Series Name: Lovelight, # 1
“I need you to date me,” I blurt out. My palms are sweating, my heart is somewhere in my throat, and my stomach has completely removed itself from the conversation.
Luka, for his part, doesn’t so much as flinch. He just calmly twirls his fork around and around, collecting the world’s longest spaghetti noodle. “Okay.” He pops his fork into his mouth.
“It’s fake,” I practically yell at him. I don’t know why I’m talking so loud. I make a conscious effort to turn it down. “It wouldn’t—I meant to ask if you would pretend to date me. The pretend part is important.”
He shrugs. “Sure.”
Sure. Sure. I’m on the verge of a total mental break, but Luka says sure.
Lovelight Farms is a perfect holiday read.
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.
This book has been on my radar for quite some time. I’ve heard great things about B.K.’s writing, and her Lovelight series has gotten plenty of social media buzz. I adored this book in its entirety. It was this perfect blend of Hallmark sweetness and delicious spice. This is the first book in the series, and B.K. does a great job at introducing her readers to the world and characters she has created. There wasn’t anything that I felt didn’t work. There is plenty of humour, romance, drama, and even a little bit of mystery. Everything in this book has a purpose, whether to move the plot along or set things up for future books in the series. All the secondary characters are FABULOUS, especially Beckett, the broody and gorgeous caretaker of Lovelight Farms. Beckett’s side story in this book is that he takes care of a litter of kittens, and I might have squealed in happiness whenever Beckett and his kittens were on the page. It was just such a super cute story. I’m super pumped for his story, which is the next book in the series.
This is a small-town romance, meaning you get oodles of charm and quirkiness. The community of Inglewild is such a great place to spend time in. I loved every moment I got to spend there, and I loved hanging out at Lovelight Farms. It kind of made me want to go out and buy my own Christmas tree farm. I also really enjoyed the Christmas feel of this book. B.K. put just enough Christmas-ness in this book to get readers into the holiday spirit without it feeling like you are being hit over the head with a candy cane.
The romance in this book is this delightful blend of sweet and spicy. It’s clear that both Luka and Stella have it bad for each other right from the very beginning of this book. There is lots of pinning happening on both sides. But Luka and Stella are hesitant and afraid to make that first romantic move. I’m not always a fan of fake dating tropes, but I enjoyed this one. I think it’s because they just fit so well together right from the beginning, and nothing felt fake about their relationship. To me, they just used this opportunity of pretending to be dating to act upon those romantic feelings that have been harbouring for years. I liked these two together. Their chemistry was believable, and I loved watching them interact with each other. The only thing I might have found slightly hard to believe was that they couldn’t tell that they had a crush on each other.
Lovelight Farms is a perfect holiday romance and a fabulous start to a new rom-com series.