7 min read
Just like our favorite Maple Hills students, Hannah Grace is heading somewhere different for the holiday break in her first standalone novel. The #1 New York Times bestselling author is officially taking us to a Fraser Falls for a fun new story that will definitely put you in the kind of festive mood that we’ve all been waiting for! The English romance author is introducing us to a brand-new small town romance that will absolutely make you swoon. So grab your fluffiest blanket and maybe even some hot cocoa, cause you’re definitely going to want to get super cozy for this one!
Cosmopolitan has an exclusive first-look at Hannah Grace’s Holiday Ever After, which is set to be released on September 30, 2025. The novel follows Clara Davenport as she tries to fix the ultimate PR nightmare that her family’s toy company is facing. But to do so she has to go to Fraser Falls where she comes head-to-head with Jack Kelly, the very guy who is going after him. With the magic of the holidays around the corner and their banter causing some major sparks between them, you’re gonna want to read to figure out if Clara and Jack can get along for the sake of both of their futures. Here’s some more info from our friends at Atria Books:
Clara Davenport wants to solve Fraser Falls’s biggest problem. According to Jack Kelly, Clara is Fraser Falls’s biggest problem.All Clara Davenport has ever wanted to do is climb the ladder at Davenport Innovation Creative, her family’s toy business. Everything was going according to plan, until the company was accused of stealing a doll design from an independent toy maker, creating a flurry of bad publicity. With a promotion dangled in front of her like a carrot to a reindeer, Clara is tasked with charming the locals of the small town to solve the PR nightmare, by any means necessary.
Jack Kelly would be happy to never hear the name Davenport ever again. Less than a year after a guy in a fancy suit appeared on his doorstep with a sleigh-full of promises, the company that once falsely claimed they wanted to sign him to their small business program has copied his design. So when Clara prances into town hoping to convince Fraser Falls that her company is not the enemy, Jack is determined not to be fooled by Davenport twice.
But Clara has a plan to win over the community only to realize that beneath Jack’s frosty demeanor lies the key to the town’s heart—and maybe her own.
Of course, the winter brings in some cold and Jack and Clara have to find some new ways to keep warm! Find out just how they do that in an exclusive excerpt below and also get your first listen at the audiobook read by Teddy Hamilton and Christine Lakin. Just make sure to pre-order Holiday Ever After and even pick up some of Hannah’s other reads while you’re at it!
An Excerpt From Holiday Ever After
By Hannah Grace
Read by Teddy Hamilton and Christine Lakin
Chapter 19
Author’s Note: This scene takes place at Jack’s apartment with Jack, Clara, and Jack’s lovable dog, Elf. Clara has to stay overnight because the power went out at her bed & breakfast in town, but now Jack’s radiator isn’t working in his spare bedroom.
The soft soothing jazz continues to play from the TV while we watch the snow fall and drink our hot cocoas. I’m not sure at what point I stopped needing comfort and started wanting to sit here intertwined with Jack.
“You can take my bed tonight,” he says quietly. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“I can cope with sleeping in a cold room for one night, Jack. You have an unusual number of blankets for a man. You can just layer them on top of me.”
“Let me just check the radiator again.” He’s gentle as he frees himself from the cocoon we’ve turned ourselves into. I immediately miss his warmth. “Maybe there’s something I can do.”
I follow him to my room and stand in the doorway, head and shoulder leaning against the white wooden frame. There’s a stark contrast between this room and every other room. “Stick my duvet in the bathtub. I’ll sleep in there.”
“The fuck you will. Grab your pillows,” he says, pulling the duvet off the bed and bundling it up in his arms.
“Hey! Where are you going with that?” I protest as he tries to nudge past me. I take a step closer instead, pushing him back into the room.
“You’re sleeping in my room where there’s heat. I’ll sleep on the couch . . . where there’s also heat. You can’t sleep in there.”
“But it’s fine. You don’t have to sl—”
“Out, Clara,” he says firmly. “Now.”
“Or what? You’re gonna throw me over your shoulder and carry me out?” I ask.
He grins. “Sure. That’s definitely easier than arguing with you.”
He takes one purposeful step toward me and my hands shoot up defensively. There’s a playfulness in his eyes that I’m not used to that I fear I’ll miss as soon as it’s gone. “Okay, I concede, caveman.”
“Even easier.”
“But I’m sleeping on the couch. I can’t take your bed off you and—Jack!” I cling to his neck as he scoops me up on top of the duvet already draped over his arms. It’s the most comfortable I’ve ever been while being carried against my will. “You’re a cheat.”
I poke my finger into his cheek to try to kill the smile there. He looks too pleased with himself. He’s careful as he maneuvers me through the doorway, feet first.
I wonder if I’m more or less easy to move than a table.
Jack drops me onto the mattress; the duvet underneath cushions the fall as the mattress springs creak. He seizes my moment of distractedness to grab his pillows and take them out to the living room. He’s already moved the couch away from the window and back to its regular spot by the time I get out there.
He looks at me, eyebrows pinched together. “What’s your problem? Get in there and go to sleep.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “There’s only one situation where I’ll listen to a man tell me to get in his bed, Jack. To sleep alone isn’t one of them. I’m taking the couch.”
He crosses the room toward me, stopping only inches away. There’s something hot stirring in me at the idea of Jack finding out what that one situation is. His glare pierces me; my eyes flick to his lips. There suddenly isn’t enough oxygen in the room as I drop my hands to let them hang.
Jack’s fingers brush my jawline gently until he reaches my ear, tucking my hair away. Goose bumps spread across my skin and I watch his throat bob as he swallows. “You’re a pain in my ass. You know that?”
I nod slowly. “You’re one to talk.”
His fingers travel down my neck and along my shoulder until he finds the skin his fingers spent the night traveling. “I’m taking the couch, Clara.”
I don’t say anything as he passes me to head back into his bedroom. I stare up at the ceiling, trying to find the exact moment I found myself losing it over Jack Kelly. He walks past me with his duvet and throws it on the couch with his pillows.
“Night,” he yells as I gracefully walk (read: stomp) toward his bedroom. I get the pillows and duvet he’s sweetly straightened on the bed and bundle them into my arms.
Jack’s in the kitchen by the sink when I walk out of his room. I quickly lie down on Elf ’s couch and tuck a pillow under my head. He stops at the foot of the couch and sighs.
It’s the feeling of victory that I might be getting slightly addicted to. But it’s short-lived when he gets under his duvet on the other couch.
I prop myself up on my elbow. “What’re you doing?”
“I told you, I’m sleeping on the couch.”
“But your room is empty,” I say, gesturing to the open door and bed.
“I’m aware of that,” he says calmly.
“Are we having a sleepover?”
“No.”
“Can we build a fort?”
“No.”
He sits up to look across to me when I go quiet. I’m doing an exaggerated pout. “Can I tell people we built a fort?”
He shakes his head. “No. Go to sleep.”
“I don’t think you know how sleepovers work, Jack.”
He lies down and I roll onto my back. “There’s only one situation where I’ll let a woman keep me awake all night, Clara. To build forts isn’t one of them. Good night.”
I sigh through the butterflies. “Night.”
Excerpted from HOLIDAY EVER AFTER: A Novel by Hannah Grace. Copyright 2025 © by Hannah Grace. Reprinted by permission of Atria Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.
Audio excerpted with permission of Simon & Schuster Audio from HOLIDAY EVER AFTER: A Novel by Hannah Grace, read by Teddy Hamilton and Christine Lakin. © Hannah Grace ℗ 2025 Simon & Schuster, LLC.
Holiday Ever After, by Hannah Grace will be released on September 30, 2025 from Atria Books. To preorder the book, click on the retailer of your choice:
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