this was a sweet story. It gave background and depth to the romance and a great second chance. Knew it was short but would have liked more.

Shannon Stacey’s Hold Her Again merges two of my favorite things, romance and music, and then she incorporates second chance romance with a little holiday spirit thrown in against a backdrop of a small town and good people to make this reader’s almost-ultimate comfort novella.

Jace broke Ava’s heart when he chose country music stardom over her. Then he wrote a chart-topping song about making a wrong choice, but he still didn’t go back for her. Years later, Jace returns homes for his father’s funeral and has the opportunity to make things right, if he can.

I felt the characters rang true although I would have thought that Jace might have tried at some point to move on romantically considering the number of years that had passed. I appreciated that Ava did although it didn’t work out because her ex-husband knew she was still in love with Jace.

In plots like this, authors frequently give in to having their characters act out a lot of angst and/or game-playing as a form of retribution and I was very, very happy to see that was not the case here. Both characters, although passionate about each other, still dealt with the situation rationally. Yay!

This novella is short and sweet, just perfect for a couple of hours with a cup of tea and maybe a brownie. It’s a feel-good story to give you the warm fuzzies.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Shannon Stacey is one of my go-to authors. She had me hooked on the first Kowalski book and I've been addicted to her work ever since. I really like to read series more than stand alones because I get so emotionally involved with the characters that I want more. She has a talent to keep me hooked on her writing.

Ava Wright isn't happy to see her high school sweetheart rolling into their hometown a few weeks before Christmas. He's only come back to bury his estranged father, but there's no way she'll be able to avoid him. No one can: he's become a country-music superstar since going solo and leaving Ava behind.

Jace Morrow grew up believing "money can't buy happiness" was something people said to make themselves feel better. But now he knows it's the truth: no matter how many number-one hits he has, he'll never recapture the magic of singing with Ava. Missing her—loving her—and living with making the wrong choice in life were what made him who he is.

When Jace is roped into being part of the town's annual Christmas party, he only cares about earning Ava's forgiveness. And though Ava's heart has never healed, she loved Jace too much and for too long to shut him out when he's hurting. As they fall in love all over again, they're both faced with choices for their future…and this time Jace intends to make the right one.

Jace Morrow and Ava Wright were once a couple in more ways than one. They were in love and couple and they were also a country singing duo singing in bars to make a living. Six years ago they were approached in one of those bars and Jace was offered stardom – but Ava wasn’t. Jace decided he had to give it a try and left Ava. Just left her in a strange town on her own even though they were a duo. She went back to their small home town in Missouri with a broken heart and started waitressing again.

Now Jace is back in town for the first time in six years to bury his father and he knows that he’ll see Ava again. In fact, he’s hoping he does because he wants to let her know that he never stopped loving her. Ava isn’t looking forward to seeing Jace because she never forgave him for leaving her like he did. Of course, when they do see each other again Ava has a hard time keeping the love she never stopped feeling for Jace under wraps. He soon has her in his arms but can they move forward from what happened?

I’d love to say that I adored this novella by Stacey but I didn’t. I did think it was good but that was because it had a lovely heroine and of course, Stacey’s wonderful writing style. That said, I couldn’t get past Jace and what he did. This is totally on me, and I’m probably in the minority here, but he really pissed me off. He said that he never stopped loving her but he never came back to get his girl! Not only did he leave her high and dry to pursue his dreams, but then stayed away for 6 years! I guess I could see Ava forgiving him after 1 year but 6? I had a really hard time with that. For me, he didn’t grovel enough. Actually, I’m not sure he could have groveled enough to make it ok in my eyes.

Ava was such a strong woman and I really liked her a lot. She seemed to have a good head on her shoulders but had never stopped loving Jace. Maybe if I had been shown some of their times together in the past, rather than just been told how close they were, I would have had a different perspective on their relationship. As it was I just didn’t see it strong enough to withstand the time apart.

Despite my problems with Jace, as I said, it was a well written story. If it had been longer maybe I would have changed my mind about the hero but with short a short format he just didn’t work for me.

Rating: 3 out of 5

This will post as a guest review on Boook Binge.
http://bookbinge.com/

Hold Her Again by Shannon StaceyFive years ago, Ava Wright and Jace Morrow were in love and trying to make it in the music scene. When Jace got the chance to make it big, but without Ava, he took it. He's regretted it ever since. With his father's death, Jace has a chance to go back to the small town where he and Ava grew up.
Ava is still in town. She's working for her parents in the same cafe she worked in in high school. And the music, for her, is gone. She's not happy that Jace is back in town but she's... fair? or something? Stacey tries to paint her as a caring person who just can't stand Jace's suffering but she comes off a little... door mat-ish. It's not a horrible story but would have been a lot better as a full story.

Three stars
This novella comes out October 1

A sweet short story about a second chance love. Ava Wright and Jace Morrow were sweethearts from the start. They had been together as long as they could remember. When they decided to roll the dice and move to pursue their signing careers together, the record company only wants Jace as a color act, he runs with it and leaves Ava behind.

Now Jace is a famous country singer and is back home for his father's funeral and to finally make things right with Ava, Jace has all the money and fame he could ever want. The only things that he doesn't have is Ava, and he realizes what matters most is nothing material. It is her.

Ava Wright and Jace Morrow were high school sweethearts. They had a singing act together and a life planned out, or so Ava thought. When Jace was told by a big time Nashville agent that she could make him a star as a single artist he jumps at the chance and leaves Ava behind. Now 5 1/2 years later Jace is back in his hometown to bury his Father. He is a big time Nashville superstar, but has regretted leaving Ava and never forgotten her. Can't he get a second chance with her?

I like the characters of Jace and Ava. I liked how the romance developed. Time was taken to resolve past issues. If you are looking for a feel good romance this is for you. It is a novella but I didn't feel like the story was rushed like I sometimes do in novellas. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

When you look back at your life and each decision made do you see regret, question if you done the right thing? Well this story takes you through the one decision made by Jace Morrow that completely changed the direction and path of his life as well as the life of his sweetheart Ava Wright. That decision led to fame and fortune for Jace while directing Ava straight home and back into the life of a waitress at her parent's diner. Years of regret remain with Jace as he travels home to take care of his father's estate. On the other hand, years of hurt and anger and mistrust fill Ava's mind and heart.

This was a very sweet story of coming home and trying to make right a wrong. A story of trying to forgive a betrayal and let your heart rule over your mind. The journey of Jace trying to win back the confidence of the town and Ava is actually romantic and I wanted Ava to just dive in and take him back. The pain of being left behind isn't that ease to let go, especially when you were told you weren't good enough to accompany Jace on his journey to stardom. Ava's emotional struggle was raw and I loved how she relied on her family and friends. Whitney was almost making me mad until I found out why she played devil's advocate.

For a truly sweet and romantic story I highly recommend this read.

Hold Her Again, is a great small town short romance. Jace knows that he screwed up, it's what he does now to make it right that made this book perfect for me.