Curl up by the fireplace and sip hot cocoa because ’Tis the Damn Season by Kimi Freeman promises to warm your heart and please your inner-self. Welcome to a heartwarming contemporary romance that resonates with the magic of the holiday season that can be read year-round, especially by those of us who can read Christmas books no matter the month. Told from the perspective of 23 year old Aspen Moore, this novel captures the essence of love, nostalgia, and second chances.


Meet Aspen Moore. She’s a singer-actress who seemingly has it all: fame, fortune, and a headlining tour. Beneath the glitz and glamour, something is missing. When scandal forces her back to her Pennsylvania hometown, she reunites with her first love and their chemistry is undeniable. The dark brown eyes she fell for years ago still haunt her.

Inspired by Taylor Swift's song, the book's title itself hints at the emotional rollercoaster awaiting readers. Freeman weaves Aspen's journey with the tracks of her music, creating a symphony of love and longing. I read this while listening to the song and then many, many themed playlists.

Freeman's writing is swoon-worthy and evocative. She captures the bittersweet ache of missed opportunities and the warmth of rekindled connections. The dual timeline adds depth, allowing readers to witness Aspen's growth and vulnerability.

’Tis the Damn Season is a delightful read for readers who appreciate heartfelt romance, holiday magic, and the power of revisiting the past. Freeman leaves readers with a sweet aftertaste: tell me if you know what it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Independent Book Publishers Association for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Parson Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I see that others have not rated this book very high but I liked it. This was a second chance romance and didn't seem as juvenile as some others that I read. It was a quick easy read with a dual timeline which I think added to their story. It's always good to have a back story to see why people make the choices they make. I'm glad I stuck with it because overall it was a cute romance.

Thank you Parson Press and NetGalley for the eARC of 'Tis The Damn Season. All opinions in this review are my own.

I think I am officially in a reading slump because this is the fourth book in a row that I have DNFed. I made it 15% through this book but it is clearly a Taylor Swift fan fiction and I didn't like the main character. She seems too wrapped up in her own importance and while I like the second chance angle, I don't want to read about it happening while organizing a church play for children.

Famous "it-girl," Aspen, is living the high life until a scandal sends her scurrying back to her small hometown to hide out and figure it out for a while. She quickly crosses paths with her childhood love, Roman. While her goal is to ultimately return to her star studded life, she finds herself drawn deeper into life in her hometown and with Roman. We're along for the ride while Aspen tries to figure out what it is that she really wants, deep down.

I was not aware that the author is 16 (and presumably, younger, when she wrote this book). For better or worse, while the writing is strong, the characters who are almost ten years older than the author read much more like teenagers than twenty-somethings. Which makes sense in light of the author's own lived experience, but is hard to read as a thirty-something. I was also not familiar with the Taylor Swift song, and was concerned that it would detract from the book - but was very pleased it didn't!

I think Freeman has a very bright future ahead and I look forward to reading more of her books, perhaps when I can relate to the age of her characters a bit more.

A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this ARC!

Calling all Swifties!!! What a fun way to intertwine recency with a fun Christmas story. Anyone who knows the hits will find the references and story to be fun and with a touch of spice, it was a nice change of pace in the midst of the rest of my holiday reading. It felt unserious enough to be playful but serious enough to know that these characters were truly invested in each other. Tis the Damn Season!!!

This just wasn’t it. I was super excited for it and dropped everything to read it.. but it was a no for me. I should have listened to my gut and not finished it.

Thank you so much to Kimi Freeman and Netgalley for giving me an e-book ARC of this book. I started this book and ended up DNFing it. While I get that there are song references, and as a Taylor Swift fan myself, this book fell too much into these song stereotypes. There were a lot of typos, and it read like I was reading fan fiction. I did like the MMC, but the female felt unreplaceable. Overall, for the 150 pages I read, 2 stars, because the setting was nice. That's about all it had going for it. SO sad that I did not like this, but it was just too young.

I honestly did not enjoy this book. I completely understand that the author is young, but personally this book read like fanfiction more than a book. I was very disappointed, however it wasn't terrible. I really enjoyed the playlist that the author created for the book, and I appreciated how every chapter had a song. The dual perspective was a nice touch, I always enjoy getting more than one POV in a book. I do think that this book has potential, but I feel like the constant back in forth within the timeframes kept taking me out of the story.

This is the perfect rom com, Christmassy cheese fest book. I really needed this book to pick me up over a stressful Christmas. I would highly recommend

It felt really juvinille. there were many typos and i had a tough time getting into it.

i ended up not finishing the book .

this was so good!! such a quick and easy read. a second chance romance where they dated in high school but split due to their different life circumstances. i loved the dual timeline storytelling & the taylor swift vibes of it all.

As this is the authors debut book she did an outstanding job! This is a feel good romance book! It had you loving the characters and overall a well written book

For being Kimis debut book she did an amazing job!such a sweet love story, and great friends! I truly enjoyed this book.

Like many people, the title made me want to read ’TIS THE DAMN SEASON as I’m a Swiftie. Unfortunately, the title is all you get if you are a Swiftie because while the song may inspire the book, I couldn’t find any connection, which was a bummer.

The plot has good angst that I would appreciate if the romance equaled it, but it was very underdeveloped. It reminded me of YA books I’ve read that are heavy on angst, which I don’t mind, but it was marketed as contemporary romance in new adult/romance/women’s fiction. It was a clean (no spice) romance, and I think the only reason it was pushed up a category was that the characters are in their early twenties.

I’m not upset that I read it. It had good bones, but it needed better editing. Plus, I’m impressed to learn that the author is 16 years old. I can’t recommend this one, but I’ll look for romances from her as her writing matures.

Thanks, Parson Press and Netgalley, for the gifted arc!

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. The title and blurb instantly appealed to me as a swiftie. This was a cute little romcom, quick read with great characters, good banter, and overall nice plot. It was a good “palette cleanser” from my typical reads. Would definitely recommend!

A good book with good characters. This is definite fun read that is well written and has a well thought out plot.

Did this book intrigue me because it's named after a Taylor Swift song? Yes. But once I read the synopsis I knew I wanted to read it. Plus the cover is so adorable.
This book is a romance between a pop star and her first love, and I love a second chance romance which is the main trope for this book.
Although I enjoyed this book, I found myself bored a lot of the time throughout and found myself skim reading and forcing myself through this book so I would be able to finish it.
Even after finishing this book, I don't really remember much of the plot and the characters apart from the general synopsis plot.
Despite that, I found this book super cute and I still think the cover is adorable.

This book had me in stitches! It was so funny and sweet. This was my favorite Holiday read. The characters and their personalities were so relatable. I fell in love with them and the story!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own. What a wonderful holiday read. It was joyful and fun and made me smile all of the way through

This book felt kind of childish to me, and after reading some other reviews I understand that it is because of the authors age. I thought the book was okay and a quick read, which is a plus for me. The characters were somewhat all over the place which made it hard to really connect with them. Overall an okay read, but maybe just not for me.