It’s Autumn. Is there a better time to fall in love?
Imari Haines has had it with the gossip. The whole town is acting like she’s their very own Runaway Bride. A plus-size, black version of Julia Roberts that left a perfectly nice boy at the altar.
Her family is no exception. Her mother won’t stop making passive-aggressive comments.
Exhausted by this charged atmosphere, a boss that doesn’t appreciate her, and the never-ending town rumors, Imari makes a bold decision. Come autumn, she moves to Appeley (a small town in Hill Country) and never looks back.
In Appeley, for the first time ever, Imari feels welcome, happy, and unapologetically herself. She tries new things, makes brand-new friends and, while attending the fall apple festival, she accidentally bumps into a very familiar face…
Cassidy Martinez was her childhood best friend and partner in crime. Now, she has grown into a stunning, confident woman, and Imari can’t help noticing.
Should she take a risk?
Can the two of them pick up where they left off, or is being friends not going to be enough this time around?
An F/F Black BBW Sapphic Romance featuring plus-size main characters, a small town, autumn themes, butches and studs, motorcycle rides, coffeeshops, childhood friends-to-lovers romance, and tons of found family feels.
Georgina Kiersten (Rian Fox) is an author known for their wide range of LGBTQ+ romance novels that center around the stories of Black queer and trans individuals. As a Black-disabled trans person who was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. In addition to having dyslexia, being autistic, and having ADHD. They have a unique perspective on writing romance. It also drives their passion to create a diverse and inclusive romance genre for everyone.
When they're not writing (which is rare), they can often be found reading a good book, watching bl dramas, drinking their body weight in tea, and co-parenting their five children, two dogs, and their growing horde of stray cats.
A short novella about Imari, a very anxious woman being harassed by her narcissist mother, who runs into her old childhood friend and falls in love. It's a very short read, angst free in the relationship, which will appeal to people looking for an immensely cosy, warm sapphic story. Both leads are Black and Imari is fat, as per the lovely cover.
Personally, I would have liked to see Imari's issues with her mother played either up or down--the opening is pretty stressful, with the weight of harassment and guilt, but it's resolved pretty easily, and the writing and characters are strong enough to bear a bit more weight. And I do have to note this needed a proper line edit. I hate nagging at that with self-published authors because /waves hands at economic injustice, publishers, and barriers to entry especially for marginalised people/ but it did impede the reading experience for me. You may be less niggly than me (let's be real, that's a statistical likelihood) and there's a great deal to like here if you need a soft, warm, low-angst read.
It was kinda boring and novellas should be anything but boring. I would've enjoyed it much more if it had been longer. The characters needed more depth. They were childhood friends, but other than that aspect being mentioned, their history didn't add anything to their chemistry, because it wasn't explored.
Her relationship with her mother was anxiety inducing. I wish that had been explored further but it just abruptly ends with her blocking her mother?
There was potential for her to really form a found family in that small town she moved to but again, there was barely anything there.
I was holding on to scraps for the entire story.
The book had great elements. It was cosy and it's perfect to read during the autumn/winter season. Once our main characters got together, it was so sweet! It had the potential to be a beautiful sapphic story.
But ultimately, I just didn't vibe with the execution.
If you're looking for cozy wholesome vibes, look no further. This is a childhood friends-to-lovers sapphic short with butch/stud rep set in a friendly small town. Imani struggles with not only her own mistakes in dating and her tumultuous relationship with her mother, and we get to see her embrace self-love and prioritize her own happiness. I also loved the autumn vibes, coffee shop, found family, and foodie descriptions.
A great little palate cleanser pick-me-up (and yes, there's some spice) between bigger, heavier reads for sure!
This was good but for only 65 pages, it took me a few days to finish. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style or the sex scene. The word “lover” was used too much.
This was a really cute story! Childhood best friends reconnecting as adults at a fall festival and discovering a spark... A sweet and steamy f/f short story with a fat, Black, bisexual main character, I enjoyed this and would read more from the author. Note that because it's a short story, we do get to "love" in a kind of unbelievable timeline and it might have worked better for me if treated more as a promising start to a relationship. There were also some minor writing/editing things that were distracting at first, like over-using the main characters name and not using enough pronouns. (along the lines of: Imari noticed she was feeling cold so Imari went to get a sweater...) I eventually just skimmed over that but it might irritate some readers. That said, it's a self-published story so I try to give a bit of leeway on the copyediting front. Overall, I enjoyed this and would read more from this author in the future!
Friends who love Fall, but are not fans of spooky season, Georgina Kiersten's Fall Into You is like biting into a perfectly crisp 🍎 while you stroll through a harvest fest with your crush. 🍂
Childhood friends, reconnected as adults. Both grew up in the same church, but left and lost track of each other. Now both out as queer women, Imari Haines and Cassidy Martinez are both living in the lovely Appely, and bump into each other at the local harvest fest.
Imari is reclaiming her life after leaving her fiancee at the altar, and learning to choose herself instead of her emotionally abusive mother's recrimination. Cassidy is the owner of a local coffee shop, and has never forgotten Imari.
Such a delight, excited for more stories set in this world.
Author has CWs listed in the beginning of the book; available on Kindle Unlimited as of the writing of this review. 11/10/21
This is a difficult one to rate and review because of one hand I absolutely loved the representation that we got in Imari who is fat, Black, and bisexual; however, my reading experience didn't really agree with the writing style.
Fall Into You is a contemporary romance that follows childhood best friends as they fall in love. Imari moves to the small town of Appeley to escape that gossip and shame that came after she left her fiancé at the alter. One day, Imari runs into her old childhood friend Cassidy who has grown into this beautiful, smart and confident woman. The two have an instantaneous level of chemistry that goes beyond friendship. I really enjoyed watching the two get reacquainted in a different way. The ease of their relationship and the comfort that felt between one another was extremely rewarding for me as a reader.
Unfortunately, the book fell a little flat for me on two fronts. I think that the writing style was not necessarily one that I meshed with. The author utilized a lot of proper pronouns (i.e. the characters names) instead of just saying "she." It came off extremely awkward and made it feel as though the characters names were being used too much. Secondly, the introduction of Imari's mother lacked the nuance that I was looking for. Readers know that they have a falling out because of a variety of things, namely Imari leaving her fiance at the alter, but I wanted that relationship to be explored a little more. It clearly impacts Imari's self-esteem/how she views herself, but its continuously pushed under the rug and Imari simply blocks her number. While I've been there with a parent and I've done the same thing, I think it would have been great to spend a little more time dedicated to really dissecting that relationship and the impact on Imari. It's touched on a little, but not enough for the severity of the situation.
While this wasn't my favorite romance, I still think that it was a solid read and I'm interested in checking out other books by this author if they publish more in the future.
This was a cozy, Sapphic Fall romance novella that features Imari, a plus-sized, Black bisexual woman who recently left her fiancé at the alter. Struggling with a toxic relationship with her mother, Imari doesn't expect to run into her childhood friend, Cassidy while at a local Fall festival. The two quickly reconnect and jump into a relationship.
I enjoyed motorcycle driving, super confident Cassidy a lot and Imari's friendship with Zephyr. For a novella there was a lot of character depth and some delicious spice. My only complaint was that there were a LOT of typos for such a short book. I might be a little too picky but I would have expected a bit more of a finished version. That said the author is dyslexic so maybe that played a role?? Overall a quick, fun seasonal read perfect for fans of authors like Talia Hibbert.
This black, sapphic small town romance is a quick read. It was like 70 pages in the ebook, and I read it in like 2 hours. Given that amount of space, we don't get too deep into Imari or the love interest Cassidy's back stories, it's just foot on the gas. Their relationship moves pretty quick because they're already familiar from being childhood friends without any of the hangups about romance possibly ruining the friendship. Their date was cute. The sex was good. I had the Kindle version, and there were 5 or less distracting typos (missing quotation marks, incorrect speaker tags). I had fun with this read.
Imari runs into her old childhood friend Cassidy at a fall festival, they go on a motorcycle ride and a picnic for their first date, and romance ensues. Short and instalove that could have been developed further but sweet! I loved Imari’s cat Bramble, who had quite the personality.
Characters: Imari is a 30 year old fat bisexual Black graphic designer. She has a wonderful cat named Bramble. Cassidy is a 30 year old Latina coffee shop owner. This is set in Appeley, TX.
Content notes: emotionally abusive mother , on page sex, reference to fatshaming by mother
The representation of a plus size, black, bisexual main character was beautiful, and the cover of this book is stunning. This was really sweet, and I’d definitely be interested in more from this author, but as a novella this story didn’t work. It needed more pining, more angst. It was essentially running into an old friend, immediately asking her out and then going home with her. Because of how rushed it was, I never really had a vested interest in either character. Had it been a full length novel we could’ve had some backstory, and some fleshing out of both Imari and Cassidy.
If you’re a fan of romance novellas though, I think this could be right up your alley!
Because this is a romance novella, and I do not want to give any spoilers, I am just going to tell you that you don’t want to miss this one.
The writing style sucked me in immediately, then there is actual tension and stakes put in but you are drawn to the romance within the book. I could not put this one down, and when the spicy scene(s) came around, I was a very happy reader. I do not want to spoil it by saying how much spice is in this book or where it happens, but just know you are going to love this one.
I also reallllllly enjoyed the coffeeshop setting, as that is one of my favorite environments. Friends to lovers might be tied with enemies to loves for me.
Short and sweet quick read about having boundaries, making positive changes, found family, body positivity and second chance connections. Imari finally standing up for herself and moving away from her toxic family, church and community to be near her best friend in a queer friendly town. While helping her friend, she bumps into her old childhood friend that has grown into a stunning adult. Their reconnection is sweet and gets a bit sexy. It was a perfect ending (although I’d love to read more of them!) concluding on Thanksgiving which is when I finished reading!
Tropes: childhood bestfriends to strangers to lovers
TW/CW: emotional abuse, fatphobia, homophobia,
Representation: multicultural romance, plus size rep, bisexual rep, sapphic romance
Favorite quote: none
Thoughts: this novella was so freakin cute! i loved this so much! you could tell Imari was really trying to find herself and figure out her shit. Cassidy was so sweet and we love a queen on a motorcycle!
This is my first experience with Georgina Kiersten's writing and it won't be my last. Sweet & sexy novella about childhood friends who reconnect and then become something more. Entirely from Imari’s perspective, it was cute to see her shyness and hesitance with Cassidy. Though some of her discomfort was from how Imari’s family has treated her. I loved that she had the support of new friends and that Cassidy was enthusiastically drawn to Imari exactly the way she was.
I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
That smile should be classified as a dangerous weapon.
3.5 stars. A short, breezy, low angst novella about a woman who left her fiancé at the altar finding romance with an old childhood friend. Imari moved away from her hometown after the debacle of her wedding, and also because of her overbearing and controlling mother. She's surprised but delighted to run into Cassidy, and sparks fly. This is pretty short and really simple, but I was smiling the entire time I read it. I adored the inclusion of little snippets of poetry at the beginning of each chapter, which really helped to establish the cosy autumn vibes. Imari is a great and easily relatable character to follow, and her crush on Cassidy was so cute. I loved their chemistry, and the steam was perfect. Hell yeah for fat queer black women getting theirs, and getting it good.
A really sweet, cosy read, definitely recommended.
• A season of love book 1 Fall into you • Author Georgina Kiersten • MC Imari Haines & Cassidy Martinez
This book follows Imari, who has a ridiculously mean mother, who has really impacted her self esteem and self worth. Imari is 30 years old and her mother would guilt her into making her do things she did not want to do.
Imari has her best friend and her cat. She goes out to help at an out door event, and runs Into her childhood friend Cassidy. Cassidy is now in the same town and owns a coffee shop. Cassidy and Imari reconnect on a whole different level. This is a story about their journey and finding peace and happiness within yourself.
Zeph was amazing supporting character for Imari.
I was happy when Imari realized her happiness was the only thing that matters.At some point in our life we have to live for ourselves, not others, even our Parents.
I love this story, it’s about finding love and family. I highly recommend this book. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is such a comforting, cute love story. I found myself immediately rooting for Imari and, like her bestie, wanted to toss Imari's phone into the ocean every time Imari's mom called to bother her! Kiersten does a fantastic job with both scene-setting and describing the magic early-autumn weather can bring. My heart soared when Imari (literally) runs into her old friend, Cassidy. The chemistry between the two is instantaneous! This novella should be on every romance reader's TBR!
What a cute, sweet, warm romance! Perfect autumn vibes and cozy feels. Absolutely the kind of short, quick pick-me-up read to check out when you need a shot of serotonin.
Hello sapphic adorableness!! Yes, this is a fall based romance, but I don't care! I love this take on a childhood friends to lovers trope, and I definitely need to pick up more from this author.
Thank you to the author for an ARC in exchange for a review!
I was lucky enough to help beta this novella and so I was excited to see the final product! I adore friends to lovers and childhood friends who’ve lost touch and are reconnecting hold a special place in my heart. This novella is so full of found family with cozy fall feels that I know it will be one I reread when I need something to improve my mood. There’s also a really great message about learning to let go when dealing with an emotionally abusive relative.
Honest review provided in exchange for an ARC of this book: A cute story and I liked reading about Imari’s shyness and hesitation to pursue Cassidy. The inclusion of the ex-fiancé felt a bit unnecessary as in novella format we didn’t get to see much happen with it, same goes for the mom. The technical issues took me out of it a lot, which was a bummer. Imari’s thoughts were all in quotation marks, many sentences had grammatical errors or repeated words that a beta or editor could’ve caught.
Having been offered an ARC, I had high hopes going into this book, it being wlw, Black-centric, and plus-size positive. And I was not disappointed.
The plot is simple and straightforward. The prose is easy, almost cosy. There are some technical issues I have, but nothing that drew me out of it.
This isn't some masterpiece you've been waiting for. No point in denying it. But it's relatable. The romance is comfortable.
If you're looking for an easy read with a character that could easily be your best friend telling you how they met their significant other, this is definitely the book for you.