Saturday, September 29, 2012

When We Touch (A Whiskey Creek Novella) by Brenda Novak




You're invited to a wedding in Whiskey Creek, Heart of the Gold Country

Unfortunately, it's the wrong wedding. Olivia Arnold is arranging the festivities—and it's the hardest thing she's ever done. Because she should be marrying Kyle Houseman. They were together for more than a year…. But her jealous sister, Noelle, stole him away—and now she's pregnant.

All their friends in Whiskey Creek know as well as Olivia does that Kyle's making a mistake. His stepbrother, Brandon, knows it, too. But Kyle's determined to go through with it, for his child's sake.

Olivia's devastated, but surprisingly Brandon—the black sheep of the family—is there to provide comfort and consolation. The intensity between them, both physical and emotional, shows Olivia that maybe Kyle wasn't the right man for her…

But is Brandon?


Every family seems to have a good kid and a bad kid.  Obviously, Olivia and Kyle are the good kids in their families while Noelle and Brandon are the bad kids.  Well, not horrible—they don’t rob banks or do drugs, but Noelle steals Kyle from Olivia and gets pregnant and Brandon’s a ski bum.  That’s what his father calls him.  Actually, he’s a champion skier with corporate endorsements—the whole nine yards.  But all his family sees is that he jets around skiing.  They think the logos on his clothing are just for decoration.

When she breaks down on the way into town for the wedding and has to pull over to the side of the road because she can’t see through the tears, Brandon is one of the last people she wants to see.  He dated her once in high school and then moved on, reinforcing her Plain Jane self image and his own ladies’ man reputation.  She doesn’t need him hitting on her when she’s down.  But his suggestion they attend the wedding as a couple just to shake people up is an intriguing one…

This was a pleasant read.  Maybe it’s unfair, but I guess I’m holding Ms. Novak to a higher standard since she’s a best-selling author contracted to a major publisher.  I suppose I expect to be dazzled more.  Maybe it’s because I’m writing this the morning after reading another book by a debut author at a small publisher that kept me up all night because I couldn’t put it down.  However, When We Touch is  worth the price, and I do recommend it.


Length:  102 Pages
Price:  $1.99 Free Right Now

1 comment: