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A review by rainbowbookworm
In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae
2.0
I've been debating about writing this review because if this was a Hallmark Christmas movie, I would have known beforehand how much suspension of disbelief would have been involved. With that type of film you know to expect saccharine sweetness and an excessively Hollywood happy ending that involves a Christmas miracle.
But I did not have any of these expectations going in and so I found this book to be a bit too much right now... And of course I tried to work around that phrase because I have Greta Gil on my head and I'm perfectly aware that someone's "just too much" is someone else's "just right." However, I must write about my personal journey with this book.
I fell in love with the book's cover and asked the publisher for a digital ARC. The ARC gods smiled upon me and I excitedly started reading. Immediately Morgan does something incredibly stupid which is hinted at in the Goodreads plot summary and she realizes that the only way to save face is to redeem herself by planning a successful fundraiser in her small town. (A small town she had left after her father became a changed man as a result of an act of public humiliation.) This last fact was unbeknownst to me because I bailed on that digital ARC. However, the ARC gods also gifted me with the audiobook ARC-whose cover is not at all appealing compared to the eBook's-and I listened to that one in about a day.
Back to the review: Going back home also means she must face her first true love, Rachel. And face her she does because the second Morgan returns to town she has a car accident and destroys the sign to Rachel's family's tree farm. It quickly becomes evident that Morgan is persona non grata and the reader wonders what she could have done to upset her former friends.
However, one friend had a grand plan that would heal old wounds: The fundraiser Morgan has to plan is to save the Reed farm. This is where the Hallmark movie plot comes in because of course is not just the farm, or the local inn, but the whole town! You see a developer with whom Morgan has a history with wants to buy out these key plots of land. This developer is well-known around town for turning a nearby community into a generic, soulless ski resort. And while yes, the developer is courting small businesses in Fern Falls with their money, Morgan and her allies do not want Fern Falls to to lose its charm.
As they work to save the town Morgan and Rachel discovered that their attraction is still intact. I found that both these characters reverted back to their high school selves because of trauma they have not gotten over, but that didn't make me root for them. In fact, I felt bad for Rachel because she was unaware of Morgan's ulterior motives and it was clear that her heart would be shattered a second time.
I did enjoy the town, the townspeople, and their businesses. And like I said, had this been an actual Hallmark movie, I would have probably found this tale more endearing.
But I did not have any of these expectations going in and so I found this book to be a bit too much right now... And of course I tried to work around that phrase because I have Greta Gil on my head and I'm perfectly aware that someone's "just too much" is someone else's "just right." However, I must write about my personal journey with this book.
I fell in love with the book's cover and asked the publisher for a digital ARC. The ARC gods smiled upon me and I excitedly started reading. Immediately Morgan does something incredibly stupid which is hinted at in the Goodreads plot summary and she realizes that the only way to save face is to redeem herself by planning a successful fundraiser in her small town. (A small town she had left after her father became a changed man as a result of an act of public humiliation.) This last fact was unbeknownst to me because I bailed on that digital ARC. However, the ARC gods also gifted me with the audiobook ARC-whose cover is not at all appealing compared to the eBook's-and I listened to that one in about a day.
Back to the review: Going back home also means she must face her first true love, Rachel. And face her she does because the second Morgan returns to town she has a car accident and destroys the sign to Rachel's family's tree farm. It quickly becomes evident that Morgan is persona non grata and the reader wonders what she could have done to upset her former friends.
However, one friend had a grand plan that would heal old wounds: The fundraiser Morgan has to plan is to save the Reed farm. This is where the Hallmark movie plot comes in because of course is not just the farm, or the local inn, but the whole town! You see a developer with whom Morgan has a history with wants to buy out these key plots of land. This developer is well-known around town for turning a nearby community into a generic, soulless ski resort. And while yes, the developer is courting small businesses in Fern Falls with their money, Morgan and her allies do not want Fern Falls to to lose its charm.
As they work to save the town Morgan and Rachel discovered that their attraction is still intact. I found that both these characters reverted back to their high school selves because of trauma they have not gotten over, but that didn't make me root for them. In fact, I felt bad for Rachel because she was unaware of Morgan's ulterior motives and it was clear that her heart would be shattered a second time.
I did enjoy the town, the townspeople, and their businesses. And like I said, had this been an actual Hallmark movie, I would have probably found this tale more endearing.