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Talbot Girls #1
Stranded at New Year
"A heart warming romance...the perfect novella for a winter's evening."
Mollie runs the Sea View Guest House in South Wales. She has closed her doors for the Christmas season with no customers to worry about. Mollie has the perfect week planned, a combination of her love of cake and romantic notions of sitting by the fire with hot chocolate.
It's the best she can do with no man in her life.
Everything is going well until New Year's Eve. An unexpected guest arrives on her doorstep, a smoking hot man that knows her from his childhood.
Charlie's flight is cancelled and he is forced to stay in the small town in South Wales, there are no rooms available. So he needs to convince Mollie to open her guest house for him. He wants to get reacquainted now that they are both single adults...
Will she?
Stranded at New Year is a short novella, that will warm your heart.
56 pages, ebook
First published December 28, 2014
32 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Grace Harper
80 books185 followersBorn and raised in Wales, in a sleepy town just outside Cardiff, Grace developed a love of stationery at a very early age. She still can’t pass a pen shop without nipping in for a quick look around.
Writing and publishing since 2012, Grace has many books in her back catalog, all in the Romance genre. They range from Rock Star Romance to Small Town Romance and Family Sagas. Be warned, her books have a high heat level!
In a nutshell?
21st Century Romance – Writing about understated powerful women. Understated love stories with a powerful message, each and every time.
Sign up to Grace's newsletter: http://eepurl.com/5-eXX
Like Grace at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceHarperR...
Visit Grace's Website: https://graceharperbooks.com/
Writing and publishing since 2012, Grace has many books in her back catalog, all in the Romance genre. They range from Rock Star Romance to Small Town Romance and Family Sagas. Be warned, her books have a high heat level!
In a nutshell?
21st Century Romance – Writing about understated powerful women. Understated love stories with a powerful message, each and every time.
Sign up to Grace's newsletter: http://eepurl.com/5-eXX
Like Grace at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceHarperR...
Visit Grace's Website: https://graceharperbooks.com/
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 16, 2018
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Let me preface by saying that I respect when authors put their hearts and souls into their writing and then lay it all out for the world to read. It's one of the reasons why I fight with myself not to give anything below three (3) stars when rating a book. I can only hope that my thoughts will be accepted as constructive criticism only-no bashing.
It all started out pretty good with the overall atmosphere of the book. There's good descriptive imagery and a nice, little backstory for the characters. I admit that I was a little worried there wouldn't be enough room left for the actual romance since the author spent a large portion of the novella setting up the backstory. Still, I was interested in reading how the rest of the story would play out.
However, once the dialogue or character interactions came into play, the story switched gears for me. Throughout the book the conversations were rather stiff and awkward. The chemistry between the hero and heroine was lackluster. The author spent so much time in the beginning giving details about how they knew (or noticed) each other from childhood, but it got kind of glossed over when they meet again as adults. There was a brief discussion, but it didn't click the way I had expected. I'm definitely no prude when it comes to romance, but even the sex scenes were uncomfortable. Honestly, the whole story just fell a little flat.
I also have to wonder about this book's editing and proofreading processes. The amount of grammatical errors really didn't do the story justice at all. It was a little weird that so many questions were asked in conversations, and yet not one question mark was used. There were lots of run-on sentences or sentences overrun with so many unnecessary commas. This made it quite difficult for the overall romance and emotion of the story to come through the way the author may have intended. There was so much potential for this story, but it didn't quite reach it.
Let me preface by saying that I respect when authors put their hearts and souls into their writing and then lay it all out for the world to read. It's one of the reasons why I fight with myself not to give anything below three (3) stars when rating a book. I can only hope that my thoughts will be accepted as constructive criticism only-no bashing.
It all started out pretty good with the overall atmosphere of the book. There's good descriptive imagery and a nice, little backstory for the characters. I admit that I was a little worried there wouldn't be enough room left for the actual romance since the author spent a large portion of the novella setting up the backstory. Still, I was interested in reading how the rest of the story would play out.
However, once the dialogue or character interactions came into play, the story switched gears for me. Throughout the book the conversations were rather stiff and awkward. The chemistry between the hero and heroine was lackluster. The author spent so much time in the beginning giving details about how they knew (or noticed) each other from childhood, but it got kind of glossed over when they meet again as adults. There was a brief discussion, but it didn't click the way I had expected. I'm definitely no prude when it comes to romance, but even the sex scenes were uncomfortable. Honestly, the whole story just fell a little flat.
I also have to wonder about this book's editing and proofreading processes. The amount of grammatical errors really didn't do the story justice at all. It was a little weird that so many questions were asked in conversations, and yet not one question mark was used. There were lots of run-on sentences or sentences overrun with so many unnecessary commas. This made it quite difficult for the overall romance and emotion of the story to come through the way the author may have intended. There was so much potential for this story, but it didn't quite reach it.
December 22, 2019
A cosy, short Christmas novella featuring Mollie, owner of a guesthouse in South Wales who is looking forward to being closed over Christmas and spending time doing nothing. Until Charlie turns up on her doorstep, stranded, with nowhere to stay.
The story started off well but then it just felt really rushed. I didn't get any personality from the characters and the way they spoke to each other was a bit...odd. Plus the way they went from nothing to lovers in 24 hours, I just didn't feel like there was any chemistry and it didn't work for me. I felt it ended quite abruptly too. Saying that, I enjoyed the descriptive of the location and Mollie's guest house.
The story started off well but then it just felt really rushed. I didn't get any personality from the characters and the way they spoke to each other was a bit...odd. Plus the way they went from nothing to lovers in 24 hours, I just didn't feel like there was any chemistry and it didn't work for me. I felt it ended quite abruptly too. Saying that, I enjoyed the descriptive of the location and Mollie's guest house.
December 19, 2018
A sweet, slow burn quickie with a steamy finish.
I enjoyed this quick read that has a Christmas, new years themed romance.
Two strangers with a fate meeting.
An ideal lunchtime or quick read for busy lifestyles and a story that leaves you with a smile on your face.
Told in third person, leads to a hfn ending that lets your imagination take over.
I enjoyed this quick read that has a Christmas, new years themed romance.
Two strangers with a fate meeting.
An ideal lunchtime or quick read for busy lifestyles and a story that leaves you with a smile on your face.
Told in third person, leads to a hfn ending that lets your imagination take over.
September 1, 2018
Great quick read!!!
December 15, 2018
Cute short read for winter.
December 11, 2018
Cute story, but...
...too many grammatical errors for this English teacher! The setting, steaminess, and outcome were fun. Unexpectedly short -- this could be at least a novella.
...too many grammatical errors for this English teacher! The setting, steaminess, and outcome were fun. Unexpectedly short -- this could be at least a novella.
December 14, 2019
What a great holiday novella. This is a new author to me and I have to say I really enjoyed reading this.
At first I found Mollie a little off putting the way she pushed everyone away but I liked how her character developed throughout and how Charlie wasn’t put off by it. The added twist of them being in the same place as kids was heart warming.
At first I found Mollie a little off putting the way she pushed everyone away but I liked how her character developed throughout and how Charlie wasn’t put off by it. The added twist of them being in the same place as kids was heart warming.
January 13, 2020
An unnoticed lover
This was a quick read.... but told so much in a few words! I don’t usually read a story that is over before it begins but I loved this read! I invested, but not overly, and, I am so in to HEA stories! Of course this one ended too quickly, and one can only assume that there was a HEA ending!
This was a quick read.... but told so much in a few words! I don’t usually read a story that is over before it begins but I loved this read! I invested, but not overly, and, I am so in to HEA stories! Of course this one ended too quickly, and one can only assume that there was a HEA ending!
Read
May 15, 2015This is hands down the cutest short read ever!!!!
Charlie was never the friend making kind of person. He was a bit of a loner. When he was younger there was this beautiful girl he would see on the beach reading but he never had the courage to speak to her. He always regretted never speaking to her
Mollie thinks of herself as a woman with more than 1 flaw. She is a loner and is fine with being herself. Now as an adult she is still a loner who has her hands full. She runs her own business, likes to takes baths and read her books.
Then one day she ses this grump man that happens to be stranded and her place of business has about 6 empty rooms.....
This story is absolutely adorable and I loved every second of it!! I was so wrapped up in this book. This book needs to be turned into a lifetime mini holiday movie. It is that adorable and amazing.
Grace Harper congrats!!!!
Charlie was never the friend making kind of person. He was a bit of a loner. When he was younger there was this beautiful girl he would see on the beach reading but he never had the courage to speak to her. He always regretted never speaking to her
Mollie thinks of herself as a woman with more than 1 flaw. She is a loner and is fine with being herself. Now as an adult she is still a loner who has her hands full. She runs her own business, likes to takes baths and read her books.
Then one day she ses this grump man that happens to be stranded and her place of business has about 6 empty rooms.....
This story is absolutely adorable and I loved every second of it!! I was so wrapped up in this book. This book needs to be turned into a lifetime mini holiday movie. It is that adorable and amazing.
Grace Harper congrats!!!!
February 19, 2015
Stranded at New Year
A lovely, gentle love story.
Mollie is down at the local shops to get supplies before the snow comes down.
She over hears a man booming down his phone moaning about getting stuck in this god forsaken place.
Mollie has the only B&B around but she is closed for a few days.
When Mollie gets back to her place the gruff man is there asking to stay.
A while later he reveals he knew her as a child.
You need to get the book to find out what happens next!
A lovely, gentle love story.
Mollie is down at the local shops to get supplies before the snow comes down.
She over hears a man booming down his phone moaning about getting stuck in this god forsaken place.
Mollie has the only B&B around but she is closed for a few days.
When Mollie gets back to her place the gruff man is there asking to stay.
A while later he reveals he knew her as a child.
You need to get the book to find out what happens next!
December 30, 2014
A delightful story straight from the beginning. Will warm your heart and should be read in a cosy chair and a large hot chocolate. Perfect for the darker evenings and should be on everyone's kindle
February 25, 2015
it was sweet and romantic and i loved the twist at the end, though i saw it coming ;)) it was charming, totally charming.
October 7, 2016
I love Grace's books so much and this one was no different. The margarita I had while reading this only made things better because my feeling towards the book were magnified. 100% recommend this
December 31, 2025
Heartwarming, Sweet and Steamy 😍🔥
🆆🅷🅰🆃 🆃🅾 🅻🅾🅾🅺 🅵🅾🆁🆆🅰🆁🅳 🆃🅾:
❄️Curvy heroine with a cozy guesthouse
❄️He's in need of a room
❄️Heartwarming moments
❄️Sweet chemistry & steamy
❄️Will melt your heart
❄️Connected past
🅼🆈 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂:
Oh my... This one was such a perfect holiday read and especially reading it, literally on the eve of new year's was perfect.
A quick read but one that packs a punch with heart-warming characters, sweet moments and hot chemistry and will have you gripped right from that first page.
AHH... I can't believe I have become so invested this fast with Charlie and Mollie. I also loved how our author gave us a perfect sneak peek of their past which made it more intriguing to see them come together because Charlie is the same quite guy who used to quietly watch her on the beach but could never dare try to talk to her...
And now.. The stranger who's in dire need of a room on new year's eve finds the perfect guesthouse of a woman who had planned a cozy week with no guests and a chance to rest but fate definitely had other plans for her.
I'm so looking forward to reading other books from this series. I have definitely found another author who has made me an instant fan of her writing.
Ahhh... My heart... such a gorgeous and heartwarming book this one was. Absolutely loved loved this one.
🆆🅷🅰🆃 🆃🅾 🅻🅾🅾🅺 🅵🅾🆁🆆🅰🆁🅳 🆃🅾:
❄️Curvy heroine with a cozy guesthouse
❄️He's in need of a room
❄️Heartwarming moments
❄️Sweet chemistry & steamy
❄️Will melt your heart
❄️Connected past
🅼🆈 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂:
Oh my... This one was such a perfect holiday read and especially reading it, literally on the eve of new year's was perfect.
A quick read but one that packs a punch with heart-warming characters, sweet moments and hot chemistry and will have you gripped right from that first page.
AHH... I can't believe I have become so invested this fast with Charlie and Mollie. I also loved how our author gave us a perfect sneak peek of their past which made it more intriguing to see them come together because Charlie is the same quite guy who used to quietly watch her on the beach but could never dare try to talk to her...
And now.. The stranger who's in dire need of a room on new year's eve finds the perfect guesthouse of a woman who had planned a cozy week with no guests and a chance to rest but fate definitely had other plans for her.
I'm so looking forward to reading other books from this series. I have definitely found another author who has made me an instant fan of her writing.
Ahhh... My heart... such a gorgeous and heartwarming book this one was. Absolutely loved loved this one.
January 15, 2025
I agree with the other 2/3 star reviewers.
I don't care for generalizations. The author made one along the lines of children without siblings have a hard time socializing. False!
The h lacked any personality but was a handworker and enjoyed cooking. That's how the book read too. The story was a quick instalust but had the potential to be a cute romance.
I also don't care for forced drama like her "sudden" weight concerns, the unnoticed snow, and "forgetting" to grab a towel to cross an entire kitchen because she just had to read a book when she was so concerned about not having a lock on the door; it was mentioned several times.
This would have been better as just a quick one night stand/fling than whatever it was.
I won't be reading others.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2023
Stranded at New Year is a lovely short read, perfect for the festive period. It introduces readers to both the fabulous town of Talbot Bay and the ladies who will feature throughout this series.
This first novella is the story of leading lady Mollie, who owns and runs the guest house in Talbot Bay. I love the backstory between Mollie and Charlie. This narrative is proof that a change of plans can lead to something quite unexpected! This is a quick read, so everything happens at a faster pace than it potentially would in a novel. However, there was nothing lacking, and I enjoyed every single moment.
3.5-4 stars.
This first novella is the story of leading lady Mollie, who owns and runs the guest house in Talbot Bay. I love the backstory between Mollie and Charlie. This narrative is proof that a change of plans can lead to something quite unexpected! This is a quick read, so everything happens at a faster pace than it potentially would in a novel. However, there was nothing lacking, and I enjoyed every single moment.
3.5-4 stars.
January 2, 2026
Stranded at New Year
What a sweet story of childhood acquaintances. Now as grownups they meet again. She now owns the Inn, and he needs a place to stay.
They soon start to have feelings, and they turn to actions. They make sweet love.
What a sweet story of childhood acquaintances. Now as grownups they meet again. She now owns the Inn, and he needs a place to stay.
They soon start to have feelings, and they turn to actions. They make sweet love.
June 25, 2022
Such a good quick read. Sweet slow burn read
January 7, 2026
A short novella. Part one of six.
January 2, 2023
A beautifully written Christmas book that will give you all the feels. Short and sweet! 🎄❤️
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews