No-Kiss November: A Small Town Thanksgiving Romance Novella

by G.G. Andrew

Ever since Murray Carver cursed Riley's great-grandmother at Oak Bend's annual Thanksgiving festival seven decades ago, the women in her family have been unlucky in love. Infidelity. Divorce. Death by parade float. After her own series of heartbreaks, Riley lives by firm rules: Only date unsuitable men. Never fall in love. And absolutely never kiss a man in November.

But when her great-aunt needs assistance organizing Oak Bend's upcoming Thanksgiving festival, Riley flies to New England to help. Oak Bend is unimaginably cute, but unfortunately so is the town mayor: Stone Carver, a single dad... and the great-grandson of the man who cursed her family.

The sparks that fly between Riley and Stone are brighter than the leaves falling from the autumn trees. But Stone can't seem to convince Riley that the curse is all in her head — especially when she knows the dangers of falling in love during decorative gourd season.

Can Riley and Stone find a way to kiss her curse goodbye by Thanksgiving?

Genres: Romance, Novella

144 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 22, 2025

About the author

I'm not on Goodreads often, but feel free to connect with me through Facebook, Instagram, or my newsletter!

➜NEWSLETTER: http://ggandrew.com/mailing-list/
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G.G. Andrew has written love stories about poets, ghosts, reformed mean girls, grammar nerds, kleptomaniacs, cops, graffiti artists, and many, many horror geeks, but what they all have in common is they’re filled with humor and heart. (And sometimes a Star Wars reference or two.)

She writes about books for the BookBub Blog. An avid nerd, G.G. enjoys British comedy, black licorice, neon pink, frozen concoctions, monster movies, and any type of rom-com. She’s probably drinking tea right now.

Join her mailing list to get free stories, scenes, and sneak peeks at new books: http://ggandrew.com/mailing-list/

Reviews

[Sharon Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a charming, funny, sweet romance about a woman who swears of men (but only the good ones and only in the month of November) because of a family curse. But she didn't count on going back to the small town where the curse started decades ago or meeting the town's handsome, young mayor, Stone.

This is just 144 pages, closed door, and THANKSGIVING THEMED! Definitely recommend.

PS> Love, love, love the inclusion of a character with high support needs autism. Love to see it.

[Megan Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, cute, and cheesy!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want a cute little Thanksgiving book to read this week I highly recommend this book. It was cute and up lifting. Its all only 144 pages

[Kim Degeyter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet. Cozy. Delightful.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly cute and funny Thanksgiving romance!

Riley’s family is cursed to be unlucky in love—especially in November. She swears off any kind of dating during the month, but when her great aunt calls her and needs help, she says yes. There’s just one problem—her great aunt needs help with the annual Thanksgiving festival in Oak Bend, the small town where her family was originally cursed, and the hot mayor is the descendent of the person who cursed her family.

But Riley has things under control. She’s not going to fall for the hot mayor or his cute daughter on the autism spectrum or the idyllic and cozy town of Oak Bend. Or so she thinks.

I loved this cute and cozy Thanksgiving novella! It was perfect for fall and really funny, too! The author’s wit sparkles all the way through and it’s very heartwarming. I loved the community focused aspects as well. I could see several side characters getting their own story too 👀

“Don’t gobble,” I said. “Turkeys gobble when they’re trying to attract a mate. This is a family event, Mayor.”

5 stars!
Heat level: just kissing

Thanks to the author for the ARC. This is my unbiased review, and No-Kiss November comes out October 22nd!

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cheesy like a Hallmark movie. I didn’t take this book too seriously, but I wanted something quick and Thanksgiving themed

[ali griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

really cute and fun and really felt this sweet little town

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw this author had a new book out I was super excited. When I found out it was a Thanksgiving romance I was even more excited. I love celebrating holidays by reading books with them and there are not that many Thanksgiving-themed one I have found and enjoyed, but this one was so cute and will definitely be on my re-read list for next year.

Riley thinks her family is cursed. A love curse. Ever since her great-grandmother was cursed the women in her family have not had good luck in love. Especially in November. Anything bad that is going to happen romance-wise happens then. So Riley has made it her goal to never fall in love, only date people she doesn't really care about, no nice guys, and definitely not in November!

When her great-aunt needs help with the Thanksgiving festival she is in charge of organizing Riley heads to Oak Bend to help out. Where she meets Stone, the hot single dad mayor. These two were so cute together! And I loved Stone's autistic daughter as well. They were all so sweet. You can see the connection between Riley and Stone and how much she tries to fight it. She doesn't want him to get hurt because of her and her curse.

I loved the small town setting as well. It really made me want to live in Oak Bend! I loved the side characters too and would love more stories set in this town. So cute, so sweet, so everything. Such a good read and a great addition to my fall/Thanksgiving themed books!

Thanks to the author for an advanced copy of this book. The opinions are all mine.

[Lula Brielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you believe in curses? Riley does and so do the women of her family, going all the way back to her great-grandmother who was "cursed" by Murray Carver. It was during the small town of Oak Bend's annual Thanksgiving festival nearly seven decades ago, and since then every generation of women has been unlucky in love. Including Riley.

She only has casual relationships, never falls in love and keeps the superstition of not kissing anyone in November. Yet, this November is different. Her great-aunt, who still lives in Oak Bend and is very active in the community, has an accident and asks Riley for her assistance in this year's Thanksgiving Festival.

At first Riley is weary. After all, that town and specific event is where the curse occurred! But as long as she focuses on helping her great-aunt with the festival duties, and not kiss anyone, everything will be fine. That is, until she bumps into the mayor. Mayor Carver. The great-grandson of Murray Carver. Is this a coincidence or kismet? And, does he believe in curses?

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say it —>> I gobbled this up 🦃🤣

This is a pure feel good small town romance. It obviously occurs in November and there’s a cute thanksgiving festival.

Riley comes to town to help her Aunt plan the festival, but Mayor Stone is there at every turn and smitten. Riley believes the women in her family have a love curse, expecially in November, so she’s reluctant to give in to dating him.

I really wish there was a Christmas book! I’d love to go back to this sweet town and see this as a series!

[Katelyn Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

How stinking cute!!! I love a good fall cozy romance and this was short and sweet! Riley’s family being cursed but Stone’s grandfather made this story so much more enjoyable by being sucked into figuring out if they got together. We ALLLLLL knew it was going to end up that way but you still act shocked anyway. I loved everything about Stone trying to convince Riley curses aren’t real while she tries to force it away. If soulmates existed it was definitely Stone and Riley. 10/10!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Oak Bend - made me miss my hometown. Riley believes the women in her family are cursed in love, but are they? Her great aunt is a hoot. Will Riley's no kiss November be able to withstand the sparks that fly between her and Stone? Great characters including his siblings, daughter, her great aunt and the towns people. The author made me feel like I was there with Riley. I hope the author writes more books that take me back to Oak Bend.

[Katie Gillott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another super cute, lighthearted, Thanksgiving romance! Riley believes in a long standing love curse on her family but she still goes to the small town where the curse originated to help out her great aunt. Stone, the handsome, single-dad, town mayor and great grandson on the man who "cursed" Riley's family is determined to make Riley forget about the curse.

[Leah Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

the curse of November

Generations of women having bad luck in November causes the FMC to not want to fall in love and definitely not kiss a man in November until she’s back in her family’s small town and falls for a single dad. Find out if she breaks her family’s curse by reading this book for yourself!

[Cecilia Mora Jimenez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gosh, I just loved this book so much, I wish someone would turn it into a movie. It was so wholesome and Riley just cracks me up! 😂 Stone is so sweet and my oh my he sounds dreamy 😍 i am so happy Riley decided to move to Oak Bend permanently at the end and that kiss in Stone's office after the festival was 🥵🥵 everything.

[Monique Welch · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not my cup of tea, unfortunately. There were some lines that did make me cringe and then it was just too simple for my taste. If you want a short and in a non-offensive way shallow Thanksgiving read you might like this book I will say I am shocked that it was nominated for Goodreads book of the year

[Kendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riley heads to Oak Bend to help make sure the Thanksgiving festivities will run like clock work. In the meantime Stone, the major catches her eye. Riley feels the woman in her family have been cursed with no love in November. She works hard and trying to ignore her feelings. This was a quick, sweet, fun short story. Perfect holiday story.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and cute read! I liked the characters and the funny lines through out. In a short read, you were able to get a grasp of the characters, the small town charm, and a bit of flirty romance. I also liked seeing the inclusion of a girl on the autism spectrum. As a mom of a son with ASD, it was a nice feature to the story.

[Kristen Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute! It's a sweet, cozy, funny book with lovable characters. And it's set at Thanksgiving, filling a much needed hole in the seasonal romance department. I loved this book from start to finish and hope to see more from G.G. Andrew.

[Jade Pietrangelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is possibly the first holiday novella I’ve read without any spice. Would it have made the story that much better? Probably. But did it need it? Absolutely not. What a cute and well rounded story with characters you actually care about. Very cute.

[Claire Talbot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kinda really loved this. It’s a very quick read, so it felt a little fast paced since it was so short but I really enjoyed the characters, the small town in the fall vibe, and the Thanksgiving setting. Even with it being so short, there was a lot going on in the plot.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute Thanksgiving romance novella! It was like reading your favorite corny holiday Hallmark movie. The characters had cute chemistry and all the townsfolk minor characters where so fun to meet along the way. Honestly I wished it was longer!

[Lindsay Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute! A perfect Thanksgiving novella. I loved it all from Oak Bend being the cutest town, all the townspeople and of course Riley and Stone. The author wrote this really well and even though it was only about 140 pages it made an impact. I only wish I had more of their story!

[Anna Morelock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute Thanksgiving story. Watching Riley find her people and where she fits in was very heartwarming. There is no spice and no real drama. This was a cute, quick read and a great way to finish out the fall season.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneventful but cute story .

[Marissa Seggerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

practical magic x penelope vibes

If you were to combine practical magic x penelope with a thanksgiving themed story. A cute thanksgiving romance short story.

[Tabrina S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute & romantic, but no spice

[Cheri Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing clean fun!

Funny and rewarding at the same time. All the elements for a Great Thanksgiving story. Grab your favorite mug and poor yourself some hot chocolate and enjoy!

[Desiree Cote · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little hallmark book

[Tara Godwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute and fun read!