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Gracie's Holiday Hero by Betty Jo Schuler (Contemporary Christmas Romance)
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Featured Author: Readers Favorite Review (http://readersfavorite.com/cat-71.htm?review=2800) 5 stars
This is an enjoyable quick read. The romance is delightful and the suspense will keep you turning pages. The characters work well together. The plot flows smoothly. It is easy for me to recommend this book.
Featured Author: Ayden Delacroix for In The Library Review (http://www.inthelibraryreview.com/holidayspotlight.html) Full of the warmth and spirit of Christmas, Gracie's Holiday Hero is a must read for all those who believe not only in the magic of Christmas but also in the power of happy-ever-after...
Buy this book immediately and don't even think about sitting it in your To-Be-Read pile. Gracie's Holiday Hero is the most magical and emotional holiday tale I've read in a long time. Gracie is always so optimistic and always doing her best to help everyone, never thinking of herself. Merett brings out the best in her and easily coaxes her to share her problems. Not a perfect hero, by any means, he is nonetheless someone you love because he is decidedly human. Throw in the wonderful secondary characters: Kirsten, a kitten named Spook and a puppy named Dumbbell, and you've got a book that will capture your heart.
Having never read any of Ms. Schuler's work, I was blown was blown away by the depth of emotions I experienced while reading Gracie's Holiday Hero. I laughed, I wept, I read quickly, needing to know that everything turned out right. Much more accustomed to spicier romances, I was reminded how wonderful and special lighter romances can be. I highly recommend you don't miss Gracie's Holiday Hero and that it be placed on your keeper shelf where it belongs.
Featured Author: Timeless Tales (http://www.timeless-tales.net/) Rating: 4.5
Gracie Singleton has never had much. She grew up when her family had to scrimp and save just to be able to put food on the table. Now that she is starting her own business in her hometown, maybe she'll finally find her place in the place she loves best.
Merett Bradmoore remembers the years when Gracie had next to nothing. He and his family had done their best to make a bleak Christmas a little better for Gracie and her sisters. He had never gotten over the stars in Gracie's eyes the day they showed up with Christmas dinner and presents for everyone, and her hero worship was not lost on him, for he was quite taken with her himself. Merett chose a different path then. With their age differences, he a senior, she a freshman, he had not pursued her as maybe he should have, but fate has dealt them both a second chance.
With a precocious little girl of Merett's and a ghost of Gracie's, the two don't have a chance! Love is bound to bloom in the middle of winter. Once again, Merett finds himself trying to rescue Gracie, but who is really rescuing whom? It's time to find out that anything is possible with a little Christmas Magic!
I absolutely adored this story! It was everything a Christmas romance should be. Kirsten was a delightful addition, and very amusing in the situations she got herself and everyone else into. Yes, it is a Christmas story, but I believe it can be enjoyed at anytime of the year. My compliments to the author.
Featured Author: Teresa Hensen for Romance Junkies (http://www.romancejunkies.com/artman/publish/article_681.sHTML) "Rating: Blue Ribbon Rating: 4.5"
After living in Chicago, and a disastrous marriage, Grace Singleton Saylor, is glad she decided to move back to Ferndale, Indiana. She starts a business called Special Effects, a decorating company, and buys a house, cheap, since it is supposedly haunted. She is glad she is able to come back and be "somebody" after growing up there dirt poor.
While out buying Christmas trees, she runs into, literally, Merett Bradmoore, an old friend from school. She had idolized him back then, he was her hero, but he had a steady girlfriend, whom he ended up marrying. She never expected to see him again. Merett and his daughter, Kristen, are there shopping for a tree of their own.
Merett had moved back to Ferndale months earlier to live with his father, after his mother was put in a nursing home. His wife had died a couple years earlier, and he felt like he had been a failure in New York where they had lived, so he felt he had nothing to lose anyway. He is now working at the local small town paper; actually, he is running the local paper. He doesn’t tell Grace that though. He still feels like a failure—after all, he doesn’t even have the courage to go visit his own mother.
They keep meeting up, and to be honest, Merett, keeps initiating meetings with Grace. There is something about her that appeals to him. There always has been, even back when they were in school. Grace feels the chemistry between them, but she tries to ignore it. She doesn’t think he’d want her, she is a failure at marriage, and too old to have children, since she is nearly thirty.
Merett has been bitter and disillusioned for a long time, but Grace is making a dent in his attitude. He starts taking some of her advice and doing things he had never thought of doing before. Kristen has fallen in love with Grace, and wants them to get married. She doesn't understand why "friends" can't get married.
Problems with a vindictive neighbor, her two sisters, and Merett's talking about moving back to New York, start to get Grace down. Surprisingly, Merett is the one to bring back her optimism. He is the one she always credited with changing her outlook on life when she was young, and now he’s doing it again. Maybe he isn't as bitter over life as he thought. Will the spirit of Christmas and the ghost of Mirabelle work their magic on them? Do Christmas miracles still happen?
Enchanted is not a strong enough word to say how I felt while reading GRACIE'S HOLIDAY HERO. I laughed, cried, sympathized, and got angry while reading this wonderful story. The characters were down-to-earth and became part of my "family." Ms. Schuler has done it again with another excellent story to add to her fine list of books. If you like a story with real problems and solutions in life and love, this is one for you! I am more than delighted to add this one to my collection, and wait excitedly for her next release.
Featured Author: Karen McCullough for Scribes World Reviews Gracie's Holiday Hero is a sweet romance with a charming Christmas-time setting and a maybe-ghost who makes her presence felt in a unique way.
Featured Author: Lisa's Book Reviews (http://www.Lisasbookreview.com/HOLIDAYHERO.html) Gracie's Holiday Hero is a wonderful holiday story about how dreams come true for people who believe in making things happen.
Featured Author: Rickey R. Mallory for Affaire de Coeur Betty Jo Schuler brings lots of hope and cheer for the holidays with Gracie's Holiday Hero. Just in time for celebrating the joys of the season.
Featured Author: Sally Laturi for Ivy Quill Reviews Gracie's Holiday Hero is a great read during the holiday season. Set in rural Indiana, the Christmas season comes to life in this touching contemporary romance.
The small-town Midwest feel of the story is a perfect backdrop for the developing romance between Gracie and Merett. Through occasional flashbacks the reader learns about their history, together during high school and in different cities afterwards. Adding a bit of light cheer is Merett's daughter, Kirsten, a lovable little troublemaker.
I enjoyed the interactions between Gracie, Merett, and their respective families, and the romance of the story is touching without being overwhelming. With themes of holiday cheer, family ties, and romance rediscovered, Gracie's Holiday Hero is a book I'll be reading again and again.
Featured Author: Missy Frye for WCRG (the Writing Club Romance Group) on AOL GRACIE'S HOLIDAY HERO is a heartwarming tale with believable characters and realistic circumstances that leaves one sure that Christmas is truly magic. Ms. Schuler's instincts about human nature are right on the money with this one and I recommend this book to anyone, romance fan or not.
Featured Author: Miriam Love Romances (http://www.loveromances.com/graciesholidayhero_miriam.html) 4.5 "Roses"
After a failed marriage, Gracie Singleton Saylor has returned to the small town she grew up in. Only this time around, Gracie is not the poor little girl many remember, but rather the woman who climbed out of poverty into a promising future. She started a decorating business called Special Effects, from her new home, a Victorian house thought by many to be haunted by the spirit of Mirabelle, a lonely woman longing for her lost love.
While out shopping for Christmas trees, Gracie bumps into the man she has loved since high school - Merett Bradmoore. The old zing of attraction jumps to the surface when she sees him once again, except something seemed to trouble his former easy going personality. What could have changed him so much in ten years?
Merett remembered Gracie instantly when he saw her. She was even more beautiful than in high school. Part of him wanted to pursue the relationship he denied himself back then due to his girlfriend, then later wife, Holly. Gracie coming back into his life could not have come at a worse time, since he was trying to sell the small newspaper he owned and run, the Daily Reporter. What would falling for her do to him once he left Ferndale to got to New York to work as a reporter at the Times? And what about his daughter, Kirsten? He couldn't let her get attached to Gracie after losing her own mother a year ago. Merett's plan to stay away is thwarted by Kirsten, who takes an instant liking to Gracie. Gracie allows Kirsten to help with making decorations, which often throws Merett in her company.
Even though Gracie is pained by numerous problems, like her sister Faith disappearing of her own doing, or her parents lack of involvement, Gracie helps Merrett grow confident of himself once again. But can Gracie do the same for herself? Does she want to become like her parents and be too old to enjoy her children? How good of a mother can she possible become judging by the way Faith has turned out?
When a threat surfaces to shut down Special Effects, Merett comes to the rescue. Supporting the ways of small business in a small town, Merett uses the newspaper to bring success to the woman he has grown to love. Is this the way of the small business better for his newspaper as well? Would selling it to a big corporation be the best thing? Was proving himself in New York really what he needed to do?
This reviewer took a liking to the characters instantly, especially Gracie. You can feel her pain when she feels her opportunity for children may never come to light. Gracie is a strong yet vulnerable woman facing her past head on. While she loved Merett from the moment he came years ago with his family one holiday with a charitable donation, the affection she felt was much deeper than simple hero worship. It is charming to know Merett was affected by her as well at the same moment.
The paranormal angle of the ghost of Mirabelle adds a certain charm to the old house Gracie lives in. The player piano plays only Christmas music, and at the oddest moments. Is it Mirabelle telling Gracie not to make her mistakes? Definitely an excellent holiday enchantment to an already endearing story.
Probably one of the best holiday romances this reviewer has ever read. While many "holiday" romances feature a Christmas scene in the last chapter, Gracie's Holiday Hero is celebration of the season throughout. It definitely gets you in the mood for the holidays. This reviewer would recommend this book for the pure joy of it.
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Margot Finke
Author of many Children's Picture Books
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