Running Back to You

by Emily McIntire

Genres: Christmas, Novella, Romance

47 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2023

About the author

Emily McIntire is a #1 New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author whose stories serve steam, slow burns, and seriously questionable morals. Her books have been translated in over a dozen languages, and span across several sub-genres within romance.

A stage IV breast cancer thriver, you can find Emily enjoying free time with her family, getting lost in a good book, or redecorating her house depending on her mood.


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Reviews

[britt ⋆୨୧˚ (catching up 🖤) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know 47 pages could make me CRY. I needed more of them. 😭😭😭😭

[Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm convinced Emily can do no wrong. I loved this novella so much

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly didn't know what I was ordering, but I'm a fan of Emily's, so I ordered.
Also, I ordered because she only releases it once a year around Christmas.

This is a short story/novella but it really packed a punch when it came to emotions.
Annabelle and her dad! Oof. So beautiful and so sad. Honestly, it was their relationship that made the book.
And the break up scene, that was sad but needed.

[Macy Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Mcintire just cannot be beaten

[bri ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

CUTE, emily i loved this little short story!! i’ve had it since last year and this was the perfect time to read it🩵

[TheSpeedyReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tropes: Romance-Christmas-Short story

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌶️

Loved this cute, slightly spicy Christmas short story. But If you know me you know I read anything by Queen Emily.

[Becca Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, I am so grateful that I was able to grab myself a copy of this during last winters limited release.
Never in my life did I expect a 47 PAGE NOVELLA, to make me cry. But, here we are.
Honestly, this didn’t even feel like a novella. Which I LOVED. It didn’t feel rushed at all. It had a good plot that included past, present and a little epilogue. And who doesn’t love a happy ending?! Obviously I would’ve loved more of Sebastian and Annabelle, but it also felt completed at the end. But I’m not even surprised because Miss Emily NEVER disappoints.

[Chelsi Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to snag this holiday novella and so glad that I did!!

Second chance romance done to perfection!

Annabelle and Sebastian grew up together and dated for years until he made the worst decision of his life. Now 10 years later they’re forced to face each other due to sad circumstances and decisions need to be made!! Well worth the read I wish there was more!!

[Jami Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

The shortest book in the world and it made me cry… and it’s not even those dang children’s books that always get me 😂

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute little Novella, like a hallmark Christmas story.

[Aubrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is 47 pages and the author only releases a limited amount at Christmas time. It's short and sweet. Not a lot of depth but that's tough to do in only 47 pages.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short. Sweet. Adorable. Spicy. Yet another 5 star read from Emily McIntire. I swear that woman can’t write anything bad. The only complaint is we didn’t get the typical character depth, but at only 47 pages long I’m not sure it could have been possible. I also did not expect to cry while reading a novella so short. Grab your tissues. This may become a yearly Christmas read for me.

[Kimmy Sue Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will forever be a huge fan of Emily McIntire. Cute little Christmas novella with big emotions and a spicy little ending. Loved.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

For being only 47 pages, this book made me cry multiple times. Loved every minute of this book. I just wish it was longer so I can get more of them.

[Casper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and cute. A nice second chance novel :)

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why am I crying over characters that I met 47 pages ago?!?

Belle and Sebastian were high school sweethearts, but after a heartbreaking break-up, they haven't seen each other in years. Until they end up spending Christmas together as her father's dying wish.

This was so freaking sweet and so much more than a romance. At its core, this novella is truly about life and how short it is, and how we should all spend a lot more time loving one another. It's absolutely beautiful.

I'm so glad I'm one of the lucky ones to have it on paperback 💙

[Courtney Lavallee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read much from Emily McIntire except her Never After series. I honestly didn't remember much about what this novella was supposed to be about so I went into it blind.

It was a cute little romance exactly what you would honestly think a romance based novella would be. However, I didn't like the fact that she was engaged and broke it off the way she did. That bothered me more than I thought it did initially. I originally thought it was adorable however, upon further thought I realized that made me angry beyond belief. The disrespect she had for a man that had asked her to spend their lives together was ridiculous. It was as if she didn't even care about him from day one.

Other than that it was a decent cutesy novella, the ending was adorable.

[Jeliza Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little read of Belle and Sebastian who are childhood lovers that separated, and reunited again by devastating news of her father 💔

[Mary Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

“𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓼𝓮𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓱𝓮𝓻, 𝓫𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓷𝓮𝔁𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓱𝓮𝓻, 𝓲𝓼 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓰𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓾𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓼𝓸𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓷 𝓪 𝓼𝓾𝓷𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓮”

Was able to squeeze this sweet short story in before the year’s end! Miss Emily only sells this little novella/short story once a year around Christmas, so when i got the notification i knew I had to snag it!

Annabelle Winters is returning back to Claus Cove for the first time in 10 years - the first time since her high school sweetheart, Sebastian, broke her heart. Why? Because it may be her father’s last Christmas, as cancer has riddled his body. Meanwhile, the second Sebastian hears of Annabelle’s return, he’s on his way for the first time in a while as well. Desperate to get back what he lost & fix his mistake.

This story gave me that last bit of Christmas-y hallmark feel I needed before the end of 2025! It had me smiling, giggling, and blushing one moment and tearing up the next! The second chance feel was everything I needed and the little bits where you feel Anabelle’s anticipatory grief for her father had me truly feeling heartbroken. Emily truly did such an amazing job with that bit of the story, and it was just perfect.

In terms of Sebastian & Annabelle’s romance, I absolutely loved it. I loved how beautifully Emily crafted her words so that you truly felt the ACHE these two had to be together again. I felt every joy & heartbreak right along with them. Truly a stunning job on Emily’s part.

Even for such a short story, nothing felt rushed & it left me wanting even more of Annabelle & Sebastian - but don’t worry, there’s still a little dose of spice in there for ya😉🥵

Overall, this story was a great end to the year, as heartbreaking as it was heartwarming in the end 🩵❄️ Make sure to snag you a copy next year!!

[Alyssa Kunz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this novella. I love the true meaning it has. to stop and slow down and look around you, live in the moment. Life is short and you never know when something can take all of that away, love more, spend more time loving and surrounding yourself with those who you love, forgive for YOU and not for others.

I would’ve liked to see more of this since Annabelle and Sebastian broke up and she hasn’t been back to her hometown in 10 YEARS!!!

Favorite quotes:

“You don’t need to say a thing. But I’d hate for you to look back one day and wish you spent more time forgiving—more time loving—and less time so angry at the world.”

“I don’t think forgiveness is something you give other people, Belle. If you forgive, it should be for yourself.”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s been ten years or a hundred. I think she’ll always hold the biggest part of me.”

Pressing a hand over his heart
“You can’t change what’s in here, Belle. I know you, even when you want to pretend I don’t.”

“Watching you babies grow. And it’s not because you want to keep them a kid forever, it’s because you know that once you let your child out in the world, they’ll get hurt. They’ll make mistakes, their hearts will break, and little by little, they’ll lose that purity. That wide eyed innocence that’s so precious to have. But the hardest part is standing back and letting it happen. Letting your little loves experience everything for themselves. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”

[Stephanie Tewes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily McIntire releases this novella once a year during the holiday season and it sells out FAST. Now I fully understand why.

Even at just forty-something pages, this little book packs an entire emotional arc. We follow Belle and Sebastian, childhood sweethearts torn apart and reunited by heartbreaking circumstances when Belle returns home to be with her dying father. Belle’s a runner emotionally, physically, metaphorically, and her father’s last request is that she stay, face what she’s been avoiding, and allow herself the possibility of something more.

It takes a decade, two bruised hearts, and a whole lot of grief, but Belle and Sebastian find their way back to each other just in time for Christmas. It’s tender, nostalgic, and beautifully bittersweet in such a short amount of time.

A super cute, super quick read and Emily remains the queen of making you care deeply about characters in under 50 pages. Ate.

[Kristin Hemingway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella is only released once a year with a limited supply. With that being said, I have never ordered something as fast as I ordered this. This short story was a read that I never knew that I needed.

If you like second chance romances, then this would be the perfect read for you! If I would change anything it would have been to make it longer.

Sebastian and Annabelle are the main characters in this short story. They grew up together and in turn, it blossomed into so much more. He made the tough decision of letting her go and now, a decade later, he finally sees her again at Christmas.

Will they be able to put the past behind them or will they part ways once again?

I gave this 4 stars and highly recommend watching Emily’s FB Page for the release of this again next year!

[Mikaela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, was just meh with this one. I get it was a short holiday novella, but it left me wanting more and not in the good way.

We were never told some key information for context like why the MCs broke up to begin with. Then the fiancé shows up unexpectedly and leaves immediately without even slightly fighting for her over just SEEING the old flame and her together at dinner with the family? While her dad is literally on hospice the FMC breaks up with the fiancé, forgives the old flame IMMEDIATELY, f*cks him and then flash forward 4 years later her dad has passed, and surprise now she’s pregnant HEA? Just… no.

If this was a holiday novella based off another full length novel (that had provided some context) I think I would have enjoyed it more. But for a one and done… this wasn’t it.

Book Deets 📖
Rating: ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Emotional Damage:💧
Genre: Holiday Romance
Format Read: 📖

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I previously read this novella as part of the All I Want is You Anthology

After a break up at 19, Annabelle runs and never looks back, until she has no choice but to return home 10 years later. It took her sick dad to knock some sense into her, but Annabelle stops running. It may have taken a decade of broken hearts, but Belle and Sebastian are reunited and given a second chance just in time for Christmas.

My Favorite Quotes:
• “Doesn’t matter if it’s been ten years or a hundred. I think she’ll always hold the biggest part of me.”
• “The only thing I’ve ever known is loving you.”
• “It’s always been him.”

8/10 Dirty Birdy
7/10 Second Chance

[Becky Alsman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok…possible spoilers…ish - ahead.

This novella…oh…my…lanta! When I tell you I was giggling and then crying and then happy and then crying again! The emotional roller coaster in such a short time was insane but oh so good. Annabelle and Sebastian…chefs kiss. But the part that gutted me? Annabelle’s dad. My dad beat stage III lung cancer last year so this just tore me wide open. I have not sobbed over a book since Exodus. Emily has an absolute way with her story telling and I keep coming back for more 💖

[Kristi Arends · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting such a short story to have as much of a huge impact on me as Running Back to You has. Grab some tissues before reading. You're going to need them.

This is so much more than your average sweet, cute, Christmas story.

It's about living your life to the fullest. It's about forgiveness and not running away from yourself or others that you care for. It's about love and about family.

Running Back to You needs to be read by everyone at least once. Although, it's definitely going to be a yearly read for me.

[Tarrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 up to 4!

This was fine! It was just suuuuper short. I would've liked to see more in general, but definitely more in regards to the..well, the plot. They ended so badly that she's avoided her family and entire town for TEN YEARS, but after only one day back in the same house, they're in love again, and she's ending an engagement? Obviously, this is probably because the book is only 47 pages, but still. Overall, a quick and sweet read, though.

[Hallie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a short novella! Easy to read. Annabelle goes back home for Christmas after 10 years. She hadn’t been back because of her ex Sebastian but with her father on hospice she went home. Obviously Sebastian was there and saw how Annabelle moved on and was engaged. Annabelle realizes she still has feelings for Sebastian just as he does. Ends up breaking the engagement with Andrew to get back with Sebastian.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute, second chance romance between childhood sweethearts.

Sebastian leaves behind everything, including the love of his life, to go make it big. And he does but at the mention of Annabelle coming home for Christmas he drops everything to go after her.

Annabelle comes home for Christmas after being away for ten year. She doesn’t want to see the man who broke her heart but he shows up to prove to her that he can be better.

[Jessica Nason · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Normally, I don’t really care for novellas, but Emily McIntyre does what she always does and completely reels me in. Running Back to You was such a cute little read and had all the charm and heart I expect from her writing. I loved the second chance romance vibes and couldn’t help but wish I got more of their story. This would be the perfect full length second chance romance, and I’d read it in a heartbeat. A quick, cozy, and satisfying read that left me wanting just a little more.