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New Year's Promise

Anna Clifton (Goodreads Author)

4.16 · Rating details · 43 ratings · 14 reviews

They've been colleagues, allies and best friends forever, but he wants more - and he's not above using the magic of the Christmas season to get it. When Business Development Executive Ellie Halligan is offered the job of a lifetime in Paris, it seems her chance to live a fairytale adventure has finally arrived. Her only hurdle is convincing legal eagle Justin Murphy - her ...more

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ebook, 109 pages

Published November 22nd 2014 by Escape Publishing (first published November 1st 2014)

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· 43 ratings · 14 reviews

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Jul 20, 2016 Veronica ⭐️ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: harlequin, 2016, australian-author, aww-2016

New Year’s Promise is a sweet friends to lovers romance.

Justin and Ellie have been friends since Justin’s family moved in next door to Ellie’s family 20 years ago.
Lately they have had feelings that are more than friendship but they both are hesitant to express these feelings worried it will destroy their friendship.

Justin and Ellie’s romance is not all plain sailing as before they can truly be together they must bring down the barriers and fight off the demons.

A delightful story of friends, fami ...more

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Nov 10, 2014 Sally906 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian-author, christmas, netgalley-review, romance

NEW YEAR’S PROMISE is the first Anna Clifton book I’ve read – and she will certainly now go on my list of must read authors. When Justin and his brother Sam moved temporarily next door to Ellie and her four brothers, friendships were forged that still lasted today. Justin always loved Ellie but she bonded with his terminally ill brother. Justin is taken away by his mother after his brother is sent to hospital to die; he kept in touch with Ellie’s family and now Ellie works for him. Justin tells
NEW YEAR’S PROMISE is the first Anna Clifton book I’ve read – and she will certainly now go on my list of must read authors. When Justin and his brother Sam moved temporarily next door to Ellie and her four brothers, friendships were forged that still lasted today. Justin always loved Ellie but she bonded with his terminally ill brother. Justin is taken away by his mother after his brother is sent to hospital to die; he kept in touch with Ellie’s family and now Ellie works for him. Justin tells her family that his brother has died but does not talk about him. One of Ellie’s brothers is having a life threatening operation and wants Justin to keep her in Australia until he has recovered but not tell her what it is so she’ll cancel her trip. So the stage is set for a romance to develop between two people who share a past, share the pain of loss, and share the idea that the other is not feeling the same way. Sometimes the past intrudes on the present, and that is what happens to Justin and Ellie. The truths they have to face will either draw them together or force them apart – but they will never be the same again.

NEW YEAR’S PROMISE is a roller coaster of a ride – I laughed, I aaaaaahd and I cried – but I was not bored for one minute. The whole story is built on family relationships and how different families cope with illness, how different women mother differently, and how love can bond families together underneath the bickering. And the romance – well when a story is touted as a romance you have the expectation that things will work out. Considering what they were up against, I had my doubts but I found their reactions to be very realistic. The ‘will they, won’t they’ scenario was not overdone, and as I mentioned before I hoped there would be a happy ending, but had my doubts that the events could actually be overcome, but when it did (phew!) it was just perfect!

With thanks to Escape Publishing and the author via Netgalley for my copy to read and review. ...more

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Dec 10, 2014 Georgina Penney rated it it was amazing

Such a gorgeous story. I've been looking forward to it for months and it didn't disappoint! Anna Clifton's books always give me that wonderful satisfied feeling from reading an emotional roller coaster story with a happy ending:) ...more

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Nov 27, 2014 Jeannie Zelos rated it it was amazing

New Year's Promise, Anna Clifton
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: Romance, women’s fiction
My first read from Anna, and I really enjoyed it. There are plots that could be almost cheesy, irritating and yet they aren’t, they fit the overall story arc perfectly. It made me cry, a lot, towards the end, and I love a book that moves me like that.
When we first meet Ellie and Justin, she’s been working for his firm, and we quickly get pulled into their background, their close childhood friend
New Year's Promise, Anna Clifton
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: Romance, women’s fiction
My first read from Anna, and I really enjoyed it. There are plots that could be almost cheesy, irritating and yet they aren’t, they fit the overall story arc perfectly. It made me cry, a lot, towards the end, and I love a book that moves me like that.
When we first meet Ellie and Justin, she’s been working for his firm, and we quickly get pulled into their background, their close childhood friendship. I was a little puzzled how come they’d all managed to remain so close, given Justin moved away when he was a young teen, and I thought they’d lost contact, but I guess I must have missed how they reconnected, or maybe stayed in contact some way – whatever, it’s clear there’s a very strong relationship between Justin and Ellie and her four brothers.
Ellie’s lovely, loyal and adores her family. She’d taken over mothering them all since their mum died, and somehow never seemed to stop...now they’re anxious she takes time for herself with a dream position in Paris opening up for her. Her brother Harry though has a problem, he knows if he tells her about it she’ll drop the Paris job and stay, and he doesn’t want that but he does need her around til the new year. He tells Justin about it and persuades him to tell her he won’t waive her notice period, but accept two weeks instead of the four she should give. Somehow though Justin finds himself asking – well telling – her to spend it with him, so they don’t have to go to the usual holiday events alone, as they’ve both just come out of a relationship. He’s always been attracted to Ellie, but has a huge secret that makes him not act on it. Ellie too has always had strong feelings for him, and they come pretty close at times when they’re out together. In the middle of it all though some huge secrets come out, that shatter them both and cause lots of angst and strife.
Its an unusual romance, more tear jerking story that straight romance, though that angle is well covered. There’s so much more here, illness and how families cope with it, mothers who struggle to do just that, and how the love of a family can provide so much joy to everyone. Its not a book I’d re read, but was one that I loved as a one off, it’s so packed with emotion. As I said earlier some of the plots could have descended into Hallmark film territory, ( fine if you like that but I don’t) and yet they’re covered in a way that’s natural, and doesn’t fall into that trap but feels so real that I was tearful reading it. In the middle of all that Ellie and Justin have to decide what they really feel, and whether they’ll do anything about it or just go their separate ways. Of course as a romantic I was rooting for things to work out, and there were moments when I felt the bars placed between them felt forced. Not the “big” one, that was understandable, but the later little ones when they were at odds with each other over how they thought the other person felt. It just seemed to get over complicated and that’s where it lost a half star from me. I didn’t feel that part felt real, but as if it was put in simply to extend the should they/shouldn’t they emotion.
Stars: Four and a half, a great read and have the tissues ready.
ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers ...more

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Nov 21, 2014 ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰Janeane ✰ rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs-read-and-reviewed, netgalley

ARC received via Netgalley for an honest review.

This is the second book I have read of Ms Clifton's and again I was not disappointed with New Year's Promise.

This is a sweet friends to lovers romance that will have your heart beating faster as our main characters struggle into their new relationship.

Justin and Ellie have admiring each other from afar for years and when circumstances bring them back in close proximity, the sparks between them fly.

I loved the relationships between Ellie, Justin and ...more

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Nov 07, 2014 Tash rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites

Reviewed for Confessions From Romaholics
Ever since I discovered this author, I have been waiting for the next release from her as I loved Adam’s Boys so much and I loved her writing style. She has a gripping style that makes it hard to put this book down as you are so engrossed with the story she has weaved. In this book we, finally get the story of Justin the last of the trio which Cliffton has been writing about for the last year and half. The books are stand alone and each follows of the trio Reviewed for Confessions From Romaholics
Ever since I discovered this author, I have been waiting for the next release from her as I loved Adam’s Boys so much and I loved her writing style. She has a gripping style that makes it hard to put this book down as you are so engrossed with the story she has weaved. In this book we, finally get the story of Justin the last of the trio which Cliffton has been writing about for the last year and half. The books are stand alone and each follows of the trio as they find love. The characters from the other books do pop up in this book as secondary minor characters, however this is Justin and Elle ‘s story and probably the most heartbreaking story out of them all.

Justin is a workaholic with a secret. He has closed himself to love and seeks out meaningless relationships in the hopes of masking the pain that he has as he doesn’t want to relive the past. Elle is somewhat welcome and unwelcome friendship from the past as whilst he love Elle and her brothers, they dredge up things he wants firmly in the past. However it doesn’t mean that he closes off to them as he truly values their friendship and when one of Elle’s brothers asks him to do something, he agrees and wonders what he has go himself into.

Elle is a motherly type who hopes to change her life with a work opportunity that she has only dreamed off for years. However when her brother Harry is facing something that would make her stop in her tracks and change her plans. So Justin decides to wreck her plans and offers what seems a perfectly innocent reason to make her stay.

This book is not being marked as a holiday book but I say add to your list of Christmas Reads for this year as it is the perfect read for the holidays. Two lonely souls are about to get a jolt as they spend the holidays together as each other plus ones so they don’t face the loneliness of spending the holidays as single. Elle the beautiful motherly type who wants to break out of the mold and brooding Justin who wants nothing more to have reveal his secret and the happiness he wants but thinks he can’t have.

I thought Adam’s Boys would remain my favourite out of the these three books , however this book slowly grew on me more and more once I delved into the story and found there was more to the story that meets the eyes . I loved this friend to lovers story with the secret twist that had me reeling. The wait for this book was totally worth it and this has edged out being my favourite book from this author so far. There more than a beautiful story of friends to love story, there is a heartbreaking tale here revolving around the secret that tugged on my heart strings and I didn’t want that tale to end.

5 couples
For more of my reviews, visit Confessions From Romaholics.And drop by the blog's Facebook page
...more

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Nov 25, 2014 MarciaB - Book Muster Down Under rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, provided-by-publisher, reviewing-by-request

Childhood friends Ellie and Justin have experienced a lot of pain and loss in their lives – Justin, the loss of his terminally ill brother when they were just teenagers and Ellie, the passing of her beloved mother. It seems as though they’re just getting their lives back on track, bar a few misgivings about recent broken relationships, when Harry, Ellie’s brother, approaches Justin and asks for his help.

He’s about to go into hospital for surgery and needs Justin to turn down Ellie's imminent res Childhood friends Ellie and Justin have experienced a lot of pain and loss in their lives – Justin, the loss of his terminally ill brother when they were just teenagers and Ellie, the passing of her beloved mother. It seems as though they’re just getting their lives back on track, bar a few misgivings about recent broken relationships, when Harry, Ellie’s brother, approaches Justin and asks for his help.

He’s about to go into hospital for surgery and needs Justin to turn down Ellie's imminent resignation and delay her departure for two weeks in case something goes wrong during surgery. He knows that if she hears about his operation, her mothering instincts will kick in and she will drop the Paris job that she has accepted.

Justin reluctantly agrees and plucks up the courage to ask Ellie to spend time with him over the following two weeks. As these old friends begin to spend more time together, a photograph dredges up memories for Justin and it's not long before a family secret comes to the fore.

As Ellie and Justin piece together a decades old puzzle, one can only hope that there will be a happy every after.

It seems like I’ve been reading a lot of new-to-me authors lately (which is great because we have so many talented writers here in Australia) so, when Anna Clifton emailed me to request a review of her latest novel, I jumped at it because it sounded just like my kind of romance. Yes, she warned me about the emotional angst, but that’s the way I like them and this one certainly satisfied that need! Of course, the other big draw-card for me was the friends to lovers trope which is always (at least for me) far more realistic in terms of a romance novel because the characters already know a lot about each other and it’s not like they just fall into bed together. At least, not in this one!

There are many great moments between Ellie and Justin in this novel such as the beach scene, the “clapping” scene, as well as some particularly poignant ones later on and, in using the issues at the heart of the novel, Anna creates a large amount of emotional conflict (without the melodrama) which clearly shows that she got to know her characters very well, thus enhancing the reader’s enjoyment.

Emotional, uplifting and featuring a cast of down-to-earth characters that you will be able to identify and engage with, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this novel about family, mothering, love and friendship to all those avid romance readers out there. Just one suggestion though – if you are moved as easily as me, keep the tissues handy!

Whilst this is number three in the series, it can well be read as a stand-alone - now I just need to get hold of Anna’s previous two books, Adam’s Boys and Falling for the Lawyer. ...more

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Nov 26, 2014 Hsiau Wei rated it really liked it

Shelves: for-review, books-read-in-2014

Ellie works with her brother’s best friend; Justin. Ellie have a job offer and decides to leave but she needs to convince him to waive the 4 weeks’ notice so that she can start her adventure in Paris. But Justin have a condition; she have to spend time with him over the festive until new year. Ellie is confused with the request from Justin. Unbeknownst to her, one of Ellie’s brother has contacted Justin requesting Justin to try to stop Ellie from leaving at least till he did his medical test so ...more

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Feb 19, 2016 Lily Malone rated it it was amazing

It's February and a great time of year for a New Year read, and I very much enjoyed New Year's Promise.
Probably the thing I liked the most was that the characters worked through problems, rather than stew on them and let them become huge misunderstandings. What I thought was clever on behalf of the author was how she ramped up those problems. Initially, the 'promise' involves Justin agreeing to keep Ellie's brother's brain surgery from Ellie, because her family feels Ellie (the pseudo-mother of ...more

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Dec 17, 2014 Gloria Herrera for As You Wish Reviews rated it it was amazing

Justin and Ellie have known each other for over twenty years. Childhood friends, part of their own childhood gang with their brothers, all six of them were inseparable during their pre-puberty golden years. Ellie being the only girl in the group was treasured, made fun of, and bonded with. Her special friendship with Sam (Justin's brother) is the undercurrent of this story, as a distant heartbeat that foreshadows the unresolved mystery and pain they all share.

This is a complex story of friendshi ...more

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Jan 20, 2015 Robyn Koshel rated it it was amazing

New year's promise is an unconventional romance that tugged at my heart strings and left me a crying mess. I cried from sadness and joy in the end.

It was a wonderful book and Justin and Ellie's history together made me urge them on to finally be together- I just had to wait until they figured it out too. A box of tissues by your side is essential to reading this book!

New Year's promise is in my opinion Anna Clifton's best book to date. It blends romance, fairy tale settings with a depth of emot ...more

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Nov 27, 2014 Talking Books rated it really liked it

Lots of tears and sentiments, emotional turmoil and challenges for the characters in New Year’s Promise by Anna Clifton in a story that melts hearts and captures readers.
*ARC Received from the Publisher for an honest review

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Jun 16, 2015 Eileen Dandashi rated it it was amazing

For all you romance lovers and people person, this story is for you. I loved it from its first page to the last. It was emotional and touchy sensitive dealing with difficult issues – mothers who can’t deal with challenged children, siblings who feel guilty for something they feel could have been prevented, giving up on love yet knowing there is no other person able to complete you.

Justin had been keeping himself on a short leash. He’d always admired Ellie. They had grown up together. Now they we ...more

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Jan 22, 2016 Betty Young rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

New year promise good reading keepYou wanting to res

New years promise keeps you wanting to see what happens next suspense till the end with a good finish leaving you satisfied with the book

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About Anna Clifton

Anna Clifton

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First of all, thanks for visiting!

If you’d like to get in touch please drop me a line. I’d love to hear from you.

In order to write this bio I began to think back on how I came to be writing romance novels. I soon worked out that I've held down in excess of fifty jobs in my life so far. They've ranged from scooping ice-creams, to selling glow sticks, to stumbling around in a container ship on absur ...more