The Amish Christmas Letters by Patricia Davids, Sarah Price and Jennifer Beckstrand

This is a sweet Christmas collection from three talented authors.   The stories start with a letter to a member of Marybeth's Circle letter group telling the others of the latest events.  The letters make the rounds among all those on the list. 

The stories are romances and the romances are fun to read.  There are times to laugh and the letters are encouraging to each other as the three stories are not separate but are of each of the writing circle recipients.

I really enjoyed the stories and they all seemed to have enough length to be able to enjoy each story fully.

I recommend this book.  I really liked all three stories!

I received an ebook copy from NetGalley.  All thoughts are my own.

First Impressions by Sarah Price

This is part 1 and I have already read and reviewed part 2.  Typical me!  I loved this book!  I enjoyed it from the first page.  Another Jane Austen Amish retelling of Pride and Prejudice and I think it was very well written.

Five single daughters in the Blank household.  They hear that Charles Beachy and a cousin will be coming from Ohio, there is a hope that these two men might be great husbands for two of their daughters.  At first it would appear that Jane and Charles are a great match, but as the story unfolds, and Charles returned to Ohio, it appears he has other plans than what Jane had been hoping.

Lizzie, however, has no desire to start a courting or any type of relationship, really with Frederick Detweiler.  He is definitely prideful and has none of the qualities she would want in a good husband.

But first impressions can be wrong or were they right, this time?  To find out you will need to read this great read and I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys the Amish genre!

The Matchmaker by Sarah Price

The Matchmaker is an Amish retelling of the Jane Austen version of "Emma".  It is an enjoyable Amish tale of Emma, who has decided she will not marry but is bound and determined to find the perfect match for her friend Hannah.  Although her ideas of a mate for Hannah are well-meant, no one can replace God in finding the right mate for Hannah or anyone else. 

As Emma comes to the realization that some of her best efforts are not coming to fruition, and that others have made some surprising decisions, without her help, she also finds that perhaps her decisions for herself are also not the best or as God had intended.

I really liked this book and was taken in by the friendly climate of the book and the relaxed nature of the Amish people in the book.  I would give this a 4 star rating.

The Divine Secrets of the Whoopie Pie Sisters. The Complete Trilogy, Pam Jarrell and Sarah Price

This was another Kindle Book that I was lucky enough to get while it was a freebie.  This book about family relationships, especially four sisters that don't always see eye to eye, seemed to me to be an honest representation of Amish life.  It didn't make everything seem perfect and without disagreement.  That was what made the book come to life for me.

These four sisters run a bakery together and don't always agree.  They have problems, real life problems that they sometimes find are hard to discuss even with one another.  Sometimes they jump to false conclusions and sometimes they have secrets that they have a difficult time sharing with even their closest family members.  

You will undoubtedly enjoy this trilogy, which is more of a novella than a full length book.  But it has a nice story and is engaging from the start.  5 stars!

An Amish Buggy Ride by Sarah Price

I was lucky and won this book in a giveaway!  Yeah, lucky me.  At first I kind of imagined this as a very different book than what I was reading.  It started right off with a real grabbing sort of beginning.  Kate's brother came to pick her up, a disagreement ensued and he and another left and she walked home in the cold.  Only to find he had been in an accident.

She lives in guilt for a very long time, blaming only herself for what has happened.  Kate's parents can't seem to help her and things in her life become hard to bare until she gets to know Samuel, a kind and very understanding young Amishman. She knows that she must some how tell him of her guilt, which she knows will cause an end to their relationship.

This is a very good story.  It shows each of us that to truly forgive others, we must learn to forgive ourselves, something that can be very hard to do.  We must have trust and faith in the Lord that he loves us and will forgive us for our wrongdoing.