A review by nmcannon
Season of Love by Helena Greer

hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

My partner and I always keep our eyes peeled for more sapphic Jewish books, and Season of Love’s premise is too cute to ignore. Literally who can say no to a tree butch.

Cassandra Carrigan loved few people, so she set up a Christmas tree farm. Then she only had to deal with them for three months out of the year. The irony that she was proudly Jewish just added the right zest. A generation later, Cass is gone and the farm is struggling. When granddaughter Miriam returns to sit shiva for Cass, she finds a once tight-knit family in disarray and still hurting from how she left. The head arborist Noelle is especially upset with her–which is awkward because the only way to save the farm is to work together. 

Before I cracked the first page, Season of Love was familiar: it follows the typical pacing and character beats of a romance novel, and this familiarity and the cozy setting make for a fantastically comfy reading experience. While Miriam and Noelle start as “enemies” (I use the term incredibly loosely), it’s more that they’ve misunderstood each other’s choices. Within context, the choices are understandable. It was a toe-curling delight to watch them find each other and that understanding. The “let’s save the small business” arc/trope is a treat. Mental health, trauma, and grief are gentle seasonings to a lovely, comfort food of a novel.

The weakest part of the book was the Christmas aspect. It generated plot holes. For example, Miriam says she was responsible for decorating Christmasland, which of course means lots of tree decorating. Later, she says she’s never decorated a tree. The repeated jokes about Noelle’s name, the mountain of twee Xmas merch, and Miriam’s “Christmas elf” looks landed awkwardly on the ear. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Nuances spun in my head. These are Jewish women forced to live a Christian-dominate society–yet the book didn’t quite let them be Jewish and inhabit that outsider point-of-view. I’m not sure if I’m articulating this thought correctly. Miriam, Noelle, and others are ethnically Jewish the entire book. Each Jewish person has their own relationship with Judaism, and sometimes that relationship is very casual. Maybe I’m way out of line because Helena Greer is Jewish(?). Maybe Greer had to “tone down” the Jewish-ness to get Season of Love published by a Christian-normative publishing industry. Still, there was a niggling in my brain that incredibly little would change if Miriam and Noelle were Catholic or Protestant. By the end, I wished this book more centered the Jewish experience and a Jewish holiday. Looking at other reviews, I feel bolstered. Some Jewish readers deeply enjoyed Season of Love and its depiction of Judaism and Jewish characters; others’ experience was more like mine.

In any case, if you’re in the mood for a sapphic holiday romance but want something different in your Christmas Town, I still do recommend Season of Love.