This is an adorable story! In the Event of Love is a feel-good contemporary romance set in a small mountain town a few hours outside of Los Angeles. The tight-knit community of Fern Falls is a charming place where everyone knows everyone and has for years. However, the town has fallen on some hard times and Morgan Ross, event planner extraordinaire and Fern Falls native, decides that a gala fundraiser with her big-wig LA company is just what the town needs to bring it back to its former glory. It’s her hope that it will save the town and get her that promotion she’s had her heart set on.

Readers can’t help but fall in love with the quaint and lovely town of Fern Falls. It’s simple, laid-back and easygoing lifestyle is brimming with appeal. The same goes for its quirky, but diverse residents. They are real and down to earth people that readers can believe in, relate to and root for. They want Morgan to succeed in saving their beloved town. But more than that, they want her to reunite with her first crush, Rachel Reed!

Though the love affair between Morgan and Rachel remains central to the plot, friends and family add a nice layer to the storytelling. They bridge scenes nicely and unify the storytelling masterfully. These secondary characters give the story arc an interesting dynamic that provides personality and texture. They aren’t just fluff; they add substance to the narrative.

Morgan and Rachel make a lovely couple, but they can stand alone in this sweet tale as well. They have spunk, and readers like them right away. They are honest, loyal and hardworking women with passion for the things they love—and that includes each other. They just need a nudge from their friends for that to become a reality. The romance is worth the buildup though. When things do heat up between them, readers are quickly swept up in the couple’s over-flowing chemistry. Their sensuality and passion hits them in the feels.

Final thoughts…

This is a charming second-chance, returning-to-home romance. The characters are more than likable and completely charming. The story premise is light-hearted and romantic. There are moments, however, that are a bit far-fetched. Fortunately, it doesn’t get in the way of its narrative. It’s fiction. It’s meant to be a Hallmarky, feel-good, happily-ever-after, and on that note, it completely succeeds.

Strengths…

Entertaining
Delightful
Likable, fun characters
Immersive story world
Good romantic chemistry

This book is so sweet and touching, and steamy! Morgan was hilarious and sympathetic, which made me root hard for her second chance with Rachel. Fern Falls as a setting is charming and cozy, and the type of place I'd like to visit. 5 enthusiastic stars.

Oof. This was not it. The characters were all flat and bland and I felt that Morgan and Rachel had ZERO chemistry. Morgan was really annoying. Also, for a cutesy small town setting, there was so little atmosphere! Too many side characters who weren't developed and oh dear lord the sex scenes were bad. Cringeworthy. I had to skip through them. And that epilogue? Major cringe. I really hated that. Major letdown.

Finally! A hallmark movie FOR ME! This book was pure honey. Everything one could want in a holiday romance! I did find myself having qualms about the ending but it's hard not to get wrapped up in seemingly good things. It would be fun to read a sequel of this book. I want to see the drama continue!

This is a darling, feel-good Hallmark-style queer Christmas romcom and I ate up every second of it.

I loved the second chance romance (and friendship!), and coming together to save a small-town Christmas tree farm? Perfection. I smiled my way through so much of this and it was genuinely a delight to read.

The characters are so fun, and I want each and every one of them to have their own books so I can read more about them and their lives in Fern Falls.

I love a solid cozy read! I just wanted to curl up in a blanket every time I picked it up! Plus it was steamy! A great combination!

If you're dying for a good, queer, Hallmark holiday movie, stop waiting and read this book instead! Morgan Ross and Rachel Reed are former best friends who are thrown together by the need to save Rachel's small town Christmas tree farm from being bought out by a soulless property developer. Morgan, who has been working as a big city events planner, returns to the town of Fern Falls after a disastrous scandal, in order to plan a fundraiser for the farm and, of course, to show her boss that she still deserves the promotion she has been waiting for. When sparks reignite between the two, will Morgan choose to stay in Fern Falls or go back to her big city life?

The characters in this book were all very entertaining - I'm happy to see this listed as Fern Falls #1, because I already can't wait to delve into the lives of some of the supporting characters from this book! The quirky small town setting is just what I like in a romance. Overall, a sweet and fun holiday romance.

Morgan is an event planner in LA then disaster strikes and she goes back to her small home town where she's asked to plan an event to help the town. N She hadn't been back in years and a lot of people resent her

In the Event of Love is a sweet rom-com style story. Throw in a few popular tropes; second chance, friends to lovers, return to hometown, and you get an easy to read, feel good romance.

Morgan and Rachel grew up together and were best friends, until their high school graduation where everything went pear shaped. Looking for an escape, Rachel leaves their small town, hoping to find her way in the city, which she does. Six years pass and a scandal within her workplace forces Rachel back home to face her demons and the woman she still clearly loves.

Shenanigans ensue, friendships are restored and Christmas festivities bring the town together. A fun and sweet story with a guaranteed happily ever after.

this was the cutest thing ever! a perfect winter romance that i sped through. the sapphic rom-com i have been wanting to read for a while. i couldn't put this down it was very addictive. i loved the characters and the romance and just everything. the descriptive writing style might not appeal to everyone but i didn't mind it.

Courtney Kay immediately draws you in with this small town romance following Morgan as she goes back home and runs into her “one time best friend turned crush” Rachel. Morgan back in her hometown to not only work on an event, she’s facing her past and moving forward.

I adored this book so much. After picking the book up I couldn’t put it down. If you aren’t into overly descriptive books, this one might be a little off putting but I would still highly recommend giving it a read. This book will have you rooting for the characters and is the perfect binge read.

Morgan, the main character, is a businesswoman from a small town, who moved to the city to run her own company some day in the future. She gets tricked into going back home for a bit, where she falls in love (again) with her former best friend after they haven't seen or talked to each other in years due to a falling out after high school. Unfortunately, this character ruined my enjoyment of the story. She fulfills basically every stereotype of a "businesswoman who needs to slow down because she's forgetting what life is truly about" and it drove me nuts.

It says it right in the book description: "Offering a steamy, queer spin on the feel-good tropes of a Hallmark movie," so I should have known this would be cheesy and cliche. It's not a bad book, certainly, and I would definitely recommend this book for fans of cliche romances, who want to see common love story tropes from an LGBTQ+ lens.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC for review.

"In that fragile, hazy space before sleep, there's a whispered, I love you. And I can't tell if it's Rachel's voice or mine."

3.75/5 - Out August 20th!

Cosy vibes are on point, sapphic romance vibes are on point, small-town community vibes are on point – this book is a pretty good time all ‘round. Everyone should definitely add this read to their tbr for the wintery holiday months.

This is a second-chance romance with a sprinkling of enemies-to-lovers. I really liked the whole story with all the plot points and twists – the main relationship is so sweet, and I’d be really interested in reading more about the other couples in the town (hint hint Courtney Kae).

It took a good 50% to really get into the story – the scene changes are pretty chaotic, and some of the metaphors/quips get lost in translation. Personally, I don’t like first-person books, particularly when they’re romance (are you sick of me talking about third-person dual POV yet?), but the storyline and characters did redeem it by the end.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kensington Books, and Courtney Kae for an eARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

*I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This was an incredibly sweet and easy read. The perfect read for the holidays. It's literally a Hallmark movie that hasbFINALLY featured a wlw romance. I throughouly enjoyed all of it. Was it the most ground breaking? No, but it doesn't have to be. Sure there's lots of tropes and the ending is very easy to predict but that's what I want in a romance story like this.

Overall I enjoyed all of the characters and I'm happy to see that this is only book one, there are a couple of people who can be the sequel but I'm hoping for one pairing in particular.

I will be picking this up once it comes out to add it to my holiday reads, I look forward to reading it during winter for the perfect ~vibe~.

In the Event of Love: 3.75/5 stars

I thought this book was a good debut, with a flawed main character, fun side characters, and a cute small town. Morgan Ross is involved in a work scandal and goes back to her hometown to a) get away from Los Angeles b) run an event that will prove that she's ready for a promotion. I really appreciated that after the work scandal, Morgan's boss believed her side of things, because I've read similar books where the boss doesn't believe the employee/blames them/etc. Morgan returns to her hometown and starts helping her old friends and loved ones try to save their businesses and runs into her old love and best friend Rachel.

The romance made me smile a lot and the sex scenes were great, but my one qualm with this book was that Rachel was a little too perfect. I'm more used to dual perspective narratives, which I think helps either character from feeling too flawless, and with only Morgan's side of things Rachel just seemed a little too good to be true. However, I think this is something Kae will be able to smooth out in her next works, and I'm excited for her next book.

Cuteeeeeeee! So cute! Filled with wonderful sapphic love!
I loved the romance and the holiday feels and humor. I want to re-read this in the winter when I can get more into the season but it was still a fun read.
Rachel and Morgan had amazing chemistry and passion and the steam was SO NICEEE! This was a pretty great book that will make you all giddy and happy!

This book is exactly what it says on the tin - a sapphic Christmas Hallmark movie with a flannel-wearing heroine and a Christmas-tree farm. Really charming, really festive, really sweet!

Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for this ARC.

I love reading LGBTQ romcoms and hope that there will be so many more published in the near future! This is a sweet, fun, and steamy holiday romance and I'm already looking forward to the next one in the series! Highly recommended!

"The world needs more queer holiday romances, don't you think?" Yes, I do think. And In the Event of Love is a perfect addition!

Courtney Kae had my heart so, so full from the very beginning! There were so many moments in this book that I actually shouted out loud as I was reading because it was just so!! good!!

I was immediately swept away in the magic of Fern Falls and the chemistry between Morgan and Rachel is absolutely electric. This book has a full cast of complex characters, too, so it really feels like you've just stepped foot into a real-world small town. There are so many emotional highs and gut punches (a good thing!) in this book, and the emotional payoff at the end was immense! I'm so in love with this book and I'm so, so glad that the world now has one more incredible queer holiday romance.

IN THE EVENT OF LOVE was so Hallmark-movie, I largely skimmed the last third, knowing exactly how things would pan out. Those who appreciate this type of content will enjoy, but it was ultimately just not for me.