I love a book based off a Taylor Swift song, but even as a hardcore Taylor fan this felt like overkill. I love a good playlist at the beginning of a book, but having a song associated with each chapter was too much (especially when the songs didn’t even make sense a lot of the times with the chapters). The characters felt very surface-level, and I didn’t like the alternating timelines. I’m a fan of short chapters, but the chapters in this book felt way too short. The writing also read more immature, which makes sense after learning the author is 16. I think this book could be really good with some editing and skewing it more towards a younger audience.

TW for sexual assault that appeared out of nowhere.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book. First, it should be noted that this book contains mentions of sexual assault without Trigger Warnings so please be aware.

‘Tis the Damn Season follows Aspen Moore as she navigates her first career controversy: being accused of coming onto (and hooking up with) her best friend’s boyfriend. Aspen takes this as a sign that she needs a break from the Hollywood scene (where she is not only a famous pop star but also a lead actress of a very successful tv show) and heads home for an extended holiday break with her family.

While I have to give this author props for publishing a book at such a young age, there is a certain romantic naivety that carries throughout the story about relationships and Hollywood. For example, the fmc lands a leading role in a popular tv show within 10 months of arriving to Hollywood and her very first album is wildly successful with several number 1 hits and a world tour. Additionally, the fmc and mmc break up and do not talk for months when she is working in Hollywood but immediately get back together as soon as she is home with no issues. Yet, when she comes home this time and he tries to pursue their relationship, it’s suddenly an issue?

Unfortunately, there are also several inconsistencies with the main character personalities throughout the story too: the fmc is supposedly the love of the mmc’s life yet he slut shames her and calls her an attention whore several times and it’s okay? The fmc states many times that she doesn’t drink and doesn’t going to bars because of all of the people yet loves dancing in a crowded club. These are just some examples I can provide without out having to tag this post as containing spoilers.

I think overall, this is a good starting place for the author. All of the characters could use some fleshing out, the dialog needs some work to feel natural, and general typos and word misses can fixed.