So I already knew that I’d have mixed feelings about Stella and Luka’s dynamic, which was definitely the case. I’m not the biggest friends to lovers fan, but I’ve heard so many great things about this series that I decided to start at the beginning – my initial attempt to read book 2 was unsuccessful because I hadn’t read this one yet. So when Luka agrees to be her fake boyfriend, Stella is uncertain what effect it will have on their relationship. Sure, Stella might wish that Luka was her boyfriend, but he’s become way too important to her to ever cross that line – she can’t risk losing him. The only problem? Luka is actually her best friend, the man who has had her back for the last nine years. But she also finds herself claiming that she runs the farm with her boyfriend, Luka. When Stella has the opportunity to compete for a social media influencer’s cash prize and media exposure for the farm, she jumps at the chance. She loves everything about it, but a series of issues has lead to some serious financial woes. The story follows Stella, a woman who bought a Christmas-themed tree farm about a year ago. It’s a stellar debut, setting up a series that promises to be incredibly heartwarming and adorable – and also kinda sexy. The good news is that there was so much other stuff to love about the story that it (almost) made up for my frustration. I’m really not a friends to lovers girl though, so maybe that’s your jam, lol. The only person who didn’t know that these two would end up together was her, and that made for SO MANY moments where I wanted to shake her. There are TONS of moments that made me swoon… which just made me even more frustrated with the heroine for being so oblivious. I also adored the hero, who is so obviously head over heels for his girl from the moment he meets her.

It’s easy to see why this friends to lovers romance is so popular – it is completely swoony and CHARMING, with a great found family feel and an intriguing cast of characters.

Lovelight farms paperback