Really enjoyed this one! Super cute long time friends to fake dating to maybe more... The characters are very well written, definitely feel like I got to know a whole group of people in this town. Can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series so I can stay in this town even longer! Love the setting of a Christmas tree farm. The best part was Luka and Stella, of course. Their friendship is lovely, they have the sweetest way about each of them and especially together.

Only a couple of issues: the freckles across the bridge of Luka's nose were mentioned at least 3 times early on. It felt like I was rereading a chapter when I came across it again and again.
Readers should also know you could read this any time of year because for most of the book, it's not Christmas. I expected more Christmassy things!

Overall, definitely an adorable novel and recommend for those who enjoy a slow building friends to lovers trope and like some Christmas sprinkled in.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC audio.

"And isn't it silly, to love the way someone's things look like next to yours? Little bits and pieces of a life lived in parallel."

Lovelight Farms was my FAVORITE Christmas read of last season, & maybe my favorite Christmas read even EVER!!!! 🥰 This entire story is sugar and spice, and everything nice! It's just one big warm hug that will leave you with all the feels! Not to mention a few scenes that will leave your cheeks a little rosy. Who know casual analysis could be so sexy

Stella Bloom's dream of owning a Christmas tree farm was supposed to be something dreams are made of - romantic and fun, "a magical, winter fairyland." Yet it has quickly become more of a nightmare in the past year. Stella is up to her eyeballs in debt, it's one problem after another. Not to mention an entire pasture of dead trees "that look like something out of a Tim Burton film." Think Nightmare Before Christmas Nightmare

Fear not - Stella has a solution to all her troubles! All she has to do is charm the heck out of Evelyn St. James, a social media influencer, and win her contest. If she accomplishes this, she will gain more social media presence and not to mention a $100,000 cash prize. The problem is Stella may have lied on the application and said she owned the farm with her boyfriend to make it more romantic - only there is no boyfriend.

Que Luka Peter, a tall, dreamy Italian with adorable freckles and caramel eyes. Oh, and Stella's best friend. Luka is a fun, easy-going guy with just the perfect amount of sarcasm. He will melt your heart with gentle touches of affection and slow dancing in the kitchen. (I'll just be swooning over here 🥰)

Stella and Luka are beyond entrancing together. You will fall in love with these two in the first couple of pages. Their meet-cute is the thing of movies (or books in this case) where an instant friendship is formed. It's the type of friendship everyone dreams of having, and Stella has it. She can't risk losing Luka as her best friend to fake date him and save her farm. Stella has learned through life experiences not to depend on anyone; they'll just leave. But when it comes to Luka, he has been constant for over a decade, and she doesn't want to picture her life without him. Will the "fake dating" change it all???

You will fall hard for Luka and Stella, not to mention the entire town of Inglewild, as they come together to support Stella.

"Don't you know yet, Stella? This is your home. "Chi si volta, e chi sira, sempre a casa va finire... Where ever you go, you will always end up at home." "

✨Dream Scape Media did an amazing job in narrating this beautiful story. I was held captive by every word spoken. They lifted the words right off the page and allowed me to be lost in the world of Lovelight while going through my daily tasks. The narrator did a spectacular job at capturing the inflection in every word, making sure their voices held the perfect tone for every moment.

I highly recommend, reading Lovelight Farms in this format or any format really!

🎄Read if you like: 🎄
-fake dating
-friends to lovers
-small-town charm
-Christmas tree farms
-a strong secondary character
-Italian food
-Slow dancing in the kitchen
-casual analysis
-spicy
-grilled cheese sandwiches
-IsThisAKissingBook - 18+

This was such a cute Christmas romance. It was equal parts fluff and warm tingly feelings. This friends to lovers romance is just what my heart needed to read. So sweet and heart warming! I’d recommend to anyone in the mood for a soft, cozy, romantic read!

The Lovelight Farms series is a gift. An absolute gem. It is the *perfect* holiday read - but I read this smack in the middle of summer and enjoyed every bit of it then too.

I loved everything about this story -
A CHRISTMAS TREE FARM?! 💕
The tree air fresheners?? 💕
The quirky brother? 💕
The ultimate friendship trio? 💕
THE KITTENS? 💕

I could literally list every element in this book. It was so enjoyable to read. Stella and Luca both are just ... wonderful. I want to be more thorough with my review, - this is a lot of gushing - but honestly - IT'S ALL JUST GOOD. It feels good. It's cozy. It fills your heart. It makes you happy.

Watching these two move from friends to lovers, agreeing the fake relationship and then Luca going all in to make it real, Stella playing along ... the story unfolds SO WELL and I loved every moment of it. It is. the. perfect. rom com.

Tropes I loved:
Fake Dating? ✔️
Friends-to-lovers? ✔️
Forced Proximity? ✔️

The sequel, In the Weeds, was a fantastic follow-up to this book. I cannot wait to dive into Mixed Signals - book 3 of 4!

I received an Advanced Copy of this audiobook courtesy of Dreamscape Media and NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.
Find me on TikTok @peridotpages

Thank you Dreamscape Media and B.K. Borison for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review! Lovelight Farms is available via audiobook on September 20, 2022!

--The Story--

The story of Lovelight Farms was an absolute delight. It contained so many tropes that I absolutely adore: best friends-to-lovers, fake dating, "it's always been you," and so much pining! On any given day, I love reading a romance with these tropes, and the fact that this book also took place during the holidays made it even more magical.

I loved the relationship between Stella and Luka. Even before things began to progress between them romantically, I adored just how comfortable and at ease these two were with each other. Even as they began to "pretend" and take their relationship to new heights, they continued to bring up "it's weird that it's not weird," and I think that's due to the well established and deeply rooted friendship they shared.

I was BLOWN AWAY by Luka. That boy is smooooooth and good with his words. I thought he was so well written and something that stood out to me was that I didn't feel like I was missing having his POV in the book. Oftentimes with a book like this, sometimes there's miscommunication or a misperception of the love interest because you only have the main character's viewpoint. However, B.K. Borison made Luka's affection for Stella as plain as day. And then she gave us that epilogue from his point of view! It was truly the icing on the cake.

The only thing that fell a bit flat for me in this book was the conflict---particularly towards the end.

All in all, I think this book is a great read and one people should add to their holiday TBR. I am really looking forward to checking out more of the Lovelight Farms series and reading about Beckett and Evelyn's story!

Favorite Quote: "It's hard to love someone without restraint. To give yourself over to the swell and pull of it without fear of what might happen. I think it's only natural to hold a part of yourself back and protect what you can."

--The Audiobook--

I think the audiobook was well done! Very easy to listen to, follow along, and be engaged in the story. There were moments where the quality of the audio sounded a little like the narrator was underwater or robotic. I think that may just be due to this being an advance copy and not the final product.

Story rating: 4/5 Stars
Audiobook rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Story Review:

It really was a cute, comforting, holiday read. Fake relationship is one of my favorite tropes and this was a good example of why.

The writing itself was charming. I’ve been trying to make it a point to highlight on Kindle whenever text resonates with me and I found myself highlighting a lot in this book. This felt like a Hallmark movie without any of the forced interactions. Everything felt authentic and real.

I know the story’s about Stella and Luka, but I couldn’t help falling in love with Beckett as the story went on.

If you haven’t read it yet and want a cute holiday romcom to cleanse the reading palate, this is a perfect choice. I can’t say enough good things about it and I can’t wait to read more from Becca.


Audiobook Review:
I love this story so it was great to be able to listen to it as well as read the physical book. I would say that the physical book is more enjoyable because the narrator is not exactly what I heard from Stella in my head. This is the same narrator who reads Evie in In The Weeds and I feel like she’s more Stella than Evie… but still not quite. Overall an enjoyable listen because it’s such a wonderful story.

LOVE LOVE LOVED!

This was my first time reading this book (it was on my TBR for this December), but since this is only a new audiobook release, my review will focus on that specific aspect.

Pippa Jayne NAILED this so hard! This was one of those narrations that sounded more like acting than a person reading a book aloud. She really honed in on Stella's personality. The delivery of Stella's lines was just as funny as B.K. Borison's writing. There were several moments that I may have internally chuckled had I physically read the book, but it was Pippa's delivery that made me laugh out loud.

As for the book itself, I'll be buying a physical copy because I need both in my life. I was enamored with Stella and Luca has been added to my list of top book boyfriends.

In summary, this was HOT, sweet, hilarious and adorable perfection.

Adorable rom-com with a friends to lover trope. An easy read with all the winter/holiday season feels.

I love this book! SO EXCITED FOR PEOPLE TO HEAR THE AUDIO BOOK! Give me all the christmas vibes!
the narrators are so so good!

I have been wanting to read this book for so long. I was so excited to see the audiobook on NetGalley.

The narrator was great and I really loved this story. Luka and Stella were so adorable and I love the side characters.

I’m super excited to read Evelyn and Beckett’s story next!

I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series!

Thank you to netgalley, dreamscape media and the author, Becs Borrison for my ALC of Lovelight Farms. This was my third time reading this book - i love it that much and will never get tired of it! i loved being back in Inglewold on Lovelight Farms with y favourites - Stellla, Luka, Beckett and Layla!

The narrator was also great! it fits perfectly with this book being single POV. I cannot wait to listen to the rest of the books as they are dual POV!

Bring on the holiday reads!

This book had several pluses telling me to read it...

* Christmas Story
I love Christmas stories, it doesn't matter the genre...Thriller/Murder...make it happen on Christmas....Romance... want snow, hot cocoa and a
Hallmark movie feel

* Friends to Lovers
One of my favorite tropes and my own marriage is proof that it can happen

* Fake Dating
The only thing I like better than friends hooking up is people faking it...I love the bits of tension it can add to the story

B.K. Borison didn't fail me on any of the above with Lovelight Farms.

Stella Bloom has a struggling Christmas tree farm that she is trying to save by entering a contest. She wants her farm to appear romantic so she enlists Luka Peters, her long-time best friend to pose as her long-time boyfriend and business partner.

I really enjoyed Stella and Luca, both were enjoyable to read about and so darn cute together. Stella's long-time ( I feel like I am using this word ALOT ) crush on Luca, makes some cute and funny reading.

The story is a bit of a slow-burn romance, mostly because neither Stella nor Luca seems to think the other isn't capable of actually liking the other, along with the fact that each of them might be a bit worried about how this will affect their friendship.

But OH BOY is there chemistry between these two. I guess each had years of it building that tension up. The author gives us some pretty steamy " fake " makeout sessions, that might make some of you blush.

I also really enjoyed the secondary characters of Layla and Beckett, especially Beckett with his grumpiness. Since Lovelight Farms is the first in a new series, I am hoping Borison will focus the next book on the two of them, they definitely have an interesting story.

Seriously y'all, Lovelight Farms is cute, funny, heartwarming, and sexy, so if you are a fan of Christmas Romances this one will have you smiling.

WELL...THIS WAS A DELIGHT! I had heard people talking about this book last year, but hadn’t jumped on the bandwagon until I saw that the audio version was coming out and OH BOY I am so glad I waited to listen because it was so wonderful!! This book has lively and kind characters and a cozy and welcoming environment and it will make you want to burrito into a blanket and curl up with a cup of hot cocoa! My favorite trope is friends-to-lovers so it was inevitable that I would fall in love with Luka and LaLa’s relationship (SWOON)! Also, who doesn’t enjoy a Fake Dating plot?!

Indeed I thought this was super sweet and I loved that you were dropped into a loving friendship full of history and humor! I am SO EXCITED for the other books in this series, no doubt they will bring me as many butterflies and sweetness as this one did!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for my honest review!

I already loved this story, so I’m very happy it now has an audiobook!

The narrator is excellent! Highly recommend!

I had already read this book last Christmas and loved it and when I saw that I could request the audiobook version to re-read this fantastic book I jumped at the chance. The main characters' tension was evident from the very beginning of the book and their chemistry is electric. We all knew that they loved each other from the beginning of the book but the lead-up to them confessing to each other kept me on my toes even though it was my second read-through. The narrator did a good job of making me feel emersed in the book with her different voices for each character and the expressive way she narrates. At first, I had my doubts about the narrator being right for the part, but I was proven wrong over time as she seemed like the most natural choice by the time I finished. Looooved this book and I feel like it'll be a book that I continue to read over and over every year around Christmas. Looking forward to reading the other two books in the series very soon.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

✨ Review ✨ Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison; Narrated by Pippa Jayne

Stella owns a small town Christmas tree farm, but it's been floundering as endless challenges have offset their revenue, everything from raccoons taking over the barn to a pasture of trees mysteriously dying. She applies to a contest with social media influencer Evelyn St. James, but lies on the application that she co-owns the farm with her boyfriend. She co-opts her best friend Luka into fake dating to set a more romantic scene for Evelyn's social media tour, because the farm really needs Evelyn's publicity and hopefully her $100,000 contest prize.

Luka and Stella decide to test out their love over the week, following any avenue that strikes them to really give it a shot. What will happen at the end of the week?

This was a glorious Christmas-themed book - perfect to read in the holiday season. It's been on my list since last year when friends raved about it, but I was so excited to give the new audio copy a listen! It's full of delicious Christmas goodies, holiday lights and decor, and feel good relationships. It's as sweet and steamy as a mug of peppermint hot cocoa (don't forget the whipped cream!)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: contemporary romance; Christmas/holiday
Location: small-town Christmas Tree farm
Pub Date: out now, but audiobook out on Sept 20, 2022

Read this if you like:
⭕️ Christmas - trees, treats, and celebrations galore
⭕️ found family & friends to lovers & fake dating
⭕️ small town drama like the local coffee shop owner that doles out hazelnut lattes only to her faves
⭕️ data analysis in the bedroom
⭕️ a loveable cast of human and kitten characters

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and #netgalley for an advanced audio copy of this book!

It's easy to see why this friends to lovers romance is so popular - it is completely swoony and CHARMING, with a great found family feel and an intriguing cast of characters. I also adored the hero, who is so obviously head over heels for his girl from the moment he meets her. There are TONS of moments that made me swoon... which just made me even more frustrated with the heroine for being so oblivious. The only person who didn't know that these two would end up together was her, and that made for SO MANY moments where I wanted to shake her. I'm really not a friends to lovers girl though, so maybe that's your jam, lol. The good news is that there was so much other stuff to love about the story that it (almost) made up for my frustration. It's a stellar debut, setting up a series that promises to be incredibly heartwarming and adorable - and also kinda sexy.

The story follows Stella, a woman who bought a Christmas-themed tree farm about a year ago. She loves everything about it, but a series of issues has lead to some serious financial woes. When Stella has the opportunity to compete for a social media influencer's cash prize and media exposure for the farm, she jumps at the chance. But she also finds herself claiming that she runs the farm with her boyfriend, Luka. The only problem? Luka is actually her best friend, the man who has had her back for the last nine years. Sure, Stella might wish that Luka was her boyfriend, but he's become way too important to her to ever cross that line - she can't risk losing him. So when Luka agrees to be her fake boyfriend, Stella is uncertain what effect it will have on their relationship.

I'm not the biggest friends to lovers fan, but I've heard so many great things about this series that I decided to start at the beginning - my initial attempt to read book 2 was unsuccessful because I hadn't read this one yet. So I already knew that I'd have mixed feelings about Stella and Luka's dynamic, which was definitely the case. They've basically been in an intimate relationship for the last nine years, they've just never shared the titles or crossed that physical line. Which is why it was frustrating to me that they'd continued to hook up with other people in that time; they both just seemed to be in too deep to go there with others. I completely understood why they chose the path of friends over lovers - Stella was grieving when they met, and Luka knew that the timing wasn't right. The fact that they were still in the same place nine years later is what drove me crazy, as well as Stella's reluctance to do anything about her feelings. But that's just me. Beyond that, I loved pretty much everything else about the book, particularly the guys - which is excellent news for the rest of the series. The found family aspect that ties the series together was so well done, and I'm already eager to read some of the other love stories that center around this group. Not only is the vibe charming and swoony, but there's depth hidden underneath the lighthearted storyline. Friends to lovers fans will probably enjoy this installment the most, but I do recommend it as an introduction to the series.

Audio note: The audio was good! The story is told exclusively from Stella's point of view, so there is a single narrator. I didn't love her voice initially, but it grew on me once I got several chapters in. It was actually pretty soothing, the kind of voice that would put me right to sleep at bedtime. Not sure if that's a compliment or not, lol. But I enjoyed listening to this on audio, and it enhanced the story for me. This would make a great workday listen, because the runtime is short enough to finish in a single day, and the ultra-slow burn lends itself perfectly to that environment. Definite small town vibes with the story, which makes it such an easygoing, comfortable read. It's low to mid-heat, with a few steamy situations in the back half. I do recommend it on audio.

I loved this story when I read it for the first time earlier this year, so much so that I wanted to do a reread of it and the second book before the third is released at the end of August, so when I saw that the new narrated version was available here on NetGalley, I requested it immediately! I enjoyed the story itself just as much this time as the first time I read it, but am taking off .25 star because I am picky about narrators and, though Pippa James was good for a North American voice (I tend to focus better on and prefer British accents), the tone she took on for male characters bothered me and took me out of the story a bit. 4.75 stars total.

Oh how I adored this! I’m sad I didn’t read it earlier, but I’m beyond thrilled that the whole series is now being released as audiobooks as well. As a mom, audiobooks are much more accessible for me.

Lovelight Farms combined two of my favorite tropes- friends to lovers and fake dating. I love the sweet friendship and intimacy’s between Luka and Stella. Stella is trying to win a contest to save her tree farm and notes on the application that she runs it with her boyfriend. She asks Luka to be her fake boyfriend and he immediately agrees. It’s easy to see for everyone but Stella how much he cares for her and that this is anything but fake. I loved the slow burn as their friendship becomes more. Stella runs the farm with Layla and Beckett and I’m thrilled they are both getting their own books! I had to laugh picturing Beckett on his tractor with the little kittens. After reading this, you can’t help but with Lovelight Farms was real. I really enjoyed the narrator and especially thought the emotional scenes at the end were done well. I also loved that the epilogue was in Luka’s POV. This last part has me swooning even more. I’m officially counting down to September so I can listen to In the Weeds!

I am sad to say that I did not love this book near as much as I thought I would. I did have very high expectations for it, so that might be part of it.

This is a friends to lovers fake dating Christmas romance. Stella owns a Christmas tree farm that is having a lot of financial problems. She enters a contest put on by an influencer to get publicity and hopefully the prize money. When she finds out she was picked as one of the contestants, she realizes she has a problem. She listed on the application that she owns the farm with her boyfriend, but there is no boyfriend. She asks her best friend Luka to be her pretend boyfriend.

I loved the premise of this, and that it is set at a Christmas tree far. It fell kind of flat for me though. Luka and Stella have been in love with each other forever, but have never said anything. Now that they are fake dating, Stella is worried about their friendship and what they will do when this week of pretending is over. Luka keeps saying nothing will change (meaning he wants to keep dating. But he’s not being clear in how he says it, and Stella’s not picking up what he means). They quickly decide to just do whatever feels good this week. While there are some steamy moments throughout the book, the one sex scene towards the end of the book is soooo long. I found myself skimming it.

The ending of the story with the Christmas tree air fresheners was super cute, but otherwise this was just an okay read for me. It was also only from Stella’s POV the whole time. I got used to it and didn’t really mind it, but I would have loved some chapters from Luka’s POV. I’m interested in Beckett’s story in book 2, but I felt like this book tried too hard to set us up for book 2.