I wasn't in love with the writing style also didn't like the couple. I wish that this was better written, it was confusing at times and overall, I just had a hard reading this.

(I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
What a fun romance!! It's queer! And Jewish! And there is therapy involved! I don't often find a romance that digs deep into trauma and where the characters continually work on themselves. But we need moreeeee of ittt!! Watching not just Noelle and Miriam learn trust and love eachother, but also their own progress in terms of their past, was such a beautiful thing. And the setting! The time of year! It was perfect.
One thing I will add though that definitely lowered my rating, is the pacing. A good majority of the book felt slow and some of it just felt unnecessary. It took me awhile to get through it because of that, I also am just use to faster paced romances.

SEASON OF LOVE was such a fun read, I devoured it! Miriam hasn't seen her family in ten years, leaving because of her abusive father. She's put up walls, built a successful art/antiquing empire on social media, and gotten engaged to a woman she doesn't love. When her aunt dies and leaves a fourth of Carrigan's, her Christmas tree farm, to her, she must uproot herself and re-examine how she approaches life. Noelle, the butch farm manager, and Miriam get off on the wrong foot, but as they work together to save the farm they can't fight their growing attraction for each other.

This was such a fun romance full of holiday tropes and cute moments. I wish Miriam and Noelle had had a bit more build up and cute moments before getting together, but I still enjoyed the moments they had. We only see them kiss and sex is implied - I would've loved a bit more detail, but I know not every romance book needs that. I think overall parts of the romance were rushed, and this is what kept this from being a five star read for me. I still really enjoyed it overall and am rating it four stars!

Definitely going to be one of my top ten books this year. A total joy to read. This is one of those books I loved so much that my only two choices are to just scream GO READ IT IT WILL MAKE YOU SO HAPPY!!!!! or to write a novel length review detailing the ridiculous amount of things that make it so perfect. So, I'll do both! If you don't want to stay to read the full gush, just know that I adored this and want to give it to pretty much everyone I know and I'm already rabidly desperate for the next book (s?) in the series.

I remember after I finished reading Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall for the first time, I felt like walking around wearing a sandwich board and handing out pamphlets like "Have you heard the good news about Luc and Oliver?" because it was just so wonderful and I wanted all my bookish friends to get that same dose of joy. And I feel the same way about this one. Time to make another sandwich board. Probably a light up, bedazzled one ;)

So, um... ok. I guess I should try to talk about the actual book instead of just shouting incoherent praises? First off, this is one of those reads I fell effortlessly into. From the first page, the writing just worked for me. I floated along on my serene lazy river of reading. I never lost interest. I never felt like anything in the story was forced or out of place or didn't ring true. It was all just so RIGHT and so fun and so damn enjoyable. That isn't to say that the book is fluff (which isn't a bad thing, just not applicable here) or that it didn't hold surprises. Just that everything felt so thoughtful and true to the characters. By about a third of the way in I relaxed completely, the way I usually only do with favorite authors, because I could tell I could trust this author.

I loved all the characters right from the get go. And when I say all, I mean ALL of them. Well, okay, there's one character who really sucks, but even they feel true to life. Every other side character and main character is so full of life and depth and I'd happily read a book about any of them. They're all so interesting and lovable. (But please PLEASE let there be upcoming books about the three couples I am fiercely shipping!!!) The MCs in this one were so delightful to spend time with. I just loved loved them together and loved how they worked through their shit to really see themselves and one another and build a future together. I'm total trash for "I'm a complete fucking mess and you still love me just as I am." It gets me every damn time. And it's so well done here.

This has all the winter holiday vibes you could want, and all the cozy, quirky small town aspects you might expect. But it also has so much more. The characters have a lot of heavy emotional lifting to do. These MCs are carrying around a lot of baggage that they have to unpack before they can really have any hopes of being together. And all of that is handled so well. The pacing and the romance arc were spot on for me. I tend to be a hyper sensitive reader (thanks anxiety!) and often dread reaching the low moment in a romance, sometimes I even have to skip over it or read ahead to reassure myself, even in romance where I know there's a happy ending. And while there is some serious emotional stuff going on, I never felt that dread here. Again, I think that's down to the overall vibe of the book, but also to trusting the author.

This is closed door, which I know isn't everyone's cup of tea. I went into it not knowing what the spice level would be. As someone who enjoys spice but also really appreciates books that don't include on page sex, I was overjoyed with this. It can be really hard to find really good closed door romances. And this one is spectacular. Even if you usually like high heat, I really do think the chemistry and connection between the MCs and the character work here are so well worth the read. One of my only tiny nitpicks about the book is that occasionally the transition in and out of the closed door scenes felt a bit clunky? But everything else was so abundantly fantastic that I didn't really care.

The epilogue was the only other thing I didn't flat out love, the POV switch felt a little jarring. And I generally get annoyed with cliffhanger endings, though I didn't mind it here because our MCs in this one are left all happily wrapped up in cozy bliss, it's just that now I'm frantic for the next book to see how things play out with another couple.

It's hard to pick a favorite thing about this book, because I loved it from start to finish, but there's a relationship that doesn't work out that is handled so beautifully and thoughtfully and with such awareness that not all relationships have to look a certain way to be valid that it was a real lightbulb moment for me. In so many stories, that relationship and arc would have been framed so differently and I appreciated how it was handled here more than I can say.

So, yeah. This made me laugh and cry and I will not be shutting up about it anytime soon. One of those rare books that's pure magic.

This book is a surprisingly refreshing combination of so many beautiful things!

A Jewish family, who own a Christmas tree farm and hotel.
A lesbian main character engaged in a marriage-of-convenience situation, escaping an abusive father and estranged family.
A delightful love interest who is the most relatable character I've met in a while. Love Noelle!

Loss of a beloved family member pushes Miriam out of hiding and into a holiday miracle - finding real love.

"'Next year at Carrigans' was her tiny private version of 'Next year in Jerusalem'. She'd always thought, 'Nexy year I'll have the courage. Next year, I'll stop running and go home to my family.' But she'd always seemed to have a good reason to put it off, and now it was too late."

"'You hate when things end,' she paraphrased Breakfast at Tiffany's."

"Well, who was she to argue with Cassiopeia Carrigan's last wish?"

Please do yourself the favor of adding Season of Love to your holiday wishlist.

Bisexual Miriam is estranged from her family because of her abusive father, but when her excentric aunt, a Jewish woman who started a Christmas tree farm, passes away, she returns to the farm to sit shiva. There, she finds out she's inherited part of the farm, but to run it, she has to get along with the farm manager, a butch lesbian who maybe doesn't feel Miriam deserved to inherit.

If this sounds amazing, that's because it is. I was expecting to enjoy this, but I was not ready for the idyllic setting combined with heaps of personality. There was so much to love about the characters, and them going to bat for the farm and especially against Miriam's father was a delight. I do want to warn you to tread carefully if abuse is a trigger for you, though, because it is an important theme in the book.

There is nothing that brings me more joy than holiday themed romances. Reading this book felt like a warm cup of apple cider on a cold day and I am absolutely here for it.

This book felt like a Hallmark story in the best way possible. We have two cousins and the beloved manager working together to try to save the family Christmas tree farm. Everybody comes into this with their own separate trauma that they are trying to work through and they really have to work through that trauma to make their plans a reality.

I loved that this wasn’t just a traditional Christmas story and included bits of Jewish culture and the Jewish holidays into the story. I loved the characters and would spend the whole year at Carrigans if that was possible. While I ultimately love Miriam and Noelle’s love story, it did feel a little insta-lovey to me which isn’t always my favorite troupe.

This is definitely the kind of story I think should be made into a movie and I would watch it all year round. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Forever publishing for providing me a digital copy of this book to read and review.

I really enjoyed book! Nothing better than a cute, sweet, funny, and inclusive holiday read!

I will absolutely read this again when the holidays roll around, or maybe sooner. :)

My absolute favorite thing about this book is the fat butch in a clinch on the cover. HELLO PUBLISHING INDUSTRY. I REQUEST BUTCHES GETTIN SEXY ON ROMANCE COVERS AND FAT PEOPLE GETTIN SEXY ON ROMANCE COVERS AND FAT BUTCHES GETTIIN SEXY ON ROMANCE COVERS. I just love everything about this.

As for the book though, there wasn't a ton that I loved. Don't get me wrong, there wasn't much that I hate either. The book just felt fluffy and was very plot and detail heavy without a lot actually happening? And the relationship between the heroines was really hot and cold. It felt like one minute they hated each other for pretty much no reason and then they were pretty soon staring longingly across the room and taking off each others' clothes and talking about their capital r Relationship. Listen, I'm a lesbian so I understand U-Hualing, it's just that the emotional progression of this romance didn't feel very deep or clear to me at all.

I actually found myself more invested in the straight (gasp!) relationship of the side characters than the main romance or the central external plot.

(Oh P.S. I felt really weird about the way the book talked about one heroine's mom as though she were responsible for the abuse her husband enacted even though she herself was a victim? I did not like this at all.)

One in the rash of Christmas-tree farm sapphic holdiay romances coming out this season, this one was mostly just fine for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC.

CW: parental abuse, alcoholism, parental neglect, spousal abuse, death of a loved one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital arc!

I would give it more of a 3.5 because for this being a debut novel it was better then expected! I think the book was trying to do many things like incorporating the family dynamics, jewish culture and past trauma into the storyline which may have taken away from the romance which is what this was marketed as. I feel like Miri and Noelle didn't get enough time together and when they did the love and attraction was pretty instant (which isn't bad but it's not my personal favourite). The characters take a bit to get invested in, they are pretty quirky and their inner monologue sometimes goes on for a long time, but once you get used to that in the book I think they were well-written characters. Overall I would say the 'bad' is that the book does move pretty slowly and so it gets boring at times, and the good is that I really liked the tropes it had and the plot was interesting.

I was really excited to see this book! A queer holiday romance yay! Unfortunately I didn’t love it. It was fine, just not my fave. It was kinda boring is my main complaint. The characters also just weren’t that deep.

DNF at 45%. And I rarely DNF a book.

I really, really wanted to like this one. I loved the summary and premise. I was excited to have a story with a Jewish main character.
But I kept waiting for it to grab me and it did not. It’s been slow going and I had a hard time getting invested in the characters. They don’t feel fully realised. I would hope that almost half way through a book I’d be engaged and I most certainly was not.
I liked Cole, I guess.
Some of the dialogue is quite clunky and there is a lot of telling rather than showing in the internal monologue and transition.
Speaking of the transitions—some of them are awkward/unclear, which pulled me out of the narrative.
Overall disappointing—I’d hoped for more from this. Maybe it gets better or maybe it’s just not for me but I feel l’m forcing myself to keep going hence the DNF.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC.

I wanted to read this one because it combines both Jewish cultures and Christmas. I loved the setting of the tree farm. So glad I got to read this during Pride month. I think it's a fun read for the holiday season!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I made it my goal to read queer authors and novels during pride month. I was granted an ARC of this novel and it was exceptional. I binge-read it in one day.

3.5

Season of Love follows Miriam who gets news that her great aunt has passed away. So she goes back home to be with her family. Upon arriving home she finds out that her aunt has left her a christmas tree farm. The ironic thing is that boht Miriam and her aunt are Jewish. Miriam is determined to go to the funeral and leave town.  But she finds out that the Christmas tree farm is not doing so well, and developers want to buy it. Miriam soon remembers why this place is so special to her and will do everything she can to save the Christmas tree farm. Noelle is the manager of the farm and wants Miriam gone as soon as possible. But, soon realizes there is more to Miriam and realizes Miriam might be the woman for her. 

This was a very cute Christmas romance book. It gives major Hallmark Christmas movie vibes, which I really enjoyed. I loved the overall plot of the story. I thought Miriam and Noelle's relationship was really cute. I really enjoyed how the characters really came into their own in this novel. If you are looking for a good book to get you in the Christmas mood I would highly suggest this one. Also, I have not read a lot of Christmas novels with queer characters, and I loved that. Overall, a really cute book. Thank you NetGalley, Forever Publishing, and Helena Greer for the ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I wanted to love this book and the characters. The premise of a queer love story on a Christmas farm peaked my interest but I struggled to connect with the main and side characters. What drove them outside of their trauma? They had single reasons to drive their behavior instead of a more complex or built out back story. The transitions between chapters seemed stilted and incongruent and I thought the book was just ok.

I love love love this story, which will not be a surprise to anyone on the team reading this. Helena and I are internet friends and I fell instantly head over heels with the entire Carrigans crew. This is a closed door slow burn that kept me riveted to the last page! Can't wait for Levi & Hannah's book!

This book was cute the characters were very quirky definitely not something I usually read but it was fun however it was a little to insta love for me other then that it was good

I was ready for a light hearted book and this cover looked like just the ticket. This book is of quirkiness. The characters are quirky. The art descriptions are quirky. Miriam Blum cut herself off from her family ten years ago with only a few people knowing the reason. When she gets the news that her Aunt Cass Carrigan has died she returns to the Carrigan Christmas Tree Farm to attend the funeral and sit shiva. Carrigan’s was her happy place growing up where she spent time with her cousin Hannah, and best friend Levi (Blue). At the farm she meets Noelle, a large beautiful butch, who manages the trees. She was accepted in by Cass while Miriam has been living in Charleston. Hannah and Noelle were told they would inherit the farm but in a surprise the aunt changes her will and it is also left to Miriam and Levi as well. And now they learn it is heavily in debt and it needs to be saved.

This is a set up like any Hallmark Christmas movie. I love so many things in the book. The writing style is very entertaining. Many lines had me laughing at the phrasing or pop culture references. The love of friends and family of choice is very strong. Side characters like the Mathews, Cole and even Miriam’s ex add to the story. I love that Miriam and Hannah are active in their Jewish faith and the various references to Judaism. I especially like the peace and community they get from their faith. Noelle story is equally deep. She’s lost her parents, is a recovering alcoholic and has trust issues.

The downside to the book is I felt like I read and read and not much happens. In a rare move for me I put the book down at 40 percent and read two other books. Returning to the book I was still struggling until about 60 percent then somehow things start moving. The romance between Miriam and Noelle was very instant. It is sweet that Noelle sees Miriam as this cute elf and the attraction goes both ways. But there is very little of just the two of them for a very long time. The book ends in a way that suggests this will be a series so I will look forward to Hannah’s story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ARC in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed this cute, holiday read. A adorable romance that was sweet and fun! Loved the story! Five stars!