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Helena Greer: Season of Love (2022, Grand Central Publishing) 5 stars

When Miriam Blum unexpectedly inherits part of her eccentric aunt's Christmas tree farm, she has …

Really a good read; not just the trope-remix that it sounds like from the description

5 stars

I didn't read this immediately because I've read kind of a lot of holiday romances lately and they can be frustratingly formulaic, but it turned out to be quite good!

The central conflict wasn't just about the characters failing to communicate or trust or whatever. When the characters did have difficulty it was (1) very plausible, given their backstories, and (2) something they processed with a decent level of emotional maturity. It also showcases a really lovely and supportive found-family.

Overall, the book nicely skated the edge between trope-y and sincere. It could be described as a holiday homecoming romance between an artist who's famous on social media and a butch christmas tree farmer, which makes it sound like pure trope remix. But! It's also a romance between a recovering alcoholic and someone fleeing an abusive parent, which sounds way darker than it is. It's both of those, and it's …