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Just Like the Ones We Used To Know
Your Christmas wish come true! Available for the first time as a stand-alone ebook—Brenda Novak’s Just Like the Ones We Used to Know, originally published in 2006 in the anthology Once Upon a Christmas
Angela Forrester’s foster child Kayla has just one wish for Christmas—to meet her real dad. Angela is determined to ensure Kayla gets her wish, even though Matt Jackson has no idea he has a child at all. When Angela meets Matt, she doesn’t have a chance to tell him about his little girl before sparks instantly fly between them, complicating matters. Will he turn tail and run when he learns the truth, or will he be the man and father they always dreamed of?
Angela Forrester’s foster child Kayla has just one wish for Christmas—to meet her real dad. Angela is determined to ensure Kayla gets her wish, even though Matt Jackson has no idea he has a child at all. When Angela meets Matt, she doesn’t have a chance to tell him about his little girl before sparks instantly fly between them, complicating matters. Will he turn tail and run when he learns the truth, or will he be the man and father they always dreamed of?
84 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2017
About the author
Brenda Novak
247 books7,292 followersIt was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s bestselling author career.
“I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.
Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.
“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….”
Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she continues to publish two or three novels a year, in a variety of genres.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. Now that they are empty-nesters, she spends her free time babysitting her two grandchildren.
When she’s not with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising money for diabetes research. To date, she's raised almost $2.6 million. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking--she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-...
“I caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However, writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she chose business.
Abandoning her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate, then became a loan officer.
“When I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be author: read, read, read….”
Brenda sold her first book, and the rest is history. Now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, she continues to publish two or three novels a year, in a variety of genres.
Brenda and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five children—three girls and two boys. Now that they are empty-nesters, she spends her free time babysitting her two grandchildren.
When she’s not with her family or writing, Brenda is usually raising money for diabetes research. To date, she's raised almost $2.6 million. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching sporting events and biking--she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
December 26, 2017
Just Like the Ones We Used to Know is a nice Christmas romance, with all the right ingredients: a man and a woman lacking in the love department, a child wanting to know her real father, and a small American town for a setting. Just like all the movies on TV this time of the year.
I'll admit it was the cover that got my attention at first, but I fell in love with all three characters pretty fast: Angela is a great mom, Matt is a hottie, and Kayla... well, Kayla is a little part of me that got her miracle. ;)
I'll admit it was the cover that got my attention at first, but I fell in love with all three characters pretty fast: Angela is a great mom, Matt is a hottie, and Kayla... well, Kayla is a little part of me that got her miracle. ;)
December 28, 2017
Too fast.
December 22, 2017
Happy Holiday Story!
I loved this story! Most of it takes place in a city I love, so it was fun to visually imagine where the characters were as I read. The happy ending is just what I needed this Holiday Season! Another winner from Brenda!
I loved this story! Most of it takes place in a city I love, so it was fun to visually imagine where the characters were as I read. The happy ending is just what I needed this Holiday Season! Another winner from Brenda!
January 5, 2023
A very quick read and a very tangled web of relationships. This was a quick holiday read with a ridiculously neat ending but still kept me turning the pages. I was kind of hoping for an epilogue.
December 8, 2021
A heartwarming story about love and doing the right thing.
January 23, 2020
Sweet short Christmas story , Angela is determined to give Kayla her foster child what she wants for Christmas, and may get the best present for both of them in this light romance .
February 2, 2018
absolutely loved this short story fabulous Book. love it when everything comes together in the end and a short Christmas Story is a wonderful book to read in the beginning of February Matt is a wonderful father and a hot firefighter check out this book for yourself it's an awesome one to pick up and read won't take you but hour and a half to read loved it.☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
January 30, 2018
“What do you want for Christmas?” she asked. She was grasping for anything to change the subject, to lessen the tension. His gaze lowered to her lips, and his voice grew slightly rough. “To catch you under the mistletoe.”
I have not met a book by Brenda Novak that I didn’t love! Just Like The Ones We Used To Know is no exception!
Stephanie was a go getter in high school, she went, and she got. No matter what she had to do. When she drugs the boy she had her eye on and takes advantage of him, she winds up pregnant and her mother finds out what she has done, she drags Stephanie and Angela away from Virginia City so that Matt’s life isn’t ruined by what Stephanie did.
Angela took over guardianship of Kayla, Stephanie’s daughter, when Stephanie’s mother died. She had tried to get Stephanie help for her drug habits many times, but each time was in vain. When she is called to A meeting with Kayla’s teacher she is afraid of what she might hear, but is pleasantly surprised by the A on the top of the paper... and then she reads about what Kayla truly wants for Christmas: to know who her real father is.
Matt is the chief firefighter in Virginia City. He hasn’t thought about what happened that night back in high school for a while. When the past comes waltzing through the door of the restaurant on the first floor of the Old Virginny Hotel, he cant imagine what is in store, and he certainly can’t imagine falling for the friend of the girl who singlehandedly ruined his long term relationship in high school.
A sort of second chance romance, Just Like The Ones We Used To Know will steal your heart as you read the pages.
I have not met a book by Brenda Novak that I didn’t love! Just Like The Ones We Used To Know is no exception!
Stephanie was a go getter in high school, she went, and she got. No matter what she had to do. When she drugs the boy she had her eye on and takes advantage of him, she winds up pregnant and her mother finds out what she has done, she drags Stephanie and Angela away from Virginia City so that Matt’s life isn’t ruined by what Stephanie did.
Angela took over guardianship of Kayla, Stephanie’s daughter, when Stephanie’s mother died. She had tried to get Stephanie help for her drug habits many times, but each time was in vain. When she is called to A meeting with Kayla’s teacher she is afraid of what she might hear, but is pleasantly surprised by the A on the top of the paper... and then she reads about what Kayla truly wants for Christmas: to know who her real father is.
Matt is the chief firefighter in Virginia City. He hasn’t thought about what happened that night back in high school for a while. When the past comes waltzing through the door of the restaurant on the first floor of the Old Virginny Hotel, he cant imagine what is in store, and he certainly can’t imagine falling for the friend of the girl who singlehandedly ruined his long term relationship in high school.
A sort of second chance romance, Just Like The Ones We Used To Know will steal your heart as you read the pages.
August 8, 2018
Published first in the anthology 'Once Upon A Christmas,' Brenda Novak’s Just Like the Ones We Used to Know is an excellent holiday read.
Angela Forrester has a child – not her own, but anyone who looks at the pair will tell you they are definitely mother and daughter. You can’t see the resemblance but their bond speaks for itself, and Angela couldn’t have been happier to take care of Kayla who just happens to be her once upon a time best friend, Sophie’s daughter.
Sophie is an addict; therefore, Kayla care had had always defaulted to her maternal grandmother, who had taken Angela in when her own parents had tragically passed away. But when Kayla’s grandmother’s health declines she signs over Kayla’s guardianship to Angela with a promise never to reveal the identity of Kayla’s father because of Sophie’s manipulative past.
However, when she gets summoned to Kayla’s school, Angela fears that she might just be failing in her duties as a mother, but what she discovers is Kayla’s desperate wish for Christmas is to find who she belongs to, who her real dad is
Conflicted between the promise she made to Kayla’s grandmother and the sadness she can see in Kayla’s eyes she decides to take her on a road trip where she might or might not give her daughter the one wish she desires the most. She just has to learn if her father Matt is equipped to be the father that Kayla needs, and of course find a way to tell him he has a daughter.
This short story is the perfect blend of family holiday romance that you can read over your favourite cup of hot beverage. Sprinkled with a complicated history, the instant sparks fly attraction and family love, this book is bound to keep you warm and cosy. It is definitely a good read to enjoy on a snowy winter morning or a windy night that has a lovely ending, for a merrier holiday.
For more book reviews visit: www.samiekahl.com
Angela Forrester has a child – not her own, but anyone who looks at the pair will tell you they are definitely mother and daughter. You can’t see the resemblance but their bond speaks for itself, and Angela couldn’t have been happier to take care of Kayla who just happens to be her once upon a time best friend, Sophie’s daughter.
Sophie is an addict; therefore, Kayla care had had always defaulted to her maternal grandmother, who had taken Angela in when her own parents had tragically passed away. But when Kayla’s grandmother’s health declines she signs over Kayla’s guardianship to Angela with a promise never to reveal the identity of Kayla’s father because of Sophie’s manipulative past.
However, when she gets summoned to Kayla’s school, Angela fears that she might just be failing in her duties as a mother, but what she discovers is Kayla’s desperate wish for Christmas is to find who she belongs to, who her real dad is
Conflicted between the promise she made to Kayla’s grandmother and the sadness she can see in Kayla’s eyes she decides to take her on a road trip where she might or might not give her daughter the one wish she desires the most. She just has to learn if her father Matt is equipped to be the father that Kayla needs, and of course find a way to tell him he has a daughter.
This short story is the perfect blend of family holiday romance that you can read over your favourite cup of hot beverage. Sprinkled with a complicated history, the instant sparks fly attraction and family love, this book is bound to keep you warm and cosy. It is definitely a good read to enjoy on a snowy winter morning or a windy night that has a lovely ending, for a merrier holiday.
For more book reviews visit: www.samiekahl.com
January 11, 2020
The Best Christmas Surprise is a sweet, heart-warming story surrounding a little girl's Christmas wish. When Angela is called into a parent-teacher conference with Kayla's teacher, she is surprised what she finds out about Kayla's Christmas wish...
Kayla and Angela, as well as Matt and his family (as well as Lewis & his family) are all likable characters (especially Matt's Egg Nog-Loving Grandmother). I didn't care for Stephanie and have mixed feelings on Betty. I can't really say why without spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. I also enjoyed some of the lighter moments around family members discussing the fireman calendar. It added quite a bit of humour to the story.
Overall, I loved the story and the characters. It was well-written, and a light, enjoyable read.
Kayla and Angela, as well as Matt and his family (as well as Lewis & his family) are all likable characters (especially Matt's Egg Nog-Loving Grandmother). I didn't care for Stephanie and have mixed feelings on Betty. I can't really say why without spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. I also enjoyed some of the lighter moments around family members discussing the fireman calendar. It added quite a bit of humour to the story.
Overall, I loved the story and the characters. It was well-written, and a light, enjoyable read.
January 9, 2018
Angela lost her parents and ended up with distant relative and her daughter she grows up to be well adjusted and happy while Stephanie never gets it right. She becomes a drug addict and gives up her daughter she had by high school boy that did not know about her. Angela ends up taking care of Kayla (daughter) and takes her back to her Dad and ends up falling in love with him and they make a family. Only hope that Stephanie gets her life straight before it is too lat. Look forward to more Brenda Novak.
June 19, 2021
The Best Christmas Surprise was a great read by Brenda Novak. This book was originally published as Just Like the Ones We Used to Know. Angela Forrester has fostered her former friends daughter, Kayla. Kayla's only wish for Christmas, is to meet her real dad. Angela wants to make sure that Kayla gets her wish, even though Matt Jackson doesn't know he has a daughter. Angela and Matt have an instant attraction to each other which complicates telling him about Kayla. I enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.
December 11, 2023
Be advised that this book contains mature content sex, violence, and drug addiction.
A heart tugging story of a little girl and her Christmas wish.
Kayla only has one wish for Christmas to know who her father is. She's twelve years old and has been caught in the middle of her mother's irresponsible behavior without any idea who her father is. Her foster mother, Angela is the foster daughter of Kayla's maternal grandmother. The story is a quick novella about the journey to possibly give Kayla her Christmas wish, but there is definitely drama in the story. It was a good read.
A heart tugging story of a little girl and her Christmas wish.
Kayla only has one wish for Christmas to know who her father is. She's twelve years old and has been caught in the middle of her mother's irresponsible behavior without any idea who her father is. Her foster mother, Angela is the foster daughter of Kayla's maternal grandmother. The story is a quick novella about the journey to possibly give Kayla her Christmas wish, but there is definitely drama in the story. It was a good read.
January 4, 2018
Angela wants to make her foster daughter Kayla’s Christmas wish come true. Kayla wants to meet her father. Angela sets out to make it happen. She takes Kayla to the small town where her father, Matt, lives. Angela and Matt strike sparks off each other and she doesn’t get a chance to tell him that Kayla is his daughter right away.
This is a delightful Christmas story. I see a Hallmark Christmas movie in Ms. Novak’s future
This is a delightful Christmas story. I see a Hallmark Christmas movie in Ms. Novak’s future
February 12, 2018
Angela decides to visit her hometown at Christmas and takes her foster daughter Kayla with her. Kayla’s Christmas wish to find her father can only be fulfilled in Virginia City, but going home may cause Angela to lose the child that she has known since birth. With realistic characters and charming details about family celebrations of the traditional holiday, this is a must read for fans of Brenda Novak as well as for those who just love happy endings and Christmas.
November 18, 2020
SPOILERS!!!!
The first 35% was good. A nice story about a little girl who wanted to find her father. Then the two main characters had sex, and they dropped subtle hints in every chapter after that. And details, not just that they made love. And they knew each other less than a week and fell in love. And were getting married. Totally unrealistic. I know it’s a really short Christmas book, by why can’t it be realistic? And it’s a CHRISTMAS book, do we really have to talk about sex?
The first 35% was good. A nice story about a little girl who wanted to find her father. Then the two main characters had sex, and they dropped subtle hints in every chapter after that. And details, not just that they made love. And they knew each other less than a week and fell in love. And were getting married. Totally unrealistic. I know it’s a really short Christmas book, by why can’t it be realistic? And it’s a CHRISTMAS book, do we really have to talk about sex?
December 23, 2020
Talk about a speed read, this little Christmas story is sweet enough but is unrealistic in the pace at which the story of Angela and Matt moves. Even though they knew each other in high school, there's a lot of history between them which is seemingly glossed over a bit to quickly to be totally satisfying. It is a cute story though and a decent fit in the Christmas anthology in which I read it. Nice enough.
December 19, 2017
My only complaint about this book that it was too short. Angela is the legal guardian of Kayla, who is 12 years old. In school, Kayla wrote that the only thing she wanted for Christmas is to find her Dad and find out her last name. Angela takes Kayla to Virginia City, NV for Christmas break where Kayla finally meets her father, who wants her in his life.
October 3, 2021
The Best Christmas Surprise
The Best Christmas Surprise is a great read. It is so sweet and romantic. I fell in love with Angela, Matt and of course Kayla. This book warmed my heart. I love that Kayla found her Daddy and that Angela found love am a family. I couldn’t put this book down. Thanks Brenda for such a beautiful Christmas book.
The Best Christmas Surprise is a great read. It is so sweet and romantic. I fell in love with Angela, Matt and of course Kayla. This book warmed my heart. I love that Kayla found her Daddy and that Angela found love am a family. I couldn’t put this book down. Thanks Brenda for such a beautiful Christmas book.
December 19, 2017
Oh my goodness.... this was such a great story. I am sitting here with happy tears in my eyes. And then throw in some holiday goodness.... Well played Brenda, well played!! If this doesn't scream Hallmark Movie, nothing does. Let's make this happen people!!!
December 23, 2017
What a great story this was. It will tug at your heartstringsas you root for Angela and Matt. Smiles and tears as you turn the pages but know they will get their happy ever after. Loved every minute of this book and was sorry to see it end.
December 30, 2017
Just Like the Ones We Used to Know
Kayla needs to find her father. She needs to fill that void of not knowing who her father could be and also where is he. Only Angela can provide Kayla with the knowledge she needs. What a sweet love story!
Kayla needs to find her father. She needs to fill that void of not knowing who her father could be and also where is he. Only Angela can provide Kayla with the knowledge she needs. What a sweet love story!
June 24, 2020
The best Christmas surprise
This was an emotional short story, but I enjoyed it. It was so heartbreaking when I read what Kayla wanted most for Christmas. It just shows you that sometimes gifts come in all kinds of form.
This was an emotional short story, but I enjoyed it. It was so heartbreaking when I read what Kayla wanted most for Christmas. It just shows you that sometimes gifts come in all kinds of form.
December 20, 2017
What a great book! Thanks again Brenda Novak for feeding my reading addiction!;)
January 2, 2018
Great read
I enjoyed reading this book and being surprised with the happy ending. I find myself wishing that the book wasn't over.
I enjoyed reading this book and being surprised with the happy ending. I find myself wishing that the book wasn't over.
January 5, 2018
You can never go wrong reading a book by Brenda Novack. I absolutely fell in love with this book. It is well written.
February 3, 2018
this is just the sweetest story! It's a must read!
February 12, 2018
Typical
February 21, 2018
Nice story
I really enjoyed this short Christmas Novella. It was well written and perfect for the holidays when I started it.
I really enjoyed this short Christmas Novella. It was well written and perfect for the holidays when I started it.
September 27, 2018
This was such a sweet short story, I loved it and couldn't put it down.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews