Raymond Travers is a Busy Man. The harried eldest son has a to-do list as long as his father’s last bender, and his plans don’t include spending Allhallowtide playing chaperone to a spirited debutante. But Raymond will do whatever it takes to secure a business deal with Lord Holland…including agreeing to keep the baron’s daughter out of trouble at the harvest fair.
Unfortunately for Raymond, Rosalie Holland is not to be trifled with. A hopeless romantic and hellion-in-the-making, Rosie has impatiently waited all year for the return of Ian Renwood, the object of her girlhood fantasies. But at every turn, Rosalie’s rebellious plans for Renwood are dashed by the sinfully handsome glower of a certain stoic chaperone.
Raymond and Rosalie have no choice but to grin and bear it through the harvest festival, a riotous romp of mysterious fortune-telling, shadowy bonfires, and ghostly abandoned mills. But as their own mischief and mayhem turns heated, a single day together might not be enough...
Erin Langston is an indie author of historical romances with heart and heat. Her novels have been featured in the New York Times Book Review, Library Journal, and The Washington Post, which named The Finest Print a Best Romance of 2024.
A librarian by trade, Erin lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children. A not-insignificant portion of her first novel was plotted in the preschool pickup line.
I was enjoying myself so much… and then it ended 😭
Rosalie (19) finds out through an apple peel belief that she’s destined to be with a man with an R as his name… perfect, she knows who it is- Ian Renwood! Years before, she had shared an affinity with him.
A year later, she’s 20 and ready for her debut. Her father asks a friend to escort her to festivities, Raymond Travers (mid 20s?).
Raymond’s always busy working and taking care of his family. He has two younger siblings who need watching over and he’s never had time to pursue a relationship. Except now that he’s with Rosalie, he’s finding himself captivated by her… too bad she’s interested in another man (a nasty one 😒).
I enjoyed: POSSIBLE SPOILERS —the chemistry between Raymond and Rosalie 🔥. The buildup is always so delicious in these Historical Romances 😮💨. We get a few scenes where Raymond looks at her curves, her skin, and it’s 🥵 (nothing even happens 🤣) and Rosalie checks out how strong he is as well 😉. We get ONE ish solid 🔥 scene and it shows us how much Raymond likes to eat a hearty meal… 👀😉. And that’s all we get 😐😒.
—the connection. For such a short book, it shows how their relationship builds to more. Could it have had more? Of course. But I enjoyed it
—the JP scenes 😈. Raymond showing up his competition was everything 👏🏻😉. You go Raymond 😮💨. Too bad ian wasn’t severely injured 🤣
—the superstitions and events. I thought these were cute. I’ve never heard of the apple one
—Raymond being attracted to Rosalie’s skills was a flex 🥰. When Rosalie’s trying to get help by the incompetent Ian, I loved that Raymond tells Rosalie to not belittle her skills and that what she has is basically smeeexy 😉
I wanted more: SPOILERS —length ☹️
—to actually see the 🔥. We got from Raymond eating his breakfast to the “epilogue” where they’re married and she’s heavy with child 😏. How was the child made eh? 💀
Overall, I enjoyed this
⚠️ safety squad ⚠️ -no cheating/sharing/owd -parental loss recounted -omd- the h wants another man but then sees the H in a different light -h’s a virgin/H is experienced but not a manwhore -HEA/epilogue ish
This was a cozy autumn read for a rainy autumn weekend. No angst, no third act breakup, just brain candy and apples.
🍎🍎🍎
Rosalie wanted to go to an autumn festival but she couldn’t go alone so her father asked Raymond to protect her from mischief (😈😂🤣). I think the father was a skilled matchmaker actually, bummer we didn’t see how he reacted when he saw how successful his scheme had been!
🍎🍎🍎
This was sweet, easy and way too short, these two deserved a full length novel. Also let’s just pretend the epilogue of FYR has never been written.
3.5 stars. It's cute but I get stressed in historical romances when there's a chance the woman's reputation is at stake and the hero isn't doing enough to guard it.
3.5/5. I generally don't read novellas as I prefer in-depth characterisations and plot. Langston's debut book impressed me so much, I thought I would give this one a go. The characterisations - especially that of the staid and noble Raymond - are quite thorough, enabling the reader to care for the protagonists in such a short time. Rosalie did start off rather frivolous and silly next to Raymond who carried all his family's responsibilities on his highly capable shoulders. By the end of the book, Raymond has learnt to smile again and Rosalie learnt to take pride in her own capabilities and not dumb herself down for any man. Problem is that the whole romance (include intimate scene and proposal) was carried out over the course of one day. I understand the page contraint of novellas, but it's hard to be convinced that people can undergo such changes within a few hours, let alone fall in love/lust and act on it in such a short timeframe. Rounded up because Raymond is a good man and it is a novella and I will mark it as such.
These fictional people, from a free novella, came to my house, insulted all my favourite couples and told me to kill myself now for I'm never going to find something like this in my lifetime, let alone a day.
(The girl on the cover is so pretty!)
“There’s nothing more attractive than a capable woman.”
“I still can’t believe I agreed to this,” Travers groused. “When I woke, at dawn, mind you, I could never have guessed—” “You know, it’s actually possible to have started that sentence without referencing how early you rise—” “—That instead of finishing a single task on my docket, I’d be performing magic tricks in a vegetable patch—”
Raymond, Lord Travers—austere eldest son, beleaguered heir to a wastrel’s earldom, functional guardian to two boisterous siblings—was standing in his shirtsleeves in the middle of a rowdy inn yard about to make a fool of himself for the girl next door. And he was glad for it.
“Raymond!” Rosalie cried, her hand over her mouth. Raymond had never thought much about his name one way or the other, but hearing her say it made him grateful to Fordham for possibly the first time in his life.
“Rosalie!” He grabbed her wrist, lifting her hand. “You little menace! What did you do?”
“So you burned yourself? Come here, you fiend. We need to get a look at your hand—”
“Sweetheart,” he murmured. “If you want a space, it’s yours.”
This was such a sweet and unexpectedly steamy historical romance! I loved the buttoned up MMC + spirited FMC pairing, and they both had a surprising amount of character depth for a 109 page novella. Definitely I’m looking forward to reading more of Erin Langston’s work!
Such a sweet prequel that’s instalove and takes place over the course of one day at a festival. The h begins the day trying to secure a betrothal with one man who she’s convinced is her true love and ends the day with the right H for her. Written in third person, dual POV. No ow drama, small om drama from the man h thinks she wants. H is not a virgin (short reference on his history) and h is a virgin.
For such a short book, the h and H were also nicely developed and I liked both a lot. Touch of steam and I wish it had been just a bit longer. I really liked the fortune telling details, it was a fun detail. The epilogue a year later with them married and her pregnant was also cute esp since we see a nod to the full length book that follows.
Well hello new to me historical romance author. I snagged this free novella from the author's newsletter, and I'm impressed and intrigued to read more!
A sassy heroine is determined to finally secure a betrothal from a man she's been trying to catch since she did a ritual with an apple peel that revealed an "r" for the name of her true love. But, her father isn't keen on her attending the local All Hallows Eve festival alone, and saddles her with the starchy, uptight next door neighbor who only agrees to take her since he wants to drain her father's ditches to helps his fields. lol.
The banter was quite delightful, and lord are these two horned up. I wish they had a bit more backstory versus having JUST met, but overall this was solid fun, and hello there's face sitting in the kind of haunted grist mill too.
Content notes: white heroine and white hero, slight age-gap (she's 20, I think he's near 30+), children antics
He just wanted a ditch and then shit got crazy, I don’t know what to tell you. Fate cabbages? There’s a mill. Is it haunted? It sort of is now, I guess. Haunted by sexy ghosts. Irresponsible dads are out, stressed out big brothers are in. Lady archery! How did all this happen in 109 pages?
I rarely discuss writing tics on Goodreads, but the frequency of italics (for emphasis) was out of control. So distracting.I rarely discuss writing tics on Goodreads, but the frequency of italics (for emphasis) was out of control. So distracting.
Erin Langston's books came highly recommended by a trusted friend and she was 100% right again. It turned out to be a timely read for me too, since A Day Until Forever has a Halloween timeline.
This was such a wonderful historical romance prequel novella! It was funny, cute, and surprisingly sexy. I fell in love with Raymond and Rosalie and loved their banter. Yes, things moves quickly from instalust/annoyance to love, but it's a novella so just go with it. LOL
Things to expect: - opposites attract - grumpy/starchy hero + sunshine heroine - forced proximity/neighbors - single parent-ish - a jealous hero - competence kink - touch her and die - face sitting *fans self* - a fated love (the pippen charm was so cute and now I need to find an apple)
There is some OM drama, but it's clear from the start who the end game is. I think my only (small) issue was that the sexy time was also *not* sexy thanks to the setting. All I could imagine was how dirty and decrepit the gristmill was and how everyone would know instantly what these two had been up to. I was sad to not have more time with Raymond and Rosalie, but there story was satisfying. I'm a little nervous that the MMC of the next book is only a 7 year old boy in this novella, but I'm sure Erin Langston will change my mind.
I love the little world Erin Langston has created! This was a sweet prequel that explains how Raymond and Rosalie got together. We get to see Nate and Tabitha as children, too.
Raymond, Lord Travers—austere eldest son, beleaguered heir to a wastrel’s earldom, functional guardian to two boisterous siblings—was standing in his shirtsleeves in the middle of a rowdy inn yard about to make a fool of himself for the girl next door.
this was a sweet prequel novella 💖 it was INSTA love (the book happens in one day) but still so sweet
NEXT TO BABY NATE'S BOOK 🏃🏼♀️😈
btw english is my second language and i've no idea what "austere, beleaguered or boisterous" means 😭😭😭 sometimes it's so hard to understand hr 😭
✨ tropes: hate to love, starchy hero, opposites attract, age gap, autumn/halloween vibes 🌶 spice: 2.5/5
another nom nom romance from our fave - loved the autumnal vibes this one had and i def want to re-read it closer to the season again 🍂 i really enjoyed the starchy x sunshine dynamic between raymond and rosalia .. their fates aligning perfectly was just chef's kiss 🤌🏽
🍎 “There’s nothing more attractive than a capable woman.”
🍎 At her feet, next to the rotting Renwood cabbage, was the first plant she had found, the one she had nearly grabbed whilst thinking of Raymond Travers.
🍎 “I’m sorry for ruining your day. I’m sorry for ruining your chances with Renwood. And God, Rosalie, I’m sorriest of all for how desperately I want to ruin you against the side of this inn.”
I’m so late to the party – don’t even know if this novella is still free with the author’s newsletter – but here we are.
A Day Until Forever was surprisingly hot short-ish story of unexpected love developing in the span of one day of the Allhallowtide celebrations.
First of all, I loved the setting.
The atmosphere described by the author was lovely; all the fun activities and titbits of history were very engaging and interesting to learn about. I really liked the crisp autumn landscapes (can you tell I’m already so tired of the Summer…), "almost-but-not-entirely" spooky location of the allegedly haunted gristmill, or the charming cabbage patch.
But mostly I wholeheartedly enjoyed Raymond and Rosalie meeting and falling in love.
Yes, things happened very quickly in this story, but Erin Langston manages to make it feel absolutely believable and there was no awkwardness to the developing romance.
The main couple bantered and flirted beautifully; the spark of chemistry between them was undeniable. But, oh, what a pleasant surprise was the scorching bite of the sudden hotness between them culminating in absolutely wonderful and intimate scene in the gristmill.
Lastly, there was a lot humour and charm in this novella; some spookiness and just a lovely atmosphere all together.
It you are curious about Erin Langston’s writing style, I feel this novella is a great place to start reading her works.
Sweet story with a serious H and an h who appears shallow, at first. Really she's sweet and a little sad about being unmarried. Their story covers one day at a fair, leading to their HEA.
This was utterly delightful. Genuinely. I loved getting to see Nate as a child in the background of this story, and while I do wish this had happened over two consecutive years' worth of fairs rather than a single day, I had such a lovely time with this that ultimately I didn't mind that it's got an air of instalove about it.
This story just proves that Erin Langston books are going to be an automatic read for me. Honestly there was nothing about this story that I didn't love. It was so great to see how Raymond and Rosalie met and fell in love. The novella takes place during one day.
Very steamy and very sweet. We get to see how great Raymond and Rosalie are for one another. They balance each other perfectly. I can't wait to read more from Langston.
Oh my goodness! The hazy glow of happiness I find myself in after finishing this story is pure delight. I am perpetually reading out of order, so this is the last of the Travers novels for me. Despite knowing how the story ends (and c’mon, it’s a romance! The HEA is a given anyway), this just made every interaction that much more. I already have a visceral connection to these characters, and I could not love them more. Or at least that’s what I thought until I read their story. The steady unravelling from dislike to discontent to utterly lost was absolute heaven. I love banter, and a teasing taunting love. The likes of Gilbert Blythe and Anne Shirley, you always tease the ones you want most of all. Rosalie is what all Travers women are, Capable! She is not going to let her man run over her. And most wonderfully, she finds Raymond who is not about to allow her to diminish herself so he can look good. No, he wants a capable woman who knows her worth. And he is exactly what she needs to stabilize her. Dependable, that’s what Travers men are! They are the perfect compliment to one another. The entire story is an absolute delight! I can’t think of a better word for the feels this world has given me. If I could join any fictional family, I would be a Travers! Finishing this story and reading the epilogue in the wee morning hours on October 31, was its own reward as I was right in the story!
This is a really cute story mainly taking over a course of 1 day during a festival. I think the apple peel fortune telling scenes of knowing who your true love will be was a cute touch that had an autumn feel to the story. I've been hearing a lot about this author and I already have downloaded Forever Your Rogue on my kindle.
This was such a fun novella! You meet Raymond and Rosalie in Forever Your Rogue and it was fun to go back and see how their love story began! Erin Langston is a fantastic writer and even though this was only a novella I felt a wide range of emotions much like I did while reading her full length novel.
4 stars | genuinely impressed with what the author was able to accomplish in 109 pages. This novella took place over the course of a single day and led to a surprisingly believable HEA in that time. Fun quick prequel.