Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Lovelight Farms

[This review can also be found on my BLOG]

**I was provided with a digital copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

CW: death of parent, cancer, grief, infidelity, abandonment, alcohol, sexual content
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I’m late to the party but you bet I am now well and truly on the Lovelight bandwagon!!

Lovelight Farms was an absolutely delightful book.

This is a friends to lovers romance where two best friends pretend to be a couple for a competition in order to save a Christmas tree farm. Now friends to lovers is a trope that can be a hit or miss for me but the overall vibe of this book sounded like a fun time and I’m so glad that I gave it a chance because this was definitely a top tier friends to lovers story – I loved Stella and Luka so much!!

Plus the additional fake dating aspect, the small town setting and found family between the main group of friends all came together so well!

“And isn’t it silly, to love the way someone’s things look like next to yours? Little bits and pieces of a life lived in parallel.”

Not only does Borison’s writing easily draw you into the story and these characters’ lives but also the setting. I would move to Inglewild in a heartbeat, it seems like such a wonderful, cosy and homely place, nosy townsfolk aside. I loved that for such a short story you get to not only experience a heart-warming romance blossom between two people who love each other but for it to also happen in a town that is so lived in. Also I’d honestly say this is one of few books where I’ve felt the pacing and the overall length was perfect. It wasn’t too long as to drag the story out and not too short either as to feel like everything was too sudden.

I loved all of the characters. Stella pretty much has the whole town as a support network but the smaller more tight knit group of Beckett, Layla and of course Luka was so wholesome too. How everything played out had a sense of plausibility to it when taking into account the backstories that we are told over the course of the book and the dynamics between the characters. I really loved how threaded through everything was this message of allowing yourself to rely on those around you who care for you, to allow yourself to lean on the shoulders they put out for you.

“Leaning on other people doesn't make your achievements any less yours, La La."

Stella herself was a great character, somewhat relatable somewhat annoying in how much she second guesses everything but Borison wove her story together beautifully. It’s one packed full of emotion and will surely touch your heart too.

Coming backs to the romance side of things though, Stella and Luka were so perfect together. You can expect great banter alongside beautifully tender moments and a dash of spice but also those classic, messy moments that will have you facepalming. For the most part it’s that frustration that these two idiots are so obviously in love with each other to the point the whole town ships them but they just want to keep playing out their little game.

Anyways everything about this book had me smiling and feeling like that heart face emoji and I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the books in the series!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars

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

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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

stupidcat's review

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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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marleywrites's review

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was fantastic. I was rooting for the couple from the very first page and was so happy with their development. I love Luka and I wanted to shake Stella so many times. I’m so glad I decided to read this book- it deserves every bit of hype it’s gotten.

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anastashamarie's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

❄️ I can't take how sweet this romance was. Like hot-chocolate-with-marshmallows sweet. It was slow and gentle and cozy. A perfectly Christmas-y, small town romance.

🎄 The relationship between the leads felt believable and warm. The writing was atmospheric and made me really wish Lovelight Farms was real. I loved the supporting characters and I'm glad they all get their own books. I was just giddy throughout the whole thing.

⛸️ This felt like Emily Henry meets Hallmark Channel movie. Lower stakes than Henry's stuff and generally less emotional. But still playful, still focusing on relationships first, and still hard to put down.

🧣 Honestly, the reason I would take half a star is because I wish there was more friendship detailed before the fake dating scheme at the beginning and because I still felt like there were a few threads dangling at the end (maybe they'll be tied up in the other books?). But in total, this tips more toward perfect than not, and I feel like it was what it needed to be for what it was, if that makes sense.

☃️ A+ holiday read. Best enjoyed with hot chocolate and Christmas cookies

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khloereads86's review

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

I really enjoyed this book. It was a super cute christmassy romance and I’ll definitely think of continuing the series. Luka was so sweet, and I liked Stella for the most part too I just got a little annoyed with her towards the end. She’s relatable in wanting to do everything on her own and take care of everyone she cares about first. Their love story was pretty cute, I wish the book was a little longer so we could see more of the sweet little moments. The reason I’m rating this so low is because I just didn’t get as much of that warm fuzzy I’m-not-going-to-stop-thinking-bout-this-book feeling as I’d like, and the one part near the end was very frustrating.

Spoiler

I don’t understand how she was in love with him for that long and he tells her he loves her like that and she doesn’t believe him even when she sees how hurt he is. Also how did they spend 9 years as friends that’s seriously slow burn but we don’t even get to see it

I also wish we saw more of the stuff with Evelyn because that was what the plot was supposed to be about and that and the whole “who’s screwing with the farm” stuff seemed really underwhelming to me even though I liked her. It also would’ve been great if this was dual pov because Luka was better than Stella.

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alexisgarcia's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.25

this was a very cute christmas romance. it was a pretty basic plot but that is expected from a book like this. the side plot did seem kinda weird and random though. also the ending was slightly underwhelming.

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