Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for My ARC copy.

3.5⭐️
This was a really quick sapphic festive book, I really had a good time reading it. I feel like I would have rated it higher but Charlotte irritated me a lot. I absolutely Loved Brighton though. That being said I would still recommend it to any of my friends/family who were looking for a LGBTQ+ Holiday Read.

This book was extremely heartwarming but also so incredibly frustrating at times. I really struggled with what to rate this as a result, but, as I'm feeling ✨festive✨ I've rounded it up to a 4.

Synopsis:
“Make the Season Bright” follows Charlotte, a successful violinist who was left at the altar by her ex-fiancée, Brighton, five years ago. After finding out Charlotte intends to spend Christmas alone, her quartet convince her to fly out and spend Christmas in Colorado. To everyone's surprise, Brighton is also there.

As they navigate a series of Christmas activities together, old memories and feelings begin to resurface. Despite the initial tension, the magic of the season and their shared love for music begin to thaw the ice between them.

Tropes

🎄Sapphic Holiday Romance
🎄Second-chance
🎄Found Family
🎄'Huddle for warmth' because its cold 👉👈
❄️SNOWED IN!

Thoughts

Charlotte’s emotional walls were a significant source of frustration for me throughout the story. Her reluctance to open up and ✨communicate✨ with Brighton created a palpable tension that could at times be exasperating. I do feel as though this did allow us to understand the reasoning behind the 'altar incident' but it was a bit much at times. However, the cozy Colorado holiday setting, complete with snowy landscapes, horseback riding, and cookie decorating, really brought out the magic of the season. The festive activities not only offer a delightful contrast to Charlotte’s emotional struggles but also serve as a catalyst for her eventual character growth.

I also ADORED the use of music in this novel and I really need December Light to be released as a single asap. The author and characters love of music really came through for me in the novel and I was pumping my fist into the air when Brighton stood up for herself against some old bandmates.

Finally, the side characters were a really great part of this story, with banter, a side-love-story and meaningful depiction of adult friendships really fleshed out the narrative, making it the engaging novel it is.

Name Christmas, give me a book that has all the Christmas movie vibes and whether it is summer, autumn or winter I will be there.

Charlotte is a talented violinist who, after being left at the altar, sees December as that 'cursed' time when everything goes wrong. Five years after the tragic accident Charlotte leads a successful music career in New York and lives with the scars of the past still open, anxiety and all the barriers raised even with her closest friends that page after page will fall.

Brighton, on the other hand, is the opposite: she is an open book, she is extroverted and, although it is not easy, she tries to make up in every way for the mistakes in the past that have caused the scars that mark Charlotte.

Charlotte and Brighton were best friends and then betrothed ... until Brighton leaves Charlotte at the altar to find himself spending the Christmas holidays with her five years later. Personally, I'm not a fan of second chances because I for one could never forgive something like that, but I must admit that here I changed my mind: it may have been due to the Christmas atmosphere, but the author, through past and present moments, managed to convey that relationships are often made up of joy, pain, growth, forgiveness and understanding, and that if there is commitment on both sides, you can start afresh.

I finished this book in one afternoon and found it perfect for all those people who, like me, love Christmas and the magical atmosphere!

Ashley Herring Blake is an auto-buy author for me. As soon as I saw this was being released I had to have it. I was not disappointed. This is a tale of second chances and people in love coming back together.

The characters were so well written and you could feel their chemistry from the words on the page. There is also a found family aspect which I’m a huge, huge fan of. All of the characters were written so well.

I was slightly skeptical due to it being an holiday romance (NOT A FAN) but it didn’t take over the whole plot of the book.

"Charlotte Donovan was cursed."

3.5 stars

I feel quite torn about my feelings for this book. There are so many things that I loved about this story, and yet there were a few things that held me back from enjoying it even more.

I liked the premise of the story, I liked the idea of the main couple meeting again after everything that had happened. I was drawn in with finding out what had happened between them the first time. I definitely felt the chemistry between characters at times, it was enjoyable to see the love and care of characters in scenes. I think the wider cast of characters dynamic was truly the most enjoyable. I loved all the interactions between the main and side characters, I loved the dynamics and the humour that the side characters brought to the scenes. I liked the side characters were also able to bring forth the development and movement with the main characters.

I just wanted to feel the love between characters a bit more. I think at times that the flow of the story and the flipping between emotions made it harder to feel connected to the relationship that was happening. I wanted to feel more strongly that their relationship had develop and their character arcs had been truly realised. I also wanted some other parts of the plot to be explored more and give us more glimpses into the characters.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for this eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I really enjoyed this even with second chances not really being my favourite but this one was adorable and they were so made for each other
I loved the setting it sounded so magical I would love to visit !!
I adored all the characters and am hoping Adele gets her own book !
Bright and Lola broke my heart and mended it
Such a sweet Christmas filled fun story

Unfortunately not for me, I could not connect with the characters or writing style. I would still recommend if you enjoy second chance romances and Ashley Herring Blake.