This book was SO FUN. It was 1000% a hallmark movie, if those were more funny and sarcastic and self-aware and queer. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading it, and also cried a little bit. I got this as a NetGalley Read This Weekend ARC on PRIDE WEEKEND and thought i might not get through it bc i was busy being gay, but i sped through it bc it was so fun! Totally recommend.

Sweet, funny, full of heart and the ways our chosen family can get us through our worst traumas.

I loved Miriam and Hannah and would read many books with them as the leads.

I adored this book so much, it had me in the Christmas spirit in the middle of a blazing hot summer. The characters are loveable in the way they fit into, and sometimes, go against typical Christmas rom-com character types. This genre was severely lacking sapphic characters, so I’d recommend this book to anyone who’s ever watched a Hallmark movie and thought, “Cute. But what if it was gay?”

Carrigan’s was the Christmas themed haven of Miriam’s childhood. She looked forward to visiting it, and her great Aunt Cass who built and ran the place, every year. With their family being Jewish, a Christmas themed extravaganza might seem an odd choice, but Cass was not just eccentric, but delightfully so.

Sadly, due to parental abuse and trauma, Miriam ran off and for the past decade she’d not been back, having almost no contact with the majority of her family. She made her own new life and, even if it wasn’t perfect, it was comfortable, and most importantly felt safe - with a fiancé, the best best friend, and preparing to open a retail store with the funky upcycled furniture and art that’s made her a cult hit with the Pinterest peeps.

Then everything goes sideways when she gets a call that Cass had passed. After a long illness that no one had told her about. The downside of losing contact with so many for so long. She heads back to Carrigan’s for what she thinks will be a week before she’ll be back to her normal new life. Reconnecting with some of the family, surprise revelations, and some complications in the form of a girl named Noelle who showed up after she’d left and ran Carrigan’s with her Aunt and cousin have her staying longer. And - in true holiday story fashion - has (potentially) pointed her life in a whole new direction and has her questioning if she wants to leave again at all.

This book is incredibly heartwarming and made me smile So Many Times. With a perfect ending and an epilogue that left me wanting more. There are some pretty heavy issues though - narcissist/abusive parent problems, ongoing recovery from alcohol addiction, healing heartbreak, and (of course) the loss of a beloved family member Cass that set all this in motion *but* it was all handled in a real and sympathetic way (imho) and with an overwhelming theme that love, be it platonic, familial or romantic, always wins. And that fail parents can and should be replaced with loving and supportive people, ones that care without a sense of obligation. Found family, once again, for the win.

I’m so upset that Carrigan’s - and all the people there - aren’t real. I want to be in on their particular version of ‘the island of misfit toys’ (I don’t care that a particular character meant that comparison as a dismissive comment, I’ve decided it is both accurate and more importantly delightful. Just to spite him)

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC

Season of Love is a queer holiday romance set in the NY mountains, where a sudden family change forces Miriam Blum to return and come to terms with the loved ones she abandoned. What starts out as a weekend trip ends up altering in ways she wouldn't have comprehended.

I liked that most characters had growth, redemption, or not in a way that made them seem human, along with the whimsy we've come to expect with holiday reads. I also liked how this tied in Jewish holiday traditions during the holidays. This made me long for snowy weather and recipes!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Forever for the ARC.

#SeasonofLove #NetGalley