Christmas at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer and I'm Done With Christmas Reads!

I've made a pretty good dent in my month of Christmas reads, but I decided today that I just can't read anymore holiday themed novels.  I'm ready to get back to my regular reading.  So much so that I've already put so many books on my mental January reads list that it's impossible for me to read them all.  I'm afraid to sit and actually write down what I'm planning on reading for January. The bone chilling cold that has visited Iowa in the past few days (and not leaving any time soon) has me yearning (and yes, I do mean yearning) to plant my tush on the couch and read for days.  Those are my plans for this coming weekend, so I hope they become reality.

I bought this novel last month while perusing the holiday reads at B&N.  I hadn't read a holiday romance since last year, and when I read the back cover, I had to buy it. Anything that is set in Charleston has me won over.  I've never been to Charleston, but it's on my travel list as a must see. I'm halfway in serious like with a city I've never been to, but someday I'll get there.

After my unhappy reading experience with Christmas in London, I was ready for a romance with some heat, and Deacon Banks, hailing from New York City, was just the ticket.  He's in Charleston for the month of December to help his Aunt Fran settle into her winter condo and make her entrance into Charleston society.  A famous talk show host, she's retired and wanted to make a change, so Charleston was her change.  She wants Deacon to settle down, so he's reluctantly promised her he'll date a few women while he's in Charleston, just to make his Aunt happy.  Enter Two Love Lane, where Macy Frost and her two friends run a matchmaking service.  They've got the magic touch, and are well known as matchmakers who help folks find their true love.  Deacon just wants a few dates with no strings attached, but the first time he lays eyes on Macy, it's lust.  Macy tries to keep it professional, but she feels the pull of attraction, too.  

Macy is a matchmaker who believes in love, but not for herself.  That, and Deacon's unwillingness to admit that it's more than lust with Macy make the road to happily ever after a bit bumpy. As they spend the December social scene  together, and get to know one another, it's clear this is a love match.  Clear to everyone but the two of them.  I got a little lost in some of the finer details as to why they just couldn't admit to their deeper feelings; it seemed to take way too long, even after they did sleep together.  I think the story could have been shortened by about 50 pages by cutting out some of that dragging plot.  But, that was about all I had to complain about.  The sparks between Macy and Deacon were hot, they were cute and funny together, and the secondary characters were delightful.  I can't imagine that Charleston is as small town as it appears to be in this novel--everyone knows everyone, and everything is in walking distance--but that is part of the charm of the setting. I'm willing to overlook it. 

There is a sequel coming out next week, called Wedding at Two Love Lane.  It is the story of one of Macy's partners, and it looks like fun, too.  I'll probably be reading it just to see how things turn out.  I suspect there will be a third, to round out the trio of ladies who own Two Love Lane.  

So, I am ending my Christmas reads with this novel.  I have a few that I didn't get to, or gave up on, and I'll have a roundup of those in a later post. I'll say goodbye until next year to my holiday reads.  I'll be ready to tackle another pile of them come December 1, 2018.  

Rating:  3/6 for an entertaining romance set in Charleston in December.  The chemistry between the two main characters is palpable, and the secondary characters are pretty fantastic. Available in mass market, and ebook. I'll read the sequel coming out next week.