Unexpected Endings

Castle Mountain Lodge #2.5

by Elena Aitken

Return to the beautiful, rustic and romantic Castle Mountain Lodge and catch up with Andi and Colin who prove that sometimes Unexpected Gifts have equally Unexpected Endings.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Christmas, Holiday, Ebooks, Short Stories

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2013

About the author

Elena Aitken is a USA Today Bestselling Author of more than forty romance and women’s fiction novels. Living a stone’s throw from the Rocky Mountains with her teenager twins, their two cats and a goofy rescue dog, Elena escapes into the mountains whenever life allows. She can often be found with her toes in the lake and a glass of wine in her hand, dreaming up her next book and working on her own happily ever after with her very own mountain man.

Read a free novella — https://dl.bookfunnel.com/vxuimdz0j8

Reviews

[*Tau* · Rating 1 out of 5]

This short story can be downloaded for free (except on Amazon) via different channels.
You can find the links on the website of the author: https://elenaaitken.com/books/unexpected-endings/

Unexpected Endings is a companion short story to the Castle Mountain Lodge Romance Series.
Apparently it's best enjoyed after reading the novel Unexpected Gifts.

As I downloaded both titles for free via Kobo, but wasn't sure if they'd be my cup of tea, I decided to try the short story first.
That way it's easy to back out of reading the novel if it doesn't suit my taste after all.

And yes, sadly enough my gut was right.
This short story didn't convince me on several levels.
The main problem was that the plot was very thin because it revolved around one event that's plain as day from the very beginning. Some authors seem to think that 'short' equals 'simple'. But there are plenty of short stories with substance and depth. This wasn't one of them.
Then there were the characters. It's true that I didn't read the novel first. But a good short story can stand on it's own and doesn't need an entire book to make up for the lack of credibility in the short story. There's no chemistry at all. And what is it about romance stories in which adults don't seem to be able to communicate with each other in a normal way? Is that the new standard these days?

All in all, the ending was not so unexpected to me and sadly enough I won't read anything else by this author again.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute and quick short read that you can read in one sitting.

Return to Castle Mountain Lodge and catch up with Colin and Andi with a quick but sweet love story that you will love!

I don't want to say to much about this story so I don't ruin it but you don't want to just skip over this short read! You will find yourself falling even more in love with these characters.

[Nyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was predictable. I'm going to give the series a break now and read something else.

The excerpt to the next book Mistaken Gifts looks entertaining at least, so I'm sure I'll pick the series up again.

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one seemed a bit unnecessary...

I read it because it was included in the Kindle book version at the end of Unexpected Gifts. It could have probably just been added as an epilogue? Or something?

[Shirley Smith-aguirre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this romance it was a relaxing curl up on the couch and enjoy book. I liked the characters and it was a nice easy read.

[Robin Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really

That was a waste of time to could have put this all into one book instead of three I'm really disappointed

[Elaine and Tess the Springer. I won’t be on GR for a bit. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but nice story.

[Angela M. Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected Endlings is by Elena Aitken.

Andi Williams and Colin Hartford met a year ago at Castle Mountain Lodge under unexpected circumstances. A year later Andi and Colin are returning to Castle Mountain Lodge for a romantic weekend getaway.. Andi hasn’t seen Colin in a month. Their long distance relationship seems as though it is floundering. Andi wants this weekend to rekindle their love. However things don't go as smoothly for Andi and Colin when his flight is delayed.
As Andi and Carmen and a friend of Carmen's have dinner together Andi starts to have doubts about Colin's love for her. Andi begins to wonder what Colin meant when he told Andi "we need to talk." So Andi begins to question what Colin wants and what it means. Andi also begins to wonder what else can go wrong?

I loved this short story about Andi and Colin. It was a great way to put some closure on their story. This is a must read as well as their previous story Unexpected Gifts. Elena Aitken is an amazing writer and I love her writing style. It is easy to fall in love with her books when you read just one.

I highly recommend this book and give it a 2 thumbs up and 5 stars. Come on and read this story. You'll fall in love for sure.

[Ronnae Stately · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andi is meeting Colin back at the mountain lodge where they first met and fell in love. He’s been gone awhile on a business trip and they haven’t seen each other since he left. Andi arrives and there is no Colin so her mind goes into overdrive when she hears a message from him saying they need to talk. To her that means breakup but Andi is letting her imagination go overboard cause of the words and due to a conversation she had with a woman who just broke up with her boyfriend. When Colin arrives,while Andi is hiking the trails she gets more ideas about their relationship. When she arrives back at the cabin Colin is distracted and even at one point tells Andi to go entertain herself. She leaves him with his computer and has thoughts run amuck in her head. But things are never what they seem.

[Liberty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 1.75 stars.

I'm keeping my review short since this was a short story that was less than 20 pages long. The whole thing was one huge miscommunication trope that drove me crazy from page one. This follows the main characters from the first novella as they return back to the lodge where they fell in love. But he's drowning in work and secret plans to propose and she's left to get worked up about how their relationship feels off since he went out of town for business a few weeks ago. It was so stupid and drove me up the wall. Thank god it was so short. The only reason it got as high of a rating as it did is because I still like those two characters well enough.

[Midniteillusion · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t really do much for me. I read the book that this piggybacks onto a couple of years ago, and thought it was ok so I thigh the I’d read this. The story is more of an extended epilogue than any kind of real stabs on its own short story. It is not a stand alone and should not be read as. It really should just be included in the book asa bonus scene/epilogue.

The hero was kind of jerk when he actually finally decided to show up and the heroine was zero to breakup the moment she sees him.

Just skip it.

[Kanwarpal Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andi returned back to lodge for getaway of hectic life and booked a suite ,Carmen and Lisa joined them for girls night out and Lisa after break up was little anxious and little bitter towards men and she make a state that led to a suspicious in mind as she recieve the same message and throughout when Colin came back she was suspicious about him but when he proposed her all things came to rest and she decided not to listen to someone advice who is bitter while giving advice on something that happens to her lately

[Glen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of grand gestures to begin with, as they are usually surprises, and it's pretty hard to know for sure whether the surprise will be appreciated or not.

However, when the surprise requires that the person being surprised is left to feel that something really bad is happening, it's just hurtful, for the sake of the person preparing the surprise feeling good about themselves.

Get a grip. and put yourself in the other person's place, without letting your own ego take over.

[old account (rl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely adored the first book with these characters, Unexpected Gifts, but wasn't particularly impressed with this short story. It was great to see the characters again but the writing was all over the place and it was missing that cutesy romantic thing that drew me into the last book. Also it was obviously way too short and rushed - as it often the case with novellas.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novella that give the HEA to Andi and Colin's story from book 1 in the series. They return to Castle Mountain Lodge for a romantic weekend after being separated by work for much of the previous year. The weekend isn't working out quite as Andi expected, but Colin's working on his own surprise (engagement) plans.

[Jean Oram]

A sweet short story about a couple that are working through their doubts as their lives become busier. Very realistic in terms of emotions and I like the way you aren’t sure how it is going to end until the end. You hope that the heroine is wrong in her assumptions, but you aren’t sure until the SPOILER! ;) I won’t tell you—you’ll have to read it yourself. Enjoy!

[AnjaliC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute And Unexpected Resolution

It was great to see Andi Williams and Colin Hartford again in this short novella, which is Book #2.5 in the Castle Mountain Lodge Series by Elena Aitken. But it was too short, and I still loved it... Nice to see them moving forward in life and still going strong, with a visit back to their favourite place, where they fell in love.

[Myndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute addition to the series, even though the holidays prevented me from reading it quite as quickly as I should have. I liked how the characters came back to the Lodge for a romantic weekend, since that is where they met. The middle of the story was a bit rushed and confusing to me, but it is a novella after all. I absolutely loved the ending!

[Kathy Wideman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really only like two chapters between books 2 and 3 in this series. Andi and Colin are supposed to be having a romantic weekend back at the hotel but things aren't going like Andi thought they would. She is beginning to worry that maybe Colin is losing interest in her. Colin has a plan of his own. Now he just needs to man up and do it.

[Erin Book Nerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was hardly a book. Colin makes a cameo more than an appearance as a main character. I found reading the follow up to their original romance to be underwhelming. It didn’t help that Colin calls Andi “Sweetie.” 🤢

[Jamoz23 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sweet but also to short.
This was going nicely but just ended without Andi saying anything about her concerns.
Yes Colin had very good reasons but worrying like that leaves a hurt behind. Just needed that quick confession of what had gone through her mind.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly well written fluff

The author does a pretty good job of making much ado about nothing. Obviously a competent writer, the author does a pretty good job of leading us into the state of mind of the protagonist.

[Lorie - Bookaholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a nice addition to this series if it was written in a full story. However, it does keep one in suspense about an emotional conversation that could arise. After all, one should wonder when you hear:

"We really need to talk."

Happy reading!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story that's sweet, but just an intro to book 3.

[Timothy Hendricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable little book that cements the relationship between Collin and Andi. It is kind of a bridge between the last book and the next one. Very good.

[Puii · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was quite unnecessary

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but sweet.

[MJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh... all so drama-lama and perfectly convenient. It's getting annoying. I'll try the next book, but if there's no improvement, I'm done.

[Ness · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short story that continued the Andi and Colin love story. In some ways it could have been the epilogue to Unexpected Gifts.

This is a romance book so that shouldn't be too spoilery!