Better Than the Beach

A Holiday Novella (Better Love)

De: Brit Benson

Narrado por: Alexis Paige, Grayson Owens

What's better than a sunny beach vacation for my winter break?

Maybe being snowed in with a gorgeous stranger….

Let’s go to the beach for winter break, my sorority sisters said.

It will be a blast, they said.

Sand, salt water, hot surfers.

What more could I want for the holidays?

Well.

Nobody considered the chance for a winter storm grounding all flights, changing my layover from hours to days and leaving me utterly stranded.

Nobody foresaw the airport bartender who took pity on me, offering me a room in a charming bed and breakfast.

And certainly one expected a visit from a gorgeous older man.

No one considered any of this.

Especially not me.

Come to the beach for winter break, they said.

It will be so much fun, they said.

But...

I’m starting to think that being snowed in with Professor Nolan Montrose might end up being better than the beach

***Better Than the Beach is a quick holiday novella.

It's a spicy short romance with an HEA that takes place in the Better Love world.

It is not necessary to listen to the other books in the Better Love series to enjoy Better Than the Beach.

Better Than the Beach was first released as a short story titled "A HOLIDAY LAYOVER" in a free romance anthology in 2021. It has since been expanded into a novella with an HEA.

©2023 Brit Benson Books (P)2024 Brit Benson

A Holiday Treat!

“𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔.”

I knew going in this was a novella so I’d only get a little taste from Brit Benson but what a delectable taste it was! Nolan and Cassie’s story was everything! From the moment they met, I felt the instant sparks and chemistry brewing. I loved their cute banter. Cassie was a woman that knew what she wanted and went for it. She was daring and I was here for it. Nolan with that filthy mouth I couldn’t get enough of. When things popped off between these two: hawt, hawt, hawt!
I loved getting time with my beloved Better Love crew again. Nan aka Nanta Claus, oh my goodness, she was an absolute hoot! A whole vibe with her laugh out candid hilarity and sweet meddling antics. The only thing I didn’t love about this story is that it ended. Better Than the Beach is a sweet and spicy holiday romance that will warm you up in more ways than one!

Alexis Paige and Grayson Owens were the cherry on top. They brought this story to life amazingly with their narration. The perfect Nolan and Cassie making for a lovely aural treat for my ears and just making for one more reason to love this book!

Shuffle the deck

A short audiobook to get you in the holiday spirit.

Cassie is off to Hawaii for the holidays, but her flight gets canceled due to snow. Stuck in Denver with hotels fully booked, the airport bartender tells her she can stay at her nan’s B&B. Not exactly what she had in mind, but it’ll have to do.
After the exams, Nolan is back home. In this case, home is his mom’s house—the same B&B where Cassie is staying.
There’s an instant attraction and lots of chemistry, so we know where this is going.

Read by Alexis Paige and Grayson Owens, it was my first time listening to either of them. I loved Cassie’s sweetness and how flustered she got at Nolan’s proximity, and that came out amazingly in Alexis’s voice.
Grayson was perfect at showing how gone Nolan is for Cassie. While the physical is great, he wants to laugh with her, spend time with her, and mostly, he wants her not to leave for Hawaii once the weather clears.

The Christmas vibes—and Nan!—were everything. I loved his family and how they welcomed Cassie into the fold because she never had one like theirs. I can relate.

For reasons I won’t spoil, she goes to Hawaii and they get separated. But Nolan inspired Cassie to go for what she wants, and you can hear the shift in Alexis’s voice. I was enthralled with how Grayson handled Nolan when he got Cassie back. His feelings and how he never forgot her were there, and I’m a sucker for that.

The epilogue was perfect.
“Shuffle the deck” is now one of my favorite sayings. Whatever cards life gives you, make sure to keep shuffling. Who knows what the next hand will bring?

Excellent Holiday Novella!

I love the Better Love series and this holiday novella was the perfect add on! It was just enough to give us a good story and just enough to remind us of past characters we love!

Love the snowed in situation and the match up attempts by the B&B owner, his mom. Definitely recommend for quick holiday read and the narrators were amazing!

Holiday, Age Gap, Snowed In romance audio snack

I am so very happy to be visiting the Better Love world again, even if it just a quick trip.
As always, these can stand alone (and usually do quite well), but for added depth read all of them (cause they're awesome!). Based on timeline order, this is between books 2 and 3.

Cassie is stranded in Denver because of a snowpocalypse while she is mid layover on her way to Hawaii for the holidays with her sorority sisters. Thanks to the kindness of a random airport bartender, she comes to stay with the girl's grandmother in her B&B which is closed for the holiday. While waiting for the weather to clear enough to go back to the airport and fly, Cassie gets to know Nan and her youngest son Nolan who is home for a visit while dealing with his own chaotic life crap.

Cassie is so trapped in her own situation that she doesn't see a way out. She's studying for a career that has been chosen for her, not what she wants to do. And it seems like the more she chooses for herself, the more choices are taken away from her (like being stuck in the snow when she wants to be on the beach).

But sometimes the universe had better plans and those moments where you're feeling lowest are just what you need to pick yourself up. Like meeting someone who shares your passions and encourages you to pursue them? Priceless! Feeling supported and cared for while experiencing some things for the first time (*wink*wink*), falling hard and fast along the way? yes, please!

Nolan is swoony and supportive of Cassie from the first, but he's also naughty. Even though this is a short novella of a book, it is not, I repeat NOT, short on fun times. We get hot tub times, bedroom times, snowmobile fun and cabin in the woods (the fun kind, not the scary kind) thanks to a meddling "Nanta Clause". We do get our hearts a little bruised along the way, but the ending is worth it so just trust the process.

We have been blessed by the audio gods and Cassie & Nolan's holiday snowed in romance in audio and narrated by Alexis Paige and Grayson Owens. I love that I've visited with these characters 3 years in a row in their various evolutions and formats. I'm thinking I have a new holiday season tradition with these 3+ hours of swoony goodness. Alexis brings Cassie's emotional rollercoaster and amazing friend group to life in a way that satisfies all of my needs. Grayson is smooth and dirty as "Professor" Nolan (I swear, I almost expired). And they both gave me the perfect renditions of Nan-ta Claus. I love her mildly manipulative meddling, it was so much fun. This little snack of an audio packs a punch.

I requested and was provided with an advanced copy of the eBook & audiobook. These are my honest opinions.

Loved this

As always Brit does the best thing ever in her books! Loved this little novella! Definitely worth reading