this debut feels like a debut. it was clunky, repetitive, and overly long. the main characters were ciphers; i barely knew what they looked like and i don't know their names. yet another contemporary in this self-insert style and it just doesn't work for me. Add on a combination of things I personally do not enjoy, (single POV, friends to lovers, unwarned about parental death from cancer), an overall lackluster, sad time was had.

romances that heavily rely on internal thoughts by one character without backup from another POV are not my favorite. i read romance for the comfort, and this was not a fun, holiday romance. this was a sad, set in winter on a struggling tree farm story involving a 'mystery sabotage' sub plot, fake dating for a reality show, and also being in love with your best friend and effectively dating (without calling it dating yet being clearly horny ALL THE TIME) for 10 years.

Maybe it is the sagittarius in me, but the love interests in this story were irritating and not in a fun way. maybe i'd be more kindly inclined toward them if i wasn't slapped with a surprise cancer plot line too, but really, ten years and he can't even say he loves you? just assumes? no one talks? but yet you cuddle and touch ALL THE TIME? sure okay. And why couldn't they be together? there was no reason beyond "I don't want to ruin the relationship." Nothing else.

there were some beautiful lines, yet there was a breathtaking amount of horny snuffling and putting mouths on places, and just weird unerotic yet supposed to be sexy sexy times that didn't work for me.

I would MAYBE try one more from this author, since she is so popular and i was put in a MOOD while reading.

Content notes: cishet, white male hero, christmas tree farm owning white female heroine. one character is described as having "dark skin" but is the only character described this way. both main characters' parents are dead (one from cancer). someone is sabotaging and causing damage/destruction to the tree farm. a secondary character is a police officer.