Until January

by Mary Whitney

I have a happy life—a great career, wonderful friends, and a nice family (for the most part), but parents don’t like to let their single thirty-one year old daughters spend Christmas alone. Apparently, no matter how successful you might be in your career or how independent of a life you may lead, you can’t be trusted alone during the holidays. You might snap Fatal Attraction style and make rabbit stew for your married lover’s Christmas dinner.

But I’m a vegetarian, and I don’t date married men, so my parents have agreed to let me spend this December by myself. I’m even looking forward to it—at least I was until HLG came back. HLG is short for Hot Lawyer Guy. I know his name, but it’s easier if I think of him as HLG because he’s my unattainable crush. Every woman has a mild obsession they need to kick, and he’s mine. If he would just go away for good, this December would be perfect.

Genres: Romance, Holiday, Christmas, Novella, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, New Adult

95 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 17, 2014

About the author

Mary Whitney blames Laura Ingalls Wilder and Margaret Mitchell for her obsession with romance novels. At an early age, Mary fell in love with the Little House series and its dreamy hero, Almanzo Wilder, who only wanted Laura to be Laura. Like many women, Mary later graduated to the ultimate, tall and dark bad boy, Rhett Butler, who loved Scarlett despite her flaws.

Mary has lived around the U.S., and after a first career in the non-profit world and politics, she's settled in Northern California with her husband and daughters. She spends her days writing characters she hopes somehow capture the romance of Rhett and Scarlett and Almanzo and Laura. She's a firm believer in what Rhett says to Scarlett: "You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how.

Reviews

[Eva • All Books Considered · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait to read the associated books!!

[Agnieszka · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so not my cup and I only finished it because I hoped it will get better - unfortunatelly my issues lasted until the end.
I really liked Sean (even if he's way too perfect to be real) but struggled with Gretchen from the very beginning. In my opinion she's extremely shallow, self-centered and immature.
I didn't care for the writting style as well (first person, told entirely form female POV, mixed past and present tense narration - looks like it started in past tense and was changed to present tense or was originally written in present tense but the change to the usual past tense didn't progress very far) and there were way too many typos/errors/incorrect words.

I'll delete my copy of the books next and don't plan on readng anyhting else by this author.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until January is a great romantic and funny read that any single girl could totally relate to. Gretchen is single and this Christmas really doesn’t want to go home to her parents questions about finding someone so she decides to stay home for Christmas. She recently has found her neighbor totally irresistible and is crushing on him badly but finds out he has a girlfriend. During a series of meet-ups at odd hours of the day, she knows she has no chance but can't help to daydream. After weeks of not seeing him, he resurfaces and this time minus the girlfriend. Will this be her chance of making something happen or will Gretchen continue to let things slip by the wayside? Once you get to know HLG you will find him just as irresistible as Gretchen does. This is a couple who you will root for and hopefully, by the new year, things will all work out for all. Until January is all about what the New Year can bring and that is the best thing about it right? It’s all about life’s endless possibilities.

[Kelly O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first read from Mary Whitney but it won't be my last!
This is the perfect holiday read, it's romantic, funny and has a really hot sex scene enough to warm up any winters night.
I'll admit that I downloaded this because it was free but it's one of the best free books I've read.
Gretchen is the thirty something lawyer who is facing spending Christmas alone. She spends a lot of her time obsessing over Hot lawyer Guy or HLG who lives in her building. So how does Gretchen spend the holidays,read this awesome novella to find out !
Mary promises, more from Gretchen and Sean soon. I can't wait.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In less than a week, I’ve fallen in love with someone who most likely will break my heart because why would I ever break his?"

I am SO HAPPY I read Until January! From the second I saw it, I had a great feeling about it, and I've had good luck with this author. I opened it immediately, and only paused to push it hard on my friends and fellow readers.

Until January was witty, charming, heart-warming, and sexy. The perfect holiday quickie. I honestly can't SQUEE! hard enough! Read it.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 heartwarming stars

Until January was a lovely holiday read.
If you're looking for a feel good book to read over the holidays I highly recommend Until January by Mary Whitney.

[Robin Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short, very sweet novella. I'm glad the author is continuing it because there is definitely more story to tell. I really like both the main characters.

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute and fast paced novella at only ninety five pages. I liked the characters of Sean (HLG) and Gretchen. Set in New York City around the holidays was a bonus. The story had a nice flow and a potential happily ever after. The emails between Gretchen's twin Joe and the family and her's back are definitely twenty first century. In the acknowledgements the author states this will eventually be a two part book. Will have to look and see if it's out.

Ms. Whitney is a new to me author and I may give some of her other books a try.

[Roselover24 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sweet!!

This is such a great short romance! Not too much drama just a nice well told story with a swoons guy to crush on

[Carrie Elks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Mary Whitney for a long time. Being a Pol Science graduate, I have a penchant for her political romances, loving the way she can make a campaign seem sexy. Her heroes are always sex-gods in suits; her descriptions of them is a gift, and it keeps me coming back for more. So when she released her latest novella—Until January—I was first in line to snap it up.

Until January tells the story of Gretchen, a thirty something lawyer living in New York. Working as a lawyer for legal aid isn’t bringing in the cash, but it’s fulfilling and challenging and is a job she loves. Unfortunately her love life isn’t quite so satisfying. The only singleton among a group of friends who all seem to be settling down, Gretchen despairs of ever finding the one.

Instead, she settles for crushing on the guy who lives in the apartment upstairs from her—aptly nicknamed ‘Hot Lawyer Guy’ (or HLG for short)—who unfortunately has a very beautiful, very successful girlfriend.

When Gretchen’s brother bails out on a family Christmas to spend it with his girlfriend, Gretchen decides to spend Christmas alone in her Manhattan apartment. And as luck would have it, so does the Hot Lawyer Guy – Sean. What follows is a whole novella full of fabulous festive fun. The two of them eat good food, drink fine wine and even manage to make it to Midnight Mass. Plus she finds out that the beautiful, intimidating girlfriend is a thing of the past, leaving the way open for a little Christmas romance.

As with all Mary Whitney stories, this is choc full of detail, and she fits a lot into 95 pages. It’s short enough to read in a day, and contains everything I look for in a romance; chemistry, conversation and a dash of humor. Until January is the perfect companion to these cold, wintry days and nights.

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book last year and didn’t get it read during the holiday season. This year, I pulled up all the Christmas books I downloaded last and I’m trying to read one each day since most of them are either short stories or novellas. I loved the cover on this one, which is why I chose to read Until January. I’m very glad I did. This is a delightfully light-hearted read!

Gretchen Patton has had the hot for one of her neighbors for quite some time and refers to him as HLG––hot lawyer guy––instead of his name. Gretchen decides to spend Christmas alone since her twin brother goes to Tahiti with his soon to be fiancée and she doesn’t want to spend the holidays at her parent’s cabin in the wilds of Nova Scotia.

Sean McGowan returns from his father’s funeral with no set plans for the holidays, except work. Since he’s been gone for two months, he has to spend most of his time preparing for a big case in January.

When Gretchen and Sean meet by chance at the mailboxes in the lobby of their building, he asks her to go to mass on Christmas eve. Turns out he’s also attracted to her. Will Gretchen and Sean give into their attraction or decide it’s too big of a risk?

I truly enjoyed Until January from start to finish. I adored both characters, especially Gretchen. Of course, I’m sure the reason I enjoyed her character more is because the entire story is written in first person, from her perspective. I’m not a huge fan of first person POV, but for this book it worked.

If you want a fairly quick read to get you in the mood for the holidays, with humor and a lot of camaraderie, then I suggest you give Until January a try. You will not be disappointed. Happy reading!

5 Gold Crowns

[Heather]

Lovely

Gretchen is a single 30 something woman living in NYC. She's got an expensive education in law and chooses to work as a public defender while her show off twin brother with an equally expensive education is swimming in money and gloating to their parents about spending Christmas at some destination he's taking with his girlfriend. Not wanting to spend the holidays with her parents, she tells them she is going to the Bahamas for Christmas but ends up staying home in the archaic apartment left to her by her grandmother. Little does she know that the hot lawyer guy who shares a building with her might be just what she needs to bring her out of her funk, but is he even interested in her?

This was a good book, it's funny and romantic, and although you can't help wanting to smack some sense into Gretchen at times, you also can't help but pull for her and hope that everything will work out for her. I recommend this book if you're looking for something that isn't too long but also not too short either, are looking for a holiday read, and love romance. It's not chalked full of smut but it has its moments- it's a slow burn that will leave you hoping that the author will continue the story at some point just so we can see where they ended up. I enjoyed it!

[Hilda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free on Amazon as of 12/22/14.

I would have loved this book if the MC Gretchen didn't talk about how old she was every other paragraph. The word "old" and "spinster" came up so much I stopped counting. I don't think 31 is old. All of my friends are that exact age and just got married, had their first child, or are dating. Not once have I thought we are old. I would think that for an up and coming lawyer this is relatively young. I understand that from some family members (older generation) and friends who didn't go to college this might be old but that isn't how I see things. I couldn't get into the story because she was so jaded and poor Sean was so patient and nice. I am glad he persisted and showed her how much he cared for her but really, if he'd moved on I wouldn't have felt bad. She sabotaged the whole thing from the beginning.

I needed more to like her. I think the 95 pages of this novela weren't enough for me to care. It was a cute story and had some very good parts but it was just meh for me.

[Dom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't say I hated it, but I certainly didn't like it. I found the protagonist to be hard to like. I wanted to know more about her; less about her unrequited crush. The spinster undertones, the fact they kept repeating her age over and over again (yes, I understood that you're 31 from the first five times) etc. I'm not a fan of the workaholic, perpetually single and bitter woman trope. It's one of those tropes that will make my eyes roll. I've seen it done well but more often than not, it's terrible.

I'm also not a smut fan, so I skipped over those pages.

Overall, I wasn't interested in any of the characters (except maybe the cute and fluffy Great Dane named Babette). I didn't buy into the love between the two main characters. I seem to be the minority with my opinion. Regardless, there's nothing I would write home about.

If you like those Lifetime sexy romance movies, you'll probably like this. However if you're not a fan of the genre like myself, you'll do better skipping this. I certainly would've preferred skipping it.

[Michele A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gretchen and Sean meet in passing as they both live in the same building in Manhattan. Gretchen is a lawyer, as is Sean. When Gretchen sees Sean she describes him to everyone as HLG (Hot Lawyer Guy) and continues to do so throughout most of the book. Gretchen was a bit tough to take at times. She called herself a spinster pretty regularly (even though she is 31) and acted like a teenager throughout most of the book. I got whiplash trying to figure her out. Sean was upfront from the beginning and Gretchen put all of her focus on protecting herself and didn't realize that she was playing with his feelings also. When it became clear to Sean that she was not truthful about something she claimed she was going to do, he called her out on it and let her off easy. I would like to see where their story goes, but hope that Gretchen does not continue to sabotage their relationship. A good holiday read and hopefully the beginning of a nice romance.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start of this book was somewhat of a turn off for me. Gretchen (terrible character name FYI) was complaining the entire time almost nagging. She seems spiteful and almost miserable throughout the book even when she and Sean start hanging out she still is waiting for the hammer to drop. "Glass half empty." Sean's character was likable very straight forward. He also grabs the bull by the horns. There are a few things to tick off that I didn't like. I never like love within a week. It's just not my thing. I also thought it was strange that they were very adolescent in the way the communicated with one another until the end. Some of the writing was great. Some of it was lacking. There were minor grammar errors which normally don't bother me at all. But since this book didn't completely sell me they stood out to me.

[Lisa Karafa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four Pennies for this quick read which was a great pick me up romance just in time for the holidays.

When single Gretchen finds herself alone for the holidays in New York, she creates a plan to lay low and avoid wallowing. But when an unexpected opportunity turns up, her holiday season is forever changed.

I loved that both of these characters (Gretchen and Sean) were well educated, kind to the less fortunate and able to keep their hormones in check. While this was a novella, the author took her time building the heat between these two in a way that had me routing for them to move faster while appreciating the slower pace of their building relationship.

So many amazing scenes to visualize from the church to central park. A very well done New York romance.

[Kimberly Westrope · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Gretchen decides not to join her family for the Christmas holidays, she resigns herself to spending them alone in her apartment. Then she runs in to the HLG (Hot Lawyer Guy) who lives in her building, a guy she’s had a crush on for quite some time. Turns out, he’s not only smoking hot, but super nice as well. Seems he’s going to be spending the holidays alone too. Perhaps this Christmas won’t be so bad after all.

This is a hilarious and also very sweet Christmas romance novella. I laughed out loud at some of the antics. They hit very close to home. The characters are wonderful and quite lovable. This is actually a story I will want to read again. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

[Jo-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gretchen is a single thirtyish lawyer who is spending Christmas alone. She is quite content with that and plans out her time to do whatever she wants and not have to report to anyone. It's pretty funny that Gretchen has been obsessed with another tenant in her building who she thinks of as HLG which is short for Hot Lawyer Guy. They didn't expect to be thrown together over the holidays but Gretchen is thrilled with this surprising turn of events.

The characters, Gretchen and Sean (HLG), were interesting and the story line was pretty good so I thought this was a nice quick holiday read, being romantic, funny and sexy.

[Sandra Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a single, 30-something woman who is crushing on HLG (Hot Lawyer Guy) with a girlfriend (Bitchy Law Snob.) She’ll be spending Christmas alone, which depresses her to no end. I also find pity invites to be annoying. She’s just jealous of everyone because they have plans and special someones (her ex is engaged, her crush is unrequited.) So relatable!

Then, suddenly, HLG becomes single again, and the two embark on this winter romance in NYC. The romance between them is a little long. I did not find the religion topic too stimulating. But I’m glad they had a good time with each other during the holidays. It turns out that having no plans was the best plan of all.

[Sm · Rating 3 out of 5]

another cute, short holiday story - I was on a roll with these this holiday season!
I liked this one, although the heroine was a little bit of a downer (she managed to keep her sarcastic armor on for the most part, so it wasn't the grating kind of downer, at least I was able to get past it with that rationalization)

I liked the truthiness and funnies

"It's like child endangerment of adult children"
"stupid electronic gadget that if it was really useful would be mass-produced and found in Target"
"I was jealous of him. He'd found someone, and I hadn't"

[J.J. Lair · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story started off good.
Gretchen is going through a rough patch while her family is doing better than she is. Her ex is engaged. Her hot neighbor is engaged. It made for some amusing pages.
Then she meets a guy ( trying not to spoil). He's perfect, he's into her. They like the same things, etc etc etc. the middle of the story lingers on that too much. The sex scene was well done and pretty wild.
The ending was good. There was a real concern for Gretchen and what she wants. The author made it work at the end.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed.

Apparently this is a novella intro to a new 2 book series with the same couple. Until January had a nice HFN (happy for now) ending and I'm going to just leave it at that. I don't think I want to read two more angst filled books about the couple even though Gretchen clearly has some maturing to do and it seems like Sean needs to find his true path too. I'm going to end on the happy note. Fun winter read.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until January what a sweet book I fully loved reading this book it was warm hearted and gets you in the mood for the holidays, really is a great book, for a short novella it was great I really do wish it was longer because it was so good to read, if the writer ever decides to write more about Gretchen and Sean I would so read them, differently a grwat book would recommend.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great novella from Mary Whitney! I loved Gretchen and Sean! The build up of how these two finally got together was great. Being a Catholic girl, I loved that their first date was midnight mass at St. Patrick's. Sean is definitely worth the risk of falling in love. Was excited to read this is the start of a 2 book series. Looking forward to more!

[Karen Komarinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

another great read

Right from the beginning you will be rooting for Gretchen & Sean. This is a sweet holiday romance, you won't be disappointed. I was not ready for this story to end, but I'm sure we have not heard the last of Gretchen & Sean. Thank you Mary Whitney for another great story!!!

[KY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect little holiday romance. I truly related to Gretchen' s safeguards to protect her heart. I didn't marry until almost 30 so finding the 'perfect' guy seems unrealistic but it does happen!! I look forward to more of Sean and Gretchen' s story.

[Sue Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG - what a great book! Sean (aka: HLG) - "he's simultaneously hot and adorable." *sigh* What's not to Love! Gretchen and Sean are So perfect together- Their story is funny and sexy and "Fall in Love" Awesome!
Can't wait for the next 2 books is this series!!!!

[Darcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick easy read

This was a quick holiday read but I had a tough time connecting with the characters, particularly our heroine. I don't feel as if I got to know her in this story. I am very mixed in what I feel about this book.

[Angelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great novella. It was so well written and thorough that it felt like a full length book.
A great story for the Christmas season. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read more by Ms. Whitney.