Cover Image: The Love Connection

The Love Connection

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Member Reviews

Sweet romance between a cute airport pet groomer and a hot analyst by day, romance novelist by night whose meet-cute takes place when he find a dog who got loose from her salon, unfortunately, like most novellas, it’s not long enough to fully develop either plot or characters.

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Out of the three airport novellas Denise Williams wrote and released, this is the best of the three. I enjoyed the two main characters and thought they had a cute love story whereas the other two novellas were moreso on the boring side (especially the second one). Do yourself a favor and only bother reading this one!

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The Love Connection is a novella about Ollie and Bennett. Ollie opened a pet grooming salon in an airport, and Bennett is professional risk assessor/romance author. When the two meet because of a runaway pup, their airport romance has them flying high.

This is cute, and this is quick. Pretty unbelievable - are there actual groomers in airports? - and pretty insta-love, but pretty fun if you want a sweet escape!

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Ollie Wright owns the pet grooming salon in the airport and spends her time chasing pets and oogling the cute frequent flyer she sees periodically in the terminal she works at. Her crush is none other than Benett Baker nice guy by trade who actually has a crush on Ollie as well. Only problem? They're both too busy checking each other out from afar to do anything about it.

When fate loops them together in the form of a runway dog, they find their attraction is too hard to ignore and decide to pursue a romance, all in the airport concourse.

I've loved Denise Williams ever since I saw her at the LA Festival of Books in 2022. Her short and sweet novella was a gem to read. The romance between Ollie and Benett just as effervescent as its charismatic author.

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I really enjoyed this! I didn’t feel like it was a novella, but maybe that’s because I took my time reading it.

I loved Benny as a character, and Ollie was OK, but I wish she would have been more assertive and just asked her questions instead of making rash decisions. However, I understand that’s a trademark of the genre.

I am anxious to read the rest of this short series!

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

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The Love Connection is an airport novella. Bennet and Ollie are adorable. This novella is so cute and I couldn’t stop grinning while reading it.

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The Love Connection runs into many of the typical stumbling blocks I find in romance novellas. More than in other genres, I struggle to find short-form writing that does a love story justice. So while I enjoyed the author's voice and look forward to reading more of her work, I feel this was not the best introduction to all she can do. For that reason, I do not intend to continue with this airport-themed romance series.

This first installment features a romance writer named Bennett who catches the eye of businesswoman Olivia. She runs a bustling pet grooming service in the airport terminal and frequently sees him fly into the neighboring gate. This is a fast-paced story built on brief moments spun as meaningful interactions. Beyond the fact that I was stuck trying to imagine having my dog groomed during a layover at the airport (no really... is this a thing? because my lazy, obstinate dog would not be having it.), I struggled to connect to the characters in their fleeting interactions and held no vested interest in the trajectory of their romance. There was nothing wrong with this book per se, but it didn't dazzle me or sweep me away like the best in its genre. If you are looking for something quick to read in contemporary romance with low investment and good feels, you might still enjoy this one. Thanks to Berkley Romance for my copy to read and review!

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Thank you to NetGalley, Denise Williams and Berkley Publishing group.

I hardly ever read novellas, but everyone loves this author so what better way to dip my toes in than a novella! I have to say that I’m super impressed! It was long enough to get a bit of backstory, a meet cute and some romance. I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to read more from this author now!

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Denise Williams holds a spot in my reader heart. Auto-buy, auto-read, deeply love her character development and romantic tension. I adored this book.

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This book was short and sweet - a perfect read if you are short on time or want to finish a book in one sitting. The overall tone and themes were very similar to other works by Denise Williams and it gave me Ali Hazelwood STEMinist novella vibes.

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I love the idea of a series of novellas set in an airport. There’s something so magical and romantic about airports–although, I have precheck and lounge access, so my view on airports may be a little more positive than some people’s! Even without that, though, I love the air of anticipation and excitement. All that to say that an airport is the perfect setting for a romance.

I loved Ollie and Bennett. I was impressed with how much depth Williams was able to pack into these characters in just a few pages.

This quick, cute novella is sure to lift your spirits–and might be the perfect thing to fly through on a layover!

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I am so obsessed with these novellas - they've been so fun to read this summer when I've been traveling! They're so fun for summer, and fun in general -- and you can finish them in one sitting!

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What a fun take on airport romance! I inhaled Denise Williams’s debut, and, unsurprisingly, I couldn’t put this novella down. Bennett and Ollie had wonderful chemistry, and their story was compelling. Can’t wait for the next one.

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I'm not sure how a pet groomer would survive in an airport...but this is a cute little romance book nonetheless!

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Content doesn’t live up to superb narration. Boring, and I truly disliked the romance writer muse aspect. Read via audio.

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I really loved Denise Williams other books so I was super excited for this one. It was so adorable! I loved everything about it and I can’t wait to read the next two in the series. I will be purchasing this for the library.

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When Ollie and Bennett keep meeting at the airport, it seems like they are destined to know one another. As things heat up between them (via text and cute airport dates), can they work out a way to be together?

This is the first airport novella in the series and it was super cute. Despite the short story, the chemistry between Ollie and Bennett was evident. This was a perfect pick me up book after reading so many thrillers, it left me incredibly happy. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

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I didn’t do my research beforehand to know this was a novella so take this with a grain of salt! I thought it was really cute but things were a bit rushed (again, didn’t realize it was a novella!) will read the next ones!

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Airport pet groomer Ollie meets frequent flier Bennett when a very wet dog gets loose from the shop.
I definitely was left wanting more from this book but overall i enjoyed it.

This was my first read by Denise Williams and I cant wait to read the next 2 novellas in the series.

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I am not usually a fan of novellas but I really enjoyed this one. It is a cute fast romcom. Ollie works in an airport and notices a handsome passenger that comes on the same flight every week. After a chance encounter they realize they are interested in each other. What does an airport romance look like? This cute story shows you. If you want a quick read with fun and interesting characters definitely check this out.

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