Alison Jennings followed her big brother all the way to California, and most of the time, she's glad she did. But when her boyfriend dumps her on Christmas morning, she shows up on Truman's doorstep to find he (and his husband) on their way out the door to their new beach house for the week. Hugh and Truman aren't the only ones heading to the coast. They have a whole week-long New Years celebration planned, with a big group of their friends. Ally had planned to spend a lot of that time with her lousy now-ex, but now that she's here, she's wild with curiosity about all the stuff going on just below the surface of every conversation. It turns out there's a lot she doesn't know about her brother and his chosen family, and Ally might discover some things she didn't know about herself along the way.

Jase was supposed to be spending New Year’s at his oldest friend’s beach house with his boyfriend, except said boyfriend is no longer in the picture. Now if he can just keep Truman (and his nosy husband Hugh) from asking too many questions, maybe he’ll get through the holidays without losing his mind. But things at the beach house are never what they seem. There’s the way his hosts have a longtime boyfriend who’s no longer looking like their piece on the side. There’s the boyfriend’s twin brother and his partner, who definitely have a secret. There’s the dominatrix and her two young men, only one of whom calls himself a slave (whatever that means). And then there’s charming Nick and his moody dude Bernie, who—hell, Jase doesn’t even know what to think of them, or of the way Nick keeps inviting him to join them. Jase might be a little more lonely than he realized, and while he wouldn’t have picked the beach house as a good place to drown his sorrows, by the end of the week he can’t imagine spending New Year’s anywhere else. Threshold of the Year is 30,000 words, or 120 pages long. This story is part of the Scientific Method Universe, but need not be read in conjunction with other books in the series. Please check out krisripper.com/smu for more info and recommended reading order.

It’s the holidays. Basically: everything is awful. As usual. It’s been three years since Davey saw their ex-boyfriend Will. The thing is…Will’s sort of the one who got away. And he’s also the one Davey calls when they’re super depressed, and it’s the holidays, and they just want a hug. What they get is an invitation to Will’s boyfriends’ beach house for New Year’s. Yeah. Boyfriends. Plural. In ten days Davey finds a kitten, wears a mermaid dress, and crushes on a beautiful man. Welcome to New Year’s at the beach house. Warning: brief mentions of pregnancy loss. In no way the focus of the book, but definitely present.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. And that goes double for New Year's at the beach house. Molly's at the beach house for the first time in years and she's got a lot on her mind. She wants a more stable career than the one she has, but that might involve going back to school (which she swore she'd never do). It also might involve imposing more regularly on her...friends in London. Which might be fine? But what if seeing each other more often means they lose the thing that makes their relationship special? Of course, she could spill all this to her family and let them reassure her, but that's a can of worms she's not so sure she wants to open. Plus, she has plenty of distractions. Some folks are contemplating parenthood, some are contemplating the nature of love, others are dealing with loss, everyone's favorite triad has finally admitted their feelings for each other, and then there's Lucy. (Mmm, thank goodness for Lucy.) Hugs, gossip, cuddling, speeches, long walks on the beach, new friends, and loads of laughter. Sure, decisions must be made. But for now all she has to do is eat some good food and love on her family. Happy New Year's at the beach house to Molly!