An Amish Family Christmas

September 5, 2016
Gray’s fourth Charmed Amish Life novel succeeds as a simple, heartwarming tale of opening up and starting anew during the Christmas season. After Julia discovered she was pregnant with an abusive, manipulative man’s child, she fled to the Amish community where she grew up. Six years later, she has crafted a simple life for herself and her daughter, claiming to be a young widow. Julia’s hardened independence begins to thaw when her neighbor Levi, son of the richest family in town, suggests she could clean his house to earn the extra money she needs for her daughter’s Christmas gift. As the two grow closer, Levi’s lingering grief over his father’s death also slowly evaporates. But romance between the two faces serious challenges when Julia’s past unexpectedly catches up with her. Alongside the main romance, Gray shows a former Amish woman returning to the area to set up a battered woman’s shelter, and some of the family dynamics among Levi and his siblings. Julia’s daughter, Penny, is particularly well drawn, and her relationship with Levi is touchingly tender. Gray lightly applies the Amish setting to provide texture without bogging down the pace, letting some inaccuracies pass unremarked for the sake of the story. Agent: Mary Sue Seymour, Seymour Agency.

November 1, 2016

Levi Kinsinger, still reeling from his father's death in a fire, returns home to Charm, OH, and has no idea what to do with himself until his widowed neighbor Julia Kemps asks him for help with her Christmas project. Julia and her daughter are newcomers in need of friendship. In agreeing to assist Julia, Levi finds a renewed purpose--and a growing attraction. Yet a stumbling block to the couple's blossoming romance is Julia's secret: she is a single mom posing as a widow so the Amish community will not shun her. The holidays are coming, and the couple hopes for a miracle that will erase their pasts and bring them the love they deserve. VERDICT Gray's fourth series entry (after A Sister's Wish) is a touching holiday tale of love and forgiveness that will please her many fans. [See Prepub Alert, 4/18/16.]

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016

Fourth in this year's "Charmed Amish Life" series, this Christmas novel features two characters in need of a holiday miracle. Levi Kinsinger has returned to Charm after drifting away following a family tragedy, and he's still struggling to fit in. Levi wants to be more than just friends with a young widow named Julia, newly arrived in Charm with her daughter, but she's got a secret past that could wreck everything. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.