Sandi Ramirez
What could be better?? Marietta (my favorite fictional town), Christmas and oh yes snow!! I have been waiting it seemed like forever for the Holiday season to hit the newly remodeled Graff hotel. After reading Halloween at the Graff it seemed like Christmas would never arrive... Just like when I was a kid. If you are a Marietta reader than you might know the Joe from some of the previous books. I love that we get to meet characters in books before we get to really KNOW them later in life in their own stories. If not don't worry our author fills in all the holes and gaps right nicely for us. We have Joe a twice divorced man who has a bit of a medical problem. He can't go home from the hospital unless he has someone to check in on him. His daughters have not seen him since they left with their mom in the divorce when they were younger. Angry words and even nastier things said over the years by a mom after a divorce never leads to good will later ya know. One daughter says no, one has a softer heart. EJ and Joe have a different kind of relationship. EJ himself has a story that reads like a Charles Dickens novel. Put these two together and they are a matched set...well maybe. There are some very good parts and a few if I were the author I might have changed. BUT that is the joy of reading a book. Being able to imagine it and thinking how would I change this story in my dreams. All in all this book met my expectations and more. Now I wonder if there is New Years and Valentines at the Graff?
Eileen Aberman-Wells
WOW, OH WOW!! Christmas at the Graff by Kaylie Newell, book two in the Holiday at the Graff series, is amazing story that I just loved. I even stayed up late so I could finish it, which is not something I often do. Jemma Banks arrives in Marietta, Montana to assist her estranged father during his recovery from a broken hip. Neither she nor her older sister had seen or talked to him since he walked out on her mother eleven years ago and was unsure if she was ready to forgive him. When physical therapist extraordinaire, EJ Corpa, meets Jemma he fears she will hurt his friend and father-figure, Joe Banks. These two end up spending a great deal of time together, getting to know one another as Jemma steps in for her dad helping EJ choose a theme and decorate a tree for the Mischief and Mistletoe charity auction. What these two learn is that they share a lot similar hurts and insecurities as their attraction grows toward love for one another. I really loved enjoyed this book and had trouble putting this book down, reading this book in one day. Kaylie Newell is a great story teller able to draw her readers into her stories. I definitely recommend this book to other readers and look forward to the next book in this series. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
Penny Leidecker
Christmas at the Graff is a beautifully written holiday story that features EJ and Jemma. Jemma comes to Marietta after her father falls and breaks his pelvis. They have issues and Jemma let her mother’s feelings and thought affect how she felt about her father. Will they be able to grow closer or will she leave, as soon as he heals? Enter EJ, Joe’s physical therapist. EJ and Jemma have instant chemistry, but she’s not staying and everyone always leaves him. Grab your copy and get ready to fall in love with this wonderful town and some of its residents.