Amish Brides

April 24, 2017
Three worthy women embrace their communities’ values and find true love in these sweet novellas. Beckstrand (the Honeybee Sisters series) spices up “The Reluctant Groom” with humor as Suvie hangs her hopes on widower Aaron and convinces his mischievous great-grandmother Anna to assist in matchmaking. Anna, a notoriously awful cook, is delighted: “They’d mix like oil and vinegar, raisins and meatloaf, peanut butter and maple syrup.” Stilted dialogue slows the pace in Jebber’s (Two Suitors for Anna) “Joshua’s Bride” (“I enjoy helping the doctor. To me, medical care is interesting. It’s rewarding to take part in helping the injured or sick. I admire nurses”), but lovers of the genre will be satisfied as Madeline finds joy by staying true to her beliefs, refusing to marry Joshua against his parents’ wishes, and praying for God’s intervention. Sparks fly in Lillard’s (Courting Emily) delightful “A Summer Wedding in Paradise,” which features a spunky schoolteacher heroine, a handsome outsider with a runaway horse and “dastardly dimples,” and three impish children determined to see their old-maid aunt married. Readers need not be fans of Amish romance to enjoy this final story’s wit and chemistry.

June 15, 2017

June and weddings are a classic pairing, and this anthology makes for diverting reading--whatever the month. A cheerful, cooking-challenged spinster gets a little help from some senior matchmakers in winning the heart of an incessantly gloomy widower in Beckstrand's "The Reluctant Groom"; a young bride-to-be has acceptance issues with her fiance's family, which double when she agrees to adopt her wayward sister's baby, in "Joshua's Bride," a historical romance by Molly Jebber; and a runaway buggy, a broken ankle, and matchmaking nieces bring a stubborn couple together in Amy Lillard's "A Summer Wedding in Paradise." VERDICT Sweet, faith-based, and wonderfully romantic, this trio of novellas are the perfect introduction for readers new to Amish romance. Beckstrand, Jebber, and Lillard live in Centerville, Utah; Dayton; and Tulsa, respectively.

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