Brighton Fairbrook and Charlotte Donovan were instant best friends at age twelve when Brighton moved in next door. From friends to lovers to fiancées, everything seemed to be going perfectly until their wedding day when Brighton left Charlotte at the altar. It’s been five years since then and the two haven’t spoken…until they find themselves going home with a friend for Christmas and discover themselves in the same place. The love, the spark, and the longing are all still there no matter how much Charlotte in particular tries to deny it. Is there a holiday miracle in the cards for two women who are so far apart yet so clearly made for each other?

Sometimes a book grabs your heartstrings from the first and doesn’t let go and that’s exactly what Make the Season Bright did for me. With Charlotte and Brighton’s story, Ashley Herring Blake has delivered a second chance romance that is bright, joyful, bittersweet, and just so lovely that I couldn’t put it down for a minute.

Charlotte and Brighton – Lola and Bright – endeared themselves to me from the very first. Charlotte is so achingly lonely that she broke my heart. She sees herself as forgettable and easy to leave and has put up walls to try and protect her fragile heart. She’s professionally incredibly successful but personally struggling. Brighton grew up with love, but she too is hurting. She’s at a crossroads, having lost her passion for music after her band dumped her. When the two of them meet again, it throws each off their stride. The love, the memories are strong and present even as they pretend not to know one another.

Brighton and Charlotte are both lovely, messy, flawed, and completely engaging heroines. They’ve made mistakes in their lives and with each other and continue to do so while they learn and grow. I loved their imperfections as much as their charms – it made them human and made me wish they were real so I could be friends with them. While Charlotte and Brighton have smoking chemistry everyone can see, that won’t solve anything (though it does make for some delicious tension). Love isn’t even enough to solve things and Herring Blake makes her heroines work for their happily ever after.

Make the Season Bright is about love, growth, letting down your walls and opening up in order to live a full life. It’s fun, sensual, joyfully queer, and sparkling with Christmas cheer. Quite simply, I loved this book. Charlotte, Brighton, and their friends all made me wonderfully happy and Herring Blake’s writing fully immersed me in their world. I cannot wait to enjoy Lola and Bright’s love story again and again and again.

Brighton and Charlotte have known each other since childhood. They started dating in high school, went to college together and were supposed to get married. Until Brighton left Charlotte at the altar. Five years later Charlotte is still living in New York, pursuing her dreams and travelling with her string quartet in the New Year. Brighton is living in Nashville, having been recently kicked out of the band she was in, hasn’t picked up her guitar in months and is working at a local bar. Through happenstance, both end up in an idyllic town in Colorado. Charlotte pretends she doesn’t know Brighton, even though they will be spending the holiday in close quarters. Even as they spend time together, Charlotte still refuses to talk to Brighton, but who can blame her after what Brighton did. But can time heal old wounds, will Brighton and Charlotte remember what made them so good together?

Charlotte and Brighton are opposites. Charlotte is closed off and appears unfeeling, while Brighton is charismatic and outgoing. When we get to learn more about Charlotte, we learn that her mother had a child as an experiment, never really nurturing or caring for her. I would have liked there to have been more exploration into what made Charlotte who she was. Brighton seemed to have been beaten down and lost her faith in herself. I liked how her reconnection with Charlotte pulled her out of her funk. She found her voice, her strength and her worth by being reminded of how good a musician she is. These two were truly opposites in so many ways and we saw it so many times throughout the book. The author also did a great job showing the tension between the two, and the palpable emotions that both were experiencing as a result of their history.

I thought Charlotte’s anxiety was well portrayed. I felt there with her in the moment when she was experiencing her anxiety. I enjoyed the friend group that surrounded these two. They added to the story, giving us relationships with a variety of friends supporting both of them. This found family allowed both Charlotte and Brighton to come out of their shells and find love again.

If you like cozy Hallmark vibes but make it sapphic and spicier, this would be a perfect book for you. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

reading if you like: grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, second chance, left at the alter

I am both ecstatic that I got to read it in advance and sad that I already read it for the first time. Charlotte and Brighton 🥹 Ashley Herring Blake's writing is magic ✨

I have to say that second chance romance isn't usually my favourite. I actually usually avoid them if I can. I don't really know why, I just do. But there's no way I would pass up a AHB book and of course I wasn't disappointed.

Make the Season Bright is the perfect sapphic holiday rom-com. The tension between Charlotte and Brighton was 👌🏻 the sex was steamy with a sprinkle of top/bottom energy.

Just like in her previous books, the side characters are well fleshed out and add to the story.

I would definitely recommend you pick it up. We already put in a pre-order request at work.

“Make the Season Bright” is classic Ashley Herring Blake. It was so fun getting to know a whole new set of characters, set in a Hallmark-esk town during the holidays. I've always enjoyed Ashley Herring Blake's writing style. Her books are relatable in so many ways. The characters aren't perfect, and they feel real for that reason. Former childhood best friends turned lovers turned exes, Charlotte and Brighton find themselves stuck together during Christmas, five years after one of them left the other at the altar. It's sweet and it's sexy and it's heartbreaking and it's full of so much longing I could feel it in my bones. The spice was SPICY and the love was true & deep. Just the way I love my Ashley Herring Blake novels. Blake balances Charlotte and Brighton pasts and their present day story perfectly. I loved that there were sweet little flashbacks within the story, I love being able to see where all the love started. I really enjoyed that this wasn’t your run of the mill sappy lovey rom-com. This book had real problems that real relationships face and it had the struggle of loving someone so deeply you sacrifice a part of yourself. Fans of the Bright Falls series are going to devour this. Thank you to Ashley Herring Blake, NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy. I am on the edge of my seat awaiting her next book!

Queer books are always such a joy to read, especially when I can identify with the characters. I saw so much of myself in Charlotte. Sure, I had a loving family, I don’t play any instruments, and I wasn’t left at the altar; but her armor and façade of being unflappable and always put together resonated with me. The angst that comes with second chance romance always hits, and Make the Season Bright scored high in that regard. I loved learning about Brighton and Charlotte’s background, as well as watching Charlotte realize she wasn’t a perfect victim when it came to why Brighton left her. I wish Brighton faced a little more accountability. I feel like Brighton wasn’t necessarily held to same standard as Charlotte when it came to how their relationship failed in the first place. Overall, I really enjoyed Make the Season Bright! I think it’s great for any time of the year, but definitely perfect for the upcoming winter season.

Thank you to Berkley, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!

Oh people the tension between these two women is FIERCE!
Charlotte and Brighton - strong women finding their own place and success in the world; smart, witty, loved the supporting characters and their own stories. Also speed dating but lengthy Two Turtledoves, all of the tropes hit in this narrative but done so well. Messy, chaos and fun.
Great setup, loved the background as a way to move the plot forward though not always inherent. The dual time line was chunky at times.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This wasn't my favorite by this author but still pretty good. Maybe the Second Chance trope just isn’t for me.

Rating: 3.75/5
Steam: 3/5
Warnings: Difficult relationship with a parent, parental abandonment

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for these advanced copies in exchange for my honest opinion.

Make the Season Bright had all the makings of what I wanted in a holiday book. I love Blake's way of weaving in friendship along with a romance, and this was a perfect example of that.

There were quite a few things I really enjoyed about this one, but also some aspects I didn't. Charlotte is written to be an unlikeable character, but in a way that you can still empathize with her. I don't have an issue with her personality type, but I do feel that she was never fully fleshed out as a character. There was a lot of opportunity to explore her growth. On the opposite end, I felt similarly about Brighton—she never really grew up either. She was equally as "selfish" at times in the name of self-sacrifice for love. All this to say, I could see that they loved each other; they just weren't always good at loving each other.

I do adore the friend group, the setting, and the premise. Childhood friends to lovers wrapped in a second chance romance is amazing. I loved the musical aspects, along with it being holiday-themed without being overly so.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for letting me read an e-ARC of Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake! This is a standalone holiday romance, so you can don your fluffy socks and cozy up by the fire with your hot beverage of choice and dream of colder days while you read this one.

Charlotte is doing just fine after her fiancée, Brighton, left her at the altar five years ago in December. She never thinks about her. She has the life she always dreamed of in New York. As a matter of fact, Brighton is doing just as well. She’s been pursuing her dream of being a musician in Nashville ever since she left Charlotte all those years ago. (Yes, yes, neither of them is, in fact, all right.) When Brighton’s parents have a last-minute change of plans for the Christmas season, her friend invites her home for the holidays to chase away the winter blues. What Brighton doesn’t expect is to see her ex-fiancée show up at the same family holiday gathering. Apparently her friend, Adele's, sister is part of the string quartet that Charlotte put together in NY. Charlotte pretends she doesn’t know her and chaos ensues from there. A second-chance romance filled to the brim with pining, unresolved grief and regret, and more holiday cheer than my heart could contain in the month of September. I ate up every page!

This was such a lovely sapphic holiday romance full of second chances and forced proximity. Charlotte and Brighton were childhood sweethearts who were set to get married five years ago. But when Brighton got cold feet and ran away on their wedding day, they never spoke to each other again. That is, until their separate friend groups unknowingly bring them to the same Christmas getaway. The two women pretend to not know one another, but old feelings start bubbling up.

Both Charlotte and Brighton have very distinct personalities, this wasn’t the case where I would get confused about which POV I was reading from. I liked seeing the different ways they clashed and how they complimented each other. And I think that Ashley Herring Blake did a great job at explaining why their relationship fell apart the first time and also showing how they can move forward and learn to trust one another again. Also, there was some excellent sexual chemistry going on.

The Colorado setting with different holiday themed dating events added a lot of seasonal atmosphere to the story. I also appreciated all the side characters. They were well fleshed out and had interesting romances of their own.

Definitely check this one out if you’re looking for a nice, steamy queer holiday romance!

A steamy Sapphic second chance holiday romance that sees two almost married exes unexpectedly forced to spend Christmas together in this heartfelt new love story perfect for fans of authors like Rachel Lacey and Alexandria Bellefleur. I loved that both main characters were musicians and that we got to see how their first relationship broke down through flashbacks. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Make the Season Bright is the perfect holiday rom-com and has the bonus of being sapphic. I don't typically love second-chance romance but I thought Blake did a great job at making it realistic and making the reader root for the relationship still. This was (surprisingly) my first book by Ashley Herring Blake but I really enjoyed her writing style and will definitely be reading her Bright Falls series now. If you are in the mood for a cozy Christmas romance book I would definitely suggest picking this one up. Also I love the subtle connection in the title (iykyk)

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the arc!

A holiday romance from Ashley Herring Blake! I have greatly enjoyed all of the Bright Falls books to varying degrees and this one is a lovely holiday treat! Second Chance Romance (Brighton left Charlotte at the alter 5 years before our story begins), Blake's usual cast of incredible side characters, and a sizzling romance that is sure to melt your heart!

I really enjoyed Make the Season Bright! A love a good second chance romance and the way this one plays out really worked for me. I love this authors books and think of you like them too you will be happy with this. Definitely would recommend to a new reader as well and to add to your seasonal TBR! It’s definitely more wintery than Christmas-y (there is Christmas stuff, it’s just more than that) in my opinion so you really could read it whenever and be fine.

My first book from Ashley and it didn’t not disappoint! 😍 I love holiday romance books, but a sapphic holiday romance book?! I’M SAT!!🥹 Second chance romance is my absolute favorite as well! I loved Charlotte and Brighton!! I didn’t fully enjoy some parts of the book (Brighton annoyed me at times) but towards the end, being able to understand both of the main FMCs was eye opening!! 😭 I’ve been in the position where you want to be with someone so bad but you don’t know exactly how to be a better version of yourself for them, and Ashley navigated this journey perfectly between them! I also loved how their friends were supportive of them together and separately as well :’)

A cute holiday read for sure!!🥹🥹💚

Thank you Berkley for the ARC! 💚

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an early copy.

Ashley Herring Blake makes a transition from the "Bright Falls" series into a Christmas love story. Charlotte and Brighton have not seen each other in 5 years, ever since Brighton left Charlotte at the alter. In separate cities, Charlotte has thrived as a violinist in the successful Rosalind Quartet, while Brighton is floundering in her music, after she was kicked out of her band, right before their big break. Neither have been upfront about their past relationships and unknowingly have an connection to two sisters. They find themselves thrown together in a queer-friendship Christmas getaway, and struggle with their unresolved ending.

This book was an absolute trip, in the best way. The relationship between Charlotte and Brighton is so well depicted, especially with the dual POV aspect, as we see both sides of the story. The found family elements were delight and I loved the side characters. Overall, this was delightful and I can see myself rereading it for winter seasons to come.

I’ll never regret reading a holiday romance in September if it’s written by Ashley herring Blake. AND it’s second chance romance?!? Literally my kryptonite. 5 stars to this book which brought me so much joy and endorphins. I really needed the chemistry and romance that this book delivered on. Honestly I’ll probably reread this in December just to feel something.

Oh my gosh this was so cute!! One of the things I love about second chance romances is when authors dive into the complexity of characters conflicting needs and dang Ashley Herring Blake did not disappoint with this book. All the angst and yearning was there but also all the complex emotions that come from really wanting to be with someone but not knowing how to be the best version of yourself with them. It was truly amazing to see Brighton and Charlotte navigate those complexities. I also loved how queer their friend group and their hometown was. It was a super cozy book and I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a small town holiday romance for this season.

*Received as a free ARC*
Unsurprisingly, Ashley Herring Blake knocked it out of the park again. I mean. I could have used no third act break up but. I have no expectations on people stopping that trope any time soon. It was Christmas-y and MUSIC-Y and great. Would have been even better if I was actually reading it at Christmas. Absolutely recommend to anyone looking for a queer holiday read.

Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake is a charming, second-chance holiday romance that delivers all the cozy, heartwarming vibes of a Hallmark movie but with the added depth that makes Blake's writing so special. This novel ticks all the boxes: holiday cheer, exes trapped in the same house, and a delightful "grumpy sunshine" dynamic that will have you rooting for Charlotte and Brighton from the first chapter.

Ashley Herring Blake is an auto one-click author for me, and this book was no exception. The cover is absolutely stunning, and I know I'll own it in every format—e-book, audiobook, and paperback- because I cannot get enough AHB. It’s been a while since I’ve read a second-chance romance, so this was a refreshing change of pace, and I loved how it played out.

The story kicks off with Charlotte Donovan, a talented violinist who’s still low-key not recovered from being ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, Brighton, five years ago. Charlotte’s life in New York is going well, but when her ensemble mate Sloane persuades her to spend Christmas with Sloane’s family in Colorado, she arrives only to find that Brighton will also be there. What ensues is a series of holiday dating events (thanks to Sloane’s mom), all while Charlotte and Brighton navigate their lingering feelings.

Blake does a great job capturing the tension and unresolved emotions between the two characters, and the slow thaw of their relationship is wonderfully done. I really enjoyed the contrast between Charlotte and Brighton—Charlotte’s closed-off nature and anxiety paired with Brighton’s more open-book personality made for an interesting and fun dynamic. Charlotte’s portrayal of anxiety is realistic and avoids the typical stereotypes, showing how deeply it affects her ability to connect with others. Watching her character grow and learn to open up throughout the story was both entertaining and rewarding.

Brighton, on the other hand, is a character who’s trying her best to make things right, even though it’s far from easy. Her determination to fix the past, combined with the humor and tension of the "snowed in" scenario, made for some memorable moments. The found family aspect of the story, with the secondary characters adding warmth and humor, brought a richness to the plot and reminded me why I love holiday romances so much.

The holiday setting, complete with horseback riding, cookie decorating, and lots of snowy, festive activities, really brought out the Christmas magic. Plus, the musicianship angle—Charlotte’s violin and Brighton’s guitar—added a sweet, nostalgic layer to their relationship.

While the Hallmark vibes are definitely present, Make the Season Bright also has a that emotional depth AHB fans expect and love, especially when it comes to the characters’ personal growth and healing. It’s a great mix of holiday fluff and real emotional stakes.

If you’re a fan of second-chance romances, sapphic love stories, or holiday tales with a touch of humor and heart, this book is a must-read. Make the Season Bright is a stellar example of why Ashley Herring Blake is a go-to author for heartfelt, emotional stories, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley, and Ashley Herring Blake for an e-arc of this book!