After being banned from celebrating the holidays with his stepfamily, San Diego businessman Lucas Kendrick arrives in Marietta, Montana, in time to attend the New Year’s Eve celebration at the Graff Hotel. The rodeo-theme party isn’t his style but he’s drawn to the pretty cowgirl running the dice table. When the clock strikes midnight and they ring in the New Year with a kiss, Lucas almost … forgets he’s in Marietta on business and not pleasure. He believes he’s found the perfect property for his prized client. There’s just one problem—the pretty cowgirl has her sights set on the same piece of real estate.
Now that single mom Ava Moore has earned a business degree, she wants to help other struggling women get back on their feet by opening a co-op on Main Street. The last thing she expects is competition from the handsome city slicker whose New Year’s kiss she hasn’t been able to forget. Lucas isn’t only stealing Ava’s heart he’s bonding with her daughter. Can Ava convince Lucas that the best business deals are made with the heart and not money?
Previously titled New Year’s at the Graff
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“Marietta has always been home; it just took a while to find my way back.”
This book offers so much to the fans of Marietta books. It’s centered not only on the two main characters but also the town’s remodeled hotel – The Graff. The writer captures the charming town of Marietta with its small-town flair and residents, but also weaves in the history of the Graff. One of my favorite parts (and there are many favorites) is the glimpse into the town’s matriarch Mable Bramble past life. She is as feisty, crusty, and proper as ever but we see that years ago she was a caring resident who looked after others in town. Another favorite is the small town feel of residents looking out for each other, even strangers.
The two main characters had a believable immediate connection to each other. Ava stays strong, independent, and true to herself while falling for Lucas. She keeps in mind that he’s here temporarily; that he has a life in another state and tries to avoid heartbreak for her and her daughter.
Lucas is a charming character who has good values and is very caring. Some of my favorite scenes involve Lucas and Ava’s daughter Sophie. He was inserting himself into Ava’s life and Sophie was getting attached. He liked the feeling of being a family yet he has just reconnected with his father and feels the need to prove himself to him. He’s torn because he also knows he has found the perfect women for him in Marietta.
I would put 4-year-old Sophie right up there as a main character. Writing a child in a story is sometimes tricky and many are just side characters or a distraction. The author has Sophie shining through in this story in all her Princess glory and is a big part of the appeal of this story. Ava and Lucas include her and you’re never left wondering where’s the child.
This book of full of well-liked and well-developed secondary characters. I really enjoyed the relationship growth of Lucas and his father. Ava’s eccentric mother- in- law gave us ghostly glimpses into the past and present of some residents. We see more into the relationship of Judge Kingsley & Sandra Reynolds from a prior Marietta read. While there are previous characters from other books, this can be read as a standalone book and you will not be lost.
A love at first sight romance done right! Left me with that happy, content feeling. Definitely will be a reread in future years. Well done!
Review provided by Tule Publishing via Netgalley
Wow just WOW… one of the best Marietta, Montana books I have tread to date. It is definitely the best book in the Holiday at the Graff series… and that is saying a lot. I love this town and honestly I was wondering if the Tule Publishing authors were soon going to run out of things to write about in this wonderful fictional town…but so far they have kept me on my toes and pleasantly surprised.
In this book based around not just New Years but also the remodeled Graff Hotel,we get to know a single mom, her daughter and an out of town guest….. well we will call Lucas that since he left when he was 2. We get to catch up on so many of our friends from other books ( if you are like me and love to read books based in Marietta) but don’t worry if this dims your first book from this town….it’s self explanatory. This story is warm and inviting one of those books that makes you want to get involved yourself in something. When I finished it I wanted to email and thank this Author for the feeling I got from this book. Read it and see what I mean.
New Year’s at the Graff is the third book in the Holiday at the Graff series. Lucas finds himself spending New Year’s at the Graff Hotel. When he shares a kiss with Ava, the sparks fly. Ava is determined to start a co-op, but she finds out that Lucas is after the same location. Even though their chemistry is amazing, Ava has her daughter, Sophie, to look out for. She sees Lucas getting close to Sophie, and she also worries about her dreams failing. However, she can’t help but dream about a future with Lucas as well. Can they possibly achieve all of their dreams? I enjoyed this story, and I definitely recommend it.
Lucas Kendrick comes home to Marietta after losing his Mom. He wants to thank those who helped her when she lived there and gave birth to Lucas all those years ago. The town took them in and accepted them like family. Marietta is a very forgiving, close knit town. While Lucas is in town making his rounds of thanks he encounters Ava Moore, a single mother working at the hotel. Lucas strikes up a friendship with Ava and her daughter Sophie. Beautiful love at first sight story!
OH MY!! WOW!! New Year’s at the Graff by Marin Thomas, the third book in the Holiday at the Graff series, is amazing story that I just loved. Can one truly fall in love at first sight? When Lucas Kendrick needed to leave San Diego during the holidays he decided to visit Marietta, Montana and give thanks to those who helped his now deceased mother when she arrived alone, unmarried and pregnant. He arrived in time to attend the New Year’s Eve celebration at the Graff Hotel where he is attracted to the pretty young lady working the dice table. Single mom Ava Moore has earned her business degree and wants to help the other struggling moms in Marietta by opening a co-op on Main Street. Unfortunately, the property see wants is the same one Lucas wants for a prize client.
Neither Lucas nor Ava can forget the kiss they shared on New Year’s Eve. Their attraction is strong and they enjoy spending time together. In fact Ava’s daughter Sophie is already in love with Lucas as these two bond. Lucas needs to decide to follow his heart and stay in Marietta or join his father’s company back in San Diego.
I really loved enjoyed this book and had trouble putting this book down. Marin Thomas is a great story teller able to draw her readers into her stories. I loved how Marin interwove Judge Kingsley & Sandra Reynolds from her Love at the Chocolate Shop story into this story. I definitely recommend this book to other readers and look forward to the next book in this series.
New Year’s at the Graff by Marin Thomas
Holiday at the Graff #
Lucas Kendrick is taking a few weeks off during the holidays and has chosen to go back to Marietta, Montana. Why? He was born there, wants to go back to thank those his mother left notes for and…just because. Marietta is a snowy, small town with a few quirky characters but also warm spirited and wonderful – as he soon finds out.
Lucas has issues in his past to sort out and a future to figure out when he hits town. He pretty much falls for Ava Moore when he sees her the first time and their relationship flows fairly smoothly including her daughter Sophie and Mother-in-law Tilly rather seamlessly.
Since Lucas lives in San Diego and is moving up at work and Ava is starting a new business in Montana it is not going to be easy to find a HEA…but…true love is worth working things out for and this story manages to do just that with tugs at the heart, family warmth, secrets shared, ghostly interference and a community rooting for the two of them.
Sophie was a scene stealer. Tilly was wonderful. Lucas and Ava so deserved to end up with one another and their story was a joy to read. I have really been enjoying this series and look forward to reading the next one when it comes out.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tule Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4.5 Stars
A string of coincidences lays the groundwork for a happily ever after. New Year’s at the Graff is a story of small town living, family, and new beginnings. City slicker Lucas hits small town Marrietta with an agenda. Plans change when his heart becomes tied up in a feisty country girl and her equally adorable daughter. Ava is a woman on a mission to follow her dreams and help others in the process. When a handsome stranger and a New Year’s kiss disrupt her life, will she have the strength to risk her heart and dreams for a big city man? My favorite reads are small town stories. What may seem complicated, can often be simple and the helping hands and family atmosphere speak to the sentimental aspect of my personality.