Ashley Herring Blake's Make the Season Bright is a charming stand-alone sapphic Christmas rom-com. Musicians Brighton and Charlotte have known each other since they were 12, and were certain they were the loves of each other's lives. But five years ago, Brighton left Charlotte at the altar and Charlotte still hasn't recovered. When their Christmas plans find them not only in the same small town but also in the same house, they are forced to face what happened.
Jam-packed with a fun and diverse cast of characters and holiday merriment, Make the Season Bright is exactly what readers would expect from Herring Blake (Delilah Green Doesn't Care; Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail). Of course the town is a little too good to be true--it's Christmas! Of course they get snowed in--it's Christmas! There are cookies and carols and references to many 1980s and '90s Christmas movies.
The music careers of both main characters provide appealing subplots and additional conflict. Brighton is a former member of a band that only recently went viral, and Charlotte plays in a successful string quartet headed on tour; Herring Blake deftly incorporates all of this into the novel.
Make the Season Bright is a wonderfully modern and refreshing take on the classic small-town Christmas romance. There's a meddling mother. There's also a local dating event, but everybody talks to everybody; there is no assumed heterosexuality here. The author thoughtfully includes content warnings regarding sex, drinking, parental neglect, and claustrophobia, which many readers may appreciate. Lovers of holiday rom-coms will enjoy the cozy, sexy Make the Season Bright. --Alyssa Parssinen, freelance reviewer and former bookseller