Lumberjack Under the Tree

by Keira Andrews

Will former friends take a second chance on love?

Caleb

I couldn't admit I loved Blake in high school. He's prickly as a porcupine, and I don't blame him one bit after the way I ghosted him. I want him now more than ever. Will he give us a second chance? I'm willing to beg.

Blake

My first love is the last man I expect to show up to help me chop down Christmas trees. I’ve downsized for van life, and I was enjoying the peace and quiet in the middle of nowhere.

Then a blizzard strikes. We’re stuck together in my van, and I won’t give in to temptation. But I can’t stop wanting him even though he broke my heart…

This M/M romance by Keira Andrews features forced proximity, lonely men with a second chance at romance, steamy snowed-in shenanigans, and of course a happy ending.

Genres: Romance, M M Romance, Holiday, Contemporary, Christmas, Second Chance, Novella

87 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Keira aims for the perfect mix of character, plot, and heat in her M/M romances. She writes everything from swashbuckling pirates to heartwarming holiday escapism. Her fave tropes are enemies to lovers, age gaps, forced proximity, and passionate virgins. Although she loves delicious angst along the way, Keira guarantees happy endings!

Reviews

[Carol [Goodreads Addict] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lumberjack Under the Tree is by Keira Andrews. This is a short, second chance, MM novella full of holiday sweetness.

Caleb Walker and Blake Martin are both thirty years old. They fell in love in high school but after they finally gave in and were together just one time, Caleb ghosted Blake and that was the end of it. They went their own ways until now, twelve years later.

Blake is an author and also works part time for his friends on their Christmas tree farm. One of the owners is injured so they need to hire someone to fill in. Blake can’t believe it when Caleb shows up for his first day at work!

Caleb is down on his luck. After taking care of his sick father, and paying off his debts after he passed, he is out of money and struggling to find work. Thank goodness he finally got hired at the tree farm but he couldn’t have been more shocked to show up for his first day and find Blake, his high school love. And Blake will be the one in charge of him at his new job!

These two were both clearly not over each other. They were the one that got away. But there was hurt to get past, apologies to make, air to clear. With the help of a blizzard they are finally forced to face everything they’ve both been avoiding.

This was sweet and sexy and I really enjoyed it. Both of these men had never been able to find the happiness they yearned for, maybe because they were waiting to find each other again. Maybe this time would be their time?

For more about this book and so many others, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kiera Andrews managed to pack a lot of goodness in one small package:

- Not one, but TWO, lumberjacks, Blake and Caleb, former friends, now enemies (sort of)

- Resentment, forgiveness, and second chances (back in high school, Caleb, a hockey star, kissed Blake, panicked the next morning, and ghosted Blake for the rest of their senior year)

- Christmas tree farm setting, which means burly men wearing flannel and wielding chainsaws

- Forced proximity during a blizzard (that trope never gets old for me)

- Appearances by Nick, Hunter, and Ella the beagle from Santa Daddy (yes, it's their Christmas tree farm)

- Sexy hijinks in a camper van

- HEA!

The only reason I knocked off a star is because I wanted more Caleb and Blake. I'm greedy like that.

[Meags · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Set in the same world as Santa Daddy, Keira Andrews delivers us another tasty story about lumberjacks falling in love.

Think flannel shirts, tight jeans, sweaty bearded men, wielding powerful tools and exerting a lot of physical energy! Mmm. Yep. Where was I?!?

Here we got two hot lumberjacks for the price of one… well, actually, there was no price at all, because this story has been free all year as part of the Your Book Boyfriend’s Boyfriend book offer.. which ends soon, so be quick.

Second chances were the theme of the day here, with writer Blake and hockey player and veteran Caleb reuniting on a Christmas tree farm, where they do seasonal work harvesting trees, after 12 long years apart, after poor decisions in high school.

I loved that these men never really stopped thinking of the other as “the one who got away.” Heartbreak and longing and forgiveness and a combined hope to make this second chance count, is what made this story, however short, worth reading.

[Preeti · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 🌟 (Second chance, forced proximity romance with a bit of holiday vibe)

This is one of those novellas which has 4-star potential. Actually, despite the page count of 87, up to the 60% mark, I was convinced it's going to be at least a 3.5 star read.

In this second chance romance, Black and Caleb meet again in the holiday season as coworkers after 12 years. Black is still heartbroken and bitter about the high school and is not willing to forgive Caleb. The romance has an angsty edge that we all love so much about Keira Andrew's books.

But, then the author wanted the MCs to be reconciled with each other and even with their inner conflicts and a bit of holiday vibe, everything in the last 10-12 pages. And, I felt the novella was too rushed and lost my fun just before the climax.

Why can't author's add a few extra pages to give better endings to novellas?🤔🤔

[Melanie THEE Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're in the mood for a low angst, steamy and festive novella, have I got the romance for you!

Blake and Caleb were friends in high school, until one-night changed everything: they hooked up and Caleb promised to dump his girlfriend. Unfortunately, Caleb not only stays with his girlfriend but he also ghosts Blake. Now fully grown adults, they're thrown together once again when Caleb gets a job as a lumberjack on a Christmas tree farm and his boss is none other than....BLAKE. And he's still not too happy with Caleb. dun, Dun, DUN.

For a novella that was less than 100 pages this romance packed a ton of sexual tension. Of course, there's a blizzard so they have to be trapped together at some point. Which leads to a beautiful scene where they both put their feelings on the table. The scene where Caleb apologizes for ghosting Blake was sweet and then it got VERY steamy (Ella the beagle was very concerned about the noises going on in Blake's van) and I loved everything about it lol

P.S: I'll never look at Icy Hot the same way ever again 🔥

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 rounded down

Honestly, I thought this one was great! After being... underwhelmed by her most recent holiday short story, I went into this one a bit apprehensive, particularly as I don't generally love second chance romances, but this was lovely! The smutty dynamics really worked for me and the pacing was great. I did feel the resolution was a bit rushed, but I appreciated the lack of a misunderstanding, and do think it worked fine, especially given it was a shorter story.

[Agla · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up. This was fine. The beginning was good, with an ok slow burn as we saw the 2 MCs reconnect and get reacquainted (this was nice to see) but then it jump a few plot points. I liked how they did not gloss over the past but confronted it. But it wrapped up too quickly/neatly. I did not like the hints at D/s dynamic (I guess from other reviews, I'm not an expert in that given that I run away from it, not my thing at all) but then it had no impact so why include it? Just to annoy people who don't like it and frustrate those who do? Strange. Anyway it was a nice short all the same. If you're looking for something short, go for it

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always look forward to Keira's Christmas stories.
They are sexy, and sweet and always leave me smiling!
This was no exception.
Not one but two sexy lumberjacks...and they reunite after a decade apart.
Broken hearts are mended.
And a timely snowstorm forces them to share a bed.
What more can you ask for?
A cute doggo you say?
You got it!!

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable short second chance romance.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This book had some solid emotional moments but really needed to be longer. I wasn’t entirely sold on the groveling and found the MC’s POVs to be kind of interchangeable.

Also I was struggling to focus during the main sex scene because I was worried about the poor beagle left out in the snow…of course she was fine, but I'd recommend fetching your dog when they get locked out in a snowstorm, even if you want to bone instead.

This seems like a very negative review for a book I mostly liked, but there you have it.

[Cadiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super sweet second chances romance set in the same universe as her Santa Daddy festive novella.

There was a lot of excellent storytelling packed into this narrative, with forced proximity, an enemies-to-lovers ish vibe, resentments and missed opportunities made good.

Plus Ella the Beagle, guest appearances from Nick and Hunter and a pair of lumberjacks who were determined to make up for all those missing years.

Loved it.

[Peppa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yep that was sweet,fluffy, a bit angsty and really hot!
⭐️3,5

[Rin (indefinite hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I typically enjoy Keira’s novellas but this one was a miss for me. Another where they didn’t come together until 70% and the rest was a lot of repetitive internal dialogue.

Also, their first hook up when they were younger, one of them cheated on their girlfriend. That always leaves a bad taste.

Loved seeing Hunter and Nick from Santa Daddy, though.

[Aimora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I desperately needed this fluff after that last book.

[Airy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When authors set couples up next to couples we have already met - I really do like that. So this book was totally for me. The story is really well written and very emotional.

[Rielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 79%

I was teased with some gentle D&S vibes that were not delivered! I should have at least seen someone being told to get on their knees. I don’t need much.

There was more than that to be disappointed by, but I still love this author.

[Aldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This worked a lot better for me than Keira's other holiday story this year. Good chemistry, fun winter setting, great use of the enforced proximity trope, mostly feel-good fluff but with a nice dash of angst. It was nice to catch up with previous characters from the tree farm as well.

[Book Binge: Reviews by Melissa DaSilva · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was a great Christmasy novella to end off the year! It was cute, short and fun to read! It was a second chance but I feel like we still got to know the characters fairly well and it made sense for a short novella.

Caleb and Blake had great chemistry together and I’m so glad they found each other again. The only thing was I felt the forgiveness was done too quickly. However, overall I thought this was a great book and I highly recommend if you’re looking for a quick wintery read!!

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

LUMBERJACK UNDER THE TREE was a cute read and I liked seeing Blake and Caleb get their second chance at falling in love. I appreciated the frank conversation they had about their history; Blake forgives Caleb pretty quick but it's a novella so I wouldn't expect it to be drawn out. I also enjoyed the cameo of Hunter and Nick from Andrews's other book SANTA DADDY.

Content Warning: past cheating between MCs

[Shawna (endemictoearth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars - Cute! Nothing revolutionary, but I like this little universe of interconnected holiday romances/queer Christmastown she's got going on. Honestly, I wish this had been her KU holiday release and Only One Bed could have been a giveaway. The camper also puts the proximity in forced proximity.

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Not as good as Nick and Hunter's story. A close proximity is always fun to read. If only the story was longer and not rushing into forgiveness and straight to sex. This could be more enjoyable.

[Smut Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chemistry and connection between these characters is palpable and completely convincing. The story is perfectly paced and engaging with a cute doggo thrown in. Some steamy, close proximity heat which Keira excels at.

[the kevin (vaguely alive) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute short. Good build up with dual awkwardness over shared history, plus ramping sexual tension. The end felt rushed in comparison with how fast everything else was resolved.

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read November 2023

[✨Lucy IntheSky☄️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7⭐

Sweet, short and somewhat christmassy.


Blake and Caleb were high school friends, who were really close. With Caleb having a girlfriend and Blake being gay , they couldn't have imagined they'd get intimate one night and that that would change the trajectory of their lives.

Caleb was a closeted gay and secretly in love with Blake, but he never told him. Instead, he promised to dump his girlfriend, but then ghosted him the next day .

They never spoke to each other again, with Blake going to college and Caleb playing hockey and later serving in the army.

They meet 12 years later on Nick and Hunter's farm, where they're seasonal workers.
A little bit of forced proximity and a little more of naked skin and they're forgiving each other and having amazing sex.

They stay together and in the epilogue live in Caleb's cabin.
I'd have liked to read more about them living there and fixing it up , but it's a short novella, so I hope I'll be seeing these two around in the other stories to come.


💕Set in the same universe as Santa Daddy, we see Nick and Hunter again, gaaaah, my favorite couple in this series!
Love them and all the characters in this series..

[Antara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet second chance romance about high school friends reuniting as adults after one broke the other's heart. I loved the tension and build up, but the ending felt rushed. It was still very enjoyable and despite the fact that I gave them both 3 stars, I liked this Keira Andrews Christmas novella a lot more than the previous one, Only One Bed. That one was more like 2.5 stars and this one is more like 3.5 stars.

[Lily Loves 📚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute, sweet and steamy novella. I adored the setting on the tree farm which also re-visits Hunter and Nick from Santa Daddy. Former friends who haven’t spoken since a Caleb ghosted Blake after a hook up in high school reconnecting and discovering that the feelings they felt in high school were real. It was very lovely and even for a novella I felt it was a fully developed story.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I think I have a hard time with novellas. This one was on the shorter side, and I never got a real chance to connect with the characters. Andrews is a good writer, I just need more.

[Anna🌖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this second chance romance set on Nick and Hunter (From Santa Daddy)’s Christmas tree farm. It’s a quick easy read.