Lucie’s Review: A charming Amish read.
When Greta’s fiance breaks it off with her in front of the blacksmith, Greta makes a deal with Luke to set him up with her sister, Lydia. But when Lydia sees how Luke cares for Greta she in turn devises a plan to get Luke and Greta together!
But will Luke’s secret destroy everything?
A charming tale of love among the Amish! This was an entertaining tale, with a great plot and characters.
This book was set during th Great Depression, and it was interesting to see that part of history from the Amish point of view. The pages turned steadily. And I liked how Luke handled things pretty once they came up, and he was a pretty great.
Greta was a great main character who was outgoing and had a lightness about her, like she wasn’t super serious or anything.
I think that my favorite character was Lydia because she was really good-hearted and she wanted the best for her sister.
Overall a great Amish read with great interactions and plotlines. A book that I really enjoyed. I would definitely recommend this one 🙂
I received this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!
Lucie’s Review:
Mercy Bamberger has a dream of starting a camp for city children so that they can experience farm life. When her grandfather Rudy dies she assumes that she will get his place and starts working to fix it up.
Jeremiah Stolzfus wants to move to a new Amish Community, he buys a farm sight unseen and is surprised to find a woman working the property. He discovers that the man he bought it from has died, and the sale had not been finalized so he and Mercy agree to a compromise while everything gets sorted out, and Mercy and her daughter, Sunni can stay for the time being.
I like how the situation brings Mercy and Jeremiah together, because the legal ramifications are complex, it gives them plenty of time to get to know each other. And they work together to restore the farm.
Mercy takes in another foster child, a young boy named Parker, who is hurt and angry. But Mercy still treats him with kindness and understanding, I like how Jeremiah is able to help Parker as well, and gives him jobs to do to help out.
Sunni is like her name, bright, independent, and adventurous, and she doesn’t let obstacles get in her way.
I love how a mistake and unfortunate circumstances bring this family together. Mercy and Jeremiah are strong in their faith and do their best to be good examples for the young ones. A sweet story of family and love.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and testimonials in Advertising.”
Lucie’s Review:
Winter Kisses — Naomi, her mother, and her grandmother all live together, Naomi’s mother, Barbara, and her grandmother, Ruth, are widowed, and Naomi has never married. They decide to rent out their daadi haus to some men who have moved to the area for construction jobs, Wayne and Jethro are widowed, and Eli is the youngest.
Ruth is quite the character, opinionated and unstoppable in her search for a husband. Wayne and Barbara are surprised by their attraction to each other, and Barbara is hesitant at first, but Wayne’s constance and patience win her over. While Eli and Naomi find love too.
I loved the humor in this book, that made it a very quick and enjoyable read!
The Christmas Cat–Emma and her husband, Henry, spend their first Christmas together with some unexpected visitors. A cat shows up and makes himself right at home, and a group of young people get snowed in with Emma. The cook, eat, and recount stories. I loved how considerate and kind the young people were to Emma, while they were snowed in with her.
Snow Angels–Molly and david have been courting for over a year now, and she’s been dropping hints, but he hasn’t seemed to notice. But when a girl from David’s past shows up and and he can’t seem to keep his eyes off of her, Molly wonders if this is the end for her and David.
Bobby is English and her father owns a ranch, she’s home from college because her father had a heart attack.
Will David be able to make a decision or lose them both?
Home for Christmas–Ellie’s father was Amish, but when she was young, her mother took her away and they lived in the English world, but when she inherits her aunt’s farm in Michigan she gets a chance to go home for the first time. She doesn’t know where she’s going so when her GPS directs her to the wrong house, she meets Allison and her father, Ezra who live there. Allison bonds with Lulu, Ellie’s dog, and even seems to be able to sense oncoming seizures. But Ezra thinks that Lulu causes the seizures. As Ellie get’s used to her new home and reads her aunt’s journal, she comes to understand some things that she has been looking for all along.
I loved how different all the stories were and how they all came together. I loved Grandma Ruth, Emma’s visitors, how Ellie finds a home, and Snow Angels was my favorite with how it all came together in the end! Fantastic Christmas read for fans of romance and Amish fiction!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and testimonials in Advertising.”
Savannah Mast goes home to spend much needed time away from the stress of the city and her broken engagement. But when an Amish teenager disappears and Savannah’s childhood friend is implicated as a prime suspect, she offers to help, while a learning about a young Amish midwife decade before in a similar situation.
Savannah Mast grew up Amish adjacent, assisting her mother who also served Amish women as a midwife. She has a gift for helping others, and genuinely cares for their well-being. I liked how she clung to her faith in hard times, and was able to think realistically about her situation.
There are many supporting characters and members of the community and not much happens without the notice of others. I loved how Mammi, was like a Mammi to the whole community. There are a lot of things going on in this story, as well as a little mystery and family drama. While I did enjoy Emma’s story I felt that it disrupted the flow of the story to introduce her 1/3 of the way through the book.
Overall, I really liked this Amish adjacent story, it had well developed characters that felt realistic in how their lives were far from perfect. I admired Savannah’s character and faith. But I did feel the like the pace lagged for me through the middle parts. I great introduction as well to Jane and her stories from the past, I liked how this story was set in Amish country, with many Amish characters, but that there were also many who were not Amish and that was Ok, which I really enjoyed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Review: An Amish romance from Cindy Woodsmall, just in time for Christmas!
Short and sweet, yet not sappily so, The Christmas Singing is sure to please. I read this sweet story in less than a day and enjoyed every minute of it. The pages turned steadily as I found myself fascinated and entertained with Mattie Eash’s world.
Mattie Eash is a young Amish woman with a gift for decorating cakes. But after her bakery burns to the ground and she goes home for the holidays, she comes face to face with her childhood sweetheart, Gideon Beiler. Gideon broke her heart years before when she found him with another woman–an English woman. But Gideon has his secrets. Meanwhile Mattie plans her life with her current flame, Sol, a solid young man, who is an avid hunter. Lovers of Amish romance will eat up Ms. Woosmall’s charming tale of love in Amish country.
I really enjoyed reading about Mattie’s beautiful cakes, I could almost taste them they sounded so good! Not to mention the fact that there are recipes in the back of the book!
Cindy Woodsmall is a gifted writer, who brings all of the Amish charm, while also including the real feelings and struggles. I like to say that when I read Ms. Woodsmall’s books, I relax but never fall alseep!
Overall a very well done Amish romance that I highly recommend. The pages turned steadily for me and I completed it in less than a day 🙂 A very well written book indeed.
Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5
ISBN: 978-0-307-44654-1
Buy it here
Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing for providing this review copy to me free of charge.
