"Totally relatable relationships are examined"
Reviewed by Sandra Wurman
Posted December 18, 2023
Holiday | Small Town
I believe this is my first experience with Michelle Major, but I can firmly attest that it won’t be my last. The stars of THE CHRISTMAS CABIN are immensely complicated and yet humanly simple. What does everyone want? To be loved, trusted, valued, and most importantly safe and secure. Life doesn’t present itself in terms of guarantees. It is truly a work in progress.
Lauren’s life has been a series of stops and starts. Her father only knows one speed and that has always been critical, demanding, and unforgiving. So of course Lauren found herself continually testing the waters and found herself floundering. The one bright spot was her teenage daughter Hannah. To protect Hannah, Lauren separated herself emotionally and physically from her family which consists of her demanding father, a stepsister Kayla, and a brother Brody.
Lauren finds herself back home after a lengthy absence to help with a holiday experience at the summer camp she had attended. Not much has changed in Magnolia after all these years. Things and folks have aged. Some gracefully and others not so. Her father is part of the latter. Her teenage love is still amazing. So being there is filled with complicated feelings.
The exchanges between Lauren and Hannah are definitely some of the best. Two strong, intelligent women who absolutely adore each other. Even through the occasional eye roll, you can see how Hannah loves and respects her mother who single-handedly raised her.
At first, Hannah is slightly belligerent that she has been kept apart from Lauren’s family. You know that expression – because I’m the mom. Well for the most part Hannah gets that but of course, being a teen opens a small gap. Not to worry though. Hannah is smart and observant.
Lauren is going to have to come to grips with her choices. Is there a way to mend fences and start new relationship or even better fire up some old ones. Time will tell. Her time in Magnolia has an expiration date. Lucky for us Lauren is up to the task.
THE CHRISTMAS CABIN is a gracious look at family dynamics that don’t always fall in line. Michelle Major carefully created her characters with very human foibles. The dialogue moves smoothly along with the plot. Michelle Major makes you feel as if you are right in the scenes with her characters. Aloud responses are to be expected. All makes for an amazing read.
SUMMARY
There’s no place like home for the holidays…
As a girl, single mom Lauren Maxwell hated Magnolia, South Carolina. And she thought she’d left her hometown in the rearview mirror years ago, but a message from her beloved baby brother, Brody, changes all that. He’s getting married on Christmas Eve. So a holiday at Camp Blossom, the rustic sleepaway camp that had been a haven during her growing-up years, it is. Lauren won’t even have to see her dictatorial father. Or her ex-husband, Ben…
When Ben greets her at the surprisingly decrepit cabin, he’s just as stubborn—and as irresistible—as ever. And when she discovers he’s working with her estranged father to buy the campgrounds and rebuild them as luxury housing, Lauren is furious. She won’t let the man who broke her heart win. So she and her daughter stay in town to block the sale.
But the magic of the Christmas season brings back memories Lauren tried so hard to forget: his crooked smile, their daughter’s laughter at the breakfast table, the feel of her hand in his. As the spark between them rekindles, Lauren realizes that second chances are real. And they’re worth fighting for.
Bonus Novella!
A Carolina Song
Country Western singer Walker Calloway thought he was making romantic progress with shy and lovely schoolteacher Meghan Jacobs. After all, he’d written her a love song! But she thought it was for his ex. Now it’s up to him to prove that his heart already belongs to Meghan…for keeps…
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