Life has been a little crazy. This book was a constant thing to look forward to reading before bed. I loved the messy, fun, real characters and the uniqueness of the story. I look forward to the next book.

I voluntarily belatedly read an early copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for providing an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I read this novel in February 2023 and am getting around to the review in June 2023.

I enjoyed this novel. For another wanting to pick up this novel for a Christmas in July or even have it ready for your seasonal TBR this holiday season, this book is good solid holiday novel with both Jewish background and Christmas (commercialized). I would caution you that this novel is NOT light-hearted as the cutesy cover makes it out to be. It does unravel some heavy topics that I would advise checking for trigger warnings so you don't get your expectations skewed for a holly jolly novel.

Why it's not a 5-star: As my disclaimer states, it's a good novel but Miriam and Noelle's relationship was not a head-over-heels instant all-time favorite for me. As well as the pacing was a tad too slow or too fast at parts.

Otherwise, I recommend this novel to anyone looking for their next holiday read.

This book was entirely too slow. I was invested in Noelle and her mate but it was taking too long to get to the point of the romance.

There are not enough holiday books that include Hanukkah! This one is a gem, a queer Jewish romance that takes place on a Christmas Tree Farm. I adored Miriam, her love for her family, and her willingness to step in and take over the family business from her beloved great aunt. Noelle became a well developed character as well, and there was great sense of place. I loved the small town, the farm, and the descriptions of the house. What I didn't love was the way that Miriam moved quickly from her "relationship of convenience" to a relationship with Noelle. The book ultimately won points for being deeper than the cover lets on, covering childhood traumas and alcoholism as well as having nice Jewish representation (which always wins points with me). Thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Overall 4.5 star review - I really enjoyed this debut novel. love that in incorporated Christmas and Hanukkah plus other Jewish holidays. Great first holiday read of the season.

This was really cute and a great read. A little bit heavier and some of the stuff they had to work through but still engaging. You can tell she's setting up a series with all the characters that are still single but I'm excited to enter this world again so bring it on!

Cute holiday read but I felt it was a little underdeveloped. A holiday/winter book set on a Christmas tree farm is a magical idea but it left me wanting more. It was rushed at times and lacked in parts. But overall you can’t ever go wrong with a holiday book.

I was so excited to read a holiday romance with Jewish characters, but this one fell flat for me. The idea of naming sections of the book after Jewish holidays was such a fun detail, but the entire book was about a Christmas tree farm and the Jewish identity of the characters seemed like an afterthought. The plot reinforced the idea that, in order for a holiday book about Jewish characters to have a wide appeal, they also need to celebrate Christmas or have Christmas traditions. I had a difficult time getting over that, so I didn't find myself caring much about the characters or the plot.

Deliciously trope-y without being cliche. I know I'm Biased because I specifically love the name Miriam Blum and have even before this book, but the book would have been great even with a completely different name.

This was a very cute holiday romance that would be perfect for the holidays or just winter in general cause it gives such cozy vibes! Noel and Miriam were so cute together! I wanted to see more on page chemistry but I think what I loved most was the feeling of being home again and found family.

I can’t wait for book two!

I am not usually a fan of Jewish books that have characters who love Christmas for minimal reason, but in Season of Love I didn't find myself annoyed or frustrated with this part of the plot.

Miriam Blum has a thriving career as an artist when she goes home for the first time in a decade for the funeral of a beloved aunt. While there she learns she has inherited one third of her aunts Christmas Tree farm, and is tasked with coming up with a plan to save it financially. Also while there, she meets Noelle Northwood, who has lived and worked on the property for years and is not a fan. Like all romcoms, they come around with respect to each other, and we do get the HEA everyone's looking for.

I will always recommend Jewish titles, and Season of Love is no exception to that. Its a great read for the holidays, but I'm not a seasonal reader, so I'd honestly recommend reading it any time. You'll see lots of culturally Jewish things, not only those centered around the holiday season - the book even starts out with a Shiva.

Thank you to Forever for the gifted copy of this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for an eARC of this book.

I thought this was a really cute romance. Miriam and Noelle were really interesting characters to read about. I think it was an interesting concept to have Miriam return to the tree farm of her childhood after a lot of trauma and issues, that other people didn’t know about. It made a really tense situation and it was definitely hard to read at times because there was so much pain involved in her return.

I will admit that I don’t love an enemies to lovers romance trope and while this one did bother me at times because Noelle had preconceived notions about who Miriam was when she only knew one side of the story, I think it was good to see her learn and grow that maybe she was making assumptions when she shouldn’t have been. I was definitely frustrated with how she immediately had an issue with Miriam without knowing anything about her other than information from her best friend and Miriam’s aunt. I liked that as time went on she started to change her mind, but it did bug me in the beginning.

I loved how much food was mentioned throughout the book. It’s definitely one of those books that will make you hungry to read. I also loved all the holidays involved. We got to see a lot of Jewish holidays, as well as the group getting ready for Christmas. I liked a lot about how the plot followed the space of time between when Miriam arrived and Christmas.

One thing I really admired in the book is that there was a lot of discussion about trauma, trauma responses, and habits based in fear and trauma. It was really nice to actually see both Noelle and Miriam working through their trauma, making changes, trying to be better people for themselves and the people around them. It was really great that so much of the book was dedicated to the trauma discussions and watching these characters grow and change.

Lovely queer holiday read. My biggest issue with the book is that it overall feels very rushed and underdeveloped. I was so looking forward to this one. But was overall still cute.

I often try to temper down my expectations from holiday romances, but once in a while, one will surprise me, and I'm glad this one did.
Miriam and Noelle's development was so much fun to watch, even for me, who isn't the biggest fan of angst.
An amazing debut, I'm super excited to see what Helena comes out with next!

Sweet holiday romance, I enjoyed this one! The tree farm and other cute elements went together so nicely! The main characters were well written the the LGBT+ representation was great! I love a good grumpy/sunshine trope and this one went well with the storyline and situation the characters found themselves in. I was satisfied with the ending as well!

Maybe my favorite holiday rom-com of the year. After learning of her beloved aunts death, Miriam returns to Carrigan's, her aunts Christmas farm-- which is a bit ironic since the family is Jewish. There, she learns that the farm has been left to her, her cousin, and the grumpy butch who doesn't see to want her there. It was the perfect mix of holiday cheer and feels.

This was a quick and queer holiday romance. I was surprised that it covered some heavier topics than your typical holiday romance generally does. (And that the cover seemed to imply.) But both of the main characters - Miriam and Noelle - were endearing and likable and the ending was satisfying. I did think both characters could have been hashed out more and found the lack of communication between the two pretty frustrating at times, but overall I enjoyed it.

This was a cute, fun, fade to black sapphic rom com. Overall I liked it, but it felt a little dragged out with not a lot of plot to hold my interest. I think I liked the side characters more than the main characters, which was a bummer. But overall a fun listen!

I technically have an ARC but listened to the audio via the library instead!

I put off reading this book for awhile and now that I have read it I have no idea why. It was so good. It was so sweet and Christmasy and Queer, but in a way that didn’t feel forced. A perfect Hallmark Christmas read.

The characters were hilarious and relatable. The relationships between them were surprisingly complex. The authors description of the tree farm had me wishing it was a real place I could book a holiday.

There was a lot of turmoil, but it lived up to its holiday book status and delivered the HEA. I would highly recommend this book and if I could go back in time I would tell myself not to wait to read it.

I love it so much. Sweet, hot but closed doors, I really do wish Carrigan’s was a real place, that Noelle and Miriam were real and I could be friends with them. Highly recommend.