Where the Last Verse Ends: A Christmas novella

by Michaela Bush

All Kylie White wants is a quiet Christmas in her hometown of Bethlehem. But when she returns home jobless to crash at her parents' place, she has to face the past she left behind. All chaos breaks well-meaning friends setting her up on blind dates, a secret admirer, small-town rumors, and when things couldn't get worse, Kylie crosses paths with Dustin Bethlehem's favorite homegrown musician and the one person she never wanted to see again.

Kylie is faced with a she can unravel the past and step into the next chapter of her life, or she can keep running away. But when the truth splits open, can she choose to let go of her own hurt?

Where The Last Verse Ends is a hopeful, fun story celebrating friends, family, forgiveness, second-chance romance...and a Christmas miracle or two.

Genres: Contemporary, Christmas, Romance, Christian

174 pages, Paperback

Published July 24, 2024

About the author

Michaela Bush is an independent writer of Christian fiction. She graduated from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 2019 with a degree in English and minor in Psychology. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and when she isn't writing, freelancing, or building her own editing business, she's out with her horses or playing violin. Writing has been her calling from a young age and she hopes to touch lives and inspire readers with clean, thoughtful, and impactful novels. Follow her blog at www.tangledupinwriting.com.

Reviews

[Sarah Ryder · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I love this cover, it’s so pretty! Second of all, I really enjoyed this equally beautiful and real story!

It was easy slipping into Kylie’s head and understanding where she was coming from on things (even if her stubbornness in refusing to talk to a Certain Person made me want to bang my head against a wall a couple times), and I really liked and felt for her in her struggles to be a better friend and let go of the past and move forward.

Her friends were a crazy bunch who really need to STOP match making because they’re honestly terrible at it, lol. I honestly would be mortified to have friends this pushy about my love life, but they meant well so it’s all good though I cringed with Kylie multiple times at their not-so-subtle antics. Dustin was also super sweet and the mystery around him was intriguing in a way that I couldn’t guess what had happened until a certain point which was great as I normally can see contemporary plot twists a mile away *cough* because they’re mostly all the same *cough* so that was a nice surprise.

A really sweet yet honest and raw Christmas story with light faith content and a cast of characters I wouldn’t mind hanging out with if Michaela chose to write more about them.


‼️Content‼️

Language: sucked

Violence: a mention of a past drunk drive that ended with a flipped car (no deaths, not shown or detailed)

Drugs/Alcohol: a character has a past alcohol addiction


****Note: I received a free copy of the book from the author/publisher. All thoughts and opinions are most assuredly my own and I wasn’t required to write a positive review. If I was I wouldn’t have read it. 😜****

[Kristina Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher/author. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Where the Last Verse Ends was an entertaining read featuring a second-chance romance, matchmaking friends, a sympathetic main character, and plenty of Christmas charm. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys Christian fiction, novellas, Christmas stories, and sweet romance.

[Jocelyn M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet second chance romance Christmas novella! I enjoyed it.

[Virginia Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a free review copy from the author but I was not asked or encouraged to leave a positive review. These are my own thoughts and opinions. *

>>> Watch my full review here too: https://youtu.be/XRQ81xcY8bM?si=JLpOg... <<<

I really enjoyed the small-town setting and the cute coffee shop. Holiday/festive vibes were definitely there. The noticeable character growth was great! I liked that Kylie slowly realized that she was either not being the friend she could or that she was the one holding herself back. The romance was sweet and clean. Second-chance romances are hit-and-miss with me, but I enjoyed this one. And the conclusion was so sweet!

I did not care for all the matching-making. Despite how well-meaning the friends were, it got to be annoying and pesky. Also, due to scheduling, I had some struggles with stopping and starting this book which did dampen the overall reading experience.

Overall, I'm giving this 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I enjoyed this Christian romance and recommend it to music lovers and coffee drinkers. If you enjoy winter/holiday small-town, second-chance romances, then you should give this a read. Special thanks to the author for the review copy! :)

[H.S. Kylian · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. I don't usually enjoy second chance romance based on misunderstanding, but I loved how Michaela Bush did it here. I related so much to Kylie's position, and the message of the story—all about trusting God's timing and trying things again, but also being honest and communicating—was excellent. Dustin and his band were a great friend group and I loved the small town vibes, the family relationships, and the friendship between Rosy, Jules, and Kylie—although Jules' name tripped me up because in French 'Jules' is absolutely only a masculine name. Once I realized it was pronounced 'Jewels' here and not 'Jules,' it made a bit more sense, though it was still really weird, haha. But anyways, yeah, I throughly enjoyed and appreciated this story. :)

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where The Last Verse Ends is such a cozy read! The characters were entertaining and easy to empathize with, and Kylie’s friends were especially amusing with all the antics they caused. The music aspects of the plot were very fun and relatable for readers who are musicians. The second-chance romance played out well and was super sweet. Overall, it’s a delightful story with lots of holiday cheer and a solid message!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.