There’s something about queer Christmas books that just hit the spot. I love a Sapphic romance and having it centre around the Christmas season just brings out all the hallmark-y cuteness.

The characters make a romance and this book was no exception. I liked both main characters and all the minor characters a lot. It was fun to watch the main characters bring all the drama to everything, because these two are very dramatic. I liked the history they had. I especially liked how they overcame it together, sharing the blame and moving past it like grown ups, after a lot of pining and bickering, naturally.

I did find the idea that a small town would have such a thriving queer community a bit far fetched, but then with these types of books, you have to suspend disbelief sometimes, so I could forgive that and and the fact that Adele and Sloan’s mum spent a fuckload of money to get a bunch of strangers she barely knew on a Christmas dating scheme, even if they were staying at her house.

Overall, it was cute, it was cheesy and there was sexual tension.

A romance can never work for me if I'm not rooting for the characters to be together. I found them both immature in a way that didn't seem intentional, so engaging with their story was hard. The romance and the side characters all seemed a little twee (certainly in comparison to other Ashley Herring Blake books).

I really really wanted to love this, unfortunately it just was not for me

I'm already bad with second chance romances (but willing and ready to soften up to them though), so given the reason of the break-up, and the fact that it happened on their wedding day (hello, unforgiveable??), I was just lost.

<spoiler>Not to mention, Brighton blamed Charlotte for it all, depite Brighton never talking to Charlotte about being unhappy and whenever she was asked how she was doing, she just waved it off as if it was nothing. How's Charlotte supposed to know Brighton's not doing good without her actually opening up about it? Communication, people!!!
And then Charlotte just took the blame as well, as if it really WAS her fault. Okay.</spoiler>

Also, why is this marketed as a Christmas book? Christmas morning was prox. 3 pages and the event the mom has set up for the group doesn't really have anything to do with Christmas, so... why?

Anyway -
I can't fault the writing and the humor did hit right at time.
3/5⭐

This cute queer smalltown romance is just perfect for those who could use a little love and excitement for the holidays. Imagine you were left at the altar 5 years ago by the love of your life, have not spoken a word to each other since then and as luck (or fate?) would have it, this year you will spend the Christmas holidays together in the most idyllic little winter town. What could go wrong? Actually quite a lot, but fortunately some things can also work out in everybody's favor. Yes, I admit, this book is a bit cheesy, but the author can get every scrooge into the cheerful Christmas mood with her warm and honest writing style, as usual!

3 stars

The book was cute, it was a quick read, but it didn't feel like the Christmas vibes it promised. The issues were resolved very quickly I felt, too quickly. Which make sense, sorta, considering most of the book takes place over the course of a week, but it makes it feel lacking. You're missing the development for the most part.
The writing was very talented though, and I am curious to try out other books by this author. This book just fell... a bit flat. Not flat enough to not enjoy it at all.

2.75☆

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for access to the e-ARC.

◇ Holiday Romance
◇ Second Chance romance
◇ Aromantic side character representation

Now I usually love Ashley Herring Blake books - unfortunately this one did not hit the same as her previous books have. The writing as always is easy to read and quick to get into, but I found the main couple to be insufferable. This book also made me realise that quite possibly second chance romances are just not for me. All of the problems between Charlotte and Brighton could have been solved with a simple conversation before the wedding, and it would have never led to Brighton leaving her at the altar! I do not think I've ever been this annoyed at a main couple in a book series before.

While I understand that this book had a lot of tropes that I do not enjoy - I will reiterate that it is not badly written: if you liked the previous books and are a fan of second chance romances this might be the book for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for granting me access to the E-ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.


I do love AHBs writing style, her way with words is fantastic and socks you in to the story.
However both characters in this week just unlikeable, you have one who has a few issues with abandonment and instead of seeking out help she just pushes everyone away and lies to herself that that isn't what she's doing. It's hard to route for someone who won't help themselves.
The second FMC was awful, she abandoned 1st FMC at the ALTER them constantly complains that she wants nothing to do with her 5 years later.

Then after multiple things happen they end up having to spend Xmas together and instead of working out there issues they end up getting intimate while galling back in love, still without sorting anything out and both blaming each other for the end of the relationship
By the time they both get their heads out their arses you stop caring about their relationship and are more interested in the side characters. Who were as always excellent.

Is this the ultimate, Hallmark-style sapphic Christmas romcom? I think so!

This book really, totally, one hundred percent delivered on the vibes – which is mostly what you’re looking for in a Christmas romance. It was just the perfect amount of contrived, with plot twists that either make you gasp or roll your eyes fondly. If this was part of the Netflix Christmas Cinematic Universe, we would watch it every year. (I’m not even kidding; my fiancée was loving the blow-by-blow updates of the all the drama that was going on.)

This was my first Ashley Herring Blake, and I could not put it down! I loved both of the main characters, and I loved that they both had their thorny sides, and that they didn’t always see eye to eye (to put it mildly). I will admit that for part of the book I didn’t actually want them to get together but by the end I was rooting for them.

Speaking of why I didn’t want them to get back together: I am all for second-chance romances. When it’s done well I think it’s brilliant, but a lot hinges on how badly it went the first time. Honestly? With these, two it went so badly. Like, so badly that you should just call it quits, badly. It was the only drawback of the book for me, that it felt so completely unbelievable that a couple who had been through so much when they broke up would get back together so easily.

That being said, this was still such a fun read, that has me excited to prioritise the other Ashley Herring Blake books on my TBR.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

4.25 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for this eARC

I was really intrigued to request this book on Netgalley, purely for its depiction of a LGBTQ+ love story at Christmas (there are hardly any of these on the market to my knowledge, and we need more!), so was looking forward to getting into this when December rolled around.
This book is a beautiful second chance romance filled with heart and warmth, with a interesting and entertaining cast of side characters and some real laugh out loud moments. It’s not often you read a book and think “I would love to hang out with all these people” but I did - and that’s kind of an achievement in itself.
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a feel-good, festive romance, with loveable character, witty banter, a big heart, and excellent representation.

I love Ashley Herring Blake’s books and I was excited to read this one, but sadly it really didn’t work for me and I gave up at around 25%

What I liked:
Christmas!!
The LGBTQ+ representation
Hallmark vibes
The setting
Brighton's character development

What I didn't love:
It just seemed predictable and I couldn't make myself care about what happened to any of the characters.
The miscommunication

Not sure that this year's crop of LGBT authors are understanding the joy of festive books, we want light, fun, happy books, set in locations where they cope with 'weather', to take us away from the stress, cold, misery that December can also bring. This is the second one I have read this season with so much drama that it brings its own stress, sadly, also in this book one main character is so unlikeable that I just couldn't connect to the book.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really sweet romance but unfortunately not a favourite of mine. I'm not a big fan of the miscommunication trope and this book came with a lot of it. It is a lovely Christmas rom-com in itself but there were certain aspects of the book that frustrated me and ruined my reading experience.

I’m trying to figure out if my reaction to Make the Season Bright is a personal taste issue or not - certainly, I got a sinking feeling as our POV changed in the second chapter, and I realised this was likely a second chance romance. However, there are some romances following this trope which have bucked the trend, and which I have adored. I also enjoyed Herring Blake’s other work, and was completely in the mood for a festive romance, and so I continued on.
By the mid-way point, I was finding it really hard to sympathise with our main duo - particularly Brighton. Despite their many years of history together, there was sometimes a lack of depth to the connection between Brighton and Charlotte - an issue exacerbated by the constant miscommunication (or lack of communication at all) which sometimes made the book an actively frustrating reading experience.
That said, I found the supporting cast (right down to Snickerdoodle the dog!) to be really engaging, and their interactions and humour pulled me through the book. The ending was heartwarming and felt satisfactory, leaving this a mostly enjoyable and quick read.

I absolutely love a good gay romance, and Make the Season Bright has all the sapphic drama, joy and queer family that I would expect. Brighton and Charlotte have a good amount of chemistry, which is helped by a slowly developing backstory that explains their complicated and messy past. The use of music and their shared expression of love through this art form was also well done and well thought out. And I also especially loved their friendship group, which felt realistic and wholesome - especially Wes and Sloane. They have a rather sweet romance that counterbalances the more over the top love of the main protagonists well.

What I didn't really like was the logic behind the initial breakup, and how Charlotte could even begin to forgive Brighton. What she did, in my eyes, was irredeamable. I genuinely don't think their relationship would last long term. The implausibility that they could somehow end up spending Christmas together also required me to suspend my disbelief a lot. And at the start there's a lot of talk from Charlotte regarding some imagined Christmas curse that then fizzles out and is barely mentioned for the rest of the book. It could have been removed entirely and would have made no difference to the overall plot.

So overall a mixed bag. Good amount of drama and tension, but the story itself had a lot of plot holes.

Loved this so much!! The perfect Christmas rom com and it has The Holiday vibes!! Definitely one to pick up this Christmas season

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for the review copy

I wasn’t sure if I’d love this or not as second chance romance is not my favourite trope, but I will read anything Ashley Herring Blake writes.

My main issue with second chance romance is that the thing that caused them to break up is usually pretty solid and they should stick to that, and then they get back together without fixing what caused them to separate in the first place which puts them on the same train to the same ending in my opinion.

A thing that helped here was that they were very young when they got together, causing them to make unwise decisions and not communicate to each other properly. I feel like they still didn’t communicate the best in this book, but I loved to see them learn from this and grow. They didn’t do a “so many years have passed so we have nothing to work on”, and I really liked that.

I loved how Christmassy the book was, too, it was a recurring theme. A lot of Christmas romances I’ve read this year only mentioned it a couple of times and that was it, but you’re never in doubt about what time of year this book takes place in. I wanted those Christmas vibes!!

Overall, loved it

(SPOILERS)

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I will say though that I’m not sure I’m convinced they will last. Although they did decide to work through their issues, and no relationship is without its faults, I’m not sure how either person would be happy outside of where they are currently happy, which is what broke them up in the first place. I think they want something similar but different from their lives, so I’m not sure their magnetism to each other is really solid enough to keep them going their whole lives.

I can live in hope, though, as I do hope they work it out in time

It was a very good romance, but not my favorite from the author. I had a bit of a hard time accepting the romance in this second chance romance, without much talk when they first got back together. I get where all the communication issues are coming from, but I perhaps would have prefered a bit more of a talk before the steamy scenes :')

I still enjoyed the character growth of Brighton and Charlotte, and the small moments they got together, both cute and funny. As always from this author, she gives us a really great friends group with each having their own character, importance and their romance ; so I really loved that part! I also enjoyed the fake dating idea which for once was done well haha.

Overall it was a very good romance, cute and steamy and all about music, in a very seasonal wintery vibe!

Really enjoyed this second chance romance. This gave all the holiday, heartwarming hallmark vibes I expected from this. Full of angst, sweet spice and al little bit of grumpy sunshine mixed in. I really enjoyed the MC’s Brighton and Charlotte, and really liked that we got to see their back story. I absolutely loved the Christmassy holiday vibe.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for this review.

“She was light and air and water, while Charlotte was solid earth.”

I wasn’t entirely sure if a festive winter read was going to tickle me. I’m in a summer Christmas region, and the focus on snow and Western imagery has been boring me. But for whatever reason, I requested Make the Season Bright, and I am quite happy I did so.

This absolutely qualifies as a cozy queer romance. It has plenty drama and trauma, a good dose of smutttt, and a really fun lovers-to-enemies kind of plot (love those reverse tropes, mh).

This queer novel is about queer love and like; not about angst and The Closet - and I love that. As much as there are still many spaces in the world that are not queer-affirming, Make the Season Bright is just so warm and welcoming and takes the emphasis off of the characters’ sexuality, and onto their life/love dramas.

Well recommended for some Christmas love and drama.