Customer Reviews

A Simple Gift

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Avery and Mike have worked hard their whole married lives to form the perfect couple. Their daughter Fiona was the welcome addition to create an ideal family. She is close with both her parents, sharing her day to day life with her mom and hours with her father in the amateur observatory they built together. It is the life they always dream, the one they both wanted after their own difficult childhoods. But all their dreams are shattered when Fiona runs away with her boyfriend and their rock band. It seems irretrievably broken when after a year and a half, not even knowing she has returned, her parents run into her working at an area grocery store.

Avery's business takes off with an unexpected order for 50,000 of one of her stuffed animals. She must cope with the business details, her aristocratic mother, and her stubborn husband. While Avery tries to build a tenuous relationship with her daughter, Mike is too hurt to even consider reuniting with his daughter. This fissure causes a break in Mike and Avery's marriage as neither can accept the other's point of view. Mike moves to the family farm to support his alcoholic brother and brood within the observatory that reminds him so much of the good times.

Karyn Witmer has written a story of the depth of family love, both that between husband and wife and between parents and children. It also examines the relationship between husband and wife as a separate relationship from family. It is a difficult concept for many couples, an important part of themselves that needs acceptance and nurturing. She includes two love scenes of Avery and Mike that highlight the love, boht emotional and physical, that continues to exist between couples of all ages. By interweaving the stories of previous generations with the events of the present, Witmer portrays the effects of the past on the relationships of the future. It is a book of acceptance, forgiveness and the meaning of family.

It is not a surprise to learn that this book is being issued in paperback in September 2006. It should coincide with Christmas reading lists and will be a wonderful addition to holiday reading. The Simple Gift will start new holiday traditions in many families for years to come.

Karyn Witmer also writes historical novels under the name Elizabeth Grayson.

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

If you want a heart wrenching story full of poignant emotion, then A Simple Gift by Karyn Witmer is for you.

Avery Montgomery's life seemed perfect, until the fateful day her daughter, Fiona, took off with her boyfriend and band mates to get famous in California. Her life hadn't been the same since. So when, a year later, Fiona suddenly reappears at the local grocery store, Avery's life once again turns upside down.

Fiona has been through a lot since she left and has made many mistakes she's afraid to admit to her mother. When Avery tries to re-establish a relationship, Fiona resists, more afraid of what her father, Mike, would do than her mother. Tensions grow even higher, until Avery is forced to a decision - her marriage to Mike, or her relationship with Fiona. Nonetheless, Avery hopes and prays for a reunion of her small family in time for Christmas. Can A Simple Gift be the holiday miracle they all need?

Be prepared, you will need plenty of Kleenex on-hand before you begin A Simple Gift. Emotions are high throughout the entire novel, especially in the last 150 pages or so, which will keep you up all night wanting to finish. I love a novel that can make me feel the whole spectrum of emotions. However, I admit, I usually steer clear of the genre of (non-romance) women's fiction because sometimes it makes me feel too much. But hearing several people talk about how heart-warming - and heart-breaking - A Simple Gift is, I just had to read it for myself. I wasn't disappointed, not by a long shot. I finished the book in three days and with my hectic schedule, that's almost a miracle in itself.

A Simple Gift is a relationship novel, plain and, well... simple. But don't let that fool you. The story is very evolved, with so much depth it's amazing Witmer squeezed it all into one book. Between the covers we are engrossed in Avery's life, and those of her family. We will stand beside Avery as her marriage self-destructs, her relationship with Fiona is gradually rebuilt, and as she faces her mother... and all those past hurts Avery has lived through. But it doesn't end there.

We live through Mike's eyes as he struggles with the knowledge his beloved daughter Fiona abandoned them and his subsequent inability to forgive her. He is only able to find solace in the stars and sky, a hobby he cultivated because it was such a passion of Fiona's. We also follow with him as his brother slowly destroys himself with alcohol, struggling with his own failures. All Mike wants to do is love and protect his family, but Fiona's leaving stole away the greater part of his heart. We also see how Mike handles his marriage falling apart, all because he and Avery forgot how to love each other in the midst of all their personal and family crises.

What? There is still more? You bet! We will also journey with Fiona on her path to self-discovery. As she lives with the results of her actions and decisions, she becomes a much stronger young woman. We discover her secrets she is so determined to keep from her family, only to find out some things are bound to come out one way or another.

Through all the struggles our small Montgomery family endures, there is still a thread of hope and love binding one and all in its magic. By the end of the novel, you will find yourself wanting to initiate a family tradition like the one that holds generations together here. Everyone can relate on some level as A Simple Gift is so real in how family life is portrayed. Each victory and setback they experience will have you crying, laughing, or shouting. Karyn Witmer, you have a remarkable gift for bringing such powerful feelings to life in your art. Don't ever stop writing from the heart.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, October 2006. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Lynda Burch of Missouri Romance Writers of America

A SIMPLE GIFT is a warm and moving story about a family broken apart and finding a way to heal the rift with their traditional Christmas gift. It is a story of a mother's love, a husband's betrayal, too many secrets and a daughter's independence.

Avery and Mike Montgomery's only child, Fiona, dropped out of college to be a rock band groupie, but after eighteen months of silence she secretly returns to her hometown. Avery's shock at finally finding her daughter safe and sound just miles from home leads the entire family into a crisis of reunion that threatens to tear them apart forever. Cleverly interwoven into this story is a simple, traditional gift that has been passed down through the generations.

Witmer has written an intricate tale with characters you feel like you've known forever. I was drawn in by the complexity of relationships of mother, father and daughter and even the supportive town members.

The town Witmer paints seems like the town next door. My grandmother once said about a book, "Why that's just like a real town." And that's just what this book is-- real. The conflict and drama are poignant, the cast of characters is authentic and the plot is engaging and fresh.

This book makes me want to start a family tradition of a simple gift at Christmas. A SIMPLE GIFT is a keeper and will be pulled off the shelf to be read time and time again.

Read this book when you want something to make you feel good. The story is a basic family story with many complications. Avery, the main character, will not let life get her down or her family. She is determined to do whatever it takes to make her family work as well as her business.

It reminded me a little of It's a wonderful life at certain parts of the book. This is a perfect book to read on vacation. Just beware that you will not want to put it down so you will need to bring something else on your vacation to read when you have finished this.

Do you keep secrets from your spouse/significant other? From your family? When is just a little secret too much to keep?

A Simple Gift will force you to ask yourself those questions. True to form, Witmer/Grayson has written an emotionally rich story of old and new family traditions and family problems. I loved the family history aspect of the story, and of course, Avery & Mike's journey.

This book and a Christmas cactus will make a great gift this holiday season.

As always, I look forward to the next book by this fabulous writer!

(If you're new to this author, you owe it to yourself to check out her backlist!!)

I loved A Simple Gift. There is a special bond between mothers and daughters and this book illustrates this so well. Ms. Witmer's words capture all the emotion and challenges that women face everyday. It is a story about loving someone so much and having them disappoint you. Your heart aches for the family and the hope that they will find their way back to each other. This is a book that every mother(and daughter or son) should read. I loved the tradition of the Christmas cactus and the story behind each gift. Ms. Witmer also writes wonderful historical romances under Elizabeth Grayson.

When I started reading this book, I began looking over my shoulder to see if the author was observing my life. Having gone through similar, though not identical, circumstances with our daughters, the emotions in this story really rang true for me. What I liked best was the way Witmer accurately charts the feelings of not only the mother, Avery, who only wants her family back together; but also the father Mike, who can't get over the hurt of his daughter throwing all his years of parenting back in his face; and the daughter Fiona, who stubbornly believes if she can survive on her own, it will somehow negate her past mistakes. It helps makes the actions each person has taken make sense and makes them believable. A real heartwarming story, believable and true to life, and one you definitely don't want to miss.

Avery is getting her groceries one night and sees her runaway daughter who has been missing for more than a year working in the next checkout line. Her daughter has a secret and resists Avery's efforts to reunite. The more she tries, the more her marriage crumbles. This is a beautifully written book about three people who love each other, have hurt each other, and one remarkable woman who brings them back together as a family.

I have always felt that every book written by the talented Karyn Witmer/Elizabeth Grayson is a gift to lucky readers everywhere.

Having been such a long time fan of the wonderful earlier Grayson books, I had slight misgivings about this author's new adventure in writing Contemporay Fiction.

Silly me !

To put it simply,this lady can write ! She captures perfectly the actions and emotions of people we all know in everyday life. With her usual graceful prose, warm humor, compassion, and realistic characters, Witmer/Grayson proves in A SIMPLE GIFT that her talent is equal to any style.

I was hooked from the first few pages of this complex story, but will admit it took a while to warm up to the troubled Fiona. However, Karyn Witmer is a strong enough author to give us characters we don't always like at first. Then she skillfully weaves her tale, reminding us that no one is perfect. Certainly not this complicated family who clearly love each other but, for various reasons, have to work hard indeed to prove it. We come to appreciate their strengths, and want them to overcome their weaknesses.After only a few chapters, my emotions were going full steam, and I wanted so much for things to work out for these characters.

If you have read this far, you already know the gist of the story itself. I just want to say the writing is lyrical, and the characters and situations are completely believable, ( very important to this reader! )

There is no other author in any genre who is better at capturing the humor, heartbreak, and redemption of families.

It's also refreshing to know that you when you read a book by Karyn Witmer, you will learn things and have fun doing it. In A SIMPLE GIFT, there are fascinating facts about astronomy, and how a tiny, home based business might become an international corporation. All expertly tied in, these are added attractions that pull you into the relationships of Avery, Mike,and Fiona, and makes their story so much richer.

Do have tissues at hand, but be assured that when you are done sniffling, you will have a big smile on your face, and be thinking, "Gosh, that was great story ! "

A SIMPLE GIFT is a lovely read, and absolutely the perfect gift for those who appreciate truly terrific writing, characters who will stay in your thoughts, and warm,honest,compelling story telling.

I agree with earlier reviewers. Add another "simple gift" and you're all set for your Christmas list.

To Ms. Witmer, congratulations! If you write it, I will read it, no matter what the nom de plume.

A heartwarming and heartwrenching story of a family torn apart and their long journey back together with the help of a simple gift.