Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Lovelight Farms

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.

Content Warnings

samone2's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

dlrosebyh's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Stella enters a contest with Instagram-famous influencer Evelyn St. James in an effort to rescue the Christmas tree farm she's loved since she was a child. Stella may be able to salvage the farm from financial ruin with the additional publicity and $100,000 cash reward. There is only one issue. To make the farm appear to be a romantic holiday getaway, she lied on her application and claimed to own Lovelight Farms with her partner. The only difference is that there is no lover.

This book was really terrible. The entire plot did not occur until 75% of the way through. I literally skimmed the first half of the book and understood everything, which is a shame because I am a sucker for the fake dating trope. If this book were a cliché, it would be "friends to lovers but they're actually already lovers but they're too scared to ruin the friendship" and I despise it.

The main characters were unbearable to me; the only one I liked was Beckett, but this book did not even persuade me to read his novel—and that says a lot given his book is a second chance romance, which I like.

Apart from the Christmas Tree Farm, the only "Christmasy" feature in this novel was the scenery, which I did love. Apart from that, I don't think I enjoyed anything. If I'm being honest, it was more of a Thanksgiving book. Overall, this book was simply not for me; and the fact that it had so much hype destroyed it for me; it's not a horrible book, just not for me. And if you ever intend on reading this book, please be informed that it can be quite cringy and too sweet at times.

Content Warnings

romancewithem's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book feels like a hug, its so warm and comforting and i can truly get lost in the world of Lovelight Farms and Inglewood forever. BK Borison has such a beautiful way of describing everything I can picture the town, the farm, Stella’s home and Luka so clearly in my head

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100_pages_hr's review against another edition

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inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

I'm normally not a fan of Christmas themed books but I regret not reading this sooner! It was so good. It does have a Christmas theme...I mean it is set on a Christmas tree farm, but it isn't overwhelming at all.

I went in fairly blind and was intrigued by her predicament of needing a boyfriend. This fake dating story really worked. @authorbkborison did a great job setting it up, providing "practice" for Luka and Stella, and adding in plenty of forced proximity which led to some really steamy moments. I didn't love the fact that Stella had lied about having a boyfriend, but I guess I liked the end result.

I loved watching best friends fall in love. I think friendship is so vital in a relationship and theirs was so special. I loved how Luka supported Stella.

If you love small town, friends to lovers, forced proximity, and fake dating and haven't read this yet I highly recommend!

I received an advanced copy of this book through @netgalley and @berkleyromance (I had also previously listened to this on the @libby.app I'll be home)
This is my honest review

Content Warnings

martamae77's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

maryreadstoomuch27's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

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stupidcat's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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