An
Amish Christmas Love
By Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston,
Kelly Irvin, and Ruth Reid
Thomas Nelson, 2017
Summary
Winter
Kisses by Beth Wiseman – Three generations of Stoltzfus
women are all living under the same roof. At twenty-five, Naomi has never been
married, and both her mother, Barbara, and her grandmother, Ruth, have recently
been widowed. Each nursing broken or lonely hearts, they also each have
potential suitors. When a storm on Christmas Eve forces the three couples to
take shelter in the basement of the Stotlzfus homestead, secrets are revealed,
hearts are opened, and all three potential grooms drop to their knees for very
different reasons a proposal, a prayer, and an epiphany.
The
Christmas Cat by Amy Clipston – Emma Bontrager is spending her
first Christmas alone after her husband of 45 years, Henry, passed away in
July. Although the Amish don t normally allow animals in their homes, a big,
fat, orange barn cat keeps coming into Emma s house. She shoos the cat away,
but it continues to appear in her house, settling on Henry s favorite
wingchair. But the cat isn’t the only Christmas visitor: a group of young
people help bring the Christmas spirit to Emma, reminding her that love and
hope abide.
Snow
Angels by Kelly Irvin – As a young man enjoying his rumspringa,
David Byler gave his heart to an Englisch girl, but he eventually realized he
couldn’t give up his Plain faith and family for her, so he let her go. He’s
found a new love in his Bee County Plain community, Molly Shrock. Molly has
been patient, waiting for the man she loves to love her back. Just as he is
ready to propose, David makes a startling discovery: Bobbie McGregor, his
Englisch love, is back. Will Molly’s prayers for a Christmas love be answered?
Home
for Christmas by Ruth Reid – When a misdirected GPS sends Ellie
Whetstone to the wrong address, she inadvertently finds herself breaking into
the home of Amish man, Ezra Mast. Ellie hopes to fix up the house left by her
aenti and sell it quickly, but a series of run-ins with Ezra and his young
daughter have her questioning whether a hasty sale is the right move. Could
this new place with its slower pace be the right home for Ellie?
My
thoughts
Novella collections are the perfect read when I need a
break during busy times, which happens more often than I’d like! And since I
love Amish fiction, An Amish Christmas
Love by four authors that I always enjoy was so very satisfying. Each story
is centered around the Christmas season and includes some romance.
Winter
Kisses by Beth Wiseman is a little unconventional, and I
loved that about it. With three generations of unmarried women living under one
roof, and three eligible bachelors staying in their guest house, what could
possibly go wrong? The grandmother, Ruth, simply stole the show with her
outspokenness and unconventional ways. Just a fun story in every way, but with
that touch of seriousness that Wiseman is known for.
The
Christmas Cat by Amy Clipston … Now anyone who knows of my love for
cats suspects that I would gravitate to this story, and they would be right. I
don’t know if cats can really respond to a human’s emotions, but I’ve had a few
unexplainable experiences with these precious felines over the years. Little
Hank stole my heart, of course, but there’s much more than that involved with
this well-crafted story. Clipston has an ability to draw from the ordinariness
of life and create a narrative that not only inspires, but connects you
emotionally from the first page. What would normally be a depressing theme is offset
by sweet memories as Emma reminisces, four thoughtful young adults who are
snowbound at Emma’s, and a cat that adopts her … all resulting in a joyful and
hope-filled story, reflected in this prayer from Romans 15:13: “May the God of
hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him …”
Sometimes a novella will continue with secondary characters
from the author’s other books – and while I don’t know for sure, I suspect that
might be the case with Snow Angels by
Kelly Irvin. I enjoyed this sweet story, especially its spiritual themes of forgiveness
and transformation, but I felt like there was a lot of backstory that I didn’t
know. Still a good read and I’m glad it was included in this collection.
Ruth Reid is an outstanding writer and Home for Christmas is a wonderful
conclusion to this collection. However, I need to finish reading this story
before sharing my thoughts in order to do it justice. I’ll update this review
very soon.
I was provided a free e-copy of this book through the
author and NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my
own.
_________________________
Beth Wiseman is the best-selling
author of the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series.
Having sold over 1.5 million books, her novels have held spots on the ECPA
(Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) Bestseller List and the CBA
(Christian Book Association) Bestseller List. She is a two-time winner of the
Carol Award in, a three-time winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice Award,
and an INSPY Award winner. In 2013 she took home the coveted Holt Medallion.
This is Beth’s fifteenth novel, and she has also published thirteen novellas
that appear in various Thomas Nelson collections.
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Amy
Clipston is
the award-winning and bestselling author of the Kauffman Amish Bakery series.
Her novels have hit multiple bestseller lists including CBD, CBA, and ECPA.
Amy
holds a degree in communication from Virginia Wesleyan College and works
full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC. Amy lives in North Carolina with her
husband, two sons, and three spoiled rotten cats.
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Kelly
Irvin is
the author of The Beekeeper’s Son, the critically acclaimed first novel of the
Amish of Bee County series. Kelly is also the author of several Amish series
including the Bliss Creek Amish series, the New Hope Amish series, and the
Amish of Bee County series. The Kansas native is a graduate of the University
of Kansas School of Journalism. She has been writing nonfiction professionally
for thirty years, including ten years as a newspaper reporter, mostly in
Texas-Mexico border towns. She has worked in public relations for the City of
San Antonio for twenty years.
Kelly
has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for twenty-seven years. They have
two young adult children, two cats, and a tank full of fish. In her spare time,
she likes to write short stories and read books by her favorite authors.
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Ruth
Reid is
a CBA and ECPA bestselling author of the Heaven on Earth series. She's a
full-time pharmacist who lives in Florida with her husband and three children.
When
attending Ferris State University School of Pharmacy in Big Rapids, Michigan, she
lived on the outskirts of an Amish community and had several occasions to visit
the Amish farms. Her interest grew into love as she saw the beauty in living a
simple life.
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