Quick Stats
Age Rating: 18+
Spice Level: 2/5
Over All: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 4/5

Special thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.

This book was a ton of fun. It was such a heartwarming read and just what I wanted it to be when I picked it up. I only have one complaint—that I didn’t read it during the christmas season! Because, damn, am I wishing I could go wander around a christmas tree farm in the snow, sipping hot chocolate.
Stella is a main character you can’t help but love. She’s incredibly relatable, and her voice is distinct and engaging. I connected to her instantly, and it was all too easy to get invested in the things she was invested in: her farm, her found family, and her relationship with Luka.
I also loved Luka. He was sweet, swoony, and sexy. Everything a book boyfriend should be. Not to mention, his chemistry with Stella was visceral. I loved every interaction between them. Not only was there a playful heat, but there was a solid emotional foundation between them that only grew as the story went on.
I was a little concerned when the third act blow up went down. Stella’s thoughts and feelings on the matter had the potential to be really annoying to read about for a long period of time, but it wrapped itself up within a chapter and a half, which negated that issue.
There were a couple of inconsistencies, I suppose would be the best description, that I noticed. Stella talked constantly about how she moved around constantly when growing up and how she never set roots or made friends, yet she also repeatedly referenced growing up in Inglewild, and said in one point that when she was a kid, she and her mom often came to Lovelight Farms. Those types of statements were in opposition to each other. They could have been reconciled with a quick explanation somewhere or other—and maybe there was one that I missed, but it kept catching my attention.
The other thing that confused me was when she was supposed to have bought Lovelight Farms. For the first several chapters, I thought she’d been running the business for the past few years, at least three, no more than five. However I think she mentioned about 20% in that she had only bought it one year ago. This confused me because she references “usually running the farm was like this” or “typically, during this time of year I’d be doing that”, but that it was different this year because of money trouble. If she’d only experienced one year here, there wouldn’t really be a “usually” or a “typically”, there would just be a last year. She also just seemed to have too much experience running a farm for it to have only been going on a year.
Those are both really minor things, but every time there would be a mention of either I’d be momentarily drawn out of the story to try to reconcile it. However, it was always very easy to get drawn back in, so it isn’t too much of a complaint.
All in all, this is a sweet, feel-good read. It’s the perfect Christmas-time book, but it’s also fun any time of the year. I fell in love with the whole cast, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series and watch all of my favorite side characters get their own happily ever afters.

I like that this romance featured a couple who were friends first and then decided to take things further. It’s one of the tropes in romance novels that I find more believable than others. However, I didn’t love the premise. Why did Stella feel like she wasn’t worthy enough to have a business of her own? Sure, some customers might think it’s more romantic for a couple to own a Christmas tree farm together, but I think her owning it by herself is more inspiring. However, the book needed a setup, so it served its purpose.

Lovelight Farms is a sweet story about friends becoming lovers through a little bit of outside intervention. Perfect to read over the holidays, or anytime you want to curl up with a cute story.

This is a fun and sweet best-friends-to-lovers contemporary romance, and with a Christmas tree farm setting, small-town charm, and a fabulous cast of characters, the story has major Hallmark movie vibes. The protagonists, Stella and Luka, have a wonderful slow-burn romance. Best friends for a decade, both are afraid to admit their feelings and take their relationship to the next level, especially Stella. What if it fails? But when they start fake dating so that Stella can stay in the competition to save her farm things change.

The story takes place on a Christmas tree farm called Lovelight Farms, and it’s in a quaint little town with tons of charm. It’s the perfect backdrop to Stella and Luka’s love story, and it sounds like a place I’d love to visit, especially during the holidays. The Christmas spirit is definitely alive at Lovelight Farms, complete with an amazing National Lampoons Christmas Vacation reference. Love it!

The love story between Stella and Luka is a slow-building and lovely romance. I have to say, Luka is a patient man, and you can tell he is all in from the very beginning. He was just waiting for the right chance. In love with Stella for as long as they’d been friends, Luka knew she wasn’t ready for a committed relationship, and he was content to remain friends. However, you can tell from the start that his feelings run deep (as do Stella’s). Their transition from friends to more is so natural and so easy. They just needed a little push to get them past the friend zone and into the dating arena. There’s a lot of mutual pining between them as they take those tentative first steps.

Something I really liked about the story is how you see all the little ways Luka’s been telling Stella he loves her for years. She’s a little oblivious to his feelings, but as she starts to see his gestures as more than acts of friendship, it’s so romantic and endearing. I’ve never loved pine tree car fresheners as much as I did when I read this book! At one point, Stella reflects on her relationship with Luka and says he has filled the emptiness in her life. He was there at her darkest moments, and their friendship healed her in a way. They are so wonderful together, and their easy banter and amazing chemistry is just one of the highlights of the book.

The secondary characters are fantastic too. The phone tree is hysterical, especially Beckett’s participation in it, and the way the community all works together to support Stella is heartwarming. And I love Beckett and so need to read his story! Layla too. Stella, Beckett, Layla, and by extension Luka and a few others, form this wonderful found family, which is one of my favorite tropes. This is particularly poignant because Stella lost her mother and has a stilted relationship with her father. I love that she finds a family in her friends.

I would definitely recommend Lovelight Farms to contemporary romance readers, and I can’t wait to read the next in the series! A wonderful romance about friendship, love, and holiday magic, the plot has a bit of a mystery too as someone is trying to sabotage Stella’s business. It adds another layer to the story and raises the stakes even more for Stella. Special thanks to Berkley Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Hallmark-esque holiday romance with fake dating ,my best friend trope. It’s cute and and escapist fun. If you like hallmark Xmas movies, then this is right up your alley.

This was a such a cute book! I enjoyed the slow burn of the friends-to-lovers trope. Stella who owns a Christmas Tree Farm enters a social media competition to help her struggling farm.. She lies on her application that she has a boyfriend. When she finds out that she is a contestant, she asks people to pose as her boyfriend. After repeatedly hearing no, she turns to her long-time friend, Luka, to pose as her "boyfriend". The story unravels from there with a cast of likeable characters.
The book was cozy and charming as they navigate this unique situation. How can you ask for a more romantic location than a Christmas tree farm?!
#LovelightFarms #NetGalley

what an AMAZING read it was such a good slow burnish friends to lovers w an amazing twist in fam exacting!!! i want to exist in love light farms ONLY and that small town! utterly charming and delightful. i’m so excited to continue the series!

This story was a sweet friends to lovers romance that was reminiscent of watching a Hallmark Christmas movie. Stella and Luka have been friends for years and while Stella realizes her feelings for him aren't exactly platonic she doesn't want to risk losing him. That is until she enters a social media contest for her Christmas tree farm and mentions in her application that she runs the farm with her boyfriend. With the farm being hit by vandals and shipments going missing the farm is struggling and Stella is desperate for the prize money. When she is selected as one of the finalist for the contest she knows she has to enlist Luka's help and he agrees readily. What they don't bargain for is how badly the town has been waiting for them to get together (they had a pool going) and how easily they fit into the roles of boyfriend and girlfriend. They decide to do what feels right but what does that mean when the contest is over? Luka tells Stella they'll just continue. But continue what? Their friendship as it was before? Stella knows how she feels about Luka but can she risk potentially losing him by turning their friendship into something more?

I loved the friendship between Stella and Luka, it seemed super genuine and I was excited for their fake dating relationship. I think the setup for the fake dating was excellent, it made sense and it gave the perfect base for our characters.

I didn't like all the miscommunication between Stella and Luka. For being friends they really misread each other's signals a lot, especially Stella. It made everything kind of drag on for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me a digital copy of "Lovelight Farms" in exchange for an honest review.

"Lovelight Farms" is a delightful, holiday rom-com, featuring two best friends, falling in love. Stella is the owner of a Christmas tree farm/holiday attraction. She's been in love with her best friend Luke almost from the moment they met, 9 years prior. Luke is clearly equally invested in the relationship, but circumstances never really allowed them to act on their mutual attraction.

UNTIL NOW! Stella's tree farm is in financial trouble, and her grand solution is to enter a contest run by a popular influencer. The contest will give the farm more exposure to attract tourists but Stella is really counting on winning the grand prize to pull their finances out of the red. To make her entry more appealing, Stella lies and says she runs the farm with her boyfriend, imagining that role played by Luke, who readily agrees to play her fake boyfriend.

I am an absolute sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope. I love the transformation of their relationship, of layering one form of intimacy over the existing one. In this respect, "Lovelight Farms" is a great success. Stella and Luke are absolutely adorable together, and while it does seem like they should work some more on their communication skills, they have plenty of time for that while they live happily ever after.

Where the story is not quite as successful is... almost everywhere else. It's a little cluttered in how many other issues there are and a little unbalanced in how much the plot focuses on them. It's a pet peeve of mine when authors stack up big issues to overcome and then those issues are all downplayed. This story has several such issues.

For example, there is a saboteur at work. Deliveries are going missing, trees are being damaged. These things all contribute to the serious financial strain, AND YET, it takes the heroine half the book to conclude that these things are deliberate, even though they started before the story's opening. When she hesitantly comes to this conclusion, she doesn't call the local law enforcement, even though the sheriff is a father figure. There's only one minor hint about who it could be and once the "big reveal" occurs, the explanation for it is pretty silly. I did appreciate, however, that the resolution of this subplot is part of how the business is saved.

Meanwhile, the influencer contest that kicks the whole story off is a letdown. Stella talks and frets, (We MUST seem believable as a couple!!!) but the influencer doesn't arrive until the toward the end of the book. When she does, it's... not really all that much at all. The contest is the catalyst for the whole story, but it doesn't make a huge difference in the end. It seems like it'll be much more important for the second book in the series.

There's also Stella's unresolved family issues. Her father left her mother pregnant and Stella didn't actually meet him until she tracked him down following her mother's death. Since then, he's remained disapproving and distant, going so far to host a fake Thanksgiving to avoid having to invite her to the actual holiday. This year, at Fake Thanksgiving, her father crashes into the room, blind drunk and passes out in his food. After that one scene, he is never heard from again (which, admittedly, it pretty on-brand for him.) This guy is a major cause of Stella's abandonment issues, but he barely plays a bit role. He just demands she bring a pie to dinner, drools in a gravy boat, and disappears. I would have loved to see her work more on her issues with this to bring the story to a heartier conclusion.

I DID really like how the farm's financial difficulties were resolved. Without spoiling the ending, it wasn't a magical, unrealistic conclusion. It made a lot of sense, and I respect the heck out of that.

Overall, I liked it. Certainly enough that I will read the second book. If you don't want to think really hard and you don't care whether all the plot lines are totally resolved, this book is a cute, fast read. Stella and Luke are great together and the cast of characters were fun.

Lovelight Farms is a charming small town, fake dating, friends to lovers romance. BK Borison creates engaging, down-to-earth characters that readers can’t help rooting for.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stella met her BFF Luka nine years ago following her mother’s death. While she’s always been attracted to him, she’s never acted on her feelings because she’s afraid she’d lose him as part of her life. But while entering an influencer’s contest to help save her financially struggling Christmas tree farm, she mentions her “boyfriend.” When Lovelight Farms makes it to the finals and an in person visit, Stella realizes she needs a boyfriend fast. Who better to ask than her bestie Luka? But with so much “fake” togetherness, what happens with their very real feelings?

Luka’s actions make his feelings for Stella clear from the beginning, and it’s apparent he has no intention of walking away from her. But, Stella’s fear of losing the people she loves most is what keeps her from acting on her romantic feelings for Luka. She doesn’t want to imagine her life without him, even if it means their relationship stays platonic.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book, but once I did I really enjoyed it. Stella and Luka, along with all the other residents of Inglewild, are absolutely charming. It’s clear from the beginning that these two are both attracted to each other; while this story is told only in Stella’s point of view, the author does a great job of making it clear that Luka too is smitten all along. And, when things finally heat up between them, it feels inevitable.

While this book is set at a Christmas tree farm, the holiday theme isn’t too overwhelming or distracting from all the friends to lovers, fake dating goodness. Lovelight Farms is a fantastic kick off to this small town romance series, and I can’t wait to read more.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is one of my favorite books and I’m so proud and happy for the author for getting it traditionally published and picked up by Berkley! I completely believed in the couples chemistry and I was rooting for them all throughout the book. It was such a joy to read and I recommend this book to everyone. Even though it is mostly focused during the Christmas time, I think it is a book that can be enjoyed all year long.

Why did it take me so long to read this series?? My fav, @book.sleeves.and.recipes recommended this series to me a lifetime ago and I've had it flagged to read through my Hoopla for ages! Thanks to my partnering with Berkley Romance, this one popped back up on my radar and I knew I had to read it!

B.K. Borison, this book was enchanting and made me want to go out and buy a fresh Christmas tree in the middle of May.

Lovelight Farms has seen better days. The tree farm is barely turning a profit and Stella isn't really scraping by. She's long since forfeited her salary to ensure her employees are paid. However, with her latest instance of misfortune, a lot of trees are sick and dying, Stella is forced to face this music. That is until she sees a competition on a reality tv show that may be the answer to all her problems. Determined to turn things around, Stella applies and so begins a series of lies that snowball as time goes on.

Luka is Stella's bestie and he knows something is wrong. Unexpectedly he shows up at the farm and waltzing himself right into the role of fake boyfriend. Can these two friends fake date or will their friendship be forever altered?

I loved Luka from the beginning. His level of caring for Stella is truly unmatched and his loyalty is unflappable. Sometimes it takes a little bit of fate to intervene and help us see what's been there all along.

I am eager to read B.K. Borison's next book and thanks to Berkley Romance, I'll be doing that later today!

I’m not usually a friends to lovers fan, but this one was just so cozy and lovely and worked so well. Luca and Stella are adorable and oblivious and THAT SETTING. A Christmas tree farm? Come on. This is the ultimate holiday romance and one I’ll definitely reread when the weather outside is frosty and I’m snuggled up with some hot cocoa.

How can a cardboard tree make you tear up?
This story is a very sweet story about how grief can make us push people away. This best friends to lovers, fake dating romance ticked the best boxes, and the third act was short and sweet. I'm so excited to read more B.K. Borison soon! The freckles sealed the deal for me.

Wow, I am so disappointed in myself for failing to jump on this bandwagon sooner. This was one of the cutest holiday romances I have ever read. Luka’s obvious pining had me going FERAL.


I loved Stella and Luka’s friendship. It was adorable, and their history made their romance so much sweeter. The side characters are also quirky and fun (and excuse me while I go binge read their books…). There were also some great funny moments (the epilogue made me giggle out loud-silly Stella).

This is a quick and fun read for any romance lover!

The most darling Christmas romance novel about two longtime friends. It's a truly charming slowburn friends to lovers story starring a cast of loveable, quirky townspeople that will make you wish you lived in a quant New England town with a phone tree!

this book has a cop point a gun at a character and treats it like it's cute and protective. no no no no no forever.

This is a friends to lovers with a holiday theme and fake dating thrown in to boot.

I tried to love this book, but I didn't seem to connect with it the way other people did. I love a good friends to lovers trope, I also love a good fake dating book, they both have their pitfalls and awkward moments that usually lead to the characters opening up or great nekky times. However, Luka and Stella just felt awkward from the get go. While I did sense Luka liked Stella, there wasn't that instant chemistry that usually drives these kinds of tropes, at least what I'm normally used to reading. 

The story revolves around Stella's dilapidated farm and how Stella is hoping that one Instagram influencer is going to hopefully revive it when she -cross fingers- wins a contest. That's a lot of pressure all the way around, but add in that Stella lied on her application saying she runs the farm with her boyfriend. This is where Luka comes into the picture since they've been friends for years. Also, don't get me started on the friends, but they seem to lack talking topic...

I'm just going to say, this felt more like Woman's Lit with a touch of romance and honestly, in today's world, it probably would have been a better story if the book leaned more into empowering women to run a business instead of forcing this idea that women need a man to fake their way into winning a competition. Trust me, I'm all about people finding love and I like that Luka and Stella eventually find their way to it, but the plot didn't thrill me. 
A 3.5 read overall.

This is such a super cute romance, fun, sweet, heartwarming and very enjoyable, it is a definite must-read for any romance reader who loves an easy-to-read book to devour over a weekend.
I've not read anything by B.K. Borison before, but after reading this charming book I will certainly be looking out for more of her work in the future.
This is a tenderly written and very, very cute little small-town romance set on a Christmas tree farm - yup, Christmas has come seven months early, LOL!!
I have to admit that friends to lovers haven't always been my favourite trope as sometimes I find that the characters are dragging their feet too much and plainly refuse to see what's before their eyes, but I really enjoyed this when there is an element of wanting to bang their heads together and shout 'open your eyes you fools' but the light and easy writing and sweet plot pulls every together beautifully and keeps your reading.
Overall, a sweet and enjoyable story, the perfect light reading for a weekend!

This was such a cute holiday read! A slow burn friends to lovers. I absolutely loved it and I am beyond excited to read the rest of the books in the series!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐