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Montana Dreams #1

An Unexpected Date

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Holly loves living in her cozy mountain town and all the surrounding beauty soothes her soul. She treasures beading jewelry for her own small business while watching nature and its amazing creatures outside her window. But, her mom begs her to move back to the city so she can find a man to marry. Holly doesn’t want to give up on her dreams, but does that mean she’ll have to give up on love?

13 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2012

88 people are currently reading
392 people want to read

About the author

Susan Hatler

77 books965 followers
SUSAN HATLER is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, who writes humorous and emotional contemporary romance and young adult novels. Many of Susan’s books have been translated into German, Spanish, French, and Italian. A natural optimist, she believes life is amazing, people are fascinating, and imagination is endless. She loves spending time with her characters and hopes you do, too.

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Website: susanhatler.com
Blog: susanhatler.com/category/susans-blog

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5 stars
124 (23%)
4 stars
133 (25%)
3 stars
177 (33%)
2 stars
76 (14%)
1 star
20 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
Profile Image for ♡Karlyn P♡.
604 reviews1,275 followers
May 7, 2012
A cute romantic tale of two people meeting and finding some hot attraction.

This veeeerrrrry short book would actually make a great chapter 1 to a full size book. In these six short pages I already fell in love with the small Montana town, and the H/h had much to like too. You could feel the heat building, but sadly that is where the story ends. Very cute though. The author has a nice writing voice, I could read more by her. :-)
Profile Image for Anne OK.
4,038 reviews547 followers
May 8, 2012
A very short and sweet little treasure by a new-to-me-author. Something to soothe your soul while visiting the little resort town of Whitefish, Montana. This one just goes to show that you can have your cake and ice cream, too!
Profile Image for KatLynne.
547 reviews596 followers
May 13, 2012
Sweet, warm romance...3.5 stars

This is super short (about 15 pages) and just enough to whet my appetite for more. It takes less than five minutes to read and now that Holly and Dave have met in this beautiful small town and with their strong attraction, I would love to have their story.
Profile Image for April.
Author 2 books84 followers
May 3, 2012
Heart-warmingly sweet, fantastically fun and vividly visual, the incredibly talented Susan Hatler takes the reader into a glimpse of a nearly thirty-year-old woman who has found her place in life - now she is just waiting to find the right man to share it with.

Though short, An Unexpected Date is a wonderful and perfect release to a stressful or crazy day. I think of it as the yummy, chocolaty, warm gooey chocolate fudge on top of a big scoop of ice cream. Kick back, relax and have a bit of fun that will guarantee you to read the last word with a huge smile upon your face that just doesn't want to go away!

The setting is Whitefish, Montana. Holly has found the perfect place to live where she is surrounded by the beauty of nature, complete with glorious mountains and bears that make their way into her yard to feast upon ripe luscious berries. She has created her own jewelry and bead business cleverly named Treasured Creations. She is nearing her thirtieth birthday and her mother keeps nagging at her to move back to the city where she can find a nice man to settle down with and have a family. Though Holly does yearn to find a life-long partner, she has no desire to move away from her little piece of heaven.

It is during the Falling Leaves Festival, where Holly has set up a table to sell her creations, that she discovers that the grandest of surprises occur when least expected.

I completely and utterly fell in love with Holly, who is sweet, intelligent, ambitious and lovely. I also found myself utterly intrigued by Dave, who is handsome, sexy, kind and smart. The story unfolds in a perfect way, Ms. Hatler's descriptions are incredibly vivid and allow the reader to be right there witnessing the unfolding of the tale. When I finished reading, I could not wipe the smile off my face and felt completely satisfied. I would also love to perhaps see the story of Holly and Dave unfold further into another story *hint *hint... lol. I definitely recommend An Unexpected Date to anyone looking for a quick pick-me-up that will brighten your day!

Favorite Quote: "I wish ice cream made me that happy."

He leaned toward me, and smiled. "Maybe you just haven't tried the right flavor."

Goosebumps tickled up my spine, along with a rush of heat to my face, as I found my own secret meaning in his comment.
Profile Image for Veronica Blade.
Author 63 books411 followers
May 3, 2012
As always, Susan knows how to make me turn the page. This short story is no different. It's cute, sweet and gives me an ending so fulfilling, I sigh. Brain candy. Exactly what I like to read!!
Profile Image for Barbara.
737 reviews6 followers
April 15, 2020
Super sort, super cute,and lovely like book. The book is short and sweet, typical boy meets girl and sparks fly. It was a good book to read after a stressful day of work.
Profile Image for Laura Young.
Author 3 books17 followers
June 24, 2012
Title: An Unexpected Date
Author: Susan Hatler
Page count: 15
Genre: romance
My rating: 4/5
Publisher: Hatco, Inc.
Published: May first, 2012
Summary:Holly loves living in her cozy mountain town and all the surrounding beauty soothes her soul. She treasures beading jewelry for her own small business while watching nature and its amazing creatures outside her window. But, her mom begs her to move back to the city so she can find a man to marry. Holly doesn’t want to give up on her dreams, but does that mean she’ll have to give up on love?

The Review:
A short love at first sight story, or in a way it is set up to be that way. Holly is a beader whose family disagrees with her choice of work. In a couple pages we see the brightness of Holly and her goodness. Staying in a place with little chances of keeping her alive and living proves that she will stay alive and do what she wants. Finally we have Dave the man that falls into her life in almost the same chances that she fell into this town. You could feel their connections from when they first met.
There really wasn’t anything for me to hate or dislike about the story. It wasn’t that cheesy but how many first love at site stories are there? A definite read if you love those types of stories.
Profile Image for Julie Carpenter.
1,843 reviews227 followers
June 7, 2016
Cute, sweet and super short. If you love contemporary romance novels and only have a couple minutes to sit down and read I would tell you to grab this one by Susan Hatler. I discovered her last year and only read one or two of her books and then rediscovered her recently and have loved her stories. So far all of them have a HEA and are clean! Major plus for me.

Seriously this novella was a 10 minute or so read but within that short time Holly, our MC, is pretty quickly endeared to the reader. You know when reading you can tell very quickly about wether you'll like, love or dislike a character? Well for me it was pretty fast and I knew I would love Holly's character. It's so short I won't say more than that except I enjoyed it and will continue to read more from this author.

I downloaded a copy free from Amazon.

Happy Reading!!!
Profile Image for Katie (hiding in the pages).
3,448 reviews323 followers
November 25, 2015
This is a very short story and an amazingly detailed snippet into Holly's life. Holly lives in a beautiful, comforting town in Montana, much to her mother's dismay. She knows it's home for her and she's happy trying to make ends meet with her growing jewelry business. Of course, it's not easy, but it's definitely fulfilling.

At the fall festival, Dave comes to buy an item from Holly's both and what happens is almost magical. I absolutely adore the way two people meet and fall for each other. I love the sparks, the intrigue, and the tingly feelings of romance. Ms. Hatler is an incredible romantic storyteller. I can't wait to read the rest of the story!

Content: nothing of note. Clean!
Profile Image for Cynthia.
2,097 reviews22 followers
February 15, 2015
For a short read and I do mean short read this was a great story. I would have liked to have known more and hopefully as I read through some of her series I will find the full story of Holly and Dave.

This was a very cute read. The author does fill in all the wants and needs a person wants. She gives you a small taste of her writing style but leaves you wanting so much more. I really enjoyed it but didn't like the short 12 minute read so I am going to give this a 4 star. If you are looking for somethings short to just get the taste of the authors style this would be a great book to start with.
Profile Image for Jinky.
566 reviews7 followers
May 25, 2012
Did you catch that page count? 11 pages!! Incredibly too short. As cute of a story as it was, there was just not enough content and character development for this to work for me. It's like a short chapter one for a novel. I don't get it. I'm glad I downloaded this for free because if I had spent more, I would kick myself. It's not even long enough to read while waiting at the doctor's office. It's a shame because it appears that the author can write. She just needs to write a lot more! ;)

Jinky is Reading
Profile Image for Robert Zimmermann.
Author 6 books166 followers
September 23, 2015
This short story was just what I needed to rewind from the day. It's lighthearted just like I enjoy when I read a romance like this one. The main character can be anyone who's out there working her dream job, even if it doesn't pay the bills, and enjoys it. Her spirit is great. This could be a good set up for a mini series of stories. I was left wanting to read more, but in a good way. It was complete in itself, while at the same time leaving it open to the imagination for what will happen next.
Profile Image for Susan Hatler.
Author 77 books965 followers
July 16, 2022
After living in a small resort town for the past five years, I was inspired to write this sweet tale about a real life dilemma. What happens if you're living the life you want, exactly where you want to live it, but haven't found your true love yet? Sometimes finding the right person can seem so far out of reach, which is the exact desperation Holly is feeling in An Unexpected Date. I really enjoyed writing her short story. Thanks for reading! :-)
Profile Image for Crystal (Books Are Sanity!!!).
792 reviews39 followers
June 15, 2012
Small, yet very satisfying, this short novella does not lack! Just because it is short, don't discount it! Holly's story is one you will enjoy reading. An Unexpected Date is like a mini dessert you order at the end of your meal, it hits the spot! If you need a great way to end your day, this little book is just the treat you are looking for! (I would love it if Ms. Hatler decided to make this one a full-length novel) Five stars!*****

Profile Image for Ana.
521 reviews354 followers
November 3, 2012
Well, how do you write a review of such a short story? It's 15 pages or less. Hmmm, I hate it when I think my review will be longer, so I will cut to the chase.
The good thing about the story - the characters, they promise a LOT. Holly and Dave seem a cute couple and I sure would love to get to know them better and read more of their romance.

The bad thing - it's too short, too darn short and this leaves me almost frustrated.

Well, that's about it.
Profile Image for Paris.
Author 19 books66 followers
May 10, 2012
This is a very cute short story about living the life you want to live without that one little piece that would make it perfect...true love. I know a lot of people who are like Holly, perfectly happy and content with their lives but missing that special someone to share it with. This story showed that there is hope and that you can often meet that someone when you least expect it.
Profile Image for Claire Taylor.
417 reviews13 followers
August 29, 2012
A cute coffee break short story.

Light-hearted and sweet, this book will leave you all happy and relaxed. Susan Hatler’s writing style is incredibly well descriptive and has a way of drawing you in, letting your mind imagine the story with no effort at all.

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Char (1RadReader59).
3,114 reviews17 followers
August 30, 2012
What a very sweet wholesome very short story. This is the chance meeting of Holly & Dave at a craft fair. Their families pressuring them to come home so they can start families. But loving where they live they stay. Which is good because their special time to meet would never have happened if they left.
Profile Image for Patricia.
1,036 reviews110 followers
May 12, 2012
Again, this is too short for me to be able to say lots about the writing style. I think it wasn't bad, but I won't give it a full rating and instead wait until the author publishes something (full length) that sounds intriguing. :)
Profile Image for Katie.
1,093 reviews21 followers
February 24, 2013
Loved it. Short and sweet. Same engaging voice that hooked me in the first book I had read by this author. This was another one that once you started reading you just couldn't put it down till the end. Look forward to reading more by this author.
Profile Image for Stories & Verse.
154 reviews2 followers
June 22, 2013
"An Unexpected Date" is a short story about serendipity. The perfect length for this storyline, i thought... Also as with other stories by Susan Halter - The dialog is seamless, you connect with the characters immediately, and the ending leaves with a "I'm glad i bought this book"feeling.
Profile Image for Tina.
574 reviews15 followers
May 17, 2012
Very short tid bit of a story. Not enough to dislike but also not enough to love. Kind of pointless really.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews

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