An Amish Christmas Star
by Charlotte Hubbard
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GENRE: Inspirational Romance (Amish)
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BLURB:
The
crisp fragrance of pine trees and the warm spice of fresh cookies aren’t the
only blessings that Christmas brings, and no one knows more about happy
homecomings than three couples who are celebrating the greatest gift of all . .
.
STAR OF WONDER by
Charlotte Hubbard
When Raymond Overholt
comes to Promise Lodge, hoping to sell the barnboard signs he’s painted with
stars and Christmas messages, spirited young Mennonite Lizzie Zehr is
intrigued. But any courtship between them will face fierce opposition from the
bishop of Raymond’s Old Order community—unless someone can convince him that at
the heart of faith lies love . . .
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EXCERPT:
With the girl’s laughter still dancing in his head, Raymond
Overholt tried to refocus his thoughts. If he didn’t convince Mr. Kraybill to
sell his handmade plaques, his past several weeks of work would be for nothing.
He’d have to return home to Coldstream with his tail between his legs, and face
a long, dreary lifetime of milking his dat’s cows. Running a dairy was honest,
necessary work but Raymond didn’t enjoy spending his early mornings and late
afternoons in a smelly barn disinfecting udders any more than the Holsteins
liked having him around. Worse yet, if he overslept, his older brothers did the
milking and left the hosing down and mucking out of the stalls for him.
“If your customers like these plaques, I can make more,” he
assured the steely-haired storekeeper. “I—I really appreciate having the chance
to sell them here in your new store. Our bulk market in Coldstream is dim and
overcrowded with merchandise, and even if the owner there had display space, he
wants nothing to do with artwork. It’s that Old Order thing.”
Mr. Kraybill smiled knowingly. “Jah, Amish stores don’t
usually carry much that appears English even if they have a lot of customers
come in from outside their community to shop,” he acknowledged. “But your
plaques carry a solid Christmas message—‘Wise men still follow His star’ and
the lyrics to ‘We Three Kings’ are meaningful reminders about following our
Lord’s holy light. Thanksgiving always kicks off the Christmas buying season,
so we’ll give it a shot, Raymond.”
He hoped his grateful grin didn’t appear too adolescent—or
desperate. Raymond gazed around the store, where a gal in a pleated Amish kapp
was stocking shelves in the rear. A few early shoppers were pushing carts into
the grocery section. “If you need some extra hands when things get busy these
next few weeks, I’d be happy to help, sir,” he offered. “I’ve not worked in a
store, but I’m gut at tallying sums and I’m a quick learner.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Kraybill said with a nod.
Raymond heard probably not in the storekeeper’s words, but
he’d dealt with people’s dismissals before. If he’d dressed in dark broadfall
pants with a plain shirt and suspenders—and if he’d chosen glasses with
conservative frames—Kraybill might’ve taken him more seriously. But until he
had no other choice than to submit to Old Order ways and join the church,
Raymond was determined to wear clothing he liked.
“I’ll be back in a few days to see how my signs are
selling,” he said. “Denki for giving me a chance.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
In 1983,
Charlotte Hubbard sold her first story to True Story. She wrote around 70 of
those confession stories, and she’s sold more than 60 books to traditional or
online publishers. A longtime resident of Missouri, she’s currently writing
Amish romances set in imaginary Missouri towns for Kensington. She now lives in
Omaha, NE with her husband of 40+ years and their Border collie, Vera.
www.charlottehubbard.com
Facebook --
www.Facebook.com/Charlotte.Hubbard1
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Amish-Christmas-Star-Shelley-Shepard-ebook/dp/B09PJ348C8
Barnes &
Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-amish-christmas-star-shelley-shepard-gray/1140825147
Kensington
Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9781496734273/an-amish-christmas-star/
Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/An-Amish-Christmas-Star-Paperback-9781496734259/385381250
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/an-amish-christmas-star/id1602867197
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My Review:
Well, I just really enjoyed this sweet romance. It was so enjoyable to watch the characters change and grow in the their own respective ways. Becca had a goal to travel and needed to train a replacement for her job at the Amish Market. Gideon's father sent him from Texas to Indiana to fill Becca's shoes. He is missing Texas and his smaller community of Beeville. As the story continues, the love story starts to bloom. Going from friends to falling in love in a sweet way was fun to see.
It was interesting to read about her plans to join the Mennonite Disaster Services and to find out about what they do to help others. I love Amish Markets and shops so it was a fun read.
I received a copy of this book from the author and was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts are my own.
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