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beckymmoe's review
4.0
Auld Lang Syne is a short and sweet second chance romance--a former-friends-with-benefits-to-something-more story, really--set in NYC at New Year's. All the classic romantic moments are there--skating at Rockefeller Center, carriage ride in Central Park, ball drop at Times Square--with interesting little twists added. Charlotte's looking for a fresh beginning and to leave her feelings of guilt over her husband's death behind (but not for romance, or so she thinks, anyway) and Jacob's looking to right the wrong he didn't have the guts to fix back when they were in college. There's a happy-for-now ending with a distinct possibility of more, though the short format doesn't really give them time to iron out the details of what for now is going to have to be a long distance romance.
It was a pleasant way to pass the time, and it was refreshing to read a holiday novella that wasn't set at Christmas. (Though Christmas was still hovering there on the edges--there's more than one Christmas tree involved, and a bunch of holiday songs mentioned and decorations decorating all over the place. Do major hotels really have individual trees set up in fancy suites? What about guests who don't celebrate?)
One aspect of the plot--some almost-at-the-end drama with Ben, the gallery owner who knew Charlotte and Jacob back in college--felt a bit out of place and odd; I'm still not sure what it was doing there. The length of the piece didn't allow for a lot of resolution of the drama of the two main characters, let alone throwing in a side concern for a secondary character. Still, though, it was only a minor distraction from the novella as a whole.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / C+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
It was a pleasant way to pass the time, and it was refreshing to read a holiday novella that wasn't set at Christmas. (Though Christmas was still hovering there on the edges--there's more than one Christmas tree involved, and a bunch of holiday songs mentioned and decorations decorating all over the place. Do major hotels really have individual trees set up in fancy suites? What about guests who don't celebrate?)
One aspect of the plot--some almost-at-the-end drama with Ben, the gallery owner who knew Charlotte and Jacob back in college--felt a bit out of place and odd; I'm still not sure what it was doing there. The length of the piece didn't allow for a lot of resolution of the drama of the two main characters, let alone throwing in a side concern for a secondary character. Still, though, it was only a minor distraction from the novella as a whole.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars / C+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
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