A review by beckyyreadss
The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore

emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I read the first book in the series when it was the book club’s pick of the month when it first game. I enjoyed the first book in the series and was hoping this book was better than the second book and it’s not. It's not the best writing but it was a Christmas book.  

This book has two points of view. The first is Kira North and she hates Christmas. Which is unfortunate since she just bought a Christmas tree farm in a town that’s too cute for its own good. The second point of view is Bennett Ellis, and he is on holiday in Dream Harbor to see his sister and taking a break from his life in California and most importantly taking a break from his latest run of disastrous dates. After a run in with Kira in her fields, Ben has no intention of offering to help the grumpy owner set up her tree farm, despite the fact she’s clearly got no idea what she’s doing. Kira knows she should stop being so stubborn, but her farm is not all cute and cozy like people always show on social media, it’s borderline dangerous with no heating, and she’d rather no one saw it. But somehow fate finds Ben at Kira’s farm once more, and as Kira watches him swing an axe at the first tree, she finds herself appreciating his strength and questioning why she refused help in the first place.  

I still enjoyed the small-town vibes during this book and how everyone knows what the hell is going on with them besides Ben and Kira. I love how Kira was determined not to fall for Ben but failed massive. I love that Ben was trying his damn hardest to not fall for Kira and failed as well. I loved the idea of the Christmas Tree Farm and how Kira went from despising it but ended up falling in love with the holiday and the farm. I liked Kira’s development and how she was wanting to stand up on her own two feet without her sister but also knowing that she doesn’t have to do it alone, and how she managed to find the balance of being independent and asking for help. I always love dual POV in romance books, it makes it 10000% better. This book was an easy read, so it didn’t require a lot of brain power at all which I liked especially as I read multiple books at a time. I loved the side characters in this book and how the gang is growing, and they are all looking after each other no matter what.  

One of the worse things within these books is the miscommunication trope which is literally the underlying theme within this series. Kira thinks she has to be strong and alone to prove a point, Ben doesn’t want to be a pushover again and thinks Kira is like his ex-girlfriend. They have a planned arrangement and then they both got spooked and wanted more but didn’t know how to bring it up. Like have a conversation and see if the other person is interested in long distance or if they wanted more. Ben took a while to grow on me maybe because he was all for Kira from the second, he met her but then he was flip flopping around and couldn’t make his mind up whether Kira was like his ex or not.  

I really want to know more about Annie and Mac, and hopefully the next book is about them because I am getting sick of waiting for their story, but I was giggling at those two and again everyone knows something is going on but just making small comments and bets without them knowing.  
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