kimbacaffeinate
The novel is basically a re-cap of prior stories, giving the reader an update into past character's lives. It also tells the tale of Beth Morehouse and her ex-husband Kent. Their two college age daughters decide to do a little matchmaking. They devise a plan to reunite their parents for Christmas. The plot was predictable and cute, but was so bogged down by the recaps and prior characters, that I found myself skimming pages. Macomber tried to work all of her past characters into the novel through ten orphaned puppies, but with sixty plus characters to mention, this made the tale cumbersome. I would have preferred a novel more focused on Beth and Kent. She could have included a letter in the back of the book updating us on our favorite characters. Perhaps written by the judge telling us about the folks in Cedar Cove. Ah, well.
I loved the Cedar Cove series and recommend it to anyone who enjoys small-town and contemporary romances. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane just didn't do it for me and felt more like the credits at the end of a movie, with a short heart-warming story nestled somewhere in the middle. I am looking forward to Macomber's next series.
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