Review: Great Novella to Kick Start a New Series
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 22, 2012
I love it when authors give us a short story to kick off a new series: It gives us a glimpse into the series and the author's writing style. I used to hate short stories/novellas, but I've come to realize I hated POORLY executed short stories, which wasn't the case here. If an author can deliver a fully fleshed story with character development in a short story length then I will gladly buy their full length novel.Ms. Novak delivered a well-crafted short story with WHEN WE TOUCH. Olivia Arnold is planning the wedding of her long-time boyfriend...to her conniving and jealous little sister, Noelle. Oops. Everyone in town is trying to talk Kyle out of making a huge mistake even worse by marrying the harpy, but Noelle is pregnant and Kyle won't walk away from his unborn child. As Olivia is back in town for to put the final touches on the wedding and actually witness the atrocity, she spends more and more time with Kyle's stepbrother, Brandon. They went to prom together in High School, and then Brandon never called. Well, they have a lot of catching up to do.Ms. Novak takes an idea that could easily be a cheesy romance storyline and turns it into a believable and likeable story. When I first read the blurb for the next bookWhen Lightning Strikes (Whiskey Creek), I initially passed it up thinking it sounded like a cheesy storyline. (This was BEFORE I read this short story.) Now that I've read this story, I know that she'll be able to make a great story out of the cheesy premise.Whiskey CreekWHEN WE TOUCH (Novella)When Lightning Strikes (Whiskey Creek)When Snow Falls (Whiskey Creek)