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.