New Year: A Novella. L. Mertz. 2015. 98 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited]
What better way to start the new year than with a new romance? In L. Mertz’s novella, the reader is treated to a short but not always sweet courtship between Braydon and Annie. He’s a widower hotelier with a 6 year old son and a meddlesome mom. She’s a newly underemployed nurse with a knack for cooking and talking non-stop. Together, they have chemistry, but seem to have just as many misunderstandings between them.
The story is told from Braydon’s perspective, which isn’t very common in romances. It was definitely an interesting vantage point to look at things from. And although I found the book interesting, the plot was slightly predictable. I could sense where the tension points would be between Braydon and Annie and felt they were a bit cliche. Nonetheless, I was surprised that it didn’t end the way I predicted (thankfully).
I enjoyed this story and found it to be an easy read. Obviously it’s short, but I didn’t really put it down once I started. I especially liked the unconventional style Mertz chose for pacing the story. She follows the characters throughout the year, with each chapter representing a subsequent month. Because it’s a novella, the pace is fairly quick, and doesn’t allow for as much depth as I would like, but that is par for the course in a novella.
Overall, I think this is worth a read. It’s a cute story with characters that are not only likable and relatable, too. It has its fair share of heartbreak, but I found it refreshing to see how the two work through their personal insecurities to grow their own relationship.
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