Maria Davis is a true romantic, her choice of reading
material is romance novels, so when Jodi Thomas decided to
make Maria the star in A CHRISTMAS AFFAIR, it was no real
surprise. There is no obstacle too large or impossible that
can come between two people that find themselves truly
smitten. Wes Whitman, the quiet, unassuming grocery store
owner is no match for this spirited yet quiet, lovely young
lady. Her blindness is practically overlooked so unimportant
in the scheme of things.
We had met these two in prior Ransom
Canyon books but never really thought about what
Jodi Thomas had in store for them. Maria has been stocking
her homemade jams and jellies in Wes' store for a while
now. Wes, it seems had it all down to a pretty perfect
system so that Maria could do it her way by herself. All
part of making her feel self-sufficient. In truth, this
lovely man made sure all and any obstacles were removed when
Maria did her restocking. Wes just stayed out of reach and
watched. With time Maria had become important to Wes -- he
just hadn't figured that out yet. Maria was just too
beautiful to be attracted to Wes. But Maria had come to a
rather shocking decision. First, she wanted a Christmas
affair resplendent with scenes right out of her romance
novels. And second, she wanted Wes. We met Maria Davis, her
sister Dakota and grandmother in Indigo River. Dakota is now
engaged to Blade and their story was truly marvelous.
Travis Fuller at fifteen is heading to Crossroads Texas to
live with three bachelor great-uncles. Tough young guy with
an attitude that is well earned. Travis is a rather strange
teenager with a great appreciation for all the surrounding
elements which gives him a special vision of this little
town he has just moved to. And to be quite candid Travis has
no idea how wonderful this little town and its inhabitants
are. Travis' three uncles have rearranged their home and
lives to take care of their teenage charge. There is a lot
of love in that household and albeit a slightly odd family.
If nothing else we have come to expect a great deal of
eclectic characters in most of Jodi Thomas' works and so A
CHRISTMAS AFFAIR is such a welcome addition. Crossroads is a
town filled with good people. Travis has to take a long
breath to get accustomed to the amount of generosity that
went his way -- a stranger in town. What better homage to
the holiday season than watching a town work their own type
of miracle for some very special people. Jodi Thomas packs
in quite a lot of story in A CHRISTMAS AFFAIR which is a
novella for this holiday season.
A shy soul and an adventurous heart. As the holidays
approach, can they find happiness
together?
Maria Anne Davis was on her
way to an exciting career as a chef in Dallas, until a
terrible car accident left her blind. Ever resilient, Maria
has reinvented her life on her own terms, starting a
business out of her home kitchen, selling her jams and
jellies to the local grocery.
Maria loves romance
novels, and despite her bold spirit, she fears she’ll never
have a big love affair like ones her heroines experience.
That is, until she realizes how much she cares about the
quiet Wes Whitman, the owner of the grocery.
Wes
can’t keep Maria’s wildly popular jam on his shelves—just
like he can’t keep the fierce, beautiful Maria out of his
thoughts. But how could a firecracker like Maria come to
love a shy, nervous man like him? Maybe all they need is a
grand affair. Wes needs to convince Maria that some affairs
last forever, though—just in time for Christmas.