Title: Butternut Lake: The Night Before Christmas
Author: Mary McNear
Series: The Butternut Lake Trilogy, #2.5
Published: December 2014, William Morrow Impulse
Format: E-book, 112 pages
Source: Publicist
Butternut Lake is so
beautiful at Christmas—from the delightfully decorated shops, to the
cozy homes with their twinkling lights outside, to the lake itself. And
this year so much is happening!A wedding: Caroline meticulously plans her perfect Christmastime dream wedding to Jack, remarrying him after many years apart.
A baby: Allie and Walker are expecting the best Christmas gift of all—their first baby together.
A reunion: Daisy, Caroline and Jack’s daughter, is returning home after a long semester away at college.
But
what’s Christmas without complications? Walker smothers Allie with
worry; Daisy pines for her true love, Will, away in the army. And then
the unthinkable happens—and Caroline’s wedding plans are ruined.And
just when it seems all is lost, the people of Butternut Lake come
together to give their friends the greatest gifts of all. . . .
My thoughts: This novella is part of Mary McNear’s Butternut Lake Trilogy and it’s a delightful, heartwarming holiday read. I will warn you, though, that due to its short length, you will want to have read the first two books before picking this one up so that you aren’t lost as to who’s who and what’s going on. There isn’t a whole lot of back story to fill you in on what has already transpired.
What I love most about this series is that it’s both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time – it’s real. I feel that I can relate to the characters in some way throughout the book because they seem so believable. I can appreciate Walker smothering Allie during her pregnancy because of the loss he suffered with his first wife – I’ve had my share of miscarriages and they don’t ever leave you. I can also appreciate that Caroline wants to have that perfect wedding – nothing too big, but everything just right. Until things go awry and then all she wants is to just get married to the guy she loves. Any old place will do. While my wedding plans did not go awry, I was older when I got married, and didn’t need all the fuss and bustle that the younger generation tends to go for.
And then there’s the joy when all seems to lost and your friends come together for a surprise that you never imagined. As you are reading this, it’s hard not to guess what will ultimately end up happening along the way – in fact, there are a few surprises that really don’t quite end up being full-on surprises, but still get points for their sweetness.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novella and cannot wait for the final book of this series to come out next Spring. I’m curious to see who will be the main focus of that book! I’ve been passing this books on to my mom, who’s also been enjoying the series. I love when I can I can do that!!!
Books in this series:
2.5 Butternut Lake: The Night Before Christmas
3. Moonlight on Butternut Lake – due out Spring 2015
This sounds like a sweet novella but it definitely sounds like I should read the first 2 in the series. Just the name of the series feels warm and fuzzy. Thanks for sharing.