Today’s review is about LOVELIGHT FARMS by B.K. Borison, a small town romance. It’s set at a Christmas tree farm around the holiday season, so this would be a great read for those who appreciate holiday romances.

Author: B.K. Borison
Series: Lovelight, #1
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publish Date: June 6, 2023
Print Length: 336

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Official Synopsis

Two best friends fake date to reach their holiday happily ever after in this first romantic comedy in the Lovelight series.

A pasture of dead trees. A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams.

In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, Stella enters a contest with Instagram-famous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, Stella might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on her application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend.

Only…there is no boyfriend.

Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just stopped by for some hot chocolate and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process. But fake dating his best friend might be the best Christmas present he’s ever received.

My Review

After reading and loving FUNNY FEELINGS by Tarah DeWitt, a fellow blogger recommended LOVELIGHT FARMS to me as another lighter contemporary romantic comedy. It has a couple of tropes that apparently I enjoy in these types of books: fake dating and friends to lovers. Given that LOVELIGHT FARMS takes place in a small town on a tree farm around Christmas time, the vibe is more cozy and close knit. This also means that everyone is a lowkey busybody, which was amusing in the story, but is something I’d hate in real life. The pros of fiction, am I right?

An easy and overall enjoyable read, it was sweet to see the romance unfold between Stella and Luka. The set up is classic, with each person secretly pining after the other for years. They’re satisfied with friendship because of the fear of losing it if it evolves into more. Until, that is, the fake dating situation makes them take a closer look at their feelings. Despite glimpses into some of Stella’s imperfect family life, LOVELIGHT FARMS is lighthearted and focused on friendship and found family the size of a town.

There were a few things, however, that distracted me a bit. The first is that I felt Stella came off as a bit juvenile considering her age (early 30s). This is probably a personal preference thing as I enjoy reading about strong-willed female characters who don’t need protecting all of the time. While Stella has a strong will, I felt like Luka figuratively and literally cleaned up her small messes all of the time. I also felt like everything fell together too easily, the “who dunnit” subplot was predictable, and everyone was unnaturally genuine.

However, at the end of the day, I do realize this is supposed to be more of a feel-good book. And it definitely delivers in that respect. So I absolutely do recommend it to those who have a soft spot for small town, friends-to-lovers romances. Not to mention it checks that box for cozy holiday read, too.

Rating: 3.75
Content warnings: parental death, alcoholism, sexual content
Reading format: Kindle e-book