Escape to an Amish Christmas

I love a good Amish book, and with An Amish Christmas, Expanded Edition by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, Kelly Long, and Barbara Cameron, I was not disappointed! This particular edition contains 4 holiday stories by 4 different authors. Each one is a story in itself but it's easy to go right from one to another.

From the Publisher

Enjoy this Amish Christmas bestseller with an additional new novella from romance author Kelly Long.

"Christmas Cradles" by Kelly Long -- When Anna Stolis takes over for her aunt, the local Amish midwife in Paradise, Christmas night heats up with multiple deliveries, three strangers' quilts, and the help from resourceful and strong Asa Lapp, whose job it is to get Anna through a dangerous blizzard to complete her midwifery rounds.

“A Miracle for Miriam” by Kathleen Fuller: This Christmas, Miriam must decide whether to guard herself or accept the love of a man who once broke her heart.

“A Choice to Forgive” by Beth Wiseman: Lydia, a widow who has given up on love, is shocked when Daniel-- a past love-- returns to the Order, and her life.

“One Child” by Barbara Cameron: This snowy Lancaster Christmas Eve will see two couples’ lives changed by the birth of one child. Contributer Barbara Cameron is the author of fifteen novels and three nationally televised movies (HBO), as well as a recipient of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart.



My take

For some reason, I am very taken with the Amish culture. I read a lot of Amish fiction but also true stories and experience books. So when I saw this book on BookSneeze, I couldn't pass it up!

The stories are fairly short and fairly predictable. And even though none of them are page-turners, they are heartwarming. It's so interesting (to me at least) to "live" the simple life for a few hours and wonder how I would like to live like that.

The first two novellas, A Miracle for Miriam and A Choice to Forgive actually follow the same family although the main characters are different. You don't read much about the other main character in the other story, but you know the names of the families which makes it nice & easy to follow.

Then in One Child, some of the families are from the first two books so you already know some of the characters. I think this one is the most touching, in my opinion. Having suffered miscarriages myself, I can understand some of what the family is going through. In true Amish fashion, the story has a happy ending which almost brought a tear to my eye.

Christmas Cradle was a new author for me---I thought I knew all the Amish theme authors!---and I truly enjoyed this novella. I thought it was a little different than most of the stories I've read.

My only complaint about these novellas is that they almost are cut off in a hurry as if they hit the word limit & had to close the plot. I think there could be a little more exploriation or depth at the end other than just stopping abruptly. In the longer books (remember these are novellas), I don't see that problem.

If you're looking for a few good short stories, a book that is easy to start & stop, or stories about the holiday season, then this book is for you!! Plus it's a nice size to fit in my purse & take with me to read while waiting at appointments.

Thank you, BookSneeze, for providing a free book in return for my honest, unbiased review.