The best gift of all is the one you share with someone else. . . From the moment he strode through the iron gate and into the offices of Two Love Lane on a crisp December day, it was obvious that Deacon Banks was something different. He wasn’t a Charleston native, not with that adorable Yankee accent. And unlike the usual client at the elegant matchmaking agency, he had no interest in finding a … interest in finding a woman to marry–just a few no-strings dates while he was in town.
Macy Frost takes her professional services very seriously–how could she not, when she’s rumored to be a direct descendant of Cupid? Tech entrepreneur Deacon says he’s just trying to make his social-climbing aunt happy by being seen out and about with a few prominent beauties, but Macy insists she can make her client fall in love…for real. And Deacon can’t help but think she might be right. As charming as the palmetto trees and magnificent harbor may be, it’s the beautiful, breath-of-fresh-air Macy who’s become Deacon’s favorite part of the scenery. But can the hopelessly romantic Southern belle stop trying to fix him up and just let Cupid do his work on her own heart?
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Good but quick read. Characters were entertaining.
Macy Frost is 6th generation Charlestonian. Her first ancestor, Thomas Winston Frost, settling there in 1703, claimed he was a direct descendent of Cupid, and many of his descendants have had a gift for matchmaking. So it was natural for her and her two college dorm roommates, Ella and Greer to create a Matchmaking business, Two Love Lane, the only house located on Two Love Lane in Charleston, with their dorm mother, Miss Thing as the receptionist. With Macy’s gift and Greer’s algorithms, the business is very successful. However, all of the owners are still single.
Deacon Banks is a very successful NYC tech entrepreneur and the nephew of Fran Banks, recently retired talk show host. She raised him since he was 2 years old. Bored, she decided to move to Charleston for half of the year and he has come to help her settle in. She wants him to settle down, but after seeing her and most of his friends go through several divorces, he doesn’t believe in love. However, to make her happy, for a Christmas gift, he wants Macy to set him up with several woman to date. She reluctantly agrees, hoping to find him his soul mate, but soon realizes that he is her soul mate. But cowardly afraid to be hurt when he returns to NYC, she fights their attraction. Deacon, meanwhile is only interested in Macy, and comes up with his own scheme.
The story is well written and the plot intriguing. The characters are artfully developed. However, I just found Macy’s behavior annoying and ridiculous, since her business is match making.
Full review appeared on Reader’s Edyn on 10/20/17
Macy Frost entertains the idea that she is a distant descendant of Cupid. The story has passed through the family and she is quite a matchmaker – so much so that she owns a matchmaking business with a few of her friends. They even developed an algorithm for compatibility. So when a client who wants dates, but not an HEA walks in, she brushes him off. But something about him makes her want to take the job – the matchmaker within is intrigued and maybe she can find Mrs. Right for the resistant client. Sparks fly and the attraction between the two continues to ignite at every interaction. Macy believes she isn’t cut out for a match, but the algorithm says otherwise. Problem is, a bad situation in childhood has given her a sour taste towards love and even though she matches people for a living, she might not be able to break down her own walls enough to see that her chance is right in front of her. Even if she could, Deacon has a much better reinforced wall than she does.
Deacon Banks – super rich, super hot, super unavailable for a long-term relationship. His Aunt is on his case to settle down, so he agrees – as a Christmas gift to her – to go on several blind dates. Enter Macy’s matching service. Deacon makes it perfectly clear that he likes his lifestyle as is. Except Macy stirs something in him and before too long, all of the “blind-dates” have conspired with him to get Macy to stand in for them each time. Deacon knows he’s feeling something unexplained, more than he’s ever felt for anyone before when it comes to Macy – but admitting just what that is, beyond s couple of phenomenal hookups, is going to be quite a feat. The ramifications of deep feelings are not something either of them are prepared to face.
What a seriously cute book! Set around Christmas time, you could definitely make use of it to help get you in the holiday mood – but I think it would be enjoyable any time of year. I enjoyed all of the excuses and ploys used to force Macy to stand in as Deacon’s date. And Macy and her friends add such an extraordinary amount of Southern charm to this story, you can’t help but wish they were your friends too. I was sucked in to their world quickly and found myself liking all the characters – even the bratty Celia. Aunt Fran was a hoot and George was the kind of friend I’d like to have hanging around. What was funny to me was that Miss Thing emulated the Queen of England, while Aunt Fran had all of the Corgis. My only complaint is that the characters were all introduced so fast with their own little snippets of information, that I almost stopped reading because I was having trouble keeping up in the first couple of chapters. But I stuck it out a couple of more chapters and by then, had switched from confusion in assimilation to necessity in seeing where these characters were headed next. This book contains some sexual content, but nothing graphic or explicit. I would still call it a sweet romance. I’ll tell you what – if any of the restaurants were based on actual places, Charleston just got added to my bucket list. I was hungry the whole time I was reading! If you are looking for a sweet. Romantic HEA, full of Southern charm, quirky characters, and a bunch of holiday cheer sprinkled throughout, you have absolutely found the right book! There might even be a small mystery solved. Ms. Kramer is a mastermind world-builder and this community is one I would love to be able to be a part of!
Kindle version provided by NetGalley/St.Martin’s in exchange for an honest review.
Kieran Kramer is one of my go to authors. I adore her books because she excels at creating slice-of-life novels. Ms Kramer creates characters that resonate with the reader and crafts emotional, heartfelt storylines which draw the reader into the story. In Christmas at Two Love Lane, Ms. Kramer pairs Deacon Banks, a savvy New York City businessman with Macy Frost, a charming Charleston, South Carolina socialite and matchmaker.
I adored the premise of this holiday themed romance. Deacon is spending the month of December in Charleston visiting with his newly retired aunt. Fran Banks is a famous talk show host who has relocated to Charleston with her houseman George and four corgis. Deacon knows his aunt is a force to be reckoned with but, wants to please her because Fran raised him after his parents died. Fran’s fondest desire? She’d love Deacon to marry, preferably a southern girl, so she can be part of the Charleston society. Deacon’s gift to Fran for Christmas? A series of dates arranged by Macy’s matchmaking business.
Deacon Banks epitomizes my image of a New York business man; he’s determined, resourceful and goes after what he wants. He doesn’t believe in love and doesn’t understand Macy’s calling as a matchmaker. I enjoyed the back and forth banter between Macy and Deacon; their conversations were heartfelt, funny and honest and their chemistry sizzled from the first page of the book. The romance between the couple is well paced. Deacon was attracted to Macy and with each one of his dates it was apparent that he was falling for her. The author does a fabulous job integrating the cast of secondary characters into the story. Loved George’s relationships with Fran and Deacon; their conversations were spot on and added spice to the novel. Deacon makes a strategic error in his pursuit of Macy. Can she forgive him when she uncovers the truth?
Christmas at Two Love Lane is a delightful read! The charming, larger than life characters, the witty dialogue, the southern setting add to this sweet perfectly paced romance. I can’t wait for the next story in the series.
Thank you Kieran from the Rose-Haven corgis for the shout out! You captured the corgi spirit and fondness for snacks perfectly!
I enjoyed reading Christmas at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer, book one in her new Two Lane series. Macy Frost was born to be a matchmaker, especially considering it’s rumored she a direct descendent of Cupid. When Deacon Banks walks into her office, Macy knows she will have to work hard to please this Yankee. Deacon isn’t interested in finding his perfect match, he just wants a few no-string dates while he is in town. Macy is determined to make Deacon fall in love only to have the tables turned when her friends, Deacon’s date, set her up with him. Can these two non-believers in love find love?
I really loved reading this book and had trouble putting this book down. Ms. Kramer wove a delightful story, drawing me in and not letting go until I read the last page. I definitely recommend this book to other readers and look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
What a delight this book was after my previous book (Millard Salter’s Last Day), which I struggled to read, cringed at writing a review of it and was anxious to finish, so I could then begin “Christmas at Two Love Lane”.
Kieran Kramer’s new book is a wonderful visit to Southern Charm, Romance from the Heart, Friendship and Quirkiness. Charleston, in this book reminds me of New Orleans, where if you talk long enough to someone, you find out that you know someone in common or that you are related!
Three friends and their former house-mother from their college days run a “couple matching service” on Two Love Lane. They are in the business since they have a knack for seeing who would be compatible as a couple and truly love to spread joy. Almost immediately, I was drawn into the story and I loved these four women. Charleston is described in such a wonderful way that I adored the place that the story unfolds.
Macy, who is trying her best to match soulmates, finds herself in a bit of a fix, since a man (Deacon) enters her business as a client and she realizes over time, that he is her soul-mate, but it is policy of the business to put the client’s needs before their own, resulting in the awkward situation. She tries to set up Deacon with several women in hopes that he finds out that his happiness lies in a serious romantic relationship not casual dating.
Meanwhile, Deacon realizes that he likes Macy more than any woman that she could match him up with on a date. That is where the story really gets exciting.
Will these two people, who are clearly meant to be together, find the path become a couple. Everyone in the story wants to help them find each other and that was truly a joy to read. This was a story with many awesome people that want the best for each other. Even the most disagreeable characters are not that bad.
Deacon and Macy have a lot of starry-eyed longing before they have sex, which is nice to me in this genre of romance novels, where so often the couple gets to the steamy part, before they are in love. I much prefer that they love each other first (even if they don’t admit it at the time). I also liked that the steamy parts were not too detailed in the explanation. I have an excellent imagination and I do not need details written out all the time to get the idea.
As in all romance stories, this one ends happily. I enjoyed this book so much and am looking forward to the next in the series, “A Wedding at Two Love Lane”, which will be released in January 2018.
Thank you to NetGalley.com for providing me with a copy of this book for an honest review.
Christmas at Two Love Lane by Kieran Kramer
A man trying to please his aunt sets out to date a variety of women, with the help of a matchmaker, but has no desire to settle down any time soon. The hitch is that he finds the matchmaker intriguing and ends up spending more time with her than dating. Of course Deacon and Macy end up falling for one another but it seems to take forever.
This is my first book by this author and of the Christmas stories I have read this is not one of my favorites. I think it may be because I could not really relate to either Deacon or Macy and thought the story slow paced without much really happening. That said, I am sure there are some readers who will adore it and that is just as it should be.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.
2-3 Stars
Ms. Kramer makes it easy to laugh right into love with this mismatched duo. She’s a matchmaker. He’s a heartbreaker. Neither are that big on being risk takers, but love has a way of making it’s presence known. Christmas at Two Love Lane the gift that keeps on giving no matter the season.
Everything in Macy Frost’s life revolves around love, with the exception of her personal life of course, she is a well known matchmaker with ties to Cupid and she helps people find the person that they are meant to be with. She has yet to find a client that she couldn’t help find love… but she has never met a man quite like Deacon Banks. When he strolls into her office looking for a mate to take on a few platonic dates, Macy informs him that she can help him find true love… but he ensures her that he isn’t in the market for love. Or is he?
The moment Deacon Banks meets Macy he senses there is a little chemistry there, but she seems oblivious to it, and starts the process to find him a mate to date. She tells him that she is a master at matchmaking and helping folks find love, but he informs her that he is only using her services to appease his meddling aunt. But the process get underway, he starts to think she maybe right about helping bring love to his life…now he just has to find a way to tell her she is the one he wants!
Christmas at Two Love Lane is a sweet and delightful read that is sure to put readers in the holiday spirit and make their hearts nice and toasty! It was a lot of fun to watch these two dance around one another, neither wanting to admit they belonged together, and having fate constantly keep throwing them together in hopes they would finally give in and embrace it! This is one of my favorites from Ms. Kramer, her beautifully crafted story warmed my heart, and her endearing characters welcomed me into their world and left me in awe… loved this one, definitely a can’t miss holiday read!!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title.
The premise of this story is that if a young matchmaker that prides herself on doing a great job & the idea that there is a Match out there for everyone. Macy Frost loves her job & won’t allow anything to interfere with it. Then she meets her new client. Deacon Banks doesn’t want to find his match. He just wants Macy to set him up with suitable women so his aunt thinks he’s looking to settle down. He didn’t anticipate the chemistry he’d feel with Macy.
This book really relies on its ability to get the reader to connect with the characters. The buildup seems to take a while to get going & is set at a slow pace. The only “fight” is that of Macy trying to deal with her own morals & objections to falling for her client. There were some other interactions that could be a source of drama but they never really seem to get going. The character development & descriptive narrative are very good. Overall, I’d say this is a good enjoyable story worth 3.5 stars.