AUTHOR: Courtney Kae GENRE: LGBT+ Romance PAGES: 230 RELEASED: 30 August 2022 SERIES: Fern Falls #1 SYNOPSIS: Morgan Ross can plan world-class events, but she didn’t plan on returning to the hometown that broke her heart seven years ago—and re-discovering the girl of her dreams . . . With her career as a Los Angeles event planner imploding after a tabloid blowup, Morgan Ross isn’t headed home for the holidays so much as in strategic retreat. Breathtaking mountain vistas, quirky townsfolk, and charming small businesses aside, her hometown of Fern Falls is built of one heartbreak on top of another . . . Take her one-time best friend turned crush, Rachel Reed. The memory of their perfect, doomed first kiss is still fresh as new-fallen snow. Way fresher than the freezing mud Morgan ends up sprawled in on her very first day back, only to be hauled out via Rachel’s sexy new lumberjane muscles acquired from running her family tree farm. When Morgan discovers that the Reeds’ struggling tree farm is the only thing standing between Fern Falls and corporate greed destroying the whole town’s livelihood, she decides she can put heartbreak aside to save the farm by planning her best fundraiser yet. She has all the inspiration for a spectacular event: delicious vanilla lattes, acoustic guitars under majestic pines, a cozy barn surrounded by brilliant stars. But she and Rachel will ABSOLUTELY NOT have a heartwarming holiday happy ending. That would be as unprofessional as it is unlikely. Right? This book was kindly sent to me by Netgally in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. “The world needs more queer holiday romances, don’t you think?”
When her holiday plans blow up after a tabloid scandal cancels the event she was planning, Morgan Ross takes a chance on heading home to Fern Falls to help organise a holiday fundraiser, hoping it’ll help her tarnished image. She hasn’t been back to her mountain-side home for years, not since she packed up her life for bigger things in LA, leaving behind her father, friends, and her former best friend-turned-crush Rachel Reed. Morgan’s plan is to be in and out of town before she has to see too many people, especially Rachel, but that plan is foiled the moment she arrives and accidentally crashes into the sign for Reed Family Tree Farm, and she’s suddenly face-to-face with the girl who broke her heart. Turns out, her other best friend Ben has set her up, hoping that Morgan’s event planning expertise can help raise funds for the tree farm to save it from the corporate business sucking the life out of a neighbouring town. Morgan and Rachel have to face their feelings for one another, and the events that lead to their heartbreak after graduation, if they stand a chance at saving Fern Falls, their friendship, and maybe even a future together. This book had me at Hallmark vibes and had me hooked from the very first page! There’s nothing like a cute Hallmark holiday film, so I adored having those vibes in book form – Courtney aced all the cute, snow-filled Christmas fun with a generous serving of sapphic goodness! If Hallmark is looking to make their Christmas films a little more queer, this is a story they need to adapt! Second-chance romance is always a really fun trope, and I particularly loved Courtney’s use of flashbacks to help us experience first-hand the history between Morgan and Rachel, alongside their reconnection in present time. The development from high school crushes, to heartbroken ‘enemies’, to working together to try to save their town, to rekindling their relationship, was an absolute journey and I loved being on the ride. It was a rollercoaster of feels, and I couldn’t get enough of these characters and this world. Escaping to Fern Falls was such a joy, and while I adored following the romance between Morgan and Rachel, I also really enjoyed exploring this setting and learning about all the townspeople – as someone from a small town, I felt very at home, even though I don’t live anywhere near the snow. I am SO keen for the next book – In The Case Of Heartbreak – because I fell in love with the next two protagonists from the moment we met them and I just know Courtney is going to deliver another fun queer romance! Hurry up April 2023! Make the holidays gay with this snow-filled queer romance that will have you booking a ticket for a snowy mountain escape to find your own flannel-wearing, axe-wielding girlfriend! |
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