1225 Christmas Tree Lane is the very last book in the Cedar Cove series by Debbie Macomber. In August of this year, Macomber released book 11 in the series and her faithful readers, myself and my mother included, eagerly awaited this release. It was worth the wait, but I read the book, savoring every word, knowing that it was the end. Imagine my surprise when I read that she was officially wrapping up the series with 1225 Christmas Tree Lane, a book to be released in September. I have had this book on my Nook since it's release, but wanted to wait until closer to Christmas to read it (and I got caught up with Twilight...). With only 167 pages, this book was a quick read.
However, it also was dull and storyless. I am horribly disappointed and would've preferred to have stopped reading with the 11th book. I have adored this series from the first book I read many, many years ago. I have loved each and every character, who suffer from real problems and celebrate real successes, even the not-so-nice ones. I have looked forward to each August when the newest book was released. I always knew that after school on the first Tuesday of work week, I was going to head to the bookstore to get the next book in the series (well..this year it was automatically downloaded at 12:00am, so it was there waiting for me when I woke up that Tuesday, but you get the idea). I was just as excited about 1225 and was thrilled for the chance to get one more quick glimpse into the life of these amazing characters, who now seem more like real people to me. But, it was not great. It was predictable and a little too flash-backy for my taste. I felt like I relived the entire 11 book series within the quick 167 pages of the text. Now, in Macomber's defense, this book could be read independently of the others and you could still follow along nicely. I'm sure that helps her to sell more books. And, she couldn't possibly create anything other than a nicely ending story where everything works out fine in the end when this is the last book. So, I really do get all that. It just wasn't up to her usual standards and for that reason I was disappointed.
Now, the funny thing is, you will still see this book and 1105 Yakima Street on my list of top ten books for the year. Overall, the series was AMAZING and well worth each and every read. I just hated to see it end on an all-too-predictable low note.
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