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In One Year and Out the Other: A New Year's Story Collection
Out with the old, in with the new, and on with the party!Maybe it's just another midnight...or maybe there really is magic in the air when December 31st becomes January 1st, and confetti kisses and champagne toasts kick off a new year, a new romance, a new look, a new attitude.Celebrate the start of something new with In One Year and Out the Other ...a sparkling collection of all new stories by today's rising fictionCara Lockwood puts self-improvement to the test with 528 resolutions -- not least of which is "Do not sleep with married men" -- in " A New Year's Resolution List"... Pamela Redmond Satran instructs a single mom in the fine art of partying like the boys (have lots of sex, don't worry that you're too fat) in "How to Start the New Year Like a Guy"... Diane Stingley shows a twentysomething why there's more to life than waiting by the phone for a New Year's date in "Expecting a Call"... Megan McAndrew seizes the day -- or just a very special one-night stand -- for a single food stylist hungering for more in "The Future of Sex"...and more great tales from Kathleen O'Reilly, Beth Kendrick, Eileen Rendahl, Tracy McArdle and Libby Street.
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First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
December 1, 2015
The Good: This was a funny chick lit anthology revolving around the New Year. Resolutions, New Years Eve celebrations, and the aftermath of the choices made. You get pretty much what you expect going into it. Entertaining stories coming from Cara Lockwood, Pamela Redmond Stratan, Kathleen O'Reilly, Beth Kendrick, Libby Street and Eileen Rendahl.
The Bad: Anthologies are always a mix of good and bad, especially when it's a collection written by a variety of authors. Lockwood had moderate success during the chick lit boom of the early 2000s and the book is an obvious attempt to capitalize on that. A few of the stories are significantly below Lockwood's level of skill and it shows. Feel free to skip stories by Diane Stingley, Tracy McArdle and Megan McAndrew.
The Bad: Anthologies are always a mix of good and bad, especially when it's a collection written by a variety of authors. Lockwood had moderate success during the chick lit boom of the early 2000s and the book is an obvious attempt to capitalize on that. A few of the stories are significantly below Lockwood's level of skill and it shows. Feel free to skip stories by Diane Stingley, Tracy McArdle and Megan McAndrew.
May 12, 2012
I've been disappointed so many times by collections of short stories - either because they weren't good or they felt like should have been longer or they were rip off bits of longer pieces by those authors. The erotic shorts sometimes seem to have too much sex in them - probably haven't - but I do like a bit of plot with my sex. 'get in there and take your knickers off- wham bam bang' doesn't really work for me. This book did. No sex to speak of but a very clever little collection of stories that were NOT run of the mill. I don't think there was one in there that I didn't like and I will definitely be looking some of these authors up to see what else they've written.
January 13, 2019
There's a couple of reasonable stories tucked away in here, though none of them are really my thing. I did very much like the premise of the story Halo, Goodbye, even if the plot went in a direction that didn't interest me, the set-up and location were pretty cool (of course not 100% original, but then, nothing is these days...). I'd enjoy something longer (and less chick-lit) in the same setting.
May 22, 2019
2.5 stars.
There have been many recent chick-lit short story collections. In One Year and Out the Other features that oh, so favorite holiday of New Year's Eve. Nine authors have written hilarious stories about finding the perfect date, choosing a party to attend, and general survival of a holiday that can either uplift or depress, depending on the situation.
In "The Bad Breakup Regime" by Beth Kendrick, a couple of dumpees begin a self-improvement plan to wow their exes--with surprising results. "Resolved: A New Year's Resolution List" by Cara Lockwood explores Megan's 528 resolutions in light of ending an affair with a married man. "Expecting a Call" by Diane Stingley gives a New Year's Eve twist to A Christmas Carol and the ghosts of past, present, and future. Each of these stories is poignant, funny, and entertaining.
My favorite story of is "Midnight Kiss" by Eileen Rendahl. Mikayla thinks that her year-to-come is predicted by the quality of her kiss on New Year's Eve. Will she discover that the gorgeous hunk she wants to kiss is not the man of her dreams? Rendahl infuses laugh-out-loud humor into a touching exploration of the true meaning of friendship and love. On the other hand, my least favorite story is "Halo, Goodbye" by Kathleen O'Reilly. Although the characters are in heaven, they still pine for the loves they have left behind. This story fell flat for me because it portrays such a depressing view of heaven.
All in all, the collection is filled with a delightful mix of characters and dilemmas. Even readers who don't usually enjoy short stories (and I'm generally one of them) will warm to these entertaining tales. The length of each seems just right for the holiday that can make or break the entire year (or so we think).
There have been many recent chick-lit short story collections. In One Year and Out the Other features that oh, so favorite holiday of New Year's Eve. Nine authors have written hilarious stories about finding the perfect date, choosing a party to attend, and general survival of a holiday that can either uplift or depress, depending on the situation.
In "The Bad Breakup Regime" by Beth Kendrick, a couple of dumpees begin a self-improvement plan to wow their exes--with surprising results. "Resolved: A New Year's Resolution List" by Cara Lockwood explores Megan's 528 resolutions in light of ending an affair with a married man. "Expecting a Call" by Diane Stingley gives a New Year's Eve twist to A Christmas Carol and the ghosts of past, present, and future. Each of these stories is poignant, funny, and entertaining.
My favorite story of is "Midnight Kiss" by Eileen Rendahl. Mikayla thinks that her year-to-come is predicted by the quality of her kiss on New Year's Eve. Will she discover that the gorgeous hunk she wants to kiss is not the man of her dreams? Rendahl infuses laugh-out-loud humor into a touching exploration of the true meaning of friendship and love. On the other hand, my least favorite story is "Halo, Goodbye" by Kathleen O'Reilly. Although the characters are in heaven, they still pine for the loves they have left behind. This story fell flat for me because it portrays such a depressing view of heaven.
All in all, the collection is filled with a delightful mix of characters and dilemmas. Even readers who don't usually enjoy short stories (and I'm generally one of them) will warm to these entertaining tales. The length of each seems just right for the holiday that can make or break the entire year (or so we think).
January 16, 2019
This is a short story of 10 (40ish page) contemporary short stories based around New Years. Overall, there were some really cute ones and some big duds, but thats typical for anthologies. Here is my rating breakdown followed by spoilery reviews:
1st story: 5
2nd: 3.5
3rd: 2
4th: 2.5
5th: 4
6th: 3
7th: 3
8th: 4
9th: 3
10th: 2
Average: 3.2
1st story- Bad Break Up Regime (Beth Kendrick) 5 stars. Its about 2 people who’s significant others leave them for each other on NYE. The 2 dumped people become good friends, gain a bunch of weight being depressed together, then lose it all and show their exes what they’re missing on NYE of the next year. The exes are engaged but both are assholes so the dumped are better off. Top it off- they both find a new love interest that night. Yay! So cute but I wish the 2 dumped would’ve ended up together.
Story 2- Resolved: A New Years Resolution List- Cara Lockwood- 3.5*- About a girl who has anxiety and a lot she wants to change (600+ resolutions). Many of them revolve around not dating married men. She's been dating Mr X but hes not going to leave his wife. Shes in therapy. Lots of chuckles, easy format. Falls in love with a new guy at the end and is healed. No more need for resolutions.
Story 3- The Future of Sex- Megan McAndrews- 2*-About a girl who is 40+ and wants to have a baby but has no man. She decides to go to a sperm bank but outside of her appt runs into an ex who is stranded and cant make it home to his wife in Italy. He stays the night with her and she seduces him so he'll sleep with her and she can secretly get pregnant. Then she can proudly tell her kid that she loved its dad. WHAT?!
Story 4: Happily Never After-Tracy McArdle- 2.5*- A girl dates a British movie director. Hes 29, shes 35 with a ticking clock. Hes in no rush for wife/kids. She has to have a gyno procedure on NYE and shes scared. After shes woozy so she stays at the doc for hours. They bond, he comes out as gay, she realizes she doesnt care about her bf. Bf shows up, they break up, time for a new start. Both she and the doc realize they're living lives that arent fulfilling them and she decides to make a change while she still can. The doc is married to a woman and is pursuing his dream of writing on the side. I thought this book was too unrealistic and a little unfocused. What was the outcome of the procedure? I guess it doesnt matter.
Story 5: Halo, Goodbye by Kathleen OReilly- 4 stars- A girl is dead & in Heaven. Her friend gets an assignment to play cupid for her ex bf on earth. She tries to sabatoge his new relationship by messing with the girl. She died on NYE and his date is NYE 2 yrs later. She tries "online" dating in heaven, goes on a bad date then meets a random dead guy on the way home and they agree to spend NYE together. She realizes she needs to move on so she helps her bf and the new girl on earth and she feels hopeful for her new relationship in heaven. Super cute and I loved how she kept eating bowl after bowl of ice cream! Too funny. Definitely interested in picking up more from this author.
Story 6- Midnight Kiss- Eileen Rendahl- 3* This one was cute. Mikayla thinks her midnight kiss on NYE predicts what the year ahead will be like. She goes to her friend's house for NYE and sees a guy that is her type and wants to kiss him but he disappears. She runs into another guy whos not as cute but hes funny. Then at midnight both guys have left so she gets kissed on the cheeks by her 2 BFF's. The friend and her hubby are having problems but they work it out. The 3rd friend wants to find a bf before she gets too old to have kids so they doll her up. It was a cute story about friendship set in the scene of NYE. The only reason I didn't give this 3.5 or 4 stars was because there was some fat shaming. One of the friends is talking about the self loathing that comes with weighing 145 lbs and thats just ridiculous. Yuck!
Story 7-How to Start the New Year Like a Guy- Pamela Redmond Satran- 3*- A woman decides to stop taking responsibility for everything (House, plans, 2 kids) and start acting "like a man". She doesn't plan NYE until the very last min. They go to a neighbors house and both kiss a few other people (weird?) then go have hot sex in their van (also weird). She forces her husband to step up but she also lies and is lazy. As she becomes more "manly" he becomes more "womanly" and cant get it up, etc. The emphasis on sex was too much for me and I thought the story was underdeveloped. There was also a weird focus on weight and body image that seemed out of place. In the end she decides to just be her- less pressure but still a partner in the relationship. Just okay.
Story 8- Expecting a Call- Diane Stingley- 4*- A girl made a date with a guy she just met for NYE so the week before she is waiting for him to call. The days pass and he never calls but on the night of the 30th she gets visited by the Ghost of NY past, present and future and sees a past where she was mean and made fun of a guy for asking her out, a future where the guy was telling his friends how cocky she was and a future where she was single and bitter because she married for the wrong reasons and divorced. She decides to be a better person and she takes steps toward doing just that. Cute!
Story 9- The Luckiest People- Libby Street-3*- A girl wakes up with a naked actor in her bed and cant remember what happened last night. Shes talking to her friend on the phone trying to piece it all together and she finally remembers hes one of Peoples Most Eligible Bachelors or something. Definitely nothing special.
Story 10- You Should See the Other Girl- Christina Delia- 2*- A girl goes shopping with her bitchy friend for a dress to wear to the friends work BBQ. Finds one; meets a guy there. Friend has a pregnancy scare but she’s not. They fight so much with each other then tell their parents you should see the other girl.
1st story: 5
2nd: 3.5
3rd: 2
4th: 2.5
5th: 4
6th: 3
7th: 3
8th: 4
9th: 3
10th: 2
Average: 3.2
1st story- Bad Break Up Regime (Beth Kendrick) 5 stars. Its about 2 people who’s significant others leave them for each other on NYE. The 2 dumped people become good friends, gain a bunch of weight being depressed together, then lose it all and show their exes what they’re missing on NYE of the next year. The exes are engaged but both are assholes so the dumped are better off. Top it off- they both find a new love interest that night. Yay! So cute but I wish the 2 dumped would’ve ended up together.
Story 2- Resolved: A New Years Resolution List- Cara Lockwood- 3.5*- About a girl who has anxiety and a lot she wants to change (600+ resolutions). Many of them revolve around not dating married men. She's been dating Mr X but hes not going to leave his wife. Shes in therapy. Lots of chuckles, easy format. Falls in love with a new guy at the end and is healed. No more need for resolutions.
Story 3- The Future of Sex- Megan McAndrews- 2*-About a girl who is 40+ and wants to have a baby but has no man. She decides to go to a sperm bank but outside of her appt runs into an ex who is stranded and cant make it home to his wife in Italy. He stays the night with her and she seduces him so he'll sleep with her and she can secretly get pregnant. Then she can proudly tell her kid that she loved its dad. WHAT?!
Story 4: Happily Never After-Tracy McArdle- 2.5*- A girl dates a British movie director. Hes 29, shes 35 with a ticking clock. Hes in no rush for wife/kids. She has to have a gyno procedure on NYE and shes scared. After shes woozy so she stays at the doc for hours. They bond, he comes out as gay, she realizes she doesnt care about her bf. Bf shows up, they break up, time for a new start. Both she and the doc realize they're living lives that arent fulfilling them and she decides to make a change while she still can. The doc is married to a woman and is pursuing his dream of writing on the side. I thought this book was too unrealistic and a little unfocused. What was the outcome of the procedure? I guess it doesnt matter.
Story 5: Halo, Goodbye by Kathleen OReilly- 4 stars- A girl is dead & in Heaven. Her friend gets an assignment to play cupid for her ex bf on earth. She tries to sabatoge his new relationship by messing with the girl. She died on NYE and his date is NYE 2 yrs later. She tries "online" dating in heaven, goes on a bad date then meets a random dead guy on the way home and they agree to spend NYE together. She realizes she needs to move on so she helps her bf and the new girl on earth and she feels hopeful for her new relationship in heaven. Super cute and I loved how she kept eating bowl after bowl of ice cream! Too funny. Definitely interested in picking up more from this author.
Story 6- Midnight Kiss- Eileen Rendahl- 3* This one was cute. Mikayla thinks her midnight kiss on NYE predicts what the year ahead will be like. She goes to her friend's house for NYE and sees a guy that is her type and wants to kiss him but he disappears. She runs into another guy whos not as cute but hes funny. Then at midnight both guys have left so she gets kissed on the cheeks by her 2 BFF's. The friend and her hubby are having problems but they work it out. The 3rd friend wants to find a bf before she gets too old to have kids so they doll her up. It was a cute story about friendship set in the scene of NYE. The only reason I didn't give this 3.5 or 4 stars was because there was some fat shaming. One of the friends is talking about the self loathing that comes with weighing 145 lbs and thats just ridiculous. Yuck!
Story 7-How to Start the New Year Like a Guy- Pamela Redmond Satran- 3*- A woman decides to stop taking responsibility for everything (House, plans, 2 kids) and start acting "like a man". She doesn't plan NYE until the very last min. They go to a neighbors house and both kiss a few other people (weird?) then go have hot sex in their van (also weird). She forces her husband to step up but she also lies and is lazy. As she becomes more "manly" he becomes more "womanly" and cant get it up, etc. The emphasis on sex was too much for me and I thought the story was underdeveloped. There was also a weird focus on weight and body image that seemed out of place. In the end she decides to just be her- less pressure but still a partner in the relationship. Just okay.
Story 8- Expecting a Call- Diane Stingley- 4*- A girl made a date with a guy she just met for NYE so the week before she is waiting for him to call. The days pass and he never calls but on the night of the 30th she gets visited by the Ghost of NY past, present and future and sees a past where she was mean and made fun of a guy for asking her out, a future where the guy was telling his friends how cocky she was and a future where she was single and bitter because she married for the wrong reasons and divorced. She decides to be a better person and she takes steps toward doing just that. Cute!
Story 9- The Luckiest People- Libby Street-3*- A girl wakes up with a naked actor in her bed and cant remember what happened last night. Shes talking to her friend on the phone trying to piece it all together and she finally remembers hes one of Peoples Most Eligible Bachelors or something. Definitely nothing special.
Story 10- You Should See the Other Girl- Christina Delia- 2*- A girl goes shopping with her bitchy friend for a dress to wear to the friends work BBQ. Finds one; meets a guy there. Friend has a pregnancy scare but she’s not. They fight so much with each other then tell their parents you should see the other girl.
January 17, 2012
A wonderful collection of great chick lit stories that was perfect to read over the New Years holiday weekend. With many different characters at the center of varying stories from women who are married to women who have been single for quite some time and are ready to celebrate a New Years with someone special.
I fell in love with each story and wanted more when I was finished with each one. It was also perfect to make a list of authors to follow and check out.
I would absolutely recommend this collection of stories to all fans of chick lit. Whether you are a fan of short stories or not, this book is great if you need to read one or two stories and put it down and pick it back up later.
I fell in love with each story and wanted more when I was finished with each one. It was also perfect to make a list of authors to follow and check out.
I would absolutely recommend this collection of stories to all fans of chick lit. Whether you are a fan of short stories or not, this book is great if you need to read one or two stories and put it down and pick it back up later.
October 18, 2011
I am usually not a fan of short stories and did not realize that is what this book was until I received it as a gift, but was pleasantly surprised. I loved the novelettes, or short stories. They were fun to read, and gave me exposure to authors I have not read before. I was familiar with Cara Lockwood and Pamela Satran, but others were new treats to explore. I highly recommend this as a light, fun read. Now I am off to explore the other novels of these clever women. Enjoy!!
January 13, 2014
I don't usually care for short stories but I really liked the authors listed in this one so I took a chance. Besides, it was the new year and I thought the book was appropriate. All of these stories were wonderful. Not a bad one in the bunch. Still not a short story fan but any one of these could be novel material.
February 5, 2009
This is a collection of some really cute short stories. Some are better than others. My favorite one is "The Luckiest People" by Libby Street. I started it a while ago but finally finished the last story today.
February 2, 2011
The individual contributions were hit-or-miss, but it was over-all a fun collection of short stories, all of them--as you can tell from the title & cover art--centered around New Years Eve (one of them was even a Christmas Carol retelling!)
February 3, 2015
It's quite good.. and I think it's OK when you find some stories are beyond good and others just good. The special one for me is the story about a girl who end up with an actor.. it's like a sweet dream to me.
January 4, 2012
This is a fun book of chick-lit short stories, all involving New Year's Eve. I enjoyed all the stories except for one.
March 3, 2013
Best stories for me were those by Cara Lockwood and Beth Kendrick. The others ranged from so/so to cute.
October 14, 2014
I really don't read short stories if I can help it. That being said, I loved most of the stories in this! I wished most of the stories were their own book, I didn't want them to end.
January 30, 2015
I wanted to read some mindless chick lit this month and this satisfied my need well enough. I'd give it a 3.5. There were 2 or 3 short stories I wasn't fond of but I enjoyed the rest.
January 11, 2023
Fun way to start the New Year---with a selection of quick little New Year's Eve themed short stories. Some were misses for me, some were just ok, and some I found cute. What I did notice is that the edition I was reading had only 9 stories, where I see that there are apparently 10 in sat least one other edition.
June 25, 2017
Ugh, a book full of whiny women who have no real problems but think that men, fashion, their weight and having children is the be all and end all.
June 12, 2020
Okay book- collection of short stories which all take place on New Years Eve.
October 29, 2023
Some good, some bad short stories. 2.5*
September 30, 2016
I got this book for Christmas and I read it in one day, it was that addicting.
The Bad Breakup Regime by Beth Kendrick was pretty good and a little misleading.The story is about a man and woman who live together after their mates dumped both of them for the others mates.
Resolved: A new Year's Resolution List by Cara Lockwood was also pretty good and I love the other books that Cara Lockwood has written.The story shows a woman who is far from perfect and she has to sort through her issues.
The Future of sex by Megan McAndrew was a so-so story, not that great.The character seemed a little too desperate for me and she seemed to have no conscience.
Happily Never After by Tracy McArdle was pretty good and I thought it also lead you to believe something was going to happen.The story is about a woman who seems happy until she has to go through something difficult and she finds comfort in an unexpected place.
Halo, Goodbye by Kathleen O'Reilly was not very good in my opinion. The story takes place in Heaven and it just seemed too far out for me.
Midnight Kiss by Eileen Rendahl is a pretty good story about friends.
How to start the new Year like a guy by Pamela Redmond Satran was a so-so story, nothing great and the title pretty much explains what the story is about.
Expecting a call by Diane Stingley is a pretty good story and it is a twist on a Christmas Carol.
The Luckiest People by Libby Street was also a pretty good story about a girl who finds herself in bed with a movie star, except she can't remember his name.
Great short story book for those who love chick lit. My favorite stories are Resolved: A New Year's Resolution List and my least favorites are probably Halo, Goodbye and The Future of Sex. But still pick up this book and check it for yourself.
The Bad Breakup Regime by Beth Kendrick was pretty good and a little misleading.The story is about a man and woman who live together after their mates dumped both of them for the others mates.
Resolved: A new Year's Resolution List by Cara Lockwood was also pretty good and I love the other books that Cara Lockwood has written.The story shows a woman who is far from perfect and she has to sort through her issues.
The Future of sex by Megan McAndrew was a so-so story, not that great.The character seemed a little too desperate for me and she seemed to have no conscience.
Happily Never After by Tracy McArdle was pretty good and I thought it also lead you to believe something was going to happen.The story is about a woman who seems happy until she has to go through something difficult and she finds comfort in an unexpected place.
Halo, Goodbye by Kathleen O'Reilly was not very good in my opinion. The story takes place in Heaven and it just seemed too far out for me.
Midnight Kiss by Eileen Rendahl is a pretty good story about friends.
How to start the new Year like a guy by Pamela Redmond Satran was a so-so story, nothing great and the title pretty much explains what the story is about.
Expecting a call by Diane Stingley is a pretty good story and it is a twist on a Christmas Carol.
The Luckiest People by Libby Street was also a pretty good story about a girl who finds herself in bed with a movie star, except she can't remember his name.
Great short story book for those who love chick lit. My favorite stories are Resolved: A New Year's Resolution List and my least favorites are probably Halo, Goodbye and The Future of Sex. But still pick up this book and check it for yourself.
February 22, 2016
As with all anthologies with multiple writers there are some winners that you wish could be longer and some that you count the pages till the end. I think part of the problem is that I started reading with certain expectations, the main one being that it would be light and silly with stories that would have me laughing, There were a few like that but there were others that were a little depressing and real downers. It's an OK collection but I don't think that I will keep it to read again as I do for books that I like.
July 11, 2016
Very cute short stories! Each story focuses on a different set of (mainly) women as New Year's Eve approaches. Each woman faces her own dilemma as one year ends and another begins. The stories are quick to get through, but still funny and entertaining. I would have loved to pick this book up right around New Year's, as that probably would have made the stories even more relatable, however still great all around!
January 24, 2010
This is a collection of short stories that center around the theme of New Years Eve. I thought all of the stories were really enjoyable and this is a perfect book for someone to read in December or early in a new year!
August 20, 2007
This book is comprised of short stories. While they are great stories, I found myself wishing some of them had been their own books.
March 10, 2008
Too funny - lot of fun - no brainer book. You'll laugh out loud - lots of short stories
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March 2, 2009A fun read - I don't usually like short stories but I definitely enjoyed the book.
September 7, 2009
It's little stories in one book. Although some of the short stories were good, they ended when they were just about to get interesting so I was frustrated alot.
January 1, 2011
cute and fun with morals and romance. perfect new year stories.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews