I unfortunately had to DNF this one pretty early on. I found the main character, Morgan, to be really immature and kind of insufferable, so I perused some reviews to see if I could look forward to some character growth from her, but it looked like that wouldn't be the case. Kind of disappointing, I was looking forward to reading this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If I wasn’t already counting the days until Christmas, this book would have made me start for sure! Perfect for anyone who loves Hallmark Christmas movies and second chances romances with strong LGBT characters, In the Event of Love will have you ready to put up your tree and hang the lights. Fern Falls was a delightful setting and I loved the tight knit community of characters, especially “The Coven”! Our female MC, Morgan, was flawed and lost, but her journey of finding herself again and healing old wounds was really well done. I loved her friendship with Ben so much. The romance between her and Rachel could have used a bit more communication because it came across as more of a physical attraction than an emotional one at times, but I did love them together. And that epilogue though! So perfect! I highly recommend you add this to your winter 2022 TBR. Now I would like another book in Fern Falls with Ben and Adam, please!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

“The world needs more queer holiday romances, don’t you think?”

I absolutely adored In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae. A cute, second chance, friends-to-lovers romance, this book swept me off my feet and continued to surprise me from beginning to end. If you are looking for a sapphic romance this holiday season, this book is perfect for you, but honestly it was fantastic to read even in the middle of the summer. I laughed and I cried, and absolutely fell in love with the whole cast of characters. I really can’t recommend this book enough for when it comes out on August 30th! I was fortunate to get a later ARC copy from Netgalley- thank you to them, the publisher, and the author for this opportunity to read such a fantastic book and leave an honest review!

In the Event of Love was the perfect holiday read with amazing Hallmark vibes. This book had me hooked. I never wanted it to end.

Morgan, the wonderful event planner, is lovely and holds herself in a way that exudes confidence. However, she felt unworthy and not enough. Some may not like Morgan, but I truly felt for her character. I was rooting for her the entire time. Rachel, first love and tree farm owner, is everything. She deserves all the happiness in the world and nothing less. These two together just seemed perfect, despite the mistakes and miscommunication.

Now the real joy of the story, the friendships Morgan formed along the way. Ben is a character I can’t wait to get more of. Ben immediately became my favorite character. Adam is a good older brother to Rachel and i love their sibling dynamic. Whitney was a close second favorite. I just fell in love with her character. Tanner was a great addition to the friend group. He was very cheery.

Overall, every character played a lovely part. Morgan and Rachel deserve only happiness from here on. Can’t wait for the next book!

In The Event of Love is a sweet, fluffy, and cozy holiday novel that feels like injecting caramel in your veins, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Our main character, Morgan, left her small hometown years ago after a falling-out with her father, friends, and long-time crush Rachel. But an LA mishaps causes her to head back home for the holidays. Morgan has an opportunity to reconnect with her small-town roots and the people she left behind, resulting in a heart-warming story about home, love, and family.

Besides the charming characters, this book's biggest success is probably its setting. Courtney Kae truly nails a christmassy vibe and I loved reading all of the descriptive passages in the book. It felt warm and homey throughout the narrative.

Queer representation in this book includes bisexual main character and love interest, several queer side characters, and a trans woman as the mayor.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for holiday joy or a cozy fireside read.

4.25 STARS

First things first, I was given a copy of this book as an ARC, in exchange for an honest review. A big thank-you to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Courtney Kae for allowing me to be an early reader!

TW: death of a family member, alcoholism.

This book follows the lives of Morgan Ann Ross and Rachel Reed. Morgan moved to Los Angeles to become an event planner, while Rachel runs her family farm back in Fern Falls.

Morgan and Rachel are childhood best-friends to lovers. After their high school graduation, they have a falling out.

Now it’s many years later, and Morgan is back in Fern Falls for a business opportunity. Her plan is to enter the town, sort out her work, and head back to LA. But what happens when she runs into Rachel, along with many other people from her past who made up her childhood? Heading back to her life in LA may not be as easy as she thought.

Reading a Christmas/winter-themed book in the summer isn’t really my thing, but I loved how this book made me feel. I would definitely recommend checking this one out. I love Courtney Kae’s writing style, and I found the characters to be quite likeable.

If you are looking for a good holiday, small-town, sapphic romance — that also has childhood best-friends to lovers — then this is the perfect book for you!

Rachel and Morgan are childhood best friends who lost touch after knowing they had feelings for one another and haven’t seen each other since Morgan left for LA to plan large scale events.

Morgan is now back in her home town of Fern Falls putting on an event for her company for Rachel’s tree farm. This book had everything I love from a Hallmark Christmas movie plus a little spice. It had the cute falling in love montage in a home town, the friends and business owners in a small town that come together and finding the true source of joy and love and this was even better as it had two female bisexual leads who fall in love during their second chance romance.

Truly I couldn’t have asked for a better WLW Christmas Rom Com, it was perfection. This novel provided all the feelings of cheer and happiness you’d expect and it never focused on homophobia or bigotry, just a sweet and spicy romance.

If you love that as much as I do then this book is for you!

5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading this one was fun for the most part. I absolutely loved the beginning as it drew me in immediately and I found myself so eager to know the story of Morgan and Rachel. The backdrop of Fern Falls was also lovely. It was like hitting the jackpot after weeks of a reading slump. Well, those were my thoughts until 80% in, where it took a wrong turn. The rest of the story was difficult to read for me despite a strong start. I guess it was because of the cliches and because Morgan became so infuriating and the conflict, forced. It felt to me that the story could have ended at 80% and I would have been a happy camper.

However, for a debut novel, this was pretty good. I would definitely look out for Courtney Kae’s next releases. She holds lots of promise as a writer.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 of 5

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.
In the Event of Love is the sapphic hallmark rom com we all deserve. Packed with all the hallmarks( haha get it?) of the genre, such as snowy walks, last minute break ups, grand gestures and small towns that have the best hot chocolate, in the event of love was so fun and cozy. As with all good holiday rom coms, you gotta suspend belief for a bit with all those grand gestures that always manage to go *just* right, but to be fair, it wouldn’t be true to the genre if it wasn’t like that. Morgan and Rachel are such an adorable couple, and I’m a sucker for second chance romances. For me, the idea of long lost lovers finding their way back together is the epitome of romance and fate.
That all being said I wish the author used the words ‘growled’ and ‘nuzzled’ a little less.
Overall, this was a sweet and cozy story that will be perfect to read during the holiday season. 4/5 stars

A cute and steamy sapphic romance that has all the Hallmark vibes!

Full of steam and second chances, In the Event of Love is your typical holiday feel good romance set in the small town of Fern Falls. Perfect for those looking for a cozy Christmas read!

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
In the Event of Love was essentially pitched as a “queer Hallmark Christmas story,” and it fulfills those expectations. With LGBTQ+, and especially sapphic, fare often absent from holiday movies (we don’t talk about the dramatic mess that is Happiest Season), I love that Courtney Kae was inspired to create a story inspired by that concept.
And I did like the idea of it. The atmosphere of the small town is wonderful, and I love the community and found-family dynamics among Fern Falls. And I’m a sucker for the “save the small town from the predatory corporation” element.
But this definitely felt like this was a victim of the issue going around where the book is marketed on fun tropes like “Hallmark movie” and “friends to lovers” and “second chance” without a lot of substance to back it up. The characters are…fine? Morgan is reasonably well-defined as a city girl returning to her roots, and Rachel’s investment in saving her family’s Christmas tree farm is something fun that stands out.
But I just didn’t feel the long-term chemistry between them. Did they even like each other? I wasn’t even sure at points. They definitely had sex, so it’s a bit steamier than Hallmark. But I didn’t feel any real emotional stakes, telling me why I should care if they got together or not.
While it didn’t really work for me, it was a lot of fun. And I can see why other readers might want something that’s just pure enjoyment, especially with the holiday season around the corner.

This book is like a Hallmark Christmas movie, in queen book form. I really enjoyed parts of it, although Morgan was kind of a pain, and maybe it's just me, but her back story didn't illicit much sympathy from me. And Rachel was not much better. I think I had a hard time connecting with them in certain parts.

Also, the miscommunication trope drives me insane!!! I know others out there like them, but that made this book harder to read for me. In the beginning and near the end, especially at the end, that fights bothered me. I didn't quite understand Rachel's initial anger about everything. Sometimes I like her and sometimes her character really infuriated me. Also, why are so many stories so hard on the character that wants to have a successful career, can't they have both?!

I did really like the representation in the book however, and the town sounds like it's out of a fairy tale. All-in-all, this book is a solid 3.5 star read. It's perfect for a Holiday story. It's a little cheesy in parts, but who doesn't love cheesy when looking for a festive book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC.

This book is so soft, romantic, heartwarming, and beautifully inclusive that it tugged hard on my sappy heart. I choked up on SEVERAL occasions. I loved all the relationships from the romance between Rachel and Morgan and the "will they or won't they" mutual crush between Adam and Ben to Morgan's relationship with her dad and basically every resident in Fern Falls. There was just so much GOODNESS in this book - the Ted Lasso of romcoms!

Imagine you are an event planner longing to being promoted to director of the NYC branch of your event company but your ambition is thwarted due to a scandal. What would you do? Would you cry your heart out and wait to vanish into thin air? or would you rather return to your hometown to enhance your reputation by helping in the plannings of a fundraiser event? This last option is the one Morgan, the main character of this story, chooses... Little does she know the fundraiser she is willing to help involves her ex-girlfriend.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed this book: the characters are complex and loveable, the plot is consistent and the book as a whole warmed my heart. Moreover, the chapters are short, which makes this book a good option for people who juggle with keeping up with both responsibilities and readings.
However, if I had to change some elements of this book, I would improve the books' narrative prose, which several times felt like I was reading Morgan's journal instead of a book from her point of view, especially the sex scenes. Having mentioned that, I believe Kae's writing failed to create a sexy atmosphere in the novel's streamy moments, which made me disconnect from the book in those scenes.
Overall, if you are a "She gets the girl" who's wondering what to read next, look no further. In the event of love may be your cup of tea.

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange of an honest review*

A hallmark movie with an extra serving of steam! This one was a fun story of former best friends, reunited to save the local town from takeover by a business mogul and rekindle their relationship in the process. A lovely, queer Hallmark romcom with the spice you want!

Check this one out for feel good holiday cheer, warm love, and a great cast of supporting characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for this ARC!

Oof. I wanted to like this one so much (I mean hello, steamy sapphic hallmark christmas movie sounds like exactly my vibe) but everything about this felt clunky and oddly flat.

The small hometown was cute and should have been more fun but it felt like a wooden set piece instead of a vibrant community of side characters. Some of the plot points felt shoehorned in and several of them were overly ridiculous even by hallmark movie standards. The resolutions to all the big conflicts were so abrupt and unearned!

And of course, the cardinal sin - the sex scenes were super cringeworthy. Before reading this I would have said there was no way steamy scenes featuring a hot lumberjane love interest could be bad but uh. I was proven wrong here lmao

When Morgan's event-planning life blows up in her face, she knows it's time to get out of town so the tabloids can cool off. She decides to head home to Fern Falls, up in the mountains five hours from her L.A. home where the view is breathtaking and memories run rampant. Of course the first thing she does is crash directly into the sign of her once best friend and crush, Rachel Reed.
Rachel was just fine minding her own business, cutting down trees, chopping wood, and making the occasional sign. She wasn't anticipating her best friend Ben to arrange for her former best friend and crush to plan a charity event for her struggling tree farm.
As the two women reconnect, for better or for worse. over vanilla lattes and memories they find themselves working through old issues and against the greedy corporation looking to take over the town as they took over their neighbors.

*SPOILER marked at the VERY end*
This is a cozy, steamy, wonderful hallmark book that will make you want to break out the hot chocolate or cider no matter the weather. This book grew on me even after finishing it. I liked Morgan's character, but I loved Rachel. Ben was such a great stable character to include and I can't wait to hear his story. I also hope to hear more about the coven, they were my favorite side characters of the town. I liked that the town wasn't thriving. In small-town books you see a lot of the town doing fine with little or no work. That's not realistic in my experience, especially when it's next door to a corporate ski town. I really connected with Morgan, feeling out of touch with old friends who are still close-knit, feeling the hurt from people you once cared so much for and who you thought cared for you the same way. I waffled over whether or not to give this book four or five stars and I think I have to go with 4.5 because of the epilogue. **SPOILER HERE** I couldn't figure out how to explain this without a spoiler, but I didn't like that the proposal led immediately into the wedding, it just felt really odd to me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review

After reading this book blurb, In the Event of Love became one of my most anticipated Christmas romance books of 2022.

While it has all the makings of a great holiday romcom, it didn’t quite meet all my expectations.

The beginning chapters were strong. I got invested with Morgan who had a major oops moment with a client forcing her back to the small town that she fled from seven years ago.

But after those initial chapters the book began to show its spots that it is a debut novel. Transitions were abrupt and the characters just came off as childish and plot points drove me a bit crazy.

Overall, I think this has all of the elements of a great Hallmark-esq holiday movie with some added spiciness.

You get the girl returning home from a long absence, a quirky small town with lots of interesting side characters, a “villain” out to change the small town and some broken relationships that need mending.

My biggest problem was that I didn’t buy into the reasons why Morgan fled and didn’t (or rarely in her Dad’s case) talk to her friends or family in SEVEN years. There had to have been a big falling out in my mind but it all came down to one conversation that was pretty lackluster.

And then the actual conversation in the present to address said issues was over in like 2 minutes and hardly addressed the points. I found that really frustrating.

Plus, after her “talk” with Rachel, they went into full on “let’s get it on” mode which felt forced, a bit icky and didn’t really have any basis in them having any time coming to learn about who they were now as adults seven years later.

The idea of the fundraiser was great as was the focus of the small town. Again- total Hallmark vibes.

But then you get to the crisis moment of the story and reactions were over the top. It was like everyone overreacted and I just wanted to roll my eyes.

I felt like I waffled between “oh this is cute” (queue the grand gesture scene) to “oh this is so cringe-worthy” (that epilogue was just so wrong) throughout the book.

The makings for a cute small town holiday romance are here but I just couldn’t get over the writing at times and the conversations which seemed more adolescent than I was expecting.

Props however to Kae for increasing diversity and giving bisexuality a focus in a holiday rom-com.
I’m glad that I checked it out and the set up for the next novel sounds great, but overall, it was just OK for me.

*I received an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This was the perfect romance book to read on a cozy day, under a blanket, and with a warm drink in your hand. And this was an even more perfect Christmas book. I loved the main characters and their chemistry, they were so cute together and, honestly, we need to see Morgan and Rachel's story on screen because this is the hallmark movie we all deserve to watch this winter. I can not wait to read more about fern fall and the other characters that were hinted to be together. If you are looking for a saphic, small town romance, that is cute and steamy with all the coffee and cute friend groups, then you need to pick this up!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!
Super cute and a quick read! I feel ready for Christmas because of this book even though it’s still summer! Overall I really enjoyed it but the epilogue especially felt rushed and underdeveloped