Review: The Kissing Tree by Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings, Amanda Dykes, and Nicole Deese

 

About:

Bestselling novelist Karen Witemeyer joins award-winning authors Regina Jennings, Amanda Dykes, and Nicole Deese for this Texas-sized romance novella collection. Each of the authors' unique voices is on display in stories where courting couples leave a permanent mark of their love by carving their initials into the same oak's bark.  

In Regina Jennings' Broken Limbs, Mended Fences, a small-town teacher has her credentials questioned by a traveling salesman.

In Karen Witemeyer's Inn for a Surprise, two opinionated collaborators with conflicting visions must turn a doomed business venture into a successful romantic retreat.

From Roots to Sky by Amanda Dykes follows a young WWII naval airman who heads to Texas to meet the sister of a lost compatriot.

Heartwood by Nicole Deese is a modern-day romance about the groundskeeper of a historic inn who's reunited with someone from her past while she fights to save a town landmark.

My Thoughts:

The Kissing Tree is a lovely read of four novellas that progress in time as each story takes place in the same town. And of course the Kissing Tree is a staple in each story.

Now each of these stories is written by different authors and I enjoyed their storytelling. Only one author was new to me. But what I really liked was the continuation of the tree, an inn, and other landmarks that stood for a over a hundred years and how they connected each generation. 

Whether it was a failed kissing attempt with the boy you thought was meant for you, a spinster that was overlooked, a couple finding peace after a war, or a love that never stopped loving- these stories wrapped around my heart and brought many a smiles and sighs and helped me escape the world for a little while. All of them hit the right romantic buttons for me.

This was a fun read to traipse through time with. I admit there were a few times that the nostalgia of a previous story got me teary eyed, but I enjoyed seeing how each author worked in tandem with one another. Pick this one up, you won't be sorry.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.