Ponder: Home for the Holidays (Novella)

Home for the Holidays by Brenda Novak ©2021 is a novella that was published shortly after When I Found You, Novak's 8th novel in the Silver Springs series (post dated 7/26/21). The time period covered in Home for the Holidays had already been previously referenced in When I Found You. Although it contains a few more details, the novella adds no information or insight to the storyline between the two main characters Natasha Sharp and Mac Amos, a love attraction thwarted by an age difference and an awkward living situation. For this reason I considered it extraneous to the series, introducing no new characters nor giving more insight into the characters Natasha and Mac as had been portrayed in When I Found You. I waffled amongst my low ratings and eliminated zero, one, or three stars, settling on two stars.

☆☆☆☆☆ I probably did not even finish it  — I did finish

★☆☆☆☆ Awful but I read most or maybe even all of it — It was not awful
★★☆☆☆ Ok, not great; some redeeming features; I finished it — Seems to fit
★★★☆☆ Better than average; not a waste of time — No new info so a waste of time

Then I realized that to evaluate this brief novella, half the page length of the previous eight novels in the series, to those novels was like comparing apples and oranges. Per Masterclass, the most obvious difference between novels and novellas is page length and number of words. However, beyond this superficial difference there are many structural and thematic hallmarks of novellas that make them their own standalone genre of writing. Additionally per Masterclass, there are three differences between novellas and novels. Some of these include – and I realized all these traits applied to Home for the Holidays

1) A single central conflict: Most novellas explore a single, compelling central conflict. Because of their shorter length, novellas have less time to explore subplots and tend to focus on the main plot. Novellas generally have one main character and a handful of secondary characters. Because of length constraints, most of the character development will be focused on the protagonist.
2) Fast pacing: Novellas usually move at a quick pace. Whereas novels can spend time diverging from the central conflict to delve into backstory and explore multiple points of view, novellas generally offer a quick compelling story with a singular point of view.
3) Unity of time and place: When writing novellas, writers should root the action in continuous time within a limited space, ideally one location.

Then I tried to figure out what number Home for the Holidays was in the Silver Springs series. Chronologically per the storyline it preceded #8, but according to the publication date it should be #9. When I researched my confusion I found that the official Brenda Novak booklist from her website and the Amazon entries for those books did not agree. Apparently a novella does not even count in Novak's booklist. In further poking around I learned that the novella was published first as a free pdf download starting on page 26 in the first issue of a Reading with Brenda Novak magazine. And I paid for it in the Kindle version from Amazon! 

Amazon is also confused on the numbering as shown in the next photo.  Per Amazon there appears to be two #8's, one #10 and no #9.   Keep Me Warm at Christmas (#9 or #10?) is not due for publication until September 2021. Then, curiously, there is Book 10 of 9. Hmmm. 

I do realize that to most people, and probably to all of my blog readers, this discrepancy is a big "so what". I also realize you cannot believe everything you read on the internet, but I want Wander or Ponder to be accurate and I work hard to keep it so. It is a point of pride, even if in this case it perhaps is a waste of time. The detective work did keep me amused, though, and I do learn something. Per Brenda Novak's Bio on Amazon

It was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak's career as a bestselling author--she caught her day-care provider drugging her children with cough syrup to get them to sleep all day. That was when Brenda decided she needed to quit her job as a loan officer and help make a living from home. ... Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are proud parents of five children--three girls and two boys. When she's not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising funds for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). So far, Brenda has raised $2.6 million!

With five children, I think Brenda Novak can be forgiven for some confusion on book numbering. I still maintain my rating of two stars for Home for the Holidays and claim that to skip reading this short, five chapter, novella in no way affects the progression of the Silver Spring Series and its characters.

Ponder: When I Found You

When I Found You ©2021 is the 8th book in the Silver Springs series by Brenda Novak. It is a romance novel and by that association not grandiose literature. I like this series as a comfortable read with a familiar cast of characters. Silver Springs is an area far enough from Los Angles to be quiet country and close enough to the metropolitan are to draw on it for city excitement. In a similar genre, Brenda Novak writes a series set in Whiskey Creek (post for 5/5/18), an area on the outskirts of Sacramento in gold country, that draws on its big city offerings when needed. In When I Found You there is a crossover between the characters from both series, an aspect that was serendipitous and made for further enjoyment..

The plot takes the reader eight years back in time. The heroine, teenage Natasha and her mother, were living in a household with twenty-six year old Mack and his four older brothers in Whiskey Creek as related in Discovering You,  the tenth book of that series, my post dated 5/5/18. She was attracted to him at that time but, although he was drawn to her, he felt that she was off limits to him due to her young age. He nobly stayed away so as not to thwart her going off to college. Fast forward eight years and she is a pediatrician and reappears in this eighth book of the Silver Springs series. An incident with one of her child patients destroyed her practice and her marriage. Divorced, penniless, with a six-year old young son, Lucas, she relocates to the Silver Springs region to start anew. Mack hears of her troubles and steps in to help her with the move. The pull and tug and push of them getting back together is entertaining and the antics of the young boy cannot help but make the reader smile.

I rated When I Found You relative to other books in the series since on an absolute literary scale romance novels are not considered intellectual literature. As romance novels go though, the woman is not a ditz and the man is not a chauvinistic pig; working a child into the relationship is refreshing, too.  It was a fun – and very quick – read; but,  I do admit, this audience is most likely limited to Brenda Novak fans or fans of romance novels. Amazon readers gave it 4.7 stars out of 5. I gave it 4 stars which translates in my rating system to

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience.

The following list summarizes my ratings for the Brenda Novak's books in the Silver Springs Series. Each is followed by the date of my blog post review of that particular title.

1) Finding Our Forever ©2017 3 stars (post for 12/4/17)

2) No One But You ©2017 4 stars (post for 11/10/17)

3) Until You Loved Me ©2017 5 stars (post for 11/2/17 )

4) Right Where We Belong 3 stars (post for 2/15/18 )

5) Unforgettable You ©2019 4 stars (post for 5/12/19 )

6) Christmas in Silver Springs ©2019 2 stars (post for 5/21/20)

7) A California Christmas ©2020 3 stars (post on 12/26/20)

8) When I Found You ©2021 4 stars (this post on 7/26/21)