Brilliant, but overworked California accountant, Rachel Mills, inherits an old bookstore in Marietta, Montana, just as she’s been passed over for a huge promotion. The smart thing to do would be to buckle down and keep on working. But for the first time in her life, she goes with impulsive and books a flight to Montana to inspect the bookstore, and hopefully have her first white Christmas ever.… ever.
Texan lawyer and entrepreneur, Atticus Bowen, has found the perfect location for his next restaurant—the two-story, turn-of-the-century brick building on Marietta’s Main Street. All he has to do is convince the new owner to sell Paradise Books to him. After all, used bookstores aren’t practical or viable businesses, and he’s making Rachel Mills a very generous offer. But instead of jumping on his offer, Rachel decides she’s going to open the bookstore doors for December and ‘explore her options.’
The last thing Rachel expected was to fall in love with the old bookstore, or charming Marietta. She never expected sparks to fly with handsome, arrogant Atticus Bowen, either. Smart, practical Rachel realizes she just might be falling in love with the sexy, opinionated Texan lawyer — something that could prove to be neither smart, nor practical….or the best decision of her life.
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I always enjoy a story that has good meaning behind it
First book I’ve read by Jane Porter and I really enjoyed it. It was a new twist on Christmas with warm characters and a good plot. the characters in this book were really well developed and you felt like you knew them by the time the book was over.
Christmas books are some of my favorites. Jane Porter does a wonderful job with Oh, Christmas Night. I highly recommend this great read!
This is a sweet romance without any real surprises but lots of happiness in each page. Atticus is a lawyer from Texas who wants to expand his restaurant chain to Marietta, Montana. Specifically, he wants to take over the town’s bookstore and turn it into his high scale restaurant. He is thwarted in his plan when Rachel Mills shows up in town, the young woman who has been gifted the bookstore from her godmother Lesley, the same Lesley that has stalled a sale to Atticus. The humor between the two and their interactions is worth reading the book! Their love is subtle but present nevertheless, and the development of their acceptance of the love they share. Fans of light romance and Christmas love will enjoy this book.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
I have never read a book written by Jane Porter before but this will not be my last and I highly recommend that you read this charming book too. I absolutely love this story. I live out West and can just see the town and the beautiful mountains. Thank you for writing such a great book Jane!
Good reading.
Author Jane Porter has written an amazing Christmas story that will make a believer out of us all! Rachel Mills believes she has everything she needs to make her happy that is until her godmother Lesley decides to give Rachel her bookstore in Marietta. Not understanding the meaning behind the gift, Rachel decides to travel to Montana and investigate. Handsome attorney Atticus Bowen is also on his way to Montana but for a different reason. He wants to buy the bookstore but not for its proposed purpose, but to open up a steakhouse. When Atticus and Rachel meet, the sparks begin to fly. Never getting over her mother’s death, Rachel tries to immerse herself in work and tries to run from any kind of emotional attachments. Atticus finds himself wanting to help Rachel find happiness in Marietta but the truth behind it all is that he has fallen in love with her. Will Rachel open up and find more happiness than she has ever known or will she run from her one chance? Will the Christmas season bring the biggest gift of all to the one person that needs it the most? Author Jane Porter’s, Oh Christmas Night, had me hooked from page one. The characters in Marietta Montana will make you wish you could actually visit there. This is one Christmas story that I would love to see a continuance of. I am excited to see what this amazing author has in store for us next!
I really enjoyed this book. It put me in the holiday mood Atticus is my new fav book hero. Reading this book it felt like I was there. I could smell the book store and it just felt like I visited home..while reading this book.
A sweet, charming holiday story with all the magic of Christmas and set in Marietta, Montana. Absolutely my new holiday favorite.
I loved this book! Love the small town setting – Marietta – and how characters from the other stories are included in this sweet story. It is a very heartwarming story with great characters. I loved Atticus!! This would make a wonderful Hallmark movie 🙂
It is no secret that I love Christmas books, and when I see that there is a new one by one of my favorite authors, it is like a Christmas present just for me.
I enjoyed unwrapping this present, page by page. It really touched all of my emotions and made my heart happy in the end.
Every bookgirl dreams of having a bookstore left to them, and through Rachel, we get to live out that dream. It might not have been Rachel’s dream in the beginning, but the bookstore, and the town winds its way into her heart. There is of course obstacle like that fact that she lives in CA and the bookstore is in Montana. Oh and that there is this guy, Atticus that wants to turn her bookstore into a steak house.
I really felt like I was right there with Rachel and Atticus, cheering them on, to find their HEA.
If you love a Christmas read, I recommend Oh, Christmas Night.
Change is an inherent part of life. Sometimes we welcome it. Sometimes we resist it. But chances happens, with or without our permission.” Atticus
A lovely Christmas romance from the talented Jane Porter set in Marietta, Montana, during the Christmas season.
Rachel Mills is an overworked and overlooked accountant in California who is given a bookstore in Marietta by her mom’s childhood friend. Rachel has not been back to Marietta since her mother’s death years ago. Nor has she really ever taken a vacation. Having just been passed over yet again for being made partner, the gift of the bookstore is a blessing in disguise. Rachel packs up her Prius and heads off for snowy Marietta to see what the bookstore is all about and to decide if she is going to keep or sell it.
Atticus Bowen is also in Marietta looking to purchase a specific building which just happens to be the building where Rache;’s gifted bookstore is located. Atticus is a lawyer and restauranteur from Texas who owns several very successful upscale steak houses. He is looking to expand to Montana and fell in love with the building on a previous visit. But his attempts to purchase the building were rejected previously.
Atticus meets Rachel and once he finds out she is the new owner of the building he is after, he makes her an extremely generous offer for the building. But Rachel, ever the pragmatist, turns down the offer and decides to explore all of her options. The main option she see is to reopen the bookstore for the holiday season. Running a bookstore is definitely something different for Rachel but she finds herself falling in love with the magical town of Marietta and the denizens there plus slowly in love with being able to run her own business. She is also slowly falling in love with Atticus.
Atticus, being a smart man, decides to back off and give Rachel the time she needs to make an informed decision about selling him the building. And he also ends up helping her with getting the bookstore back open. And the magic of love of the season and Marietta are also working on him as well.
This is the perfect book to read to get yourself into the mood for the holiday season. Wonderful characters, wonderful setting and a wonderful storyline all add up to another winner from Jane Porter.
I did receive a copy of this book in advance from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
A sweet Christmas romance complete with perfect hero and small town bookstore!
If I had to pick one word to describe Jane Porter’s Oh, Christmas Night it would be lovely. This is such a beautiful, romantic, sweet story. A perfect Christmas story, complete with small town, snow, Christmas spirit and romance. Set in Marietta, Montana, it brings the town to life and revisits some of our favorite Marietta characters. I loved the ending. It even brought a tear to my eye because it was so touching, and I don’t usually cry. Wonderful story. You’ll love it.
Returning to Marietta, Montana and it’s residents in Jane Porter’s OH, CHRISTMAS NIGHT is like returning to a place where can be yourself surrounded by people who care about you. I love returning to the town, especially at the holidays, and Porter is one of the best at pulling you into the town and the story, making you feel like you are right in the middle of it. She does this while bringing new characters to the town, tying them to existing characters, and creating a place for them to stay and find home.
Rachel is a workaholic accountant who has buried her feelings and her life in an attempt to fulfill a dream she had of being a successful accountant. When the godmother she barely knows gifts her with a used bookstore in Montana, it comes at a time when she really needs to take a step back. She continues to be passed over for promotion, working in a company that doesn’t see her worth. Atticus has spent time in Marietta, and is close friends with one of the prominent families in town. He has spent the past 18 months trying to buy the bookstore, seeing it as the perfect place for his new restaurant. It should be easy to convince the career-minded California girl that she should give it up, right? He didn’t expect Rachel, or to realize that he was finally ready for the next stage in his life.
I enjoyed the characters and how they came together as friends, It was wonderful to see characters in the town come together and embrace Rachel and help her find her way, including coming to terms with her feelings surrounding her mother’s death and how it affected her adult life. Atticus was a good person who had already had his career-path changed, and understood some of what Rachel was going through.
This is a great one to read, curled up with a cozy blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. If you are looking for a feel-good holiday read with likeable characters and a beautiful small-town setting, than this is for you.
#readzTule #janeporter #ohchristmasnight
3.5 stars, I really wish we could give 1/2 stars.
Oh, Christmas Night is another in the Marietta canon. Rachel, from Irvine, California, has inherited a used bookstore in the Montana town her mom grew up in. Atticus, from Houston, Texas, wants to turn the building into a fancy steakhouse. I feel like the set up is excellent but the story falls a little flat. I liked it but felt impatient sometimes. There is Porter’s characteristic warmth and good tie ins with other Marietta based stories. Atticus needs more story, while Rachel’s arc is about figuring out how to really live. All of the conflict is based on Rachel’s growth, not between the two main characters. We do get a HEA, of course. And as far as a Christmas story goes, it’s the setting and time of year, a time of traditions and memories, and what that means for family and life. In that way, it could be any holiday, which is actually a nice difference from other Christmas stories.
You would expect with the set up maybe that Atticus would be an alpha-hole and Rachel to be a confused, what do I want to do with my life, kinda mess. One of those is correct. Atticus is an attorney (of course he is with that name), and not an alpha. He’s more of the strong silent type, who does thoughtful things and has the patience of a saint both in waiting to buy the building and waiting for Rachel to get her stuff together. I actually liked him, though he felt a little under-developed.
Rachel is an accountant because “she prefers/likes/is good with numbers/math” – ok side note: this explanation did not work for me and frankly drove me crazy. Great with math, get her into STEM. Likes order and organization and record keeping, that’s accounting (and really, this is what Rachel was in it for, the orderly control that she really didn’t have in her life). This is based on my own experience in each field, so the repetition of “she’s good with numbers” became nails on the chalkboard for me. Others may not care. Moving on. Rachel not only doesn’t know whether she wants the bookstore, but she is slowing figuring out that sexism is stifling her career, while her career is stifling her life. This is the arc and the heart of Rachel’s journey. Rachel comes alive in moments – when she’s discussing driving in her dad’s old car, remembering her mom’s Christmas ornaments, and towards the end when she finally figures out that she misses traditions and who really wants to golf with the partners anyway? Those are moments when this one shines.
I would give it a 3.5 rating if I could. Overall, I liked it which is literally what 3 stars means on most review sites (for anyone who doesn’t understand my rating). I think it’s a nice addition to the Marietta canon but not a lights out loved it story like the Chance Avenue series.
CW: parent death from cancer
I received and read an e-ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
I received this arc in exchange for an honest review. I love stories that take place in Marietta Montana. Jane Porter always writes fabulous stories about the people in Marietta. This book is about Rachel Mills and Atticus Bowen. Rachel has just been skipped over for the third time at her accounting firm for a promotion to manager. She is devastated and starts to question why she gives everything when women at her firm don’t seem to advance or get the same perks as the men. She receives a notice that her godmother has gifted her a bookstore in Marietta, Montana in a historic building. It has been closed for 3 years since Lesley went to stay in Australia with her sister. It is so out of character but Rachel takes vacation and goes to Marietta to look at her bookstore.
Atticus owns a chain of restaurants around the country but wants to open one in Marietta in the bookstore building. He has tried unsuccessfully to buy it from Lesley. He is a lawyer who changed careers after the way one of his cases went. He knows the Sheehan family and has made friends in Marietta, Rachel has no real friends and is unfamiliar with Marietta. Atticus befriends her and suggests she open the bookstore to see if she would like running it. She tries to inventory all the books she now owns and come up with a store window design for the holidays. She begins to develop relationships with the other business owners. She participates in the Marietta Christmas Stroll. She moves into the apartment upstairs to save money. Atticus suggests she have a coffee bar, a children’s room, etc. He realizes he really likes Rachel and would rather she be happy than take away her building for a restaurant.
The relationship between Atticus and Rachel is sweet and wonderful for both of them . We see both characters change and start to enjoy life more. I enjoyed seeing how Rachel came into her own with the book store. I highly recommend this book.
You can’t go wrong with a Jane Porter Christmas book. Like Debbie Macomber, Ms. Porter’s books are sure to be favorite Christmas stories. More contemporary, crisp and the characters feel like friends by the book’s end, so that it is not the holiday season until one comes along. Oh, Christmas Night got me right into the Christmas spirit.
Atticus Bowen and Rachel Mills face off on opposite sides of business endeavors, each wanting to use an older building in Marietta, Montana. I thought of how Ree Drummond had revitalizes an old building in her town retaining the history and integrity of the place. I could see Atticus and Rachel going toe to toe on this. The attraction between the two was also obvious, enjoying the growth of their relationship.
This author always delivers a well thought out story that flows giving the reader a perfect view of all that is happening in the town and the hearts of those involved. Recommend all her Marietta book but especially Oh, Christmas Night.
An ARC of the book was given to me by Tule Publishing which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
really enjoyed the story. they were worthy opponents.
This is a sweet Christmas themed love story that flowed well and kept me engaged until the last page
Rachel has been overlooked for a promotion yet again and this overworked Californian accountant has had enough She has also recently inherited a books store in down town Marietta in Montana so she decides to go take a look at it and decides she is going to run it Meanwhile Atticus Bowen is looking for a new site for his latest restaurant this lawyer and businessman knows that the book store is the perfect site but can he get the woman who owns it to sell to him after all he is making a very generous offer. As they get to know one another an attraction blooms and Rachel runs back to California where not only does she get that coveted promotion but she also realises just how much she misses Atticus What will she do will she risk everything to see if they have a future together.