Book Review: The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore
February 10, 2025
Yes, I finished my last Christmas read in February. It’s fine. It took forever to get to me from the library because Laurie is all the rage right now ( I mean, I get it, I have read everything she has written in the course of a couple of months ) and it was very hard to get a hold of. Anyway, it finally was my turn at the end of January, and I knew I would fly through the book, so I wanted to finish some other books before I dove into the world of Dream Harbor again, but I did not finish the other books and I just started this one anyway. I read this in three sittings, maybe. This has to be my favorite book of hers so far. I highly suggest this book, even if it is not Christmas time. I will say, though, it did feel like a bit of a Hallmark movie made into a book, so if you like to keep Christmas in Christmas time, read this one first next Christmas.
We follow the story of a young woman named Kira who just moved to Dream Harbor. She got a little to influenced by homesteaders online, and ended up buying a dilapidated old tree farm, sight unseen. She grew up in a wealthy home with her twin sister Chloe, who had recently moved overseas to be with her Danish husband, and Kira felt lost and confused as to what to do next. Upon getting to her new homestead, she realized she may have bitten off more than she could chew, and for a few months, she allowed herself to wallow in her own pity. Finally, fall starts rolling in, and she realizes she is gong to have to make money somehow, and decides to reopen the farm to families for cut-your-own trees. One day while she is outside, having a bit of a crisis, and wrapped in her comforter, she sees dogs running through her trees and, following closing behind, is a beautiful, Clark Kent looking, man. Later she finds out his name is Bennett and he is visiting his sister Jeanie ( the star of Lauries first book ) for Christmas and she is, regrettably so, smitten with him. He has a fixer complex and she needs a lot of things fixed. She feels like she will never be good enough or live up to the standards that her parents put on her, and he tells her she’s perfect.
I adored this book. Like Laurie’s other books, this book was spicy, but I would say it was less than the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore. Like I said earlier, I highly suggest this book for all Christmas movie lovers. This was a quick and easy read filled with a lot of heart, found family, and love.
