I’m a sucker for anything Taylor Swift and the title of this book immediately caught my eye! This was a sweet romance between our 23 year old actress/singer Aspen and her hometown on-and-off boyfriend Roman. Aspen has experienced some unfair negative media attention and decides to spend a few months in her home town to lay low when she meets back up with Roman.

We see their relationship from the present view and from their past. I liked seeing how the met and fell in love. Though I’ve never met a boy in high school that was that self-aware! This is a sweet cozy romance, though there is a trigger warning for sexual assault. We did not get any details, just a very brief overview of the fallout. Overall this is an easy read and I would say more geared to a young adult audience.

As a side note, I loved the playlist that the author put together! Each chapter had its own song which was a great way to enjoy the book. I may or may not have created a new playlist!

Thank you to NetGalley and Parson Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy.

2/5 ⭐️

First of all, I just wanna say that I was actually really really excited for this ARC. ‘tis the damn season is one of my absolute favorite taylor swift song and I was so excited to read a book based on it. I literally just got this ARC yesterday night and finished it in less than 24 hours but unfortunately everything about it fell flat.

Everything felt so surface level; the setting, the characters, their love story. I couldn’t really connect with anyone because I really didn’t know anything about them. The book was a little bit short so there was definitely place to explore the characters more individually. That would have definitely helped.
There was also no real drama, since ‘tis the damn season was such an angsty song I was expecting a more dramatic breaking point and maybe some unresolved issues between the characters. Even though there were some big plot points, none of them made me gasp because, as I said, it felt too surface level.

Also while I do like short chapters, these ones were waaay too short. And since it was dual timeline and a constant back and forth, I could never really get into the book because we kept changing settings and timelines.

While I like the idea of basing books off of taylor swift songs, it is getting a bit overdone and falls flat if not executed well.

I really enjoyed reading this! Such a sweet plot with some of my favourite tropes - first loves, forced proximity, dual timeline, small town romance. You couldn’t help but root for Aspen both in her romantic life and her professional life, and Roman was one of the nicest love interests I’ve come across in a while, even if he’s got a grumpy streak. At times the speech felt a little simplistic and things moved quite quickly without time for it to really develop, but I enjoyed it over all and it’s a great debut, especially for such a young author!

Thank you NetGalley and Kimi for this ARC for my honest review.

"I recently finished reading 'Tis the Damn Season' by Kimi Freeman, and it was an absolute delight! This sweet romance had me swooning over the captivating love interest, Roman, and the cute moments between him and Aspen. The switches between past and present added depth to the story, while Aspen's relatable high school experiences and her growth throughout the novel made her character truly shine. Kimi Freeman's writing style had me completely hooked, and I couldn't put the book down until I reached the satisfying conclusion. If you're in the mood for a heartwarming love story filled with surprising twists, 'Tis the Damn Season' is the perfect read!"
100% Recommended!

** 3.5 stars **

If there is a venn diagram of Taylor Swift fans and Christmas fans, I am in the middle of it. So when this book came up on NetGalley I had no hestiation in requesting it.

The story is pretty much your typical Hallmark Christmas movie plot - big fish back to her small pond hometown and reuinites with her on and off again high school sweetheart. Much like the Taylor Swift Song of the same name, 'Tis the Damn Season shows how good the road not taken can look. It's a simple story with a bit of a predictable ending, but who doesn't love a happy ending in a Christmas book?

I will say that there should probably be some trigger warnings on this book for SA and I think I spotted a couple of spelling mistakes/errors in the text.

If you're looking for a literary masterpiece, this isn't it. But it is a good bit of cheese with a sprinkling of Taylor Swift lyrics and a festive theme.

TTDS was a cute rom com with a lot of heart but not as much chemistry. I really enjoyed the dual timeline, the chapters named after song titles, and the Taylor Swift references scattered throughout, and I thought it was impressive for a debut novel from such a young author. Even though it my not be my favorite romance of the year, it was enjoyable if slow-paced and definitely a fun read for Swifties!

3.5 i mean, if you’re going to write a book based off one of my favorite taylor songs of all time, i am most definitely going to read it. i really did enjoy it, it was cute. i did struggle with the connection with the characters. but overall, it was a short, simple, cute read with a bunch of taylor references.

thanks to NetGalley and publishers for this arc.

Firstly, I cannot believe the author was only 16 when writing this! Definitely one to watch for the future!

On to the book! I loved the concept and I think on the whole this is a decent book. My main issues are that there isn’t enough character development for my taste, and everything felt very sudden and brief. I think this is more young adult than new adult in my opinion as the characters also felt quite young in my opinion.

Definitely a cute read all the same. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I loved this book. Despite not really listening to Taylor Swift,the references didn't put me off and I loved the central relationship!

I was hooked by the title and yes, the entire book has so many lovely Tay Swift references, any swiftie would love this book so much. I love how the author took the idea of the broken hearts in this song and turned it into a healthy friendship and second-chance relationship on page! It was so refreshing and fun to read a second chance relationship where the first chance's breakup was based on mature communication, it created a whole different kinda angst on page to see the present relationship development!

I also liked the various side plots in this story, everything was paced so well!

TWs - invasion of privacy by media, false accusation of cheating leading to a scandal, sexual assault of a woman by a man in a position of power

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First of all, it is Taylor Swift related....lots of references to songs throughout - along with the chapter titles. I liked the MFC, Aspen, who is a Hollywood star who is facing drama and rumours about her career and her friends. She flees to her hometown in Pennsylvania. While there she connects with her ex-flame Rome from high school. The chemistry between these two was spot on! It was a fast, easy read. I wish there was more descriptions in some scenes as they seemed abrupt. Other than that, it was a book I recommend to my friends. I look forward to reading more from this author, as this is Kimi's debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a super cute second chance romance that also gives the readers a behind the scenes look at what celebrities can go through. The relationship between Roman and Aspen was so strong, even after all the years they had been apart. I loved the two different timelines as the chapters in the past helped build upon moments mentioned in the chapters in the present. I thoroughly enjoyed this and cannot wait to read more from this author!

As a true Taylor Swift fan, I got hooked with the inclusion of t swift songs at the front of the book. Aspen Moore is a famous actor and music artist having a rough time in LA due to a scandal involving an indie band lead singer and her former best friend Sierra. Wanting to escape and enjoy the holidays, Aspen returns home to be with family and her former love Roman Torres. These books bounces between timelines interweaving various songs to the chapter titles to create a wonderful reading experience. It’s a very sweet story of redemption and heart. I will say I really enjoyed seeing Aspen become a star. This book is not super spicy but overall a great read

I really wanted to love 'Tis the Damn Season, but ultimately, I felt like a lot of elements fell flat for me — I wanted more character development, more of a critique on Hollywood and what being a celebrity entails, and just more. There were some heavier topics that were introduced and then glossed over near the end as well that I felt like would've benefited from discussion.

I received an ARC of this book and I am leaving a review voluntarily :)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As a swiftie, this book was everything i’ve ever dreamed of and more🥹 The fact that the author wrote this at such a young age is super impressive, and has made me insipred to write a book!!

This book had everything i’d ever wanted in a romance!Cute + clean (lack of smut) romance is not something that usually interests me, however this book did everything right! Taylor swift references galore, IE they visited a Christmas Tree farm (Taylor was brought up on one.) As well as this, at the top of every chapter, a song was given, and I actually ended up making a playlist and listening while reading. This book even came with a playlist at the beginning of the book!

Tis the Damn Season made me feel so many emotions (Anger, Sadness, Happiness) Which I do not experience with every book. I absolutely loved how everything was resolved, and loved the Karma (See what I did there😉) that all of her critics and betrayers received. This book did need some slight editing (Due to typos) but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed :)

If you are looking for an entertaining speedy and clean romance read, I definitely reccomend this!!

First I want to thank NetGalley, and Kimi Freeman for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Tis the Damn Season” follows Aspen, a small town girl turned Hollywood star, on her journey through a scandal. On this journey she decides to return home for the Christmas holiday where she runs into her ex boyfriend and friend, Roman. As the reader we get a dual timeline to better understand the past of their relationship.

I’m blown away that this is a debut novel! Kimi has some real talent! Plus she’s a swiftie ❤️

This is a book that contains:
*holiday theme (Christmas)
*second chance
*friends to lovers
*dual timeline

Overall, this is a cute, cozy book that would be perfect to read with some hot chocolate around Christmas time ❤️💚

It was fine. There wasn't anything that stood out to me to keep me interested and I'm not a Swiftie, so the Swiftie thing was lost on me. It was cute and entertaining but forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

Aspen is famous, she does it all- sings and acts. When scandal erupts her life after coming home from a tour, she is ousted by all of her friends and media won’t let her catch a break. She heads home early for the holidays to get a break from it all and see her high school sweetheart. This is a second chance romance/rockstar troupe.

Not bad for a debut book. I liked the back and forth, thought the chapter font was a nice touch, as well as, the playlist, I would say the story was a bit boring at times.

Super, super cute read, especially for a debut novel!

I am a sucker for anything and everything Taylor Swift related, and <i> 'Tis the Damn Season </i> DELIVERED. All of the references to songs and the chapter titles rounded out the book nicely.

The main protagonist, Aspen, is a Hollywood starlet who is trying to overcome drama and rumors surrounding her career and friends. She escapes to her hometown in Pennsylvania, where she connects with her former high school flame, Rome. The scenes with the two and Aspen's family were some of my favorite moments in the book! Even though Aspen & Rome's chemistry was definitely adorable, I always love family interactions in romances.

My only complaint for this book is the pacing and length of the chapters. Though the short chapters made the book fly by, I found myself wishing that there were more details in certain chapters and less details in others. The pacing also wasn't great, but I was able to look past that because of the characters and story line.

Thanks to NetGallery for providing an ARC!

Tis the Season by Kimi Freeman is a great debut novel and is a fast read if you’re looking for a fun escape for an afternoon.

Aspen is an actress/singer who seems to have it all until a scandal has her going home to her native Pennsylvania, where she is reunited with her first love Roman.

The story alternates present/past chapters and I don’t know if I enjoyed this as much as all present tense with just a few flashbacks, but it was different and the story kept it interesting.

While Aspen and Roman are rediscovering each other and coming to peace with their past, Aspen has to decide if the stardom she has achieved is what she really wants after all.

I really enjoyed this sweet romance and the Taylor Swift references aren’t bad either. 😊

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.