Deacon's Christmas gift to his aunt is joining a dating agency. Deacon has no plans to fall in love but he will settle for a few dates while he is in town just so his aunt can be happy. However Deacon is immediately attracted to Macy, the lady responsible for setting him up on dates.
Macy knows it's unprofessional to have any sort of feelings for a client but the more time she and Deacon spend together, the more obvious it becomes that the two of them may be meant for each other.
This was a sweet read but I didn't really enjoy it. I thought Deacon and Macy's love story was drawn out for too long (JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY, DAMMIT!) and some of the supporting characters got on my nerves.
This book was romantic but just okay. There wasn't anything bad about it but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Christmas at Two Love Lane is the first novel in Kieran Kramer's Two Love Lane series. Two Love Lane is a very special Charleston establishment, serving as a matchmaker group for the rich and somewhat famous of the Holy City.

Founder and matchmaker Macy Frost has a most unusual meeting with Charleston visitor Deacon Banks. He wants to use the company's services but only inasmuch as he wants to set up society dates while visiting, not a soulmate match. He says it is a Christmas present to his aunt who he is helping settle into her new winter home. What he doesn't initially say is that his aunt is celebrated talk show host Fran Banks and that they live right next door to Macy

Although always the professional, Macy feels the electricity between them from the onset. But, in keeping with her business persona, she keeps her feelings hidden and proceeds with introductions of those that are also seeking only a fun date with no expectations. What she doesn't know is Deacon also feels the connection and conspires to thwart Macy's matchmaking, only having interest in her. And he has help from some very unlikely people.

A fun story. Although the ending is a bit contrived, it was a very enjoyable read. I do recommend this book.

This was a cute and clever story. When Deacon walks into Macy's matchmaking business, Two Love Lane, he only wants a few dates while in town to appease his aunt. He ends up with so much more. Macy is determined to prove to Deacon that what he needs is love and she couldn't be more right. Except Deacon chooses her for his match. This was sweet and fun watching these two fall in love. The story unfolded slowly and kept me interested throughout. It was simple and charming in all the best ways.

A little cheesy and with plenty of fluff, Christmas at Two Love Lane is the perfect light romance to get you in the holiday spirit. Despite some of the more over-the-top elements, I ultimately enjoyed reading this book and definitely will check out future installments.

Macy is a matchmaker in Charleston, SC, and meets her match in Deacon, a visitor from New York who's looking to meet some local ladies and please his aunt. I think Macy was a spunky fun character who played up both being strong and vulnerable. She knew who she was and stayed true to that (even if I thought she was being stupid at times). Then there's Deacon who's just looking for a fling, no strings attached. He's genuinely nice deep down and that softness comes out the more the story progresses.

I actually enjoyed the romance of these two. I liked the chemistry because it MOSTLY felt natural, like these two people would have acted like this if they had been brought together in another way. But that's where I wasn't feeling it, the plot.

There are a lot of tropes in romance that I absolutely LOVE. The matchmaker who finds her match? It's not on that list. I don't necessarily dislike it but it tends to be predictable in the bad way. I read romance for its predictability because I love reading happily ever afters but how it gets to that point is another matter. Something about the set-up of this one, especially once Macy's friends got involved, was super sweet. . . but there's something that didn't quite work for me either. That element of make believe that didn't fully ground me in this contemporary setting. Which you'd think makes no sense from a primarily fantasy reader but if the book is set in our world then I want to feel like this story could truly happen. Something was missing from it to really give that to me.

Now it was a tad weird reading about Christmas in October but I thought Christmas at Two Love Lane got me into the holiday spirit, at least in part (sorry, y'all, where I'm from it's not Christmas without snow). There's definitely an emphasis on the gift of giving which I liked as a secondary theme but ultimately this book is all about the matchmaker and her true love and that overwhelmed the story a bit.

Although some of my comments may be more critical, I actually really enjoyed reading this book in the moment. Christmas at Two Love Lane was just the small town romance I needed and I can absolutely see myself picking up the next in the series. Looking forward to Macy's friends finding their own matches (because if they're not the leads in the next books I'll be very disappointed). Light, fluffy, fun, would recommend to get you in the (holiday) mood!

A fun holiday romance. I liked that the city of Charleston was such a character in the book. I thought it elevated a fairly standard contemporary romance a bit ahead of the rest.

This story made me smile a lot. I love the famous aunt character and the little references to thinks I know about- it made me relate to the story more. I like how the story deveolped and how his(Deacon) "dates" went. Macy has the tables turned on her. You just never know. Well written fun!

I really wanted to like this book. However, there were many strikes on my list.
Deacon and Macy barely had any chemistry.
The story moves as slow as Molasses in January.
How many times can someone say "make love"
Sorry, not for me.

I went into this really excited. I loved Kieran Kramer previous books that I've read, but they were historical. This one is very much a modern romance.
Macy is a matchmaker and Deacon requires her services but only for "dating" purposes. He's not interested in finding his "soulmate".
The pacing was incredibly slow, the sexy times began on page and were continued off page. It just seems like there wasn't a lot of conflict, well real conflict as Macy wanted to have the best of both world's professional and personal. And when she couldn't she had a southern belle tantrum. I'm from the south, and I was ashamed. :( I think I'd give this series another chance though because it was a sweet, low heat, holiday romance.

This was a nice romance, cotton candy for the brain. Not exceptional,

Come visit Charleston in this delightful festive romance! Macy Frost is a professional matchmaker, one who prides herself on successfully helping many people find their soulmate. However, she's still searching for her own! That's until Deacon Banks visits her matchmaking agency, wanting to appease his Aunt by pretending to look for his true love, even though he has no ambition whatsoever to actually do so! The two connect straight away, but that's just plain unethical for Macy so she endeavours to resist her attraction to Deacon and to set him up on a series of dates to tempt him. . . . . He's only in town for a month, whatever could go right - or wrong - in that time? Well, you'll just have to read this book to discover for yourself!

This is a story packed with humour, especially as Deacon's Aunt is Macy's new next door neighbour and a well known, popular but somewhat astringent and vociferous celebrity. Her endeavours to fit into the Southern community and interactions with notable residents result in some laugh out loud scenarios and great dialogue. It is about expectations, beliefs and connections all of which may need revising in the light of experience. As usual, what you anticipate doesn't always quite go as you hoped or planned - and that is often a good thing in the end. This is a lovely story to escape into and includes more than one romantic development, just right to put you in a festive mood, whatever the season!

I requested and received a copy of this novel, via NetGalley. This is my honest review after choosing to read it.

Did not request, not interested.

The review has been sent directly to the publisher.

Thank You Netgalley for this opportunity to read Christmas at Two Love Lane. As I am a big Christmas story reader this time of year this was a teaser for me. Even with the typical storyline, it was a fun read with a Hallmark style.

Nice Christmas romance. The characters are likable. A new guy to town hires a match maker to find him dates, he is not looking to settle down. But little does he know that he will meet the woman of his dreams.

Kieran Kramer takes readers to Charleston, South Carolina in this first book of her new Two Love Lane contemporary romance series which centers around the lives and loves of three matchmaking best friends and business partners.

Rumored to be descended from Cupid himself, Charleston native Macy Frost takes her matchmaking profession very seriously even if she has serious trust issues and has never been in love herself. Sexy northerner, Deacon Banks has no interest in finding his true love but could use a few good dates while he's in town visiting his aunt over the holidays. His aunt raised him after the death of Deacon's parents and the only thing she wants for Christmas is for Deacon to settle down with someone who will make him happy, preferably someone well-connected in Charleston society. If Deacon gives the appearance of trying to find his "one," he figures it will buy him time with his aunt. Macy reluctantly agrees to find dates for him but only if he will agree to also give her a chance to find his true love match. Things go awry when Deacon begins to think the only good match for him is his matchmaker, Macy.

Kramer has created a sweet, humorous, leisurely story about two people resistant to love who just can't seem to stay away from one another. There's plenty of push and pull along the way, especially as the dynamic between Macy and Deacon begins to change. I enjoyed Deacon's relationship with his aunt, a character who adds a lot of spice, sass, and heart to the story. I also liked George, his aunt's cook/houseman who is quite the accomplished scene-stealer. Unfortunately, I had difficulty engaging with Macy and Deacon. I liked them but eventually became frustrated with their lack of forward progress. Part of the reason may be due to the length and pace of the story. It's very slow with a lot of two steps forward - three steps back which is not my favorite type of set-up. I probably would have enjoyed their story much more as a novella. But, if you like that pace, give this one a try. It has a lot to recommend it even if it didn't quite work for me.

One thing I loved about this book was the setting. The author's love of Charleston comes through clearly, evoking the sights, smells, and sounds of this lovely, historic city on the South Carolina coast. It made me want to pack the car and drive down for a visit!

3.5 stars

This story was a sweet Hallmark romance complete with two people who didn’t want love. One was Deacon, a big successful New York playboy who didn’t want anything to do with love or commitment. He is in Charleston SC to help his aunt who raised him settle into her new condo and to fulfill her Christmas wish, for him to find a woman, but he has no intention of finding a real relationship. He is looking for some fun dates to pass the time who don’t want commitment either. In order to do that he goes to Two Love Lane, a local dating agency and meets Macy, a matchmaker that believes in finding everyone’s soulmate, not some quick hookups. She doesn’t have time for love either, she is too busy being happy with fixing everyone else up and doesn’t think she will find her soulmate for some time. Deacon annoys her at first, with his bossy demands for some Christmas flings, so she sets out to set him up with women she thinks could be his soulmate. Deacon wants none of that once he speaks with Macy; he wants to date her and only her and hopes to have his Christmas fling with her. Of course, as they get to know each other and Macy continues to try and set him up with women and ignore her own attraction to him they end up falling hard for each other. But once the secret plan that Deacon hatched with all of the women Macy set him up with comes to light he fears he has ruined everything and she feels hurt with the fact that he refuses to say whether he cares for her as more than just friends with benefits. In the end, Deacon comes to his senses and wins the only woman he wants in his life and they live happily ever after. The story overall was cute, the plot was interesting, and the conflicts kept it moving along. The passion was very tame, hence the hallmark kind of feel to the story. There isn’t anything wrong with that but if you want them burning up the page, Macy and Deacon don’t. They do have the hots for each other but those scenes stay pretty tame. Cute story and I liked the characters.

A wonderfully written novel! Definitely recommended.

Christmas at Two Love Lane is the start of a new series for Kieran Kramer. Two Love Lane is the name and location of Charleston's most elite matchmakers. It could be that they have a great algorithm for matchmaking or just maybe it could be that they have their own little cupid. Macy Frost comes from a long line of matchmakers, one of them even claiming to be a descendant of Cupid himself. Two Love Lane reminds me of another matchmaker series I read by Jennifer Probst, three woman matchmakers each with a unique and different personalities with one having a special matchmaking talent. It's all good. I love matchmaker romance.

Macy was looking forward to her typical Charleston Christmas until he walked into her office. Deacon Banks was just visiting, making sure his aunt was settling into her new house alright and spend Christmas with her. Aunt Fran raised Deacon after his parents died, Fran is a well known talk show host newly retired and decided to settle in Charleston. At the request of his Aunt Fran Deacon agreed to "settle down" but what he really plan to do is go on a couple of dates and show that he's at least trying, but not really. Deacon goes to Two Love Lane to find some dates. Initially Macy turns him down but something about Deacon intrigues her and it's not just that New York accent of his and Macy ends up reluctantly agreeing but she's still not going to stop from trying to find a soul mate for him.

It turns out Aunt Fran is Macy's newest neighbor and so she starts seeing a lot more of Deacon than she planned and the more time they spent together the more they like each other. Deacon just thinks it's just because he's fascinated with Macy and when the other woman he has dates lined up with find out they manipulate the whole situation so Macy ends up going on all those dates with him. By the time she finds out what he did he's fallen completely in love with her and will do anything to prove it to her. Macy has her own hang ups when it comes to love and falling for Deacon pushes her to her limits.

Overall, it was a good romance. In the beginning Deacon is a little bit of a prick and pushy, and toward the end Macy is a bit immature. I liked the side story with the missing treasure of Two Love Lane . The secondary characters are a hoot especially Aunt Fran.

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!