I’ve seen some discussions in the romance community that claim high heat/open door romances lack yearning. This is Puritan nonsense. I could point to hundreds of examples of books that have both. Ruby Barrett’s New Year’s Eve focused novella, This Time, Next Year is one. Nora and Finn belong to a friend group that celebrate NYE together every year. On one New Year’s Eve, Nora and Finn share a kiss. Every New Year’s Eve after, Nora is in a quandary, will she kiss Finn? Will she do more than kiss Finn?
Ruby Barrett has written a tight story that’s all show, don’t tell. Nora is an over-thinker. The novella is almost entirely her point of view and we get a close up view of her anxiety. Is Finn her frenemy? Friend? Once a year lover? More?
“I’m…difficult.”
Finn sighs. Sweet sigh. He tucks my hair behind my ear, and I do his.
“Nora.” He kisses my knee. “Baby.” My fingertip. “Respectfully.” [redacted]… “You’ve always been difficult.”
We only see them on New Year’s Eve, but we see texts that show their growing friendship over time. Even without Finn’s POV (until the epilogue), it’s clear he has feelings for Nora and is waiting until she’s ready. Barrett gives us yearning that is stated directly by Nora and implied through Finn’s actions.
Nora:
He squeezes my hip, a tender gesture at most, but my body is too primed. I’ve waited all year. I shaved for this.
Finn:
The kiss almost virtuous in its briefness, its dryness. It would be a disappointment, a three hundred and sixty-four–day anticlimax, if not for the way he presses his forehead to mine, his hair a cocoon around us for the briefest moment. His eyes closed, a groan that I feel against my own chest that makes this kiss a promise.
I swooned. There are layers of wanting and yearning here – yearning for physical contact and yearning for emotional connection. Showing the relationship through text exchanges pays off in the last chapter and I will say no more.
This is a great little novella with everything I have liked about Barrett’s writing and none of what has frustrated me. It’s out now if you want a quick New Year’s read.
