Unfortunately this book was a huge miss for me.

I think that the characters were written very young, and the voices would have been better suited for high school age as opposed to new adult.

I found myself skimming through very large portions as the writing was disjointed, and the two timelines felt forced and could have been better served every few chapters instead of every other.

I think the concept of using a song as inspiration for a story is a really good one, this just fell flat.

this is a 2.5 -
this wasn't a bad book, it was actually super cute and i liked the idea behind it.
i did however find it to be a little repetitive. the on again off again really frustrated me
i also couldn't get my head around just how famous the mc was? in some chapters she was hyped up to be a huge star but then it was mentioned how she lived in a small studio apartment and hoped with future projects she'd have more money to move? it was just a little hard to picture who she was because of this so i struggled to connect with her unfortunately
THAT SAID, i know that the author is only 16! so i think as a debut novel at 16 years old this is actually pretty good! the author shows a lot of promise and i look forward to seeing what she does next!
thank you to netgalley and the author for my copy of the book!

This was a quick easy read but sadly I just didn’t connect with the writing style and found myself getting irritated throughout the book.

I tried but this style is not my thing. It reads like a teenagers diary, and not just in the flashback.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review though.

This one was okay, not my favourite holiday read. It was a little YA for me but I felt like it had potential. I did like the dual timelines and I love a second chance trope.

This was cute and light festive read about troubled actress/singer Aspen who returns home for Christmas and works together with her first love Roman on directing a church play.

I like the concept of this book being based on the Taylor Swift song of the same name and having a playlist but I couldn't sit and listen to the songs as I was reading and don't really care enough to listen after.

This was a fairly quick read but probably one I wouldn't revisit.

With thanks to Parson Press for the ARC

This was a cute holiday read.

Second chance romance.

Roman is selfless and supportive.

Aspen escaped LA after a scandal, losing friends, home and best friend all in a few hours.

With a past/present timeline this story was incredible.

You get the fall in love twice.

I wanted to give this a try because I’m a huge Taylor swift fan. I loved the way there was a playlist and a song for each chapter, but I found the writing to be juvenile - which makes sense because the author is a teen! I wish I had realized that going in, but I didn’t and I found myself unimpressed for most of the book.

An adorable holiday read. I love the push and pull between two main characters. I am a sucker for second chance romances and this hit right where I wanted it to. Plus, the Taylor Swift inspired moments were great.

You can see Taylor Swift's influence throughout the book. Based on the title, I could tell the idea of having someone you reconnect with whenever you're home would be incorporated throughout. It also had Dorthea and Invisible String influences.

Personally, I think the songs as chapters were a bit too much, especially with how many were Taylor Swift songs. If there was a CD that they would always listen to or something to tie them in then it would make more sense.

Small town, second chance, forced proximity….yes, yes and yes.

I feel like there are going to be more than a few people who have heard a song by ‘that’ artist and wish that the lyrics had been written into a book….well, this is that book.

There are parts where the dialogue didn’t work for me, because it was less ‘New Adult’ and still firmly ‘YA’. That isn’t a swipe at YA. I enjoy reading YA, but if you progress the ages of the characters, then the dialogue should change, because it would naturally change with age/experience, although potentially there is an argument for ‘stunted adolescence’, so maybe that still works.

The story was wholesome and I liked the way Aspen grew into her own and became more likeable as human by the end….it was touch and go there for me for a while. It potentially was getting a little ‘too sweet’ but the chapters are short which makes for quick and easy reading.

This book had no business being as cute as it was! If you’ve ever listened to ‘Tis the damn season by Taylor Swift and thought, ‘I wish there was a book about this couple’ (I mean, who hasn’t?), then you’re in luck because this book was written for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for an honest review.

This one just wasn't for me, I couldn't get into it. Although I commend the author for following her dream and putting herself out there and will read whatever she writes in the future!

This book could have been a lot more fun if the MC hadn't been so unlikeable. This couple definitely needed to stay apart rather than get together. The FMC is arrogant, entitled and seems oblivious to people around her. The MMC was basically Gilmore Girls' Dean, but older and more rugged. The characters felt very flat and I feel the story could have had a lot more depth to it. Also; I don't like epilogues set a couple of years later, unless they actually add to a story and address a (former) issue. This one didn't do that and I really didn't need it to end with a pregnancy

Read if you like:
Taylor Swift & the Hometown Guy
Transition from fall to the holidays
Second Chance

You should know:
Definitely skews YA
Includes a playlist with songs for each chapter, which is fun!

Would primarily recommend for Swifties, but it was a fun little holiday season read!

When singer Aspen Moore is caught in a cheating scandal, she decides to head to her hometown of Fertsville to recover with her family. When there, she reconnects with her first love Roman Torres as they're doing the children's Christmas show together. They know they have to keep it platonic as she doesn't want to move home and he doesn't want to move to LA but they can't deny their chemistry and it gets harder to deny their feelings towards one another. Could they both be willing to work together to have a happy ending.

This was a decent holiday read. I loved Roman he was so sweet and such a loving person trying to help everyone and always finding the good in people. I struggled to connect with Aspen she was too whiny for me and it felt like everything had to be about her regardless of what anyone else was going through. I feel like more could've happened on the romance part too. I also didn't enjoy the taylor swift-ness of it, it was way too much for me.

I recommend if you really like Taylor swift and celebrity romance novels.

This one just didn't do it for me. It felt really young. Not great but not awful. I love a good Taylor Swift reference though.

‘Tis the Damn Season is a fun holiday romance told in dual storylines. Aspen is a disgraced Hollywood starlet returned to her hometown and hometown flame to do some soul searching and direct a children’s nativity. I especially loved that the chapter titles were song titles.

This has to be the youngest authors work I’ve ever read. Kiki Freeman is 15! I’m so impressed with her.

This is a sweet story that is completely Swiftie coded.

I unfortunately DNF this one. I loved the title and the accompanying playlist but the writing feels very simple and juvenile. A lot of the scenes felt contrived like when Aspen is in the diner and the woman runs in hiding from her boyfriend so Aspen gives her advice on staying away from cheaters and then they exchange phone number all the while this woman has no clue who she is. I read 30% of the book but when I still found myself struggling to get into it, I knew it wasn’t going to be for me.