), death of a parent, cancer/terminal illness mentions

Summary: Aspen Moore is an up-and-coming Hollywood star facing scandal after she is rumored to have made moves on her best friend’s boyfriend. She returns home to her hometown in Pennsylvania to escape and reconnects with the one person in her life that can help her always: Roman Torres. After years of the back and forth of their relationship turned friendship turned complicated, will this finally be the time they get it right?

*SPOILERS AHEAD*
My thoughts: For a debut novel, this was cute. The overall premise was a cute story and it was made better by the fact that it was heavily inspired by Taylor Swift. There were moments throughout where Taylor’s lyrics were pulled subtly into the text, which made for a fun reading experience.

However, for as fun of a read as this book is, I felt it lacked a lot. I fully got to see Aspen’s development and understand her anxiety around mixing her career life with her personal life at home. Roman, on the other hand, felt very flat as a character. Even in the mentions of his struggles with his mom’s health, everything came back to Aspen and his love for her. We didn’t learn more about Roman other than the fact that he loved Aspen, cared for her, and supported her. Oh - and he wanted to be a teacher.

As for the outline of the book, I liked the flashbacks as it helped understand more of the relationship that was built between the two main characters. This book was VERY dialogue heavy, though, which took me out of it some.

Overall - a fun and quick read! Not my favorite romance lately, but I still enjoyed it.

‘Tis the Damn Season is a dual timeline novel with half of the story chronicling the beginning of Aspen Moore’s relationship with her high school sweetheart, Roman, and the other half following her path after a scandal disrupts her actress-turned-popstar career. Aspen returns to her small town roots and subsequently, her first and only love. Together they direct the church Christmas play and work through their complicated relationship, respective traumas, and the realities of Aspen’s fame.
~
It is a sweet story with an incredibly creative inspiration. The book is full of Taylor Swift Easter eggs and features an absolutely top tier playlist! I was shocked to learn it was written by Kimi Freeman at only 15 years old, such a lovely debut novel at such a young age is a HUGE accomplishment!

There were some scattered pacing difficulties and little writing quirks that weren’t to my particular tastes, but none of that took away from the precious story and the Hallmark Christmas rom-com vibe! Such a fun, cozy read, I can’t wait to see where Kimi Freeman goes from here!

I really appreciate when the author was going, but unfortunately this book wasn't a favourite of mine. To me, it didn't quite have the full Christmas vibes I thought it would from the title (I hadnt listened to the Taylor Swift song before reading). Some of the chapters felt a little repetitive. I would have maybe appreciated it more if it wasn't a church play, but perhaps just a community theatre group. Also, there were a number of technical errors in the writing.

I liked the idea of having the playlist throughout, but did bug me that some of the songs would not have been released at the time (I.e. that they were Taylor's versions).

I hope the author continues to practise their novel writing as they have great promise.

I personally loved this book and it wasn't until I got to the authors bio that I found out that she is around either 16 or 17....I could have never done this at that age.

I'm not really a Taylor Swift fan, so I missed a lot of the references in this novel, but to me, it didn't take away from the story. "Tis the Damn Season, by Kimi Freeman, is a contemporary love story about first love and the challenges that adult life presents. The reader is compelled to keep reading to find out if the love can last. Written in a dual timeline format, but each change was clearly marked so as not to confuse the reader. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook so I could read it and provide my honest review.

Such a wonderful book, I loved the plot, and oh my god the characters were so amazing!! I definitely will be recommending it!!

Such a wonderful book, I loved the plot, and oh my god the characters were so amazing!! I definitely will be recommending it!!

Thanks to NetGalley I received an electronic ARC to read and provide a review.

This had a cute premise and was well written. A fun debut novel! Though, I wasn’t as fully invested in the characters as I originally hoped because it only stayed on the surface. Additionally, the past and present POV chapters took me out of the story at time because the “present chapter” would move the story ahead quite a bit and then the “past chapter” would be two pages of little substance.

This book was like drinking a warm hot cocoa on a cold day! The characters were adorable and the pacing was great. For a debut novel from such a young author, this was amazing! I loved the dual timelines - they moved the story along. Would definitely recommend this to Swifties! Thanks to Netgalley and Kimi Freeman for the arc :)

'Tis The Damn Season
Kami Freeman
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This book was sweet and easy to read. I picked this one because of the obvious, Taylor Swift references and title. I was able to follow along really well and I liked the dual timeline. However, I did feel like the author was telling me about these two people and their story without showing me. I didn't feel the emotions that I should have been feeling so for that I am giving it 3.5 stars. I did enjoy it and I do appreciate the ARC I received from NetGalley.

This was a cute, quick read perfect for Taylor Swift fans. In addition to the title, there are dozens of Easter eggs throughout the book for Swifties. The dual timeline was perfectly handled, and it really helped shape my understanding of Aspen as a present-day mega star to see her humble beginnings and the death by a thousand cuts she suffered to get to where she is today. The connection between Aspen and Rome is palpable from their first interaction.

On a personal note, as someone raised in a small town, Kimi really nails that experience in her writing. The flashbacks to Aspen and Rome's high school days was more than a little familiar.

I think this is the first book I've read with a proper soundtrack (there's a song assigned to each chapter; mostly Taylor Swift songs!), and that definitely added to my enjoyment as well. I discovered some new music that's going to be in heavy rotation for me these next few months.

Overall, this is a great debut and a perfect read for the holiday season that isn't too Christmassy. I look forward to seeing what Kimi Freeman does next. (And Kimi, if you're taking requests, will you do "Anti-Hero" next??)

{3.5 stars}

Aspen Moore is a famous singer and actress amidst a bit of a Hollywood scandal. She heads back to her hometown to dodge the paparazzi and ends up working on a children's play with her ex-boyfriend. We get alternating chapters between their current time and their burgeoning love in highschool along with all the things that kept them apart in the past.

This was cute. I liked the idea of having a famous song as a chapter theme. Aspen definitely went from a bit shallow and self centered to much more likeable and well rounded in the end. This one was all positivity and no spice, the way I like my romcoms. No insta-love or crazy miscommunication nonsense. Just a nice, wholesome love story. You get a double dose of HEA at the end with the epilogue, that was maybe too saccharine and traditional for me. Otherwise a fun holiday romcom.

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

Tay Swift fans will love this book, so many references to Tay Swift in it, anyone who loves Swift will love it. In this song, broken hearts are depicted as healthy friendships and second chances, but the author turns it into a healthy friendship! To read about a relationship that had a second chance because of mature communication created a whole new kind of angst on page.

'Tis the damn season is a debut novel by Kimi Freeman.
This novel had everything that I could want in a cosy festive romance novel and more. A cute story line with a brilliant cast of characters. Plus it had short chapters which is a bonus for me.
I really enjoyed the novel and I highly recommend it.
❤️ Thank you to netgalley and the author/publisher for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

this book was honestly such a pleasant surprise. for a debut novel I honestly didn’t expect to be this happy to have read it. from the Taylor Swift references to the dual timeline, it made me smile an incomprehensible amount of times while reading it. excited to read more from the author!

Reseña: 'Tis the Damn Season de Kimi Freeman.


Como dice el dicho, lo malo de las cosas buenas es que no duran para siempre, y Aspen Moore lo había aprendido de la peor de las formas. Más de siete años habían transcurrido desde el día en que ella abandonó Fertsville, el pequeño pueblo en el que había nacido y vivido toda su vida, para perseguir sus sueños. Gracias a su talento como cantante y actriz, había conseguido lo que muchas personas deseaban: se había convertido en una celebridad de Hollywood, querida por todo su público.

Pero ser una celebridad de esa talla no aseguraba que su vida fuera perfecta. No importaba el dinero que pudiera tener en su cuenta bancaria o la cantidad de seguidores que tuviera en sus redes sociales, una vez que la reputación de una mujer en Hollywood se mancha, comienza un círculo vicioso de persecución y tortura para las personas involucradas.

Aspen decide adelantar su viaje a Fertsville para visitar a sus padres porque algo terrible estaba ocurriendo en su carrera. El novio de su mejor amiga la estaba acusando de haberse propasado con él, de haber intentado tener algo más que una amistad con él, y su amiga no contestaba sus llamadas, lo que solo podía significar una cosa: ella estaba creyendo las palabras cargadas de mentiras de ese hombre. Su reputación estaba cada vez más por los suelos, sus fanáticos dudaban de ella y los medios de comunicación la destrozaban.

Al llegar a su hogar, se encuentra con nada más y nada menos que a Roman, su primer y gran amor. Ella no necesitaba darle explicación de la situación, él la conocía mejor que nadie, sabía que era incapaz de hacerle una cosa así a una persona que amaba. Cuando Aspen era adolescente, creía que pasaría toda su vida al lado de Ronan, pero la vida los llevó por caminos muy diferentes. A pesar de todo, habían logrado sanar las heridas y continuar como amigos.

Para despejar la mente de Aspen, su padre decide ofrecerles un trabajo a ella y a Ronan, con quien se había vuelto muy cercano a lo largo de los años. El trabajo consistía en montar una obra de teatro para los festejos de Navidad de la iglesia a la que asistía todos los domingos de su vida. Ambos aceptaron sin dudar, sin saber que solo sería una excusa para volver a encontrarse y reemplazar muchas cuestiones del pasado.

Voy a ser sincera, comencé a leer este libro por su título porque sabía que estaba inspirado en una canción de Taylor Swift, pero no esperaba mucho más porque pensaba que solo tendría referencias a la artista. A ver, sí que las tiene, por ejemplo, el personaje de Roman es bastante similar a Taylor Lautner y la "cancelación" de Aspen me recuerda un poco a todo el problema que Tay tuvo con Kanye. Pero la verdad es que la historia es muy original y va más allá de lo que una Swiftie como yo hubiese deseado.

La historia toca temas muy sensibles como la manipulación a mujeres jóvenes, el abuso y el aprovechamiento de personas que están triunfando en su trabajo. También me interesó mucho estar leyendo el punto de vista de la celebridad que está sufriendo el escándalo; siempre estamos acostumbrados a leer lo que los medios escriben o dicen sobre ellos y a partir de ahí los juzgamos. No es que no lo haya pensado antes, pero está bueno recordar de vez en cuando que ellos también son humanos, que sienten como cualquiera de nosotros.

El libro es muy musical y eso me encanta, pero lo que más me gustó fue el desarrollo de los personajes. Vemos a una Aspen que nos muestra cómo fue evolucionando, de una adolescente sin confianza a una persona que afrontó cada uno de sus miedos para cumplir sus sueños, y luego volver a hacerlo después de uno de los momentos más difíciles de su carrera. Luego tenemos a Roman, desde el primer momento en que es presentado en la historia, podemos comprender que es un chico lleno de amor, seguro de que los demás pueden lograr todo si se lo proponen. Durante todo el libro pensé que era perfecto, pero poco a poco me di cuenta de que él apoyaba tanto a Aspen (lo hacía genuinamente) porque se lo merecía, pero también para ocultar sus propias inseguridades, y eso me hizo apreciarlo mucho más.

Este libro es una lectura ligera, divertida y muy interesante. Me gustó mucho que la escritora haya decidido alternar los capítulos con las líneas temporales, presente y pasado, porque se me hizo más entretenido y conocer con más profundidad el origen de esa bonita relación.

Si no estoy equivocada, me parece que la autora tiene quince años, así que estoy convencida de que su pluma irá enriqueciéndose con el paso del tiempo, pero la felicito porque me ha sorprendido muchísimo y para bien.

Swifties, si están buscando un libro inspirado en Taylor Swift, y que el trope sea sobre segundas oportunidades, no duden en leer 'Tis the Damn Season de Kimi Freeman.