Melody Carlson and Christmas stories are synonymous to me. Once again, in 'The Christmas Tree Farm' the author provides a story that is filled with life and emotions that touch our hearts and help us grow. The relationship between Madison and Lily Thompson (her high school boyfriend and now widower) is delightful. I love growth and progress and this book was heartwarmingly full of it, and all set on an Oregon Christmas Tree farm. If you want a good holiday mood, treat yourself to this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. It was cute and sweet. Madison returns home to find that fire has destroyed her small town. She wants to try to help and rebuild the tree farm and her sister wants to sell it. Add in a cute guy and you have the perfect holiday story.

I adore Melody Carlson's Christmas novels. They always have an ideal mixture of family drama, new adventure, and a splash of romance. This novel is set on a Christmas farm. I enjoyed learning about this industry. I had no idea how much work went into growing and operating a Christmas tree farm.

You don't want to miss this delightful story that highlights the main theme of Christmas and family.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I requested and received a copy of this book by the publisher and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Nora St Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog https://psalm516.blogspot.com/

It's normally hard for me to read a Christmas book this early in the season, but this one was so good! I really enjoyed it and it put me in the Christmas season. I really recommend it.

The Christmas Tree Farm was a cute shorter book about Madison who returns to her family's tree farm in Oregon. Madison works to revive the farm going against her sisters wishes. Madisons old high school crush comes into the picture as well.

Very cute Christmas story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Another easy Christmas read from Melody Carlson.

Madison has returned home from a mission trip to the family Christmas Tree farm, recently touched by wildfires. It’s a story of family, friendship, and reconciliation just in time for the holiday season.

The story is an easy, light read as readers follow Madison’s efforts to save the family farm. There is an abundance of characters that come in and out of Madison’s story - some likeable and some not. Perhaps the most difficult character to like is Madison’s sister Addie, who, in all appearances, is still the spoiled brat that Maddison remembers from childhood. It is easy to dislike her, but Madison perseveres in reconciling the relationship.

There are some awkward moments sprinkled throughout plenty of fun moments between Madison and other characters. Perhaps the most likeable secondary character is Madison’s love interest’s daughter, Lily.

Perhaps what’s different in this particular story, is the educational aspect of tree planting! I learned quite a bit about planting trees and how to care for a tree farm.

The romance portion of the story is slow, a friends to something more romance. Though the romance part doesn’t really pick up until the last quarter of the story.

If you’ve enjoyed reading Christmas novels by Melody Carlson in the past, this is another great addition to your library.

I received an ebook copy from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Christmas Tree Farm is Melody Carlson's latest sweet story about finding love and coming home. Madison has spent the last five years teaching school in Mongolia. She is ready to return home to her roots and the tree farm where she spent so much of her childhood. Gavin is a widowed father who lives next door. Former sweethearts, they find that they spark between them is still there. However, he has two children and she has a sister who has claimed him for herself. What will happen next? As always, a sweet story. You don't want to miss this!
Thanks NetGalley

I love a good Christmas romcom story, I will read so many of them any time of the year. For me this book was a quick read that sucks you into the Christmas spirit. Madison is trying her best while many are not helping her, her sister Addie included who I honestly got annoyed with on occasion. Madison plants the trees to try and open for the season again, against the wishes of Addie.

I will say that I am not a huge fan of Christian fiction however this story was not overwhelming with it. This story is filled with the themes of peace, forgiveness, unity, and second chances.

I was given an advanced readers copy of this book from NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley, Melody Carlson, and Revell. All thoughts and opinions expressed here in this review are solely my own.

I didn’t like this book at all.

Maddie has moved back to her grandparents’ Christmas Tree Farm after years in Mongolia. She has been teaching abroad while her sister Addie has been taking care of the farm as well as her grandparents when they were sick and dying. When Maddie moves back, she’s surprised to not be welcomed back by her sister and is also surprised her childhood crush is back at the farm next door. She decides that it’s her job to save the Christmas tree farm even if she has to do it herself.

I hated all of these characters. I also disliked the writing. I found it cliché and lazy. At one point Gavin, the neighbor, even pulls out the “the fact you don’t know you’re beautiful makes you even more beautiful” line. Gross. Maddie and Gavin had zero chemistry. She had more chemistry with his 11 year old daughter Lily, who essentially becomes her best friend and laborer. Weird.

Addie is also a major bitch. These women are in their mid to late 20s and she claims dibs on Gavin on the basis that she had a crush on him when she was like 13? And then she starts being territorial towards him. Like legit starts throwing a fit when Maddie even talks to Gavin even though Maddie isn’t flirting. Then when his older daughter comes home for break, she starts harassing Maddie about potentially like Gavin too. It all makes zero sense.

In terms of the romance, not only do they have zero chemistry, but they don’ get together until the novel is almost over. Then after one date, he proposes to her at Christmas. This made zero sense.

I will not be adding Carlson to my list of authors. I found this book to be poorly written and not entertaining at all. I didn’t feel any of the Christmas spirit. In fact, most of this book took place before Thanksgiving. A lot of people seemingly enjoy this book, unfortunately I am just not one of them.

Tis the season for Christmas books and Melody Carlson’s The Christmas Tree Farm delivers in this sweet, second chance romance. What better way to start the season with a novella set on a Christmas tree farm!

After several years teaching overseas, Madison McDowell returns to her family’s Christmas tree farm in Oregon to pick up where she left off. Due to neglect from her sister Addie’s unwillingness to invest in the farm and damage from a recent wildfire, the farm is in bad shape. Addie is determined to sell the property and Madison’s former high school flame, now widowed Gavin Thompson, has plans to turn his neighboring property into a noisy bike track for his daughter. But Madison is determined to save the farm she loves and to repair her relationship with her sister. It’s going to take a lot of hard work but with some unexpected help and the magic of the season maybe miracles do come true.

I loved the setting of the Christmas tree farm and learning about the business. The story was about forgiveness, second chances and the true meaning of Christmas. I highly recommend this novella for fans of Hallmark Countdown to Christmas and fans of second chance romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This was a sweet, sweet story of second chances. Madison is returning home to help with the family Christmas tree farm, only to discover her next door neighbor is none other than her former childhood love. Years ago they were a couple, but they had kept it quiet and had snuck off to spend time with each other. But as life happened they got separated and despite their best efforts weren't able to maintain their relationship. When she returned home finally... she discovered Gavin married right out of high school. It broke her heart, she left, and hadn't been back since. But now she was home , trying to mend her relationship with her sister and save the families Christmas Tree Farm. But the hardest part to coming home is finding out that Addie, her sister has her sights set on Gavin. No one knew about Gavin and Madisons past relationship, so they kept it a secret. But the more time Madison spends with Gavin the more they both discover they still have feelings. But it seems everyone around them isn't okay with it. So Madison and Gavin have to push away those feelings, but for how long? And can she save the farm?

This is a sweet story of second chances. A love that honestly never died. And even a love triangle is squeezed into the pages. I loved this story. It did come to what felt was a quick ending, but all in all, I loved how it all ended up. ❤️

I recieved a complimentary copy of this story. A review was not required and this review is all my own opinion.

I received an ARC of this book. I enjoyed this Christmas novella. Interesting story with relationship challenges. Well worth reading.

This was cute! A sweet story of two sisters taking on co-ownership of their family Christmas tree farm -- if you love Hallmark movies, this one is for you! It's a quick read and perfect for getting into the holiday spirit.

This holiday novella has a second chance romance, sister relationship and small town vibes all mixed together.

This novella would be a perfect way to start your holiday reading or even dabble between your spooky reads.

Thanks to @netgalley and @revellfiction for providing the ARC.

I love Christmastime. And I love the way this author can draw you into her sweet, heart-tugging stories.


A lot has happened back home in the years that Madison was away teaching in Mongolia. Her Dad and Grandmother have both passed on and her sister, Addie, is holding down the fort with the McDowell Family Christmas Tree Farm, which Madison is now the co-owner of. When she returns to the home where they spent their childhood summers, she is also faced with seeing the destruction of a wildfire that damaged many of the nearby farms and part of her own. She feels emotional and remembers her grandmother's words just before she passed away. She told Madison in a letter that they were blessed and that God spared them for a reason.

Madison's return home was a surprise to her sister and seemed to be an unwelcome one. She soon finds out that Addie has every intention of selling the farm but Madison wants to hang on to their roots and digs her heels in deep. She plans to make the current season a success so that Addie will change her mind, even if she has to do it all on her own. She also learns that her teenage ex-boyfriend, Gavin, is back and now owns the destroyed hazelnut farm next door. She is horrified to learn that he plans to build a dirt bike destination for his young daughter, Lily, right next to their tree farm!

This may be considered a novella but I have to say, there is so much packed in this beautiful story! We see Madison struggle not only with trying to help the farm succeed but also with the emotional relationships between herself and both Addie and Gavin. I found the budding friendship with Gavin's daughter, Lily, to be enjoyable and very sweet. This feel-good story and happily ever after just makes you want to bundle up, grab a hot cocoa and find these wonderful characters this Christmas season!


Thank you, NetGalley and Revell for this eARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions of this book are solely my own.

The Christmas Tree Farm: A Christmas Novella by Melody Carlson was a heartwarming Christmas read. It was a nice escape from the summer heat. I’ll probably re-read it closer to Christmas. There were challenging family dynamics and romance. I look forward to reading more from the author.

Thank you to the author, Revell, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Madison McDowell returns to her family’s Christmas tree farm after working overseas for a few years. She hopes life will return to how she remembered it when she spent summers and school breaks at her grandparents’ farm.

But a recent fire has changed most everything—and her baby sister sure is set on selling the farm.

Will Madison be able to convince Addie to save the farm? Or are Madison’s days at the Christmas tree farm over?

This was my first novel by Melody Carlson. While I enjoyed some aspects of the story, like the nostalgia that surrounds a family’s traditions and history, the Christmas vibes, and Madison’s care for Lily, I found the writing to be subpar and the plot was flat.

Addie’s character was wishy washy and I had a hard time following what her feelings were for the day. I also would’ve liked the romantic relationship developed more. It was lacking in depth and felt rushed and incomplete.

Also the relationship between sisters—parts of it felt so forced and it switched gears so fast I couldn’t keep up. One minute they got along, the next they were upset with one another and not talking. I had a hard time keeping up with their back-and-forth relationship.

All in all, this book just fell flat for me.

I’m usually a big fan of Melody Carlson books but this one missed the mark with me because the 2 sisters were fighting so much. I understand people fight in life but I’m generally not one.

This is an enjoyable Christmas novella. While it is a romance, much of the story centers around family relationships, especially sisters. The tension between the sisters is believable. Addie has been taking care of family responsibilities while Madison has been living her dream being a missionary. I can certainly understand Addie's frustration when Madison comes back and wants to change things. My favorite character was Lilly, child of next door land owner Gavin. She is a little spitfire and made me want to try dirt bike riding myself.

The romance is a troubled one. While we might root for Gavin and Madison to reconnect well, Addie has set her sights on him. We hope that Madison and Addie will some how be reconciled. Carlson adds a few more people to the mix to stir the relationship pot, such as a mother who thinks she can cook but produces food poisoning instead.

There are some revelations near the end that allow for a satisfying ending to a situation of otherwise tense relationships. There is a subtle Christian faith presence. There is some interesting information about successfully running a Christmas tree farm too. This is a fun novella to read for the holidays.

I received a complimentary egalley of this novella from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

The Christmas Tree Farm by Melody Carlson
lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0

This felt like the perfect read to get a person in the Christmas spirit. I have love reading Christmas books by the pool this summer. Who even am I? I did struggle with the sister who had some growth to do but overall this wrapped up nicely.