WHEN WE TOUCH
(Whiskey Creek #0.5)by Brenda Novak
Published August 2012 by Mira
Adult Romance - Kindle edition, 102p.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
You're invited to a wedding in Whiskey Creek, Heart of the Gold Country.Unfortunately, it's the wrong wedding. Olivia Arnold is arranging the festivities—and it's the hardest thing she's ever done. Because she should be marrying Kyle Houseman. They were together for more than a year…. But her jealous sister, Noelle, stole him away—and now she's pregnant.
All their friends in Whiskey Creek know as well as Olivia does that Kyle's making a mistake. His stepbrother, Brandon, knows it, too. But Kyle's determined to go through with it, for his child's sake.
Olivia's devastated, but surprisingly Brandon—the black sheep of the family--is there to provide comfort and consolation. The intensity between them, both physical and emotional, shows Olivia that maybe Kyle wasn't the right man for her…. But is Brandon?
MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK:
WHEN WE TOUCH is a novella that kicks off Brenda Novak's Whiskey Creek series. The series focuses on a close knit group of friends in a small town and their love lives (sometimes with each other). Two of the friends, Olivia and Kyle, dated for over a year, until her jealous sister, Noelle, stole him away and Olivia got stuck planning their wedding. She's too sweet to bow out, even though their friends wouldn't blame her.Kyle's stepbrother, Brandon, to whom he isn't close, is irritated at the injustice of Olivia's current predicament and offers her support. As their friendship develops, Brandon and Olivia (who had a crush on him before) start to wonder if they've been the better match all along. He's a bit of a black sheep in his own family, and Olivia's overbearing parents are the reason she can't refuse to be the wedding planner for her sister's wedding.
Throughout the book, it's hard to find anything about Noelle to like or sympathize with, and almost impossible to understand why Kyle is marrying her. Luckily, his brother, Brandon, slides right in as an appealing option to ease Olivia's pain and help her move on.
While this isn't my favorite book in the Whiskey Creek series, it does serve as a solid introduction to the characters who star in the future books. The ridiculous idea that Olivia should ever have to plan a wedding for her sister and her ex is hard to get over (and really made me irritated with her parents for insisting she do it). However, Olivia and Brandon are a great couple, and I've enjoyed when they pop in during future books, so I'd recommend reading it to get going in the series (but don't quit after this one if it's not quite your thing).