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Once Upon A Christmas Eve: A Novella
“Even though there is no such thing—no such thing as perfect, and no such thing as permanent—for this moment I let myself feel hopeful. I allow myself the expectation of the best possible outcome from this night—as dangerous as the feeling might be.”
A chance meeting on Christmas Eve will change Jonathan and Olivia’s lives forever.
This sweet YA romance is a novella: approximately 25k words, or 100 pages long.
A chance meeting on Christmas Eve will change Jonathan and Olivia’s lives forever.
This sweet YA romance is a novella: approximately 25k words, or 100 pages long.
- GenresYoung Adult
100 pages, ebook
First published November 16, 2014
35 people want to read
About the author
Katie Klein
19 books702 followersKatie Klein is the author of a variety of coming-of-age novels (urban fantasy, romance, suspense, etc.) for adult and teen readers.
In the first year of its release, her YA Contemporary Romance, CROSS MY HEART, spent more than 150 days on the Amazon Teen Top 100 Bestseller list. It was also a 2011 Goodreads Finalist for Best YA Fiction. The original screenplay based on her novel ALL I NEVER WANTED was a 2021 Scriptapalooza Quarterfinalist.
She has taught post-secondary online writing and literature courses for more than a decade.
She can be reached at katiekleinwrites@yahoo.com, and maintains a web presence at: http://katiekleinwrites.blogspot.com.
In the first year of its release, her YA Contemporary Romance, CROSS MY HEART, spent more than 150 days on the Amazon Teen Top 100 Bestseller list. It was also a 2011 Goodreads Finalist for Best YA Fiction. The original screenplay based on her novel ALL I NEVER WANTED was a 2021 Scriptapalooza Quarterfinalist.
She has taught post-secondary online writing and literature courses for more than a decade.
She can be reached at katiekleinwrites@yahoo.com, and maintains a web presence at: http://katiekleinwrites.blogspot.com.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 10, 2018
Re-Re-read 2016: I still believe.
Re-read 2015: I love it even more the second time around. A sweet, short story to warm my holiday romance loving heart!
Super, super cute, and a perfect little novella for the Christmas season. I just love Katie Klein's books. Adore them! I feel like if I knew her in real life she is exactly the person I would want to sit next to with a warm cup of cocoa and gush over sweet romantic stories we've heard. She manages to write romances that are sweet and riddled with enough literary references to make me smile, and somehow she always manages to touch my heart with her stories as well.
Normally I am not a huge fan of novellas. They are just too short to really capture the heart of a story. Things either feel rushed or incomplete or implausible, so I never feel invested enough in the stories to truly love them. In some ways this story falls into that trap because I REALLY want to know what happens next, but at the same time I think that it ends just perfectly. This is a story of hope, a story of the magic of Christmas that we celebrate each year. It is a book of possibilities, and for that reason I think that it works well as a novella.
Olivia is closing up the Christmas shop where she works when Jonathon walks in looking for a last minute Christmas gift for a family gathering. Olivia helps him out and after a few minutes of banter between them they end up deciding to go with each other to their respective family gatherings. Yeah, they just met. Yeah, in real life this might be somewhere between creepy and dangerous. But in this story it works. It really does. Olivia is exactly who Jonathon needs at his side in order to make it through his large family gathering, and Jonathon is exactly who Olivia needs to make it through her small (and incredibly awkward) family gathering.
It is true that you might have to put aside your critical reading hat a bit and go with the flow for this story. After all, these two people have only known each other for a few short hours, so that don't really KNOW each other. This is the beginning, and for a person like Olivia who has basically been living her life in the moment, not allowing herself to plan for the future, since her mother was diagnosed with cancer, there is not much belief in anything good lasting beyond this moment. But Jonathon BELIEVES. He is all about the magic of Christmas, and meeting Olivia, having the wonderful evening with each of their families, and feeling this connection with each other is part of that magic. And as a reader? Well, I went right along with him. I believed too. I loved it.
So this is another wonderful story from Katie Klein, and a great one for Christmas. It left me with a warm heart and a sweet smile, and I highly recommend it. Four stars!
Re-read 2015: I love it even more the second time around. A sweet, short story to warm my holiday romance loving heart!
Super, super cute, and a perfect little novella for the Christmas season. I just love Katie Klein's books. Adore them! I feel like if I knew her in real life she is exactly the person I would want to sit next to with a warm cup of cocoa and gush over sweet romantic stories we've heard. She manages to write romances that are sweet and riddled with enough literary references to make me smile, and somehow she always manages to touch my heart with her stories as well.
Normally I am not a huge fan of novellas. They are just too short to really capture the heart of a story. Things either feel rushed or incomplete or implausible, so I never feel invested enough in the stories to truly love them. In some ways this story falls into that trap because I REALLY want to know what happens next, but at the same time I think that it ends just perfectly. This is a story of hope, a story of the magic of Christmas that we celebrate each year. It is a book of possibilities, and for that reason I think that it works well as a novella.
Olivia is closing up the Christmas shop where she works when Jonathon walks in looking for a last minute Christmas gift for a family gathering. Olivia helps him out and after a few minutes of banter between them they end up deciding to go with each other to their respective family gatherings. Yeah, they just met. Yeah, in real life this might be somewhere between creepy and dangerous. But in this story it works. It really does. Olivia is exactly who Jonathon needs at his side in order to make it through his large family gathering, and Jonathon is exactly who Olivia needs to make it through her small (and incredibly awkward) family gathering.
It is true that you might have to put aside your critical reading hat a bit and go with the flow for this story. After all, these two people have only known each other for a few short hours, so that don't really KNOW each other. This is the beginning, and for a person like Olivia who has basically been living her life in the moment, not allowing herself to plan for the future, since her mother was diagnosed with cancer, there is not much belief in anything good lasting beyond this moment. But Jonathon BELIEVES. He is all about the magic of Christmas, and meeting Olivia, having the wonderful evening with each of their families, and feeling this connection with each other is part of that magic. And as a reader? Well, I went right along with him. I believed too. I loved it.
So this is another wonderful story from Katie Klein, and a great one for Christmas. It left me with a warm heart and a sweet smile, and I highly recommend it. Four stars!
November 21, 2014
Here’s the funny thing…I normally steer clear of novellas because I don’t find them satisfying, there’s usually not enough depth there to grab on to. I also steer clear of “seasonal” reads, mostly because I have so much on my TBR list that I’m only able to get to them months later and that just feels weird! So, you may be asking yourself why I read this one?!? Katie Klein, of course. I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time, and I love her writing, so I took a chance…and boy am I glad I did!! This novella is perfect. The characters are well developed and the storyline is kept concise (everything happens in one evening) so it felt like a night out with friends…short and sweet, but definitely satisfying!!
Jonathan and Olivia meet each other on Christmas Eve, just before each of them has to face an evening with their families. An evening that neither of them is looking forward to because of family drama. In an unconventional move, they decide to support each other through these difficult dinners…new friends taking a risk for each other. What happens is both wonderful and sweet, heart-wrenching, funny and beautiful!
It’s quite amazing to me that Ms. Klein was able to develop not only her main characters so clearly but also the secondary ones. I felt like Olivia and Jonathan were introducing themselves to me as they got to know each other and that helped me form a picture of them in my mind. I also loved, and sometimes was annoyed by, their families. The author painted a picture of all the dysfunctions, all the happiness, and all the turmoil of family life. It felt real, parts of it felt like my life, and I couldn’t put it down!
Take my word for this. Buy this book, find a cozy spot with a fire or a warm blanket, and dig in. You’ll love the romance and the stomach flutters it gives you, you’ll love the emotions that are different and intense on each page, and you’ll love the characters like new friends. And then, once you’re done, I know that you’ll join me in begging Ms. Klein to write a full book about these two because I know their story will be epic!!
Jonathan and Olivia meet each other on Christmas Eve, just before each of them has to face an evening with their families. An evening that neither of them is looking forward to because of family drama. In an unconventional move, they decide to support each other through these difficult dinners…new friends taking a risk for each other. What happens is both wonderful and sweet, heart-wrenching, funny and beautiful!
It’s quite amazing to me that Ms. Klein was able to develop not only her main characters so clearly but also the secondary ones. I felt like Olivia and Jonathan were introducing themselves to me as they got to know each other and that helped me form a picture of them in my mind. I also loved, and sometimes was annoyed by, their families. The author painted a picture of all the dysfunctions, all the happiness, and all the turmoil of family life. It felt real, parts of it felt like my life, and I couldn’t put it down!
Take my word for this. Buy this book, find a cozy spot with a fire or a warm blanket, and dig in. You’ll love the romance and the stomach flutters it gives you, you’ll love the emotions that are different and intense on each page, and you’ll love the characters like new friends. And then, once you’re done, I know that you’ll join me in begging Ms. Klein to write a full book about these two because I know their story will be epic!!
November 21, 2014
Here’s the funny thing…I normally steer clear of novellas because I don’t find them satisfying, there’s usually not enough depth there to grab on to. I also steer clear of “seasonal” reads, mostly because I have so much on my TBR list that I’m only able to get to them months later and that just feels weird! So, you may be asking yourself why I read this one?!? Katie Klein, of course. I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time, and I love her writing, so I took a chance…and boy am I glad I did!! This novella is perfect. The characters are well developed and the storyline is kept concise (everything happens in one evening) so it felt like a night out with friends…short and sweet, but definitely satisfying!!
Jonathan and Olivia meet each other on Christmas Eve, just before each of them has to face an evening with their families. An evening that neither of them is looking forward to because of family drama. In an unconventional move, they decide to support each other through these difficult dinners…new friends taking a risk for each other. What happens is both wonderful and sweet, heart-wrenching, funny and beautiful!
It’s quite amazing to me that Ms. Klein was able to develop not only her main characters so clearly but also the secondary ones. I felt like Olivia and Jonathan were introducing themselves to me as they got to know each other and that helped me form a picture of them in my mind. I also loved, and sometimes was annoyed by, their families. The author painted a picture of all the dysfunctions, all the happiness, and all the turmoil of family life. It felt real, parts of it felt like my life, and I couldn’t put it down!
Take my word for this. Buy this book, find a cozy spot with a fire or a warm blanket, and dig in. You’ll love the romance and the stomach flutters it gives you, you’ll love the emotions that are different and intense on each page, and you’ll love the characters like new friends. And then, once you’re done, I know that you’ll join me in begging Ms. Klein to write a full book about these two because I know their story will be epic!!
Jonathan and Olivia meet each other on Christmas Eve, just before each of them has to face an evening with their families. An evening that neither of them is looking forward to because of family drama. In an unconventional move, they decide to support each other through these difficult dinners…new friends taking a risk for each other. What happens is both wonderful and sweet, heart-wrenching, funny and beautiful!
It’s quite amazing to me that Ms. Klein was able to develop not only her main characters so clearly but also the secondary ones. I felt like Olivia and Jonathan were introducing themselves to me as they got to know each other and that helped me form a picture of them in my mind. I also loved, and sometimes was annoyed by, their families. The author painted a picture of all the dysfunctions, all the happiness, and all the turmoil of family life. It felt real, parts of it felt like my life, and I couldn’t put it down!
Take my word for this. Buy this book, find a cozy spot with a fire or a warm blanket, and dig in. You’ll love the romance and the stomach flutters it gives you, you’ll love the emotions that are different and intense on each page, and you’ll love the characters like new friends. And then, once you’re done, I know that you’ll join me in begging Ms. Klein to write a full book about these two because I know their story will be epic!!
November 19, 2014
***REVIEW TO COME
Yet let me leave you with this quote from one of the protagonist which I think will sum up my upcoming review.
"It's beautiful and sad all at the same time." -Jonathan
Yet let me leave you with this quote from one of the protagonist which I think will sum up my upcoming review.
"It's beautiful and sad all at the same time." -Jonathan
January 17, 2015
4.5 stars. I am a huge fan of Katie Klein . This was a sweet Christmas story about young love. It made my heart grow 2 sizes too big and got it in the Christmas spirit.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews