This was just like a hallmark movie except gayer, which is exactly what I wanted. It was very sweet with a lot of heart and hurt in the main characters life. I look forward to reading more in the future from Courtney Kae!

In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae is reminiscent of the typical holiday romance books and movies we all love with a couple of exceptions. First, the couple in this book is two females. Second, the romance portion gets MUCH spicier than anything those other books (or movies) even allude to. With that being said, I would highly recommend this title to anybody that’s looking for a holiday romance.

The main characters more or less follow the standard format…Morgan is the big city professional that needs a break from the city and escapes to her charming hometown. Once there, she encounters her childhood best friend (and former love interest), Rachel, who now runs the family Christmas tree farm. A shared challenge gradually brings Rachel and Morgan back together in a professional sense, but will they be able to maintain that professionalism as old feelings rise to the surface?

The main thing that initially drew me to this book was the adorably illustrated cover. It does a great job of alluding to Rachel and Morgan’s professions as well as their relationship. It also does a great job setting the scene for the story.

As far as the book itself, the author does a great job incorporating humor into the romantic elements. This is what really drew me into the beginning of the story as we’re getting to know Morgan. The two main characters obviously have flaws and they both recognize those flaws and grow as individuals by the end of the book. There are quite a few side characters that make regular appearances, but I felt that helped create the small town feel. I wasn’t sure that everything was going to be resolved by the end of the book, but I was pleasantly surprised with how everything turned out. One key factor is that I was left with that warm satisfaction that I’ve come to expect when enjoying a holiday romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to review a digital ARC of this title.

This was a cute sapphic romcom that just tried to do too much. It’s a small town romance, second chance, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers all while also saving the town’s Christmas tree farm from corporate greed. It needed to maybe do a little less, but it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you so much to @kensingtonbooks.


Bonus points for the term “lumberjane!”

I liked this one! I would say it's about a 4 to 5-flame rating. The storyline was very on-brand for the holidays, throwing in a family reunion after much distance after a loss.

What can I say, sapphic Christmas romances are my jam. I absolutely do not like slow burn, though, and wouldn't you know, this book was so fast-paced and funny that I didn't even care about the slow burn being there in the first place (that speaks to great writing talent, let me tell you, I DNF more slow-burn stories than you'd think). There's also so much sweetness and spicyness thrown into the mix that I just couldn't help but devour Kae's debut!
If you're a fan of quirky characters, fast-paced stories and a gorgeous sapphic then this book is perfect for you!
Perfect also for fans of Kiss Her Once For Me and The Holiday Trap!

This was an adorable queer Romcom. I liked the characters and the representation in this book but I didn’t feel a great connection between them.

Yes yes yes and yes. This book was so cute and was an absolutely perfect read for me as the weather got colder! This story has Hallmark written all over it in all the best ways—LA career woman whose career implodes and goes back home and runs into who? Her one time bestie turned crush who is now a hot lumberjane with a family tree farm. It’s a slow burn, but it’s just sooooo cute! It’s the queer love story we’ve all been waiting for this winter!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I think it will be one that I come back to when I need a cozy Christmas read. The characters were both fantastic to read and their motivations and behaviors were understandable. I really enjoyed the relationship between them, they had fantastic chemistry :)

In the Event of Love is a romance set in a small town in California during the holiday season, where Morgan begrudgingly returns after her work and personal life collide, and then blow up in her face. She returns to Fern Falls in a last ditch attempt to save her career and promotion, only to run into her ex-girlfriend Rachel (quite literally, she crashes into her farm). As it turns out, the project she came for forces her to work alongside Rachel, and the two have to confront their past - and the feelings for each other that they never got over.

First of all, In the Event of Love was SO cute, when it was pitched as the equivalent of a queer Hallmark holiday movie they weren't kidding. I loved rooting for Rachel and Morgan, and watching their personal growth, as well as their relationship with one another! The rest of the cast was super lovable as well, I adored Whitney, and I'm really excited to read Ben and Adam's story. Kae managed to fit quite a lot into the story in terms of developing both Morgan and Rachel's lives, in both the past and the present. I do wish that the epilogue was a little less... abrupt? It lowkey felt like it was a rushed ending, and I'd have rather have found out about some of the details in the following books instead, but that might be more of a personal preference than anything else. Either way, it was still such a heartwarming and fun read that I could easily overlook it.

Overall, In the Event of Love was an excellent holiday romance, definitely try picking it up when you need to get into the holiday spirit!

Cute, easy to read, fun setting, but ultimately not very likable characters and we learned nothing about the love interest to make us care. Good, but not great.

Cute winter read but a bit of a let down. It’s a second chance/enemies to lovers set in a small town. I wish it was dual POV because I didn’t feel like we really got to know Rachel that well and I wasn’t a fan of Morgan. It’s definitely cute and a nice holiday romance, just not my favorite and took me a bit to get into it.

This book was so stinking cute! I can't wait to recommend it and read it again in December. The characters were just so well written!

I was really excited for this book: a steamy lesbian romance set at Christmas time sounds dreamy! But this was far from dreamy...unless you count the amount of times I snoozed reading it.

I thought the beginning had some cute promise to it, but it was just so trite and cheesy. And this coming from a girl who loves Hallmark movies! I thought there were some loose ends, things that didn't really add to the story or came up out of nowhere randomly throughout the novel that just didn't lend any substance to the plot. I thought Morgan's character was sweet, and Rachel was a good character as well, but nothing about them really stands out to me. The "villain" in Chrissy was super shallow (very Hallmark villainess vibes) and almost laughable.

I really didn't care for this novel, although I tried. I ended up skimming a lot of the text towards the end because I just wanted it to end. The "steamy" parts weren't that steamy and were too quick for my liking, but this is no reflection on the rating/review as it's my own personal prerogative. :)

My Christmas mood continues as I read this book and it was such a delight!! First of all I love a good small town romance but make it christmas and sapphic and steamy? I’m there! I felt so cozy while reading this and it definitely got me so ready for the holidays! Morgan and Rachel were so sweet together and honestly the book had me swooning the entire time. It dealt with some deeper topic at times, but it blended nicely with the story and made for a great read. It can be cheesy at times but that really adds to the Hallmark feel and makes it even more great! I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a Christmas romance!

This is one of the rare books that is exactly what you expect from it: a fluffy hometown hallmark style Sapphic romance. And I gotta say, I really don't know how the author did it, but this felt exactly like watching a hallmark movie.
I really liked Morgan and Rachel and thought they made a great couple. As it often happens with single POV, I do wish we could have gotten to know Rachel a little better. While I liked her, I never fully grasped her as a character.
The storyline and supporting cast created a great atmosphere and backdrop for our main couple. It is a tiny little bit kitschy, which I'm not a fan of normally, but I'm just glad we actually have Sapphic romance now, that can be kitschy.
All in all a nice story with a bit of spice, to get you in the mood for the holiday season.

I received an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Overall I thought this book was cute. How can you go wrong with a Christmas-themed queer romance reminiscent of Hallmark movies? That sounds perfect! I unfortunately didn't find myself very invested in the characters; there wasn't a lot of depth to them to make me really root for them and waiting to see what happens next.

I wish more Hallmark and other rom-coms had this kind of representation, which is why I was excited about this book in the first place. It was a cute, Christmas-y read that I'm glad I read but was overall underwhelmed with. I definitely recommend reading this around the winter holiday season.

thank you to the publisher for sending me an EARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

okay, i have several mixed feelings regarding this book?? like some things i LOVEEEED (like the happy part of the relationship, it was great; or the amount of rep the side characters had like the hijabi character or the trans mayor 🥹🥹🥹) and things i wasn’t really a fan of? (the first 5% of the books was a little idk… ?? wasn’t vibing with the conflict that begins the whole thing, and it was repetitive as well for the first 20ish percent). that being said, i love the sapphic feel-good christmas joy this book has! i definitely felt it!!! also wow this was spicier than i thought and i truly enjoyed it!

one of my issues was the mc, who frustrated me sm at times! also the conflicts felt a little idkkk, like not enough to be as bad for me?

honestly this a very feel good, cliche christmas romcom but it’s also very queer and also wayyy more diverse than the usual christmas romcoms which i honestly ADORE! it’s an aspect that made me keep reading and i truly loved when it was mentioned or included! all in all, i saw nothing wrong with this book it just wasn’t always my cup of tea, so if you’re looking for a cute queer christmas story to feel good and relax, i definitely recommend you pick this up!!

This was such a warm, cozy, and steamy second-chance holiday romance. The feeling of community was so strong, that I felt transported to Fern Falls.
Rachel and Morgan's relationship was amazing to read. Seeing how each woman grew into their own self and learned what they truly wanted was heartwarming.
The supporting characters of their friends, and the people in the town, added depth and another dimension to the story. Life had been hard to both Rachel and Morgan, and there were struggles ahead for sure, and that made things feel so much more real. It was inspiring to see how they were planning to take on the challenges together.

This was the queer, sapphic, second chance, childhood friends to lovers, holiday romcom of my dreams!

Set in a small town complete with failing inn and Christmas tree farm, In the Event of Love follows Morgan Ross an event planner in LA who has just suffered a career destroying event and her childhood best friend Rachel Reed who still lives in the town Morgan fled a decade before. We’ve got not one, but two chaotic bisexual leads with fantastic chemistry. I’ve seen this compared to Hallmark-style holiday romances, but I’ve not watched any of those and I have to imagine just based on what I know to be true about Hallmark movies that this book is a lot more queer and way steamier. This one gave me Just Friends vibes just based on the storyline of old friends—one nursing a big flame—reuniting after one leaves home for a long time and comes back for the holidays due to circumstances mostly beyond their control.

Morgan never ever plans on returning to her childhood home, but finds herself reluctantly happy to be back and grateful to be able to use her skills to help the small businesses that make up the heart and soul of her town. I related heavily to Morgan crushing on Rachel’s new lumberjane vibe complete with the arm muscles one gains from hauling Christmas trees. HOT. I also loved how quickly Morgan fell back into a groove with her old friend group and how much they love and support one another. In the Event of Love is cozy AF, full of charming small town details and enough holiday vibes to have you ready to celebrate in October.

This one is out now and I loved it so much. I have no doubt I will return to it every year and if you haven’t read it, you’ve got plenty of time to get your hands on a copy in time for the holiday season. Thanks so much to Kensington & Netgalley for the early copy!

5 feel-good, love-hate, holiday romance stars~

This was just the feel-good romance I needed to start kicking off the holiday season. I loved the characters, the story, and the inclusivity of this one. Who doesn't love a romance where you get the warm and fuzzies? The background story and character development was also great - getting to know all the characters made it even harder to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing a digital ARC for review! :)