No one does sapphic romance like Ashely Herring Blake.

A sweet, funny, holiday romance that made me want to bake cookies and cuddle up on the couch with some cocoa while I was reading.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.25⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A cozy second chance sapphic holiday romance

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Holiday reads with hallmark vibes
Second chance romance
Sapphic romance
Forced proximity- exes trapped in the same house
Small Colorado town Christmas vibes
Childhood friends to lovers
Violinist x singer/song writer
New York/ Nashville settings
All the angst
Found family
Snowed in

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
All the festive elements

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
While I wanted Charlotte ad Brighton to end up together I didn’t really connect with them and felt like they shouldn’t have gotten back together so quickly
Miscommunication

Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake offers a heartwarming second-chance romance set against the festive backdrop of a small Colorado town. I appreciated the authenticity of Charlotte and Brighton's rekindled relationship, noting how Blake captured the complexity of reconciling past hurts and rebuilding trust. I would have loved to see deeper conversations to resolve lingering issues. However, the story’s cozy seasonal atmosphere and the chemistry between the leads kept it engaging. The cast of side characters, including Charlotte’s friends and the locals, added humor and warmth, embodying a classic holiday “found family” charm. Overall, it's a sweet, comforting read that mixes emotional depth with festive cheer, making it an enjoyable choice for the holiday season

This queer Hallmark book was a wonderful read! It's to be expected, having read Blake's Bright Falls series, but was charming nonetheless.

I'm interviewing her for my podcast this coming Monday (10/28) and very excited to share the book with the world!

This book is the sapphic Hallmark movie we all needed. In a holiday where media is overly heteronormative, this is the perfect queer addition for those who love christmas and are looking for the representation they deserve. Not only that, but the Christmas joy is deeply felt despite the negative outlook on the holiday. The two main characters are well developed and the scenes of their "dates" are absolutely perfect, and so are the more tender and vulnerable scenes. As previously noted, this is just like a Hallmark movie in the sense that its large city people going to a small town for the holiday and finding love and the most wonderful time of the year. This is a classic second-chance romance Christmas romcom in queer book form and I'm here for it!

It's hard not to fall in love with an AHB novel, but this one takes the cake with the Christmas ambiance. A second-chance romance done right, with such vibrant characters and plenty of holiday mishaps. Would someone please make her books into romcom movies?! This will be a new staple for Christmas reading.

Another fantastic sapphic book from Ashley Herring Blake! I quite literally could not put this down. Charlotte and Brighton are each fabulously flawed and interesting and I just wanted even more from this book! I can’t wait for my next read from AHB!

I loved the found family vibes, snowy setting, forced proximity, and second chance pining!! Such a perfect book to curl up with during snowy weather.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the e-arc!
Another absolutely amazing romance by Ashley Herring Blake! She is such an auto-read author for me and I was so excited to see a holiday romance book being released. Compared to her previous work, I still have such a soft spot for her bright Fall series, but I enjoyed this. The vibes brought a ton of enjoyment as I am a sucker for a holiday romance, and Blake definitely knows how to set up a cute romance.
Now, second-chance romances are very hit-or-miss for me, and I struggled a bit with it in this story. I flipped-flopped a bit on how I was feeling, and I am kind of still on the fence. The explanations/execution just fell a bit flat for me. There were moments I liked and moments I didn't, so I am still unsure about the overall rating.

Ashley Herring Blake's Make the Season Bright is a delightful queer holiday romance. Five years after Brighton leaves Charlotte at the altar, they are forced together on a Christmas vacation with friends they met post breakup who happen to be sisters. This is a character driven second chance romance with a strong cast of supporting characters. Brighton, Charlotte, and friends are all participating in the town's single holiday dating extravaganza. It was a great little book to get in the holiday spirit.

This one made me excited and ready for holidays nice and early this year. This author is always a hit and has yet to disappoint me. Really excited to sell this one this holiday season

Make the Season Bright follows Charlotte and Brighton. The two haven’t seen each other since Brighton left Charlotte at the altar 5 years ago, but now find themselves in the middle of a small town in Colorado stuck together doing holiday activities with their mutual friends. I started off really enjoying this one, but it quickly turned sour the more I got to know our two main characters. Both Charlotte and Brighton were a bit insufferable, and I had no desire to root for them to get back together. The reasons they broke up the first time made sense, and honestly it felt like a conflict that should not have ever been resolved (hello… Brighton left Charlotte at the ALTAR? that’s unforgivable). I knew this was a second-chance romance going in, but the reasoning for the split should have made it final. Beyond that, the Christmas vibes that I wanted felt rushed and a subplot of a subplot. The Two Turtledoves aspect sounded really fun but the scenes never felt fleshed out.

I liked the friend group and the side characters, but beyond that, this was just… fine. This was a miss for me, which is disappointing as I’ve enjoyed all of AHB’s adult romances so far!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for providing me a copy of this!!

I have read other books by this author and I absolutely loved the Bright Falls series and was excited to see that they were making a holiday book!

This book was a tough one for me in the beginning. I was getting the characters confused and who did what with who but I eventually got it all straightened out. There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed and other parts I felt that it was dragging a bit.

I am such a fan of second chances and in this one they were forced to be together in a snowy setting in Colorado during the holidays. The tension is high between Charlotte and Brighton. Charlotte rightfully so is still not over Brighton leaving her at the altar.

One thing that Ashley is so great at doing is spice! She made the intimate moments between Charlotte and Brighton feel so real and you could feel their passion towards one another. The old feelings never quite left them.

I thought this was a really cute read and great for the holiday season!!

Really enjoyed this steamy Christmas-setting second chance LGBTQ romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the electronic advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, PRH Audio, Berkley and Libro FM for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-f/f contemporary romance
-holiday romance
-second chance
-childhood best friends to lovers to estranged to lovers
-forced proximity
-found family

I really enjoyed this one on audio. Second chance, with holiday shenanigans!

I love Ashley Herring Blake in general and this was one of my favourites of hers so far. Both characters were fascinating to get to know, the dual POV worked so well. Lots of secondary characters, but it was super easy to keep track of everyone because the personalities were so well drawn. Loved the dog, loved the cosy Christmas house, loved the drama and eventual resolution. So good!

Make the season bright? More like make the season GAY!! And I love it so much. It’s never too early to read holiday romance and Ashley has instantly become a new favorite author of mine. Second chance usually isn’t my go to trope, but the angst and tension between Charolette and Brighton was soooo good. Both characters aren’t perfect and I love how Ashley writes all her characters to be messy and flawed in a way because that way we can all (almost) relate to them. Thank you Berkeley and NetGalley for the arc!

This was a sweet holiday read filled with humor and coziness. I enjoyed the story of two exes being thrown together by the universe where they are stuck spending the holidays together. Removing my feelings of second chance romances (they are hit or miss for me), it tugs on your emotions with the heart of the story of advocating for yourself, forgiveness, and learning how to let people in. There are some high tension and emotional moments when it comes to Brighten and Charlotte, and finding their path forward. The best friends to each of them were also stars of the book each bringing humor and good advice throughout the story. This is one of the few cases that I wish the story had ended differently. I thought it was going in a different direction, and ultimately while I did like this book there were a few elements that just didn’t work for me.

Romantic tales have always been known to captivate the heart, but none are as gripping as those that feature a scorned or jilted lover, especially one that’s been left at the altar. These types of stories resonate deeply, pulling at readers’ hearts and emotions. The popularity of such romances lies in their exploration of heartbreak, the journey to self-discovery, and the hope for new beginnings. That’s just what Ashley Herring Blake’s new book Make the Season Bright delivers.

Heartbreak has always served as a powerful theme for romances, but when it’s reinforced by someone being stood up at the altar, it works overtime to feed the storyline. The moment when Charlotte Donovan is left standing alone, realizing Brighton Fairbrook is not going to be walking down the aisle towards her, feelings of shock and sadness are quickly replaced by bitterness. This emotional turmoil captures the reader’s attention and creates a connection, making the storytelling more impactive. Blake uses the experience of heartache and rejection as a tool to create a wall around Charlotte’s heart, and it’s effective. The stage is set for tension and drama to occur. Charlotte has learned her lesson; she’ll never let anyone get too close again. But all romance lovers know that pain puts the character on a journey of self discovery and healing, and that’s what we get with Charlotte, especially after she is unexpectedly forced to spend time with her ex over Christmas.

Though I sometimes think that the forced proximity trope is an easy way out to solving the problem of how to get lovers back together, I don’t think so here. Typically, when ex-lovers are forced to share a space, the emotional stakes rise significantly. This naturally leads to intense confrontations and heartfelt conversations, enabling the characters to confront their feelings directly. Blake is spot on with this, making it believable with well-scripted tender scenes. When Charlotte and Brighton find themselves stuck in the same house during the holidays, it pushes them to communicate openly, revealing hidden emotions that have weighed heavy since their breakup. Blake’s approach not only deepens the plot but also allows readers to witness both characters’ growth as they navigate their shared history and road to recovery.

Because heartache and hope are the two major themes Blake uses in this romance, she knows she needs to find a balance between them, otherwise the believability will be thrown askew. She finds a balance by letting forgiveness develop patiently and honestly. She gives the characters time to not only understand their feelings, but embrace them. Their ending was painful, so these women need a safe space to grow in their understanding of past hurts, especially if they are ever going to find the courage to love one another again. Blake accomplishes all of this by letting Charlotte and Brighton face their fears and insecurities inside some tough but well-written scenes. It is inspiring to watch unfold. Such endings always leave readers with a sense of optimism, reinforcing the idea that love can be found again, even after heartbreak.

Final remarks…

Readers want to believe in second chances, and Blake doesn’t disappoint in Make the Season Bright. Though pitched as a “ditched-at-the-altar and now we are forced to spend Christmas together” romance, it more than captures the hearts of readers through its promise of a new beginning. Blake manages to highlight the experience of forgiveness in a captivating and engaging way, reminding everyone that letting go of hurt can lead to growth and love.

Strengths…

Entertaining
Engaging
Heartfelt
Well-written
Likable, investable characters
Well worth the read

Yes, I KNOW …. It's early for the Christmas reads. I can't help myself. I always end up getting to them before Halloween. I just love them. This was another holiday hit for me. I went with both the ebook and audiobook. The audiobook was narrated by Kristen DiMercurio.. She was nice to listen to and I enjoyed her performance.

A second chance romance where our two MC’s, who are exes, are forced to be together, unexpectedly!! We get the back story of their past relationship and why Brighton left Charlotte at the altar five years earlier. This is where there was definitely some miscommunication there. We get to see them work through those problems and communicate better with each other, in a more mature way, to be able to be with each other again. I felt the emotions from these characters, and how they grew throughout the book. I also loved all the holiday themes throughout. Exactly what I love in Holiday books! The baking and snow scenes are really fun. This was a quick, enjoyable read for me.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.