The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore is the third book in the Dream Harbor series and I was so fortunate as to receive an advanced reader copy of it! So, naturally, I sunk into my couch and did not emerge until I devoured it 😅 NO REGRETS. Laurie just outdid herself with this one! Fun town banter? Check. Sweet hallmark style love story? Check. Toe curling spice in a Christmas setting? Check. Bennett, our MMC, is a Clark Kent style Cinnamon Roll hero who Kira, our fiercely independent FMC describes as “polite in the streets but a beast in the sheets”. And if that sentence doesn’t convince you to read this book then what are you really doing with your life? 😂 The Christmas Tree Farm is 100% worth the read and should definitely be on your radar!

I was hoping for a light and cozy read similar to the second book in this series, “The Cinammon Bun Bookstore”, but instead of charming and cute, I felt mildly annoyed the entire read. There’s no charisma between our main characters, no relationship built before they fall madly in love with each other before we’re even a quarter through the book. Kira is unlikeable and unrealistically dramatic. I can vibe with grumpy people - I’m a generally grumpy person - but there’s a fine line between being grumpy and being an ungrateful jerk. The characters of the town unrealistically give her chance after chance to redeem herself and come to her rescue, as does our hero. They think it’s so adorable how grumpy she is!! Please.

Don’t get me started on the nickname, “peaches” either. Ew.

This had potential, but it felt like an unfinished, rough first draft. It didn’t manage to capture the charm of the second in the series, and I’m not sure I’ll be bothered to finish the rest when they are published.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper360 for the ARC.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

I read this immediately after the cinnamon bun bookstore! What fun bingeable stories! I really like the natural flow and ease this author writes with and the small town community she has created in this series. I need to go back and read the first one and I’ll definitely read the fourth.

If I had to say, the second had a more relatable main character for me and the angst and banter felt more sharp and like a build up. This one it felt like it was trying a little hard but that’s me being nit picky.

It’s a great seasonal story of love I’ll recommend to other romance readers. Thank you for the arc!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360 for the chance to read this advanced copy!
I’d like to honestly begin this review by explaining that I did not finish, but I think for the right reader, this book is probably great!
The premise definitely intrigued me, a cozy Hallmark-style Christmas romance! Unfortunately I could not sink into the writing style. The descriptive writing read very basic and juvenile. The character’s thoughts and motives felt like they jumped around and were disjointed. I’m sure there is a reason for everything but I won’t know because I didn’t finish.
The predictability of the plot can actually be a comfort and could be a big reason why a reader would pick up the book: they’re looking for a cute and cozy Christmas romance! I think it has potential for someone looking for just that, as long as they don’t mind the author’s writing style, especially if they loved her previous works. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing, NetGalley, and to Laurie Gilmore for the advanced copy to read!

The Christmas Tree Farm is book 3 of the Dream Harbor series. I have read The Cinnamon Bookshop and now this one. I have The Pumpkin Spice Cafe ordered on my kindle- only $0.99 on Amazon right now! I have found you can read the books out of order without much confusion.

I really enjoyed The Christmas Tree Farm- Kira and Bennett's love story. I believe this is my favorite book out of the series. It is a very spicy read! Even though I am beyond ready for the Fall season, reading The Christmas Tree Farm had me wanting it to be Christmas!

Gilmore does a wonderful job writing a cozy small town filled with quirky and lovable characters. If you are a Gilmore Girls fan and love Stars Hollow, you will enjoy the Dream Harbor series! I like that with each book, we get to know more about the town and all who live there. I am very much looking forward to reading more! Gilmore provides you the Hallmark movie feel with her stories! Do not hesitate to pick up The Christmas Tree Farm or to add it to your TBR pile.

"For anyone who ever wished Hallmark Christmas movies were steamier, this one might do the trick."

Yes, yes I think this one did the trick. This book left me feeling like I had indeed just stepped foot inside a cozy wintery Hallmark movie and I did not want to leave. I found myself grinning and kicking my feet throughout this whole book. This is a small town romance, grumpy x sunshine, slow burn and I am here for all of it!!!

The Christmas Tree Farm is the 3rd book in the Dream Harbor series, which I would call an interconnected stand alone series. The book has mentions of things that have happened in previous books, and of course the characters are from all the previous books but you would be fine without reading the rest.

This story follows Kira, the new resident of the old Christmas Tree farm in town and Bennett, Jeanie's brother who is just in town for the holidays. Kira came to Dream Harbor to start her life over and prove to herself she can be independent and not rely on everyone else. So she used her inheritance and purchased the old Christmas Tree Farm sight unseen. The downside, it had little heat and was run down. Oh and she had no idea how to run a farm, just an idea of what she had seen on social media. In her quest to become a new independent individual she became the town Grinch and wanted nothing to do with anyone. That is until she stumbled upon Bennett one morning as he was walking his dogs unknowingly on her newly owned property.

Bennett is in Dream Harbor just for the holidays to appease his sister and to get out of California for a little while. He finds himself trespassing on the once abandoned Christmas Tree farm property when his dogs lead him right to the new grinchy owner, Kira North. Their first interaction was less than ideal but Bennett quickly found himself finding reasons to visit the farm and finding a way past her tough act and into her heart.

This book was such a cute story and I loved every minute of it. I cannot wait to read the next story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper360 for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this as an ARC from NetGalley and @HarperCollins360, oh my did it not disappoint. This is the perfect cozy winter read. It was not overpowering with Christmas but rather a prelude to Christmas. It would make for a great post Thanksgiving read. The connection between the main characters is palpable throughout the book.
The only reason for the 4 stars is the ending, I did not want the story to end and would have rather had a few more chapters for the story to further evolve than to end on the almost abrupt note that it did.
However I will continue to recommend this book and series to anyone and everyone and cannot wait for book 4.

I’m so beyond obsessed with Laurie Giilmore now!!! It’s an addition. This was just as good as the first two! I loved Bennett and didn’t expect to because I thought he would always be a b/c character. But the romance and the plot was so fun! Onto the fourth!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. The relationships that Laurie Gilmore creates are just so sweet. The Christmas Tree Farm starts with Kira being the grumpy one where you wonder why she even came to Dream Harbor. However, the type of person Bennett is was exactly what she needed. I related a lot more to Hazel, but I appreciated the build up of Kira and her self worth.

You can't go wrong with Laurie Gilmore. Her books always grab you from the start and have amazing small town books that get you in the holiday mood. I wish it was Christmas and it's only September. This is book #3 and I can't wait for book #4 to come out. You did it again Laurie Gilmore and thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

You can never go wrong with a Laurie Gilmore book and this one might have been my favorite one yet! First of all it was so cozy and a Christmas book at this time of year was exactly what I needed. Going back into the world of Dream Harbor was truly a dream come true! I can never get enough of this town or all the quirky wonderful people that live there. I loved Bennett from Jeanie’s book but seeing him get his own love story was epic. Kira was such a force and I loved how much the book was about their growth to being better versions of themselves separately and together. The dogs were such a fun addition, I loved all their little personalities. And I absolutely adore the underlying mystery that goes along with all these books, it’s such a fun side plot that I can’t get enough of! This book was just a warm hug, fun and sexy and Bennett is officially a new favorite book boyfriend. Immediate 5 stars! I can’t wait to keep going back to Dream Harbor!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this title!! The following is my honest review.

⋆⋆୨♡୧⋆⋆ Tropes ⋆⋆୨♡୧⋆⋆
‪♡ small town vibes
‪♡ enemies to friends to lovers
‪♡ grumpy x sunshine
‪♡ will they, won't they?
♡ stuck inside together

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5. Oh boy, this one is way kinkier than the first two! I can't believe Ms. Gilmore had it in her!

This book filled me with warm, toasty, feet-kicking Christmas-time coziness. I totally recommend listening to the author's playlist when you're reading along, it adds a whole layer of atmosphere.

We have a snarky, fierce, sarcastic FMC in Kira, who refuses to take any help from the stupidly handsome, boy-next-door-type Bennett. Both trying to outrun their pasts in Dream Harbor, they don't look both ways and end up running into each other instead. When Bennett catches a glimpse of her secretly soft and scared insides, he will jump on any chance to get to know her a little better... even if it means going on the wild goose chase the Dreamers have sent him on.

There is so much more angst in this title vs. the previous two! Kira struggles with issues of confidence, independence, and loneliness. Rather than the practically perfect FMCs of the previous Dream Harbor series, she has a past to break through to achieve her dreams. The same goes for our MMC, Bennett, who is forced to overcome his self-doubt and toxic relationship history so his Christmas wish can come true. This adds a gravitas I don't think we see a ton of earlier in the series.

These two drove me crazy the entire time! I was totally crazy about Bennett though, and their spice was unhinged in a way that I lived for. I've really fallen in love with the ensemble of characters this series has crafted, and of course, I'm already dying for the next book in the series!!

5/5 stars. This book is everything I love about Christmas novels wrapped in a cute little cover. I cant tell you how much this book put me in a christmas-y mood and its only September.!! The characters were so much fun and there's nothing like a few loveable side pup characters. I enjoyed that a few characters that we have met in the past are also incorporated in this book.
This book makes me want to open my own Christmas Tree Farm and enjoy all the holiday feels. I absolutely loved this book and all the rest of Gilmore's novels!

Laurie Gilmore has done it again. I am pretty sure Bennett and Kira are by far my favorite couple from Dream Harbor. I always say I read for the feels and boy did I get feelings reading this and made me want to pick up and become a Dreamer!

I am a sucker for a third act breakup and boy did it deliver. I will definitely be back for more Dream Harbor.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Kira is not a fan of the holidays. She made a decision to buy a farm in a quaint little town. She keeps seeing Bennett around her farm and grows to like him. A nice read.

Kira North buys an old, rustic property in Dream Harbor sight unseen. It's inspired by seeing too much homesteading content on social media and an attempt to change her life after her twin gets married and moves away. It turns out that the property is home to the old Dream Harbor Christmas Tree Farm, and Kira doesn't like Christmas. She's determined to fix it up on her own to distance herself from her cushy trust fund lifestyle. Then, in walks Bennett, Jeanie's brother, who's staying in town for the month of December. Bennett is a fixer — of both things and people — and can't resist trying to help Kira find her footing in her new life. But Kira refuses to accept both his help and her feelings for him.

"The Christmas Tree Farm" is the third book in the Dream Harbor series. I read the first two and figured this one deserved a shot. Kira and Bennett are a little one-dimensional for most of the book with her stubbornness and his "I must help" schtick. The other characters were flat, even those we followed as our mains in the previous books. That made me sad as we got to know and love them through their own stories, only for them to be relegated to sad background props.

I understand each book is intended to have some sort of mystery element. However, this one felt more like an afterthought. It resurfaces sporadically for a moment before disappearing again, only to be wrapped up very suddenly in the epilogue.

That aside, author Laurie Gilmore has again created this magic, cozy, comfortable world. The snowstorm scene is straight out of a Hallmark movie and really boosted the whole thing. It's a fluffy feel-good story ideal for a holiday read.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Harper 360 for the advance copy in exchange for my review.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360 for allowing me to read this eARC early. This book is #3 in the Dream Harbor series but you do not need to read them in order.This one is a cute and heartwarming Christmas book.

The Christmas vibes are spot on, and the small-town feel adds to the charm.
I loved the side plot about finding hidden treasure—it brought a cozy mystery element to the story. The tension and spice between Kira and Bennett were HOT and enjoyable! The character development is excellent; their vices felt very authentic and relatable.
Overall, it's a delightful book that really gets you in the holiday spirit. Highly recommend for a warm and festive reading experience!

Thank you HarperCollins & Netgalley for the eARC!

This series is Hallmark movies but to read 📖🥰
I just love how each season are represented in the first three books:
Fall for The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
Summer for The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore
Winter for The Christmas Tree Farm
And spring for the upcoming book: The Strawberry Patch Pancake House.

I really liked the She is grumpy, He is sunshine trope 💞
Being back to the town of Dream Harbor felt like a cozy dream.
The book is so addictive, it can be read on one sitting and you’ll be wanting more at the end 🥰

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a light quick and easy read. I loved that it was cozy. This was my first my this author but will not be my last. Can’t wait to read more by this author!