Thank you to Parson Press and Netgalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I gave this a 1.5 star, but rounded up to give the author some credit.

This book was a miss for me - the writing felt very juvenile and scattered. I wasn't surprised to find that the author is 16/17 - congrats to her on publishing a book at such a young age, but this was not my jam.

I don't usually go for friends-to-lovers, but I love Taylor Swift and I love a good yearn, so I thought this would be a fun read. I found the characters and their motivations to be quite flat, but I loved Roman as a MMC.

I was really uncomfortable with the handling of the SA storyline - it needing editing and a lot of work to make it feel like a real storyline and also to touch on the subject sensitively.

Another thing I couldn't get past was Fertsville as a town. The name took me out of the story every time and it is mentioned FIFTY times throughout the short book.

The typical feel good holiday romance!
I gave this an average rating, mostly due to the fact that we were reading from the POV of mid 20 aged characters, and what we got should have been much more mature than it was. They read more like teenagers that grown a** individuals. I'd say its more YA than new adult.

For a debut, I think it was great! If this weren't a brand spanking new author, the rating would have been lower.

And to note, the author was 16 when this was published. So it's understandable that the character read how they did. Again. 3 stars because..... Um hello.....what an accomplishment!!!!!!

Sweet romance, packed with Taylor Swift references.

I liked the premise behind the book. Second chance romance, small town guy/famous girl, duel timelines. When I found out the author was 16, I felt like a lot of things made more sense. It's incredibly well written for someone so young. There is a moderate grasp on more mature concepts, but I think the story would have worked just as well with a slightly younger cast. It touches on the heavy concepts well.

For a Christmas romcom I would have liked more Christmas. I loved the will they/won't they vibes though out. Overall a cosy, romantic, sweet read that ticks a lot of tropes I like.

"Tis the Damn Season" by Kimi Freeman is a captivating holiday romance that enchants readers with its warmth, humor, and heart. Freeman skillfully weaves together the magic of the holiday season with a tender love story that unfolds against a festive backdrop. The characters are relatable and endearing, and their journey of self-discovery and second chances is both poignant and uplifting. Freeman's writing is imbued with charm and wit, capturing the spirit of the season while also exploring deeper themes of forgiveness, family, and the power of love. With its delightful storyline and irresistible romance, "Tis the Damn Season" is the perfect holiday read to curl up with by the fire and get swept away in the magic of the season.

3 stars

THE BOOK TITLE CALLED FOR ME!!!!!

we could call it even
you could call me babe for the weekend
'tis the damn season
write this down!!!!!!!

This book is cute but I’m not sure if it’s New Adult. The characters felt a little too childish for me, however, it was still okay! The characters, although, too juvenile-like, were still cute! I would like it more if they had more character development as a couple.

Overall, it was a cute, quick, and sweet read! I enjoyed the Taylor Swift references a lot! I also liked the playlist!

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

this was not it for me. Just not interested, very juvenile, characters were all over the place. There is a random sexual assault out of left field that was not necessary.

This is not the book I was expecting from the description, "based on 'Tis the Damn Season." What I wanted: a super sexy winter wonderland weekend fling. What I got: a long angst fest filled with flashbacks following controversy and sexual assault with some... not so inspired song lyrics.

This objective review was based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Ended up DNF - ing the book after a few months of postponing finishing it. I liked the book but my mood at the time wasn't lined up with the genre.

I found 'Tis the Damn Season to be a lovely holiday read, but while classified as New Adult/Women's Fiction, it read much more juvenile & would be better suited marketed to YA audiences. Given the age of main characters, I would hope for more nuance and adult perspectives, but the age of the author makes the experience make more sense in retrospect.

From what I've gathered, the author is only 16 herself, and, um, it shows. Maybe this would have been better as YA instead of NA.

This Rom-com was everything I’m a huge Swifie and all the references had me giggling as I read this one. I love a good cute romance and this fit the bill

DNF- I was excited to get into this book and maybe at another time I would love this book, but I have been picking it up here and there and still can’t finish it. I did get 81 pages in (24%) before I thought I should call it quits, which does sadden me! I believe this would be such a great book for a younger age. To me, it seemed a bit immature and maybe throughout the book you see character development but I couldn’t get through with the two main characters, since I kept thinking of them as high schoolers, like there wasn’t any development from them in HS to them in their 20’s.

This had such promise and maybe I’ll pick it up again one day, but for now this is a DNF. I can tell this is Kimi’s first book. No hate! I would read another book written by Kimi in the future and hope she continues to write. I loved the song aspect and the premise but it just wasn’t what I was expecting (which was more maturity).

I unfortunately didn't get to read/review this book, as I was hospitalized for the fall of 2023. Cleaning it up now to remove it from my feedback loop. I apologize for the lack of review!

This book gave me all the Taylor Swift feels. The chemistry and history between the characters was fantastic.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

The title of this book definitely sucked me in… hello, Swifties!

The plot of this book has a lot of potential, but since the book was marketed as a romance I definitely needed more of that and less angst. I think this book could’ve fallen under women’s fiction. It’s a quick read, but I think the character relationships needed more development. The side characters are great and made me laugh! I think overall, this book could’ve used some more edits. I look forward to seeing what this author does next.

This book was not for me, I couldn't get into the story and struggled to finish it. The writing is weak and the characters are very dry. I think this book would be more engaging to a younger audience given the tone of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I chose this book because of its correlation to a Taylor Swift song. The title and cover are what originally caught my attention. I felt as if this story was a bit too YA for my taste. I had a hard time connecting with the story so I ended up not finishing this book. I would still suggest this book to a younger target audience though.


Tropes:
-forced proximity
-small town
-Taylor Swift Song
-second chance
-famous FMC

First of all, as a massive Swiftie, I LOVED all of the Taylor Swift references, like the title and the playlist (personally, I love when books have a playlist to accompany them!). This was a cute, warm fuzzies kind of second chance romance, so I really enjoyed it. The author is only quite young herself, so has done an excellent job with this novel and I'm excited to see her future books! I liked the dual timeline and yes there was some room for improvement with the overall writing style and editing, I still think it was a solid debut novel.
A massive thank you to NetGalley, the author and Parson Press for the ARC in return for my honest review.

DNF 52%

The writing is good and captivating, making it an enjoyable experience for most of the book. However, as I progressed, I became increasingly stuck due to the writing style. It seems the book was written purely for the pleasure of storytelling, which I appreciated, but the abrupt endings to each chapter became bothersome over time.
The plot is underdeveloped and needs to be reviewed. The same goes for the characters that look younger than the age that are presented.
I found myself skipping parts to conclude, and I'm relieved to say that the two protagonists eventually found their happy ending.
The potential is evident and I congratulate the author for having published a book at a young age, I hope to read something from her in the future as her writing matures.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.