My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Revell, for letting me read and review an advanced copy of this book, ‘The Christmas Tree Farm’, by Melody Carlson.

I’m just going to say it; I love Hallmark Christmas movies, and I can see how this could be one. In this book Madison returns to Oregon from working overseas most of her adult life. Her grandparent’s tree farm is now in the hands of her younger sister and a devastating fire has destroyed most of her favorite area. She has decided it is finally time to go ‘home’. After a frosty welcome from her sister, Madison settles in, determined to help save the farm. Of course, the neighboring property is inhabited by her old ‘summer’ flame, Gavin, with a young daughter who is determined to build a dirt track and other amenities, that would be loud and distracting. To make matters worse, her sister, Addie, has desires for Gavin.

When Madison befriends Gavin’s daughter, Lily, who helps her with activities at the tree farm, it causes more tension with Addie. Even though the plot is very predictable, this is a very pleasant Christmas story, with a nice outcome.

I had high hopes for this, but was sadly let down.

I just couldn’t find anything relatable in this story, nothing seemed realistic. The characters were unlikeable, and I thought the romance and ending were rushed.

Being a novella there isn’t a lot of character development and it would be great to explore the motivations of some of the characters more.

I appreciated the Christmas vibes sprinkled throughout the book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, and all opinions are my own.

I have really enjoyed all of Melody Carlson‘s holiday books today and this was no exception. While being very predictable, it was a very enjoyable read. I really love how so to speak. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. One sister didn’t want anything to do with the Christmas tree farm and the outdoors and the other one saw it as her escape and as her home. Everyone truly does have different gifts and different passions and I think that works to our advantage. I would recommend to get in the holiday spirit.

Short and sweet! I really enjoyed the relationship between Madison and Lily. The other family dynamics made the story interesting as well.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own.

It wouldn't feel like the Christmas season without a new holiday themed release from best selling author Melody Carlson. I've come to look forward to these titles every single year, and usually I'm not left disappointed. The premise of this one sounded sweet and adorable, and I loved the idea of the setting being a beloved family Christmas tree farm. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling like this wasn't one of the better books I've read by this author, and it wasn't quite what I was expecting or hoping for.

It definitely has many cute Christmassy feels, and felt very Hallmark movie esque. While I did enjoy the main character, Madison, and the big heart she has for her family and friends, I'm sorry to say that the supporting characters kind of ruined it for me. Madison's sister Addison spends most of the story acting like a childish brat, and not much changes in her behavior by the end. Her attitude was extremely off putting, and the sisters' mother is just as bad, if not worse.

My other big complaint was that while I understand that this is more of a novella length story, there were so many issues that never seemed to be resolved, and the romance ended up feeling rushed and very insta lovey.

It was a cute read overall, but it's not a new favorite by this author, and it's one I don't personally see myself rereading.

If you enjoy clean, contemporary Christmas stories, this might be the book you're looking for, but I'd personally recommend Melody Carlson's other lovely Christmas stories over this one.

Final Rating: 3/5.



Thanks so much to Revell for allowing me to advance read and review this title!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Revell) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

There is something about books with the setting of a Christmas tree farm that brings to mind a real sense of Christmas spirit that I enjoy, and I found this book hard to put down and was a quick read. This story has some real family struggles with underlying and unresolved issues that are brought out when Madison returns from a five-year contract teaching in Mongolia after hearing how the area was hit hard by wildfire. Her sister Addie has stayed at the farm helping her dad and grandmother for the time period but now both are dead, and Addie is overwhelmed and honestly, quite ugly and childish acting towards Madison. She has given up working the farm, so Madison works to revive the farm by replanting trees and opening it for Christmas tree sales against Addie's wishes. I was not a fan of Addie especially when Gavin, an old high school crush of Madison's, and Lily, his daughter, get close to Madison and Addie is jealous. But this story ultimately is about forgiveness, healing, grace, love, and faith tied in with the spirit of Christmas as more family members join together to celebrate the holidays.
I received a copy for the purpose of an honest review. These are my thoughts.

The Christmas Tree Farm is a cute story, but it has huge leaps in relationships that aren't even necessary to the story. The ending is ridiculous, which I won't spoil, but honestly, totally unnecessary.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC or an honest review.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to have to recover from a fire. This family Christmas tree farm is finding that out in this holiday read. This family and their neighbors have definitely had their ups and downs but they are pulling together during this holiday season! Great book!

This story had all the makings of an authentic Hallmark movie. The storyline was interesting. It covers sibling disputes/resolutions and how sisterly love always prevails in the end. There is the chance for unrequited love to reignite. Characters were engaging and realistic. My only pet peeve is based on title/cover I was expecting more Christmas and was disappointed it was only a small part towards the end. However, the huge surprise at the end left me speechless.

This is my first Christmas book of the season and I really enjoyed it! I was surprised it is only 176 pages, so the romantic portion was pretty fast tracked. The only thing that irked me was the sister. The entire book she was a negative Nancy and hard to like.
After wildfires destroy part of their Christmas Tree Farm Madison decides to come home to help her sister decide what to do with the farm. Madison has spent the last 5 years in Magnolia teaching while her sister Addie was at the farm taking care of everything then their grandmother passed.
Addie wants to sell the farm and Madison wants to prove she can get it up and running again. Their next door neighbor Gavin whom recently moved home with his 11 year old daughter to take over his families land that was burnt becomes friendly. Madison quickly remembers how he broke her teenage hard, but can’t help her feelings. Can Madison save the farm? What will happen with Madison and Gavin?

First of all, I love Melody Carlson Christmas books so much! They are quick and just give you all the feel goods so it's no surprise I would love this one too. Madison returns to the family farm after being away for years hoping to reconnect with her sister and save the farm. She quickly finds herself reacquainted with an old boyfriend. His daughter, Lily, develops a special bond with Madison that you will adore. This is the perfect light and fluffy Christmas read that will leave you with a smile on your face. Best part - it's a quick read!

I love that this author puts out a Christmas story every year and do look forward to them. This story features two sisters who co-own a Christmas tree farm. Addie, who doesn't really like the farm, but has been taking care of it, and Madison, who just returned home and plans on making this her home permanently. The neighbors, Gavin and his daughter Lily who are planning a dirt bike park are also an integral part of this story. We also meet the sister's mom, and Gavin's oldest daughter. Addie has her sights on Gavin, who had dated Madison when they were teens, though Addie is not aware of that. That on top on Addie not wanting to keep the farm keeps quite a bit of tension going between the sisters. Lily is a great supportive character and a lot of fun. Fun story that is easy to get in to and doesn't disappoint.
A complimentary copy was provided by Revell via NetGalley. A review was not required and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this story about the Christmas tree farm. I was captivated from the beginning especially keen to know how the relationship between the two sisters would pan out. A lovely story of family interactions and heartwarming so read of neighbours supporting each other. A real page turner.

I really liked this book. It was so sweet and I loved getting to know the characters. I feel like the ending was a bit rushed for me and I wanted some more development with the love story. The main character's sister was a bit of a caricature for me.

It is easy to see why Melody Carlson is a bestselling author. The Christmas Tree Farm - A Christmas Novella is a deep dive into family relationships. Clearly showing how one family member decisions can affect the others in both good and bad ways. Tied with this is the true meaning of Christmas, which makes it a wonderful holiday read anytime of the year.


Madison McDowell, her sister and Gavin Thompson are likeable while still being complex characters. It is easy to see why the disagreement between sisters happened, but it is not to late to save the Christmas tree farm and their relationship, what does God have planned for these sisters. Read this heartfelt story today.

Lovely Christmas story can’t beat a good read like this in August when it’s cold, well written love the friendship of Maddison and lily just when then both needed a friend to help out

Madison McDowell returns home after a lengthy teaching job overseas. She comes home to Oregon, hopefully to help on the Christmas Tree Farm after a fire destroys her family's property. Her sister Addie, was left to run the farm after her Dad and Grandma had passed on. Needless to says, she had no interest in running the farm. So it went downhill, so much needed to be done to bring it back to what it once was. She discovered her high school boyfriend was back living next on his family tree nut farm. But their farm was a total loss, at least some of the pine trees were left for Madison to sell the coming Christmas Season. Gavin had his youngest daughter, Lily, living with him. As Gavin is a widower now trying to start a new life.

Madison decides she must bring the farm back to what it once was. She bought 6,000 tree plugs to replant. Although her sister has no interest in doing so. But this was important to Madison, with the help of Lily and Gavin the tree plugs were planted. She learned the art of running the farm from her Dad and Grandpa. There were trees still left to sell for the coming season. Again, with the help of Gavin and Lily she made it happen. It was a lot of work and many hours, but all the trees sold for the season. Along with wreaths she and Lily made for customers to buy. This has a very happy ending even though getting her relationship back with her sister was tough.

I wanted to read this book, as Christmas is a happy season. And I wanted to learn how a tree farm was run. Thank you to Net Galley and Revell for allowing me the pleasure of reading Melody Carlson's Christmas Story.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Madison returns home to the family farm after being away for years. She is hoping to reconnect with her sister. The farm is going to need everything she has to survive. A nice holiday read.

Overall, I like this story. It had Hallmark feels in a little package and would be great for a quick, get-in-the-mood for Christmas read. It is also a very clean romance, if you like that kind of romance. And I loved the book cover!

I get that this is a novella and that "things" move faster in a novella but this was just too fast. There were so many points that were left unexplained. There were too many issues that were apologized and forgiven too fast. There was a "romance" that moved from re-kindling to proposals faster than realistic. The characters could have used more development.
I also did not like that the two sister's names were so close - Madison (Maddy) and Addie, or the weirdly placed christian references.

Thanks to NetGalley and Revell for the opportunity!

I love reading Carlson's Christmas books each year. Her latest, The Christmas Tree Farm, follows Madison back home to her family's tree farm where her sister, Addie, has held down the fort since their grandmother passed. Madison loves the farm, but Addie doesn't. To complicate matters, Addie has fallen for their neighbor, who returned to his family's land after a major fire. One problem-he's Madison's old flame. Sibling rivalry, holiday memories, and Christmas trees make for an enjoyable read. The story is fun and poignant at times. Carlson's portrayal of the sisters was quite entertaining. I received a free copy, and opinions are my own..