Book Review: Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

About the Book:

Title: Lovelight Farms

Author: B.K. Borinson

Series: Lovelight #1

Page Length: 322

Publisher: Berkley

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.

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon

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My Review:

This is a fun and sweet best-friends-to-lovers contemporary romance, and with a Christmas tree farm setting, small-town charm, and a fabulous cast of characters, the story has major Hallmark movie vibes. The protagonists, Stella and Luka, have a wonderful slow-burn romance. Best friends for a decade, both are afraid to admit their feelings and take their relationship to the next level, especially Stella. What if it fails? But when they start fake dating so that Stella can stay in the competition to save her farm things change.

The story takes place on a Christmas tree farm called Lovelight Farms, and it’s in a quaint little town with tons of charm. It’s the perfect backdrop to Stella and Luka’s love story, and it sounds like a place I’d love to visit, especially during the holidays. The Christmas spirit is definitely alive at Lovelight Farms, complete with an amazing National Lampoons Christmas Vacation reference. Love it!

The love story between Stella and Luka is a slow-building and lovely romance. I have to say, Luka is a patient man, and you can tell he is all in from the very beginning. He was just waiting for the right chance. In love with Stella for as long as they’ve been friends, Luka knew she wasn’t ready for a committed relationship, and he was content to remain friends. However, you can tell from the start that his feelings run deep (as do Stella’s). Their transition from friends to more is so natural and so easy. They just needed a little push to get them past the friend zone and into the dating arena. There’s a lot of mutual pining between them as they take those tentative first steps.

Something I really liked about the story is how you see all the little ways Luka’s been telling Stella he loves her for years. She’s a little oblivious to his feelings, but as she starts to see his gestures as more than acts of friendship, it’s so romantic and endearing. I’ve never loved pine tree car fresheners as much as I did when I read this book! At one point, Stella reflects on her relationship with Luka and says he has filled the emptiness in her life. He was there at her darkest moments, and their friendship healed her in a way. They are so wonderful together, and their easy banter and amazing chemistry is just one of the highlights of the book.

The secondary characters are fantastic too. The phone tree is hysterical, especially Beckett’s participation in it, and the way the community all works together to support Stella is heartwarming. And I love Beckett and so need to read his story! Layla too. Stella, Beckett, and Layla, and by extension Luka and a few others, form this wonderful found family, which is one of my favorite tropes. This is particularly poignant because Stella lost her mother and has a stilted relationship with her father. I love that she finds a family in her friends.

I would definitely recommend Lovelight Farms to contemporary romance readers, and I can’t wait to read the next in the series! A wonderful romance about friendship, love, and holiday magic, the plot has a bit of a mystery too as someone is trying to sabotage Stella’s business. It adds another layer to the story and raises the stakes even more for Stella. Special thanks to Berkley Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Rating:

Favorite Parts:

• The romance.

• The setting.

• The secondary characters.

Favorite Lines:

Luka filled the empty places in my life slowly, carefully, with his easy smile and stupid jokes. He brought me back to myself. And it’s been that way ever since.

Leaning on other people doesn’t make your achievement any less yours.

I know you can take care of yourself. You’ve been doing that as long as I’ve known you. But let me hold your hand while you do it, okay?

Tropes:

• friends to lovers
• small town romance
• fake dating
• found family
• holiday romance