By L. Mertz

New Year (a Novella) is exactly as described: a new year novella that took me about an hour and a half to read.

Two years ago, Braydon lost his wife Jessie to a drunk driver, leaving him a single father to their two year old son, Cody.  Deciding it’s time for Braydon to move on, his mother sets him up on a blind date for New Years Day.  He agrees that perhaps it is time to move on from his wife’s death.  He’s ready for companionship and wants Cody (now aged four) to have a mother in his life.

Enter Annie, a woman who lost her fiancé in a drunk driving accident as well, so both understand the senseless loss the other feels.  Not too long after their date, Annie is in a financial bind and Braydon helps her out by offering a room in his penthouse.  Both are happy to take things slow and a beautiful bond forms between Annie and Cody.  Braydon and Annie spend the next several months enjoying each other’s company and, well, simply enjoying each other.

But one misunderstanding and one secret will throw their relationship into chaos and tear them apart.  Will Braydon and Annie find their way back to each other?  Will Cody get the mother he craves?

Given this novella covers an entire year, from New Year to New Year, the events move really quickly, so quickly in fact I didn’t get a chance to really connect with the characters or the events throughout the book.  There was no time to mourn the sad scenes and no time to celebrate the happy ones.  There are some scenes in the novella that I felt weren’t relevant and didn’t need to be there.  Considering the pace is so fast, I would have preferred the irrelevant scenes be removed and the relevant events be fleshed out a bit more.

If you’re after a quick stand-alone read that has just enough happiness, drama and sex, this novella is for you.

New Year (A Novella)

My rating:   1/2