As I finished each book in Debbie Macomber's Cedar
Cove series, I had great anticipation for the new people I
would meet in the next book. I looked forward to the
updates on the old characters I had grown to love. It is
with tears in my eyes that I finish this last book in the
series. The characters have come to be more than just names
on a page. They have grown to be old friends.
Beth Morehouse lives at 1225 Christmas Tree Lane. She owns
a Christmas Tree Farm and also trains therapy dogs. It's
her busiest time of year with Christmas just a few days
away. As if she doesn't have enough stress, her ex-husband
is coming to spend Christmas with Beth and their daughters,
who are home from college for the holidays. Beth hasn't
seen Kent in three years, not since their divorce. To add
to the tension, someone left 10 black Lab puppies in a
basket on Beth's doorstep. She needs to find homes for them
before Christmas. Will that be possible?
Beth thinks it is odd that Kent asked to come spend
Christmas with the family. At least that's what Bailey and
Sophie told Beth when she learned he was coming. Kent
hasn't contacted Beth since their divorce, except to talk
about the girls' college expenses. As she ponders this
thought, she begins to wonder what really went wrong in
their marriage. Little does Beth know that her daughters
have a conspiracy going to get her and Kent back together
again.
That conspiracy blows up in their faces when Kent shows up
with Danielle, a "friend" from work. She's tall, blonde and
drop-dead gorgeous, but as nasty as can be to Beth. Beth
tries her best to be cordial, while Bailey and Sophie
devise another plan to get rid of Danielle and get their
parents reunited. Will they come up with a plan in time?
Can Beth and Kent recover what they once had?
Visit with old friends throughout this story, and catch up
on what is happening in their lives. Macomber incorporates
most of her characters from the previous books in this
series as they visit and interact with each other during
this holiday season. Special Christmas foods and traditions
are a theme of this story as the characters reminisce about
Christmases past. It made me think of my traditions and how
I have passed them down to my own daughters. I hope you
enjoy 1225 CHRISTMAS TREE LANE as much as I did.
The people of Cedar Cove know how to celebrate Christmas.
Like Grace and Olivia and everyone else, Beth Morehouse
expects this Christmas to be one of her best. Her small
Christmas tree farm is prospering, her daughters and her
dogs are happy and well, and her new relationship with
local vet Ted Reynolds is showing plenty of romantic
promise.
But . . . someone recently left a basket filled with
puppies on her doorstep, puppies she's determined to place
in good homes. That's complication number one. And number
two is that her daughters Bailey and Sophie have invited
their dad, Beth's long-divorced husband, Kent, to Cedar
Cove for Christmas. The girls have visions of a mom-and-dad
reunion dancing in their heads.
As always in life—and in Cedar Cove—there are surprises,
too. More than one family's going to have a puppy under the
tree. More than one scheme will go awry. And more than one
romance will have a happy ending!
Every now and then a book comes to a reader that they have a hard time putting down. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane was for me such a book.
Over the last dozen or so years I have looked forward to reading about the different families residing in Cedar Cove and catching up with those families who have become favorites of mine. With the end of the 1225 Christmas Tree Lane comes the end of an era, and one that I will surely miss.
That all being said...1225 Christmas Tree Lane is a story about what Christmas should be...a time of family, friends, and renewed faith and love. There might have been some manipulation that occurred in the story, but it was done with love, and doesn't come off as being immature and self serving, which is important to me as a reader.
While all story lines were tied in a nice neat bow for readers I can't help but hope that at some time in the future we get to revisit Cedar Cove and catch up one more time! (Sandi Shilhanek 2:53pm August 18, 2011)
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