The Christmas Tree Farm

Author: Melody Carlson
Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group, 2024
Pages: 176
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: When Madison McDowell returns from several years teaching overseas, she has high hopes of picking up where she left off at her family's Christmas tree farm in Oregon. But between damage from a recent wildfire and neglect due to her sister Addie's unwillingness to invest, the farm is in sad shape. In fact, Addie is intent on selling the property. And to top it off, her former high school flame, the now-widowed Gavin Thompson, has plans to break Madison's heart again by turning his neighboring property into a dusty, noisy dirt bike track for his daughter.

With the odds stacked against her, Madison decides there's only one thing to do: double down on her dreams. It will take a ton of hard work - and some help from an unlikely ally - to save the farm she so dearly loves. But it may take a miracle to restore her relationship with her sister.

Review: Christmas is over and we're in the very blah month of January. Why not read another Christmas novella? The Christmas Tree Farm lived up to expectations, and it was a fun, festive read to distract me from the cold, gray days.

A Novel Summer

Author: Jamie Brenner
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Park Row Books, 2024
Pages: 320
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Author Shelby Archer found inspiration for her first novel while living on the picturesque shores of Provincetown on Cape Cod. When she comes to the town to celebrate her new bestseller, she is expecting a warm homecoming. But instead she is confronted with the cold shoulders of friends and neighbors who feel exposed and betrayed.

Heartbroken, Shelby tries to move on and focus on her next novel. But then an unexpected call comes: her dear friend who owns the beloved Land's End bookshop needs help for the summer. Shelby reluctantly returns to the Cape to manage the store.

Back at the beach, Shelby sets her focus on the tiny seaside shop, getting lost in the shelves of steamy romance novels and dusty classics and trying to right the wrongs of her past. With every page turned and every customer served, Shelby comes closer to gaining back the trust of those she hurt. But as her manuscript deadline nears, she is again forced to choose between her own success and a second chance at love and belonging.

Review: "Bookish" novels are not my favorite. How
ever, Jamie Brenner is one of my favorite authors so skipping this was not an option. This novel took a long time to gain traction and pull me in. Not a favorite.

Other Jamie Brenner Novels
Blush
Drawing Home
Gilt
Summer Longing
The Forever Summer
The Gin Lovers
The Husband Hour

The Gin Lovers

Author: Jamie Brenner
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2012
Pages: 448
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: It's 1925, and the Victorian era with its confining morals is all but dead. Unfortunately, for New York socialite, Charlotte Delacorte, the scandalous flapper revolution is little more than a headline in the tabloids. Living with her rigid and controlling husband, William, her Fifth Avenue townhouse is a gilded cage. But when William's rebellious younger sister, the beautiful and brash Mae, comes to live with them after the death of their mother, Charlotte finds entree to a world beyond her wildest dreams - and a handsome and mysterious stranger whom she imagines is as confident in the bedroom as he is behind the bar of his forbidden speakeasy.

Review: Jamie Brenner is one of my favorite authors, and I loved The Gin Lovers. Spicier than what is typical from her, this was perfect to read when you just want to be buried underneath an electric blanket with a cup of tea. 

The jazz age and Prohibition era captures my imagination every time, and the characters were impossible to put down. The Gin Lovers is a delightful soap opera, and one I recommend for long, cold January days.

Originally published as a 6 part serial for ebooks, The Gin Lovers is the compilation of these parts into one novel. Each chapter has an arc which makes reading this as a singular novel interesting. Something is always happening.

Other Jamie Brenner Novels
A Novel Summer
Blush
Drawing Home
Gilt
Summer Longing
The Forever Summer
The Husband Hour

The Last House on the Street

Author: Diane Chamberlain
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2023
Pages: 384
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: 1965: Growing up in the well-to-do town of Round Hill, North Carolina, Ellie Hockley was raised to be a certain type of proper Southern lady. Enrolled in college and all but engaged to a bank manager, Ellie isn't committed to her expected future as her family believes. She's chosen to spend her summer break as a volunteer helping to register black voters. But as Ellie follows her ideals fighting for the civil rights of the marginalized, her scandalized parents scorn her efforts, and her neighbors reveal their prejudices. And when she loses her heart to a fellow volunteer, Ellie discovers the frightening true nature of the people living in Round Hill.

2010: Architect Kayla Carter and her husband designed a beautiful house for themselves in Round Hill's new development, Shadow Ridge Estates. It was supposed to be a home where they could raise their three-year-old daughter and grow old together. Instead, it's the place where Kayla's husband died in an accident - a fact known to a mysterious woman who warns Kayla against moving in. The woods and lake behind the property are reputed to be haunted, and the new home has been targeted by vandals leaving threatening notes. And Kayla's neighbor Ellie Hockley is harboring long buried secrets about the dark history of the land where her house was built.

Two women, two stories. Both on a collision course with the truth - no matter what that truth may bring in light.

Review: I was on a Diane Chamberlain kick for awhile, but then I got away from reading her. This author can write, and I find myself googling for more information on either the subject matter or something she mentions. I found myself thinking about these characters, especially Kayla, when I had to set the book aside. I shed a few tears and not for the characters necessarily, but for all the people who would have experienced these turbulent times and because some people still can't' see past the colors of someone's skin. Five stars.

The Most

Author: Jessica Anthony
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2024
Pages: 144
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: It's November 3, 1957. As Sputnik 2 launches into space, carrying Laika, the doomed Soviet dog, a couple begin their day. Virgil Beckett, an insurance salesman, isn't particularly happy in his job but he fulfills the role. Kathleen Beckett, once a promising tennis champion with a key shot up her sleeve, is now a mother and homemaker. On this unseasonably warm Sunday, Kathleen decides not to join her family at church. Instead, she unearths her old, red bathing suit and descends into the deserted swimming pool of their apartment complex in Newark, Delaware. And then she won't come out.

Set over eight hours, The Most breaches the shimmering surface of a seemingly idyllic mid-century marriage, immersing us in the unspoken truth beneath.

Review: I think I picked this book up at the library at the end of 2024 because it was short, and I was concerned that I wouldn't complete my reading challenge. However, I actually finished one book ahead and started this in 2025. I loved it.

As I write this review and think about what drew me in, I love it even more. There's so much complexity and nuance in what is a short novel at 144 pages. It's life and it resonated.