An Amish Christmas Quilt

September 29, 2014
This sweet anthology celebrates Christmas in three different Amish communities. It’s easy to sympathize with Beckstrand’s Dottie in “A Perfect Amish Christmas”; she’s so consumed with giving her mother a perfect Christmas that she forgets her family just wants to spend time with her. Long’s “A Christmas on Ice Mountain” is the Amish version of Romeo and Juliet (though less star-crossed) as Matthew and Laurel look for their happy ending despite their fathers’ ongoing feud. In Hubbard’s “A Willow Ridge Christmas Pageant,” young widow Mary tries to get away from her father’s overbearing manner to take care of her little family. Each story has plenty of laughing and joking as well as jealous outbursts, teasing, and passion. The three portrayals of Amish life differ slightly, but the patchwork mix will keep readers toasty warm this winter.

October 15, 2014

Three inspirational authors bring the holidays to life through homespun stories that reprise their popular series settings. A recently widowed mother and a wary bachelor are drawn together when they take part in the Christmas program in Hubbard's touching "A Willow Ridge Christmas Pageant" ("Seasons of the Heart"); a young couple find love despite their fathers' decades-long feud in Kelly Long's "A Christmas on Ice Mountain" ("Amish of Ice Mountain"); and a grandmother's meddling brings a young couple together despite their teenage clashes in Jennifer Beckstrand's "A Perfect Amish Christmas" ("Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill"). VERDICT Sweet, romantic, and heartfelt, this trio of engaging novellas link the holidays with the current Amish craze and will have appeal far beyond the expected inspirational fan base. Hubbard, Long, and Beckstrand live in St. Paul; Hummelstown, PA; and Centerville, UT, respectively.

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