saida96's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
bookswithangeli's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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? No
3.5
sadie_honey's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
4.75
jamespotters's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
mnichols96's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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? No
5.0
caitlineff's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.0
sbarolo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
4.25
lauraorourke's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Lovelight Farms gives everything a Hallmark Christmas movie gives plus some really delicious spice.
In fact, this book was so much like a Hallmark movie that I actually watched this movie with this year's crop of Christmas movies. To be fair, this book was written in 2021, and the Hallmark movie #Xmas was released a year later but the premise was just so similar I fear that it led to me feeling slightly bored by the plot of this book, which is absolutely no fault of the author.
But this book is the perfect contemporary Holiday romance. It gives everything you expect in this kind of book (or a Hallmark movie). The setting was probably the second-best part of this book. Small town. The couple had incredible chemistry. The premise is built on a lie. There's a literal romantic video montage included (I swear). Oh, and someone ends up moving out of the big city...
My biggest actual issue with this book was how frustrating the female main character was when she was speaking to the male main character. Stella was generally a smart, strong, and confident woman but when speaking to her "best friend," she got all bumbly. Sure, this is a cliché, but the problem really was that she handled herself find while she was "fake dating" that best friend. She didn't seem nervous at all to be going through all the motions of dating him, she was headstrong about so many other parts of her life, but communication really broke down often right before and right after the fake dating happened. To me, it felt like it wasn't true to the character that had been written and just felt unnecessary.
But my problems with that part of the writing were offset by what is without a doubt the best-written open-door romance I have ever read. This is definitely a spicy book, but those sections were not cliché. It felt like a great deal of respect was given to the relationship and these connection points between the two characters while also providing a tantalizing reading experience. It's incredibly rare to read those types of sections in books and think "wow... this is REALLY well written" and yet, here we are. And while it can be hard to know what you'll get when picking up a contemporary romance book, know that this one is very open-door.
Ultimately, I'll stick with this series. I'm eager to see if I like a book in this series more if I feel like I haven't recently watched the movie form of it. And the truth is, I really liked entering this story.
In fact, this book was so much like a Hallmark movie that I actually watched this movie with this year's crop of Christmas movies. To be fair, this book was written in 2021, and the Hallmark movie #Xmas was released a year later but the premise was just so similar I fear that it led to me feeling slightly bored by the plot of this book, which is absolutely no fault of the author.
But this book is the perfect contemporary Holiday romance. It gives everything you expect in this kind of book (or a Hallmark movie). The setting was probably the second-best part of this book. Small town. The couple had incredible chemistry. The premise is built on a lie. There's a literal romantic video montage included (I swear). Oh, and someone ends up moving out of the big city...
My biggest actual issue with this book was how frustrating the female main character was when she was speaking to the male main character. Stella was generally a smart, strong, and confident woman but when speaking to her "best friend," she got all bumbly. Sure, this is a cliché, but the problem really was that she handled herself find while she was "fake dating" that best friend. She didn't seem nervous at all to be going through all the motions of dating him, she was headstrong about so many other parts of her life, but communication really broke down often right before and right after the fake dating happened. To me, it felt like it wasn't true to the character that had been written and just felt unnecessary.
But my problems with that part of the writing were offset by what is without a doubt the best-written open-door romance I have ever read. This is definitely a spicy book, but those sections were not cliché. It felt like a great deal of respect was given to the relationship and these connection points between the two characters while also providing a tantalizing reading experience. It's incredibly rare to read those types of sections in books and think "wow... this is REALLY well written" and yet, here we are. And while it can be hard to know what you'll get when picking up a contemporary romance book, know that this one is very open-door.
Ultimately, I'll stick with this series. I'm eager to see if I like a book in this series more if I feel like I haven't recently watched the movie form of it. And the truth is, I really liked entering this story.