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One More Yule Log
If baker Gray Carroll has to make one more Yule log cake this holiday season, he might just lose it. So when nine year old Olivia shows up at his store wanting to learn how to make one for her dad, Gray tries to turn her down flat. Olivia is determined, cute, and won't take no for an answer, so Gray agrees to coach her through the process. Doesn't hurt that her dad is kind, handsome, and currently unattached.
Ben Nightingale can't believe Olivia has blackmailed Gray someone into teaching her to bake. He's been too busy with his late husband's real estate business, but he's determined to celebrate Yule with his girl, and to get to know Gray. There's something about Gray that makes Ben believe in the magic of the season, but can he find a way to balance work and family in time for the solstice, or will Olivia and Gray's Yule Log go uneaten?
Ben Nightingale can't believe Olivia has blackmailed Gray someone into teaching her to bake. He's been too busy with his late husband's real estate business, but he's determined to celebrate Yule with his girl, and to get to know Gray. There's something about Gray that makes Ben believe in the magic of the season, but can he find a way to balance work and family in time for the solstice, or will Olivia and Gray's Yule Log go uneaten?
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 3, 2019
26 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Julia Talbot
307 books267 followersJulia Talbot lives in the great Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia is a hybrid author, and has been published by many presses as well as self publishing. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved. Julia also writes as Minerva Howe. Find Julia at @juliatalbot on Twitter, or at www.juliatalbot.com
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 28, 2020
Cute but very insta-love. 41 instances of using "honey" was too much. Liv does not seem like a nine-year-old at all.
December 28, 2021
sweet, sugary insta love. Gray and Ben are men who have become so busy with work that they are neglecting other aspects of their lives. Enter Liv, Ben's precocious daughter and her desire to learn to make a Yule log. Very Hallmark movie, which was what i needed right now. A sweet little break from reality with simple characters and a simple story.
November 30, 2019
This was so heartwarming. <3
February 21, 2021
**2.5 Stars
I liked this story more than my rating reflects but it was too sugary (no pun intended) for me to love it. I really liked the concept and the characters but the overload of endearments and the over use of "huh" was just too much. Take some of those out and this story could have been a win.
TAGS
-- Holiday/Christmas -- too sugary/sappy -- some very sweet, moving moments -- great cast of characters -- single dad -- insta love/lust -- would have liked a slower burn -- loved the MCs... Gray & Ben -- loved Olivia (sometimes a bit too grown up for her age) -- some of the dialogue was weird -- had some trouble figuring out how old these guys were -- you'd think there would be angst but nope -- didn't connect as well as I would have liked -- goes on my "maybe it's me and not the story" shelf
I liked this story more than my rating reflects but it was too sugary (no pun intended) for me to love it. I really liked the concept and the characters but the overload of endearments and the over use of "huh" was just too much. Take some of those out and this story could have been a win.
TAGS
-- Holiday/Christmas -- too sugary/sappy -- some very sweet, moving moments -- great cast of characters -- single dad -- insta love/lust -- would have liked a slower burn -- loved the MCs... Gray & Ben -- loved Olivia (sometimes a bit too grown up for her age) -- some of the dialogue was weird -- had some trouble figuring out how old these guys were -- you'd think there would be angst but nope -- didn't connect as well as I would have liked -- goes on my "maybe it's me and not the story" shelf
January 26, 2023
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I LOVE LOVE LOVE stories about men caring for kids. There's just something so lovely and sexy about single dads(including dad figures) that warms the heart.
Ben Nightingale is just such a man. Having lost his other half leaving him a single parent his whole world is his little girl, Olivia. When Olivia wants to do something wonderful for her dad and gets Gray to teach her to make a Yule long you can't help but love her too. It can be hard to write kids in stories, having them be their own little person with their individual personalities and attitudes and yet not be spoiled brats doesn't always work. Julia Talbot has made it work in little Olivia. She is so sweet, so independent, so adorable you just know that her dad has to be a pretty darn good egg and Ben is that.
Gray isn't exactly a bad egg either. He knows he doesn't have time for another one on one baking lesson but how can he resist this little girl? He can't.
Put all these factors together and One More Yule Log is a fun, sweet, short, uplifting holiday romance that is very Hallmark-y and yet 10X better than most of the formulaic Christmas movies Hallmark produces. A definite winning gem to make your holiday heart smile.
Ben Nightingale is just such a man. Having lost his other half leaving him a single parent his whole world is his little girl, Olivia. When Olivia wants to do something wonderful for her dad and gets Gray to teach her to make a Yule long you can't help but love her too. It can be hard to write kids in stories, having them be their own little person with their individual personalities and attitudes and yet not be spoiled brats doesn't always work. Julia Talbot has made it work in little Olivia. She is so sweet, so independent, so adorable you just know that her dad has to be a pretty darn good egg and Ben is that.
Gray isn't exactly a bad egg either. He knows he doesn't have time for another one on one baking lesson but how can he resist this little girl? He can't.
Put all these factors together and One More Yule Log is a fun, sweet, short, uplifting holiday romance that is very Hallmark-y and yet 10X better than most of the formulaic Christmas movies Hallmark produces. A definite winning gem to make your holiday heart smile.
December 8, 2019
Just the ticket to put you in the holiday spirit. Gray and Ben are busy, busy, busy men and are dissatisfied with their lives. Things are okay, but they both want more, more of a connection with someone and more family time.
Olivia is just precious. She and her dad have a tradition and she wants to bake a Yule Log cake for him because she knows this year has been exceptionally tough. And, as a mature nine year old, she recognizes she needs help so she finds an expert, Gray, to teach her how to bake one.
You know Gray is a keeper when he can’t resist her request. And, you know Ben is a good man if his baby girl is so polite and sweet. Put all of that together along with a snow storm and work pressures and you have a very comfy, entertaining holiday story. Vintage Julia!
Olivia is just precious. She and her dad have a tradition and she wants to bake a Yule Log cake for him because she knows this year has been exceptionally tough. And, as a mature nine year old, she recognizes she needs help so she finds an expert, Gray, to teach her how to bake one.
You know Gray is a keeper when he can’t resist her request. And, you know Ben is a good man if his baby girl is so polite and sweet. Put all of that together along with a snow storm and work pressures and you have a very comfy, entertaining holiday story. Vintage Julia!
April 1, 2021
Three and a half stars
One More Yule Log by Julia Talbot is cute small-town holiday romance about a baker who is charmed into teaching a girl how to bake her bereaved dad a Yule log. Gray Carroll has his hands full during the season, keeping up with Christmas cookies and other holiday requests, but nine-year-old Olivia is quite persuasive. Ben Nightingale is swamped at work, but Liv's baking instructor definitely catches his eye.
One More Yule Log is low on angst, and Gray and Ben and Liv go from strangers to a new family relatively quickly. Sometimes the season brings just the miracles you need...
One More Yule Log by Julia Talbot is cute small-town holiday romance about a baker who is charmed into teaching a girl how to bake her bereaved dad a Yule log. Gray Carroll has his hands full during the season, keeping up with Christmas cookies and other holiday requests, but nine-year-old Olivia is quite persuasive. Ben Nightingale is swamped at work, but Liv's baking instructor definitely catches his eye.
One More Yule Log is low on angst, and Gray and Ben and Liv go from strangers to a new family relatively quickly. Sometimes the season brings just the miracles you need...
March 30, 2021
It was incredibly cheesy. The dialogue was a disgrace. The romance? Oh-my-god-please. *eye roll*
There were also parts where the eye colors of the main characters were wrong. One time Gray’s eyes were brown (they are gray), then Ben’s eyes are brown (they’re blue). It needed to be read again and those loose ends tightened up.
I didn’t feel a spark between them, the author tried to bring the heat, but mostly it felt like cardboard. Lifeless and bland.
I got through it though. But I will not read another book by this author.
There were also parts where the eye colors of the main characters were wrong. One time Gray’s eyes were brown (they are gray), then Ben’s eyes are brown (they’re blue). It needed to be read again and those loose ends tightened up.
I didn’t feel a spark between them, the author tried to bring the heat, but mostly it felt like cardboard. Lifeless and bland.
I got through it though. But I will not read another book by this author.
December 30, 2021
I think Olivia is really the star of the show and she would be very happy to hear that. Everything starts with her persistence. And she is included in the story all the way through to the end. It shows how caring both of these men are and that they are family oriented. This was a great Christmas story. Like many Christmas tales there is the instant love but it works and makes this another sweet magical Christmas story.
December 1, 2025
I liked the premise of this book and thought the sex scenes were A+; however, the overuse of the words "honey" and "babe" was distracting, ridiculous and unnecessary.
There was no real build up to the intensity of the relationship and to me, it moved so fast that it seemed more like a hook-up.
Multiple books I've read recently, skip the noun and go straight to "need you", "want you", "must have you", etc. during sex. It's ok here or there but too often just isn't sexy. To me.
There was no real build up to the intensity of the relationship and to me, it moved so fast that it seemed more like a hook-up.
Multiple books I've read recently, skip the noun and go straight to "need you", "want you", "must have you", etc. during sex. It's ok here or there but too often just isn't sexy. To me.
December 10, 2019
Sweet “Hallmark” like Christmas story about falling in love. As a gay male, I have been looking for a simple holiday love story about a male couple that I could read and forget about this crazy world we are living in. It was simple and sweet with some unexpected BUT welcomed “adult” passages. Hoping to find similar books to read this holidays season!
December 16, 2020
Yule love this charming story
Gray and Ben fall in love in a sweet story. I love that there is no angst, just loving all the way.
Olivia steals the show though with her spunk, kindness, and determination. She's the star of this yuletide story and you won't be disappointed to spend a little time with this family.
Gray and Ben fall in love in a sweet story. I love that there is no angst, just loving all the way.
Olivia steals the show though with her spunk, kindness, and determination. She's the star of this yuletide story and you won't be disappointed to spend a little time with this family.
January 5, 2023
3.25 stars
Sweet in a lot of ways but also not very filling. I liked all the people here and there were hard things they were each dealing with, but everything was still pretty surface level. A good story overall, but I think I might have a few more cavities now than before I read this.
Sweet in a lot of ways but also not very filling. I liked all the people here and there were hard things they were each dealing with, but everything was still pretty surface level. A good story overall, but I think I might have a few more cavities now than before I read this.
November 8, 2025
Super-cute holiday romance with lots of baking and insta-family. No angst, no drama, just two men finding each other and deciding to make a life together with a nine-year-old daughter. With plenty of gorgeous scenery and the most amazing-sounding house in the snowy mountains.
December 16, 2019
Sweet story ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
December 21, 2019
Couldn't put it down
Sweet romance, cute kid, pastries. All the good stuff. I love that there is an epilogue. No big drama, just life.
Sweet romance, cute kid, pastries. All the good stuff. I love that there is an epilogue. No big drama, just life.
December 30, 2019
Great Christmastime story — 4.5 stars
This was sweet, and hot. I liked how the two main characters were portrayed, and how their ideals in life eventually meshed. Great HEA.
This was sweet, and hot. I liked how the two main characters were portrayed, and how their ideals in life eventually meshed. Great HEA.
February 11, 2020
Cute
Short,sweet, and sexy with an adorable kid and the holiday spirit. I definitely reccomend this for a great holiday romance.
Short,sweet, and sexy with an adorable kid and the holiday spirit. I definitely reccomend this for a great holiday romance.
did-not-finish
May 6, 2020DNF 15%... couldn't get passed the writing.
The story was okay, as far as I got.
The story was okay, as far as I got.
November 14, 2025
Sweet story
With a bright snarky, but totally loving, kid, lots of baking, and two good guys finding each other. Just right for the holidays.
With a bright snarky, but totally loving, kid, lots of baking, and two good guys finding each other. Just right for the holidays.
January 25, 2021
Cute and sweet Christmas story. Even if the insta-love is annoying and Liv is 9-going-on-25...
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews