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Granite Cove #1

My First My Last My Only

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A second chance at love or heartbreak…

Socially awkward and prone to accidents, Franny Dawson has a brand new project—herself. Owning the local bakery, The Sweet Spot, has taken all her time and energy and she's neglected the social aspects of her life. The small lakeside town of Granite Cove, New Hampshire is full of quirky residents eager to help and hinder her new plan.

Mitch Atwater, her first love, returns to town. He has an agenda of his own and is wreaking havoc with her goals and her heart.

Can Franny outwit her nemesis, overcome her perfect sister's surprise return, and escape the cocoon of her own insecurities to take a chance on love and get her very own happily ever after?

My First My Last My Only is the first book in the Granite Cove series. It can be read as a standalone.

410 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 4, 2020

1362 people are currently reading
1269 people want to read

About the author

Denise Carbo

14 books122 followers

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5 stars
675 (42%)
4 stars
536 (33%)
3 stars
302 (18%)
2 stars
63 (3%)
1 star
23 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
Profile Image for Aerryn Gorrebeeck.
93 reviews2 followers
March 27, 2024
This book was so slow and repetitive it was a tough read to get through. The plot wasn’t anything to write home about and it was so rushed in the last 10 pages. How can you be people that barely know each other the entire book to suddenly admitting they have crushes on each other, having sex, saying I love you, admitting they told their parents about the other, getting engaged in one sentence, married in the next paragraph. This is a whole ass book and then they slam the entire story in 10 pages?!?
Awful writing. Will never read another one of their books.
Profile Image for N.N. Heaven.
Author 6 books2,120 followers
June 30, 2020
The last person Franny Dawson expected to see at her mother’s party is her high school crush, Mitch Atwater. He’s returned to Granite Cove an award-winning director and all Franny wants to do is escape his heart-stopping gaze. Franny backs away and bumps smack into her arch-nemesis, spilling on her beautiful outfit. Yup, Franny’s accident-proneness flares up, much to her own mortification. What to do, what to do, what else is there to do except try to avoid Mitch at all costs. Yet, he seems to be seeking her out. With Franny’s new plan for self-improvement, she sets out to jettison her own insecurities and find her own happily ever after. Can she overcome all the obstacles between her and her very own happiness, or will she be the socially awkward Franny forever?

My First My Last My Only is a touching small-town romance I inhaled in two sittings. The characters are ones you’ll relate to and for me, I connected with Franny right away. Her inner dialogue kept me in stitches as she comes face-to-face with her arch-nemesis and her high school crush. I kept rooting for her as she encountered overly helpful townsfolk trying to bring her and Mitch together. Denise Carbo plunges the reader in the small town of Granite Cove with her descriptive narration and quirky characters. I didn’t want to leave. The plot moves at a good pace with plenty of conflicts to feed any reader’s desire. The romance is very much a slow-build but at the same time, it’s a second-chance romance that I loved. The ending was satisfying with room for more stories in the series. If you are a lover of Hallmark films, you’ll adore My First My Last My Only. Highly recommend!

Disclaimer: I read this on Kindle Unlimited.

My Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by: Mrs. N

This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
Profile Image for Sandra Contardi.
36 reviews10 followers
May 27, 2024

Fake dating trope and ohhh sooo cute. Loved the characters and the family dynamic!! Sorry Franny…hate your mom! All in all cute 🥰
Profile Image for Bookgyrl.
1,343 reviews23 followers
July 6, 2020
Frannie still lives with her parents while saving to buy the building she has her bakery in, so she can live there and finally start her own life. Her mother is quite overbearing. When she finds her childhood crush, Mitch, has returned to Granite Cove she tries to avoid him. She knows her is a famous director now and far out of her league. Besides that, he has bought the building she wanted and now she has to make other plans.

I read this book rather fast. I liked Frannie and was appalled at how her mother treated her. Mitch did not mind at all how accident-prone Frannie was and I liked the interactions between the pair. Overall the book reminded me of the Mills&Boon books I used to read in my teens. Very sweet. I upped from 3,5 stars to 4 as the story was well written and funny.

I received an ARC via Netgalley, but this is my honest and voluntary review.
Profile Image for Sydney Winward.
Author 38 books324 followers
July 13, 2020
I absolutely adored this book! The romance is not only entertaining, but it’s perfectly paced and had me laughing and smiling the entire time. I loved Franny. I loved Mitch. I loved the relationships Franny develops throughout the book.

Franny is the most hilarious character I have read in a long time. She is constantly getting into scrapes because of her clumsiness or lack of spatial awareness. Awful things happen one after the other after the other, and it felt perfectly natural for the character to keep finding herself in an awkward situation.

I enjoyed the themes of family and finding your own self-confidence and self-worth. The characters and events fit perfectly with those themes, and I especially enjoyed watching Franny grow as a character. Ten out of ten would read this book again.

My rating: 5+ stars
Profile Image for Gloria.
2,026 reviews12 followers
August 9, 2020
Sweet book about socially awkward Franny who still dreams about the only boy she's ever kissed. Imagine her surprise when he returns to town. Mitch is now a famous actor and director. Franny's mother tries to set Mitch up with Franny's picture perfect sister. How will Franny get through this.
Well written with wonderful character's.
Profile Image for Laronda.
965 reviews5 followers
October 11, 2024
Ok read

This was a good story, very predictable though. Other than a horrible parent, which is common in this storyline, nothing to write home about.
Profile Image for Mettesknit .
1,158 reviews6 followers
May 25, 2025
Audiobook - Kobo
Narrated by
Laura English
⭐️⭐️

This book was so immature and cringy that I consider this literature torture.

Yes, there might be some cultural differences that make it weird/immature, but No! it can't explain the whole 'It's so cringy I almost vomited in my mouth'.

I liked the cover, though.
102 reviews
June 11, 2021
Enthralling

Once I started I didn't want to stop the story dragged me in Now on to the next one Too cold outside so a good excuse to stay in
398 reviews1 follower
October 4, 2023
lots of surprises

The main character in this story feels awkward and unloved in this world. Her mother is not at all kind, but the main character is full of kindness for those in need. She deserves the happy ending!
109 reviews
October 10, 2023
A lovely love story

Who wouldn’t love Mitch? Frankie was the lucky one. She made herself sound homely and had terrible self esteem, but Mitch helped her see the light. Every woman could use a Mitch in their lives.
2 reviews
October 11, 2023
Great read!

I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. I would loved for it to go on longer. It's definitely a feel good read.
221 reviews
October 1, 2023
No confidence, afraid of everything and having it all.

The lesser child has no-one who understands her.She never measures up to her Mother's standards. A guy who broke her heart, at 13, turns up in town. That's the beginning of a wonderful story. Laughter and sad times are both in abundance. A really good book.
6 reviews
July 27, 2024
Loved this book

I laughed out loud, bit my tongue once, then re-read parts. And chuckled some more. Delighted our heroine conquered her fear, and got fighting mad. Way to go, Franny!
30 reviews3 followers
March 8, 2021
A good read

A nice Rainy Sunday afternoon read. My kind of escapism. Lol 10 more words required for this book review. Thank you.
64 reviews
May 8, 2024
Overcame the fear

Love this story. Young woman with little confidence in herself almost doesn't trust the man of her dreams. Her mother does not see her as successful or likeable.
130 reviews4 followers
July 28, 2020
Lovely Contemporary romance!

I really enjoyed this book a lot. The main characters were both likable and relatable. The humor drew me in and left me smiling and the romance made me swoon. I also appreciated the themes of choosing your own path despite the pressures around you and that true family will be supportive of your dreams. Overall, this book was both fun and heart warming. The only reason I give it four stars was because of my personal issues with the ending, but it was sweet and lovely nonetheless. Would recommend!
446 reviews2 followers
June 27, 2024
My first, my last, my only

This was truly an entertaining story. I loved the funny aspects to it and of course the ending. I feel strongly that anyone enjoying a romance will love this story. I recommend this to all!
Profile Image for Liv Pain.
6 reviews
November 14, 2024
Amazing novella, got me back into reading after a long slump. Franny and Mitch are the perfect feel good couple!
Profile Image for Sherry  Hurley.
80 reviews1 follower
July 4, 2021
Deserves more than 5 stars

One of the best books I have read in a very long time. I fell in love with all the characters and this story has all the feels you can imagine. I read this book In two days and at times I had to put it down because I didn’t want the story to end. Now that the last page has turned the story is still with me. Definitely a book I will be reading again.
Profile Image for Karla .
117 reviews
March 25, 2024
yet again

Yet again, another lovely small town romance. This can totally be a movie & I’d rewatch it. Loved every bit of it
Profile Image for Mary Szmahlo.
94 reviews
May 6, 2022
Love Story +

New author for me and really enjoyed reading this book. Franny and Mitch were best friends for a few summers. Reconnected. Franny learned how to overcome her fears, Mitch was the "rock" in this story. Lovely romantic story, awww
610 reviews73 followers
May 23, 2024
Sweet/tame read with an introverted h that has to grow and repair her self esteem and self worth due to years of insults and bullying from others including her own mother.

OW drama = h's mother and her bully from high school throw out verbal insults and jabs at h. h is not a push over, but it takes her a minute to find her backbone to stand up to them.
Profile Image for Annette Burnett.
91 reviews1 follower
October 8, 2023
Now Showing...

I loved Franny and Mitch's story, but the many grammatical errors were very distracting. To have Franny's ostentatious mother misuse I/me more than once was bothersome. I loved the growth Franny achieved throughout the book.
37 reviews
August 14, 2024
She seduces him

Grabbed me right from the beginning and found I couldn't put the story down. Realistic scenarios between the cast but thankfully Franny seduces her man with his love of food and her. Great finish. Looking for the next segment
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews

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