Monday, November 3, 2014

An Amish Christmas Quilt by Charlotte Hubbard, Kelly Long, Jennifer Beckstrand

I enjoy reading Amish stories and these short stories are set at Christmas time.  It's an even sweeter time of year and goes well with the Amish theme.

Goddess Fish Blog Tours invited me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has just been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy or buy it online.

All three of these are very good stories.  Each has something a bit different that caught my eye, but I'm glad I read them all.

A Willow Ridge Christmas Pageant begins with a widowed Amish woman almost giving birth in the buggy she's driving to her aunt's home.  When the dog comes barking in his yard and almost drags him back to the buggy, Seth is horrified by how young and how white Mary is.  He wastes no time getting her to a doctor.  He even helps in the birth.  And then he does his best to forget her.  Uh huh, sure.  Even her two stepchildren can't put her out of his mind.  

A Christmas On Ice Mountain has two men who once were great friends and now have become bitter enemies.  Since they are Amish, there's nothing except coldness and scorn between them.  The real problem with them is pride, but neither will acknowledge that.  However, they will be tested.  It seems the son and daughter from each family has fallen in love together.  They know the father's will oppose the union, but they are determined to go forward with it.  When a snow storm strands them both in an older woman's cabin, they end up sharing a bed with a bundle board in it.  That doesn't stop the father finding them together demanding an instant marriage...

A Perfect Amish Christmas is about an older Amish woman who is always finding a match for her grandchildren.  Not just hers, either.  She'll match up anyone who is single and needs a good wife or husband.  She cooks "healthy food" from a vegetarian cookbook and no one wants to eat with them anymore.  Cookies are fine but not her meals!  When she cons a young man into coming to spend Christmas with them instead of going to Mexico, he comes looking forward to winter sports and good fishing.  What he finds is the little girl he knew has grown into a wonderful young woman.  When Dottie has a big party and doesn't invite him, the game is on.  He's determined to grow on her.

All three are sweet and fun reads.  They are also a good sampling of each author's writing.  They all have other books published, so you can read more of their work when you finish this one.  Give them a try.

The authors will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host.  Click here for the giveaway.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:   Tours

Happy reading!

67 comments:

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thanks for hosting!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Good morning! Thanks so much, Jo Ann, for reviewing our anthology. We really appreciate your taking the time and read and give your opinion of our stories! I'll check in throughout the day to respond to your readers.

Andra Lyn said...

Hi Jennifer!

Maybe you can help clear something up for me. What genre does Amish fiction fall into? Is it contemporary? Historical? Something completely different?

Thanks!!!

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful giveaway, have read all your Amish books

Tammy Courts said...

Love the Amish Christmas books! Thanks for the chance to win one!

Unknown said...

Excellent review. You gave just enough detail without giving the story away.
CherylB1987 AT Hotmail DOT com

Kt-Ryn said...

I cannot wait to read this book! :)

Frances Cavallo said...

I would love to win!!! An Amish Christmas book would make my holidays that much brighter!!! Good luck and God Bless Everyone!!!

Kelly Hale said...

I would love the gift card so I could use it for the kindle books! Thank you.

Critchmom said...

I would love to win this book/gift card! I just love good Christian books (especially holiday events/times). Thankful we have authors that write good Christian fiction for us to continue to enjoy. God bless you. Hoping to win....if not, I probably will buy "sometime".

Paula said...

In a short summary she made these 3 stories so necessary to read!! Can hardly wait!!

Anonymous said...

Oh I would love to win. I have not read the book yet but I love all Amish books especially Amish Christmas ones what a sweet win it would be. The gift card would be such an amazing Christmas gift. All the feautured authors are so generous. Thank you.

CharlotteHubbard said...

Andra Lyn, I can understand your confusion! Amish fiction is generally considered part of the inspirational genre. It's contemporary, but because the Amish live much the same way they have lived for centuries, these stores do indeed have a historical feel to them. Thanks for asking!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks so much for participating in our giveaway--and for reading our books, as well!

CharlotteHubbard said...

We love Christmas stories, too, Tammy! Thanks for stopping by!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Cheryl, you make a great point! Thanks for stopping by!

CharlotteHubbard said...

We love your enthusiasm, Kt-Ryn!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Frances, it's good to hear from you! Thanks for your comment!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks for stopping by, Kelly!

CharlotteHubbard said...

What a lovely thing to say, Critchmom! We love writing these holiday stories.

CharlotteHubbard said...

Paula, we're glad you NEED to read our stories! Thanks so much!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks so much for your kind remarks, Deanne!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a chance to win.

Jeff and Shaun said...

I loved that Jo Ann gave a little snippet of what each story is about and didn't give away too much detail. I can't wait to read it!

Terri said...

I know Jennifer Beckstrand's books are GOOD. I'm not familiar with the others.

CharlotteHubbard said...

You're welcome--and thanks for stopping by.

CharlotteHubbard said...

Yes, Jo Ann did a really nice job of teasing readers along! Thanks for your comments!

Kristie said...

I loved the short summary of each story and am especially interested in "Christmas on Ice Mountain." It reminds me of Romeo and Juliet in a good way. kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you.

CharlotteHubbard said...

Terri, I love Jennifer's books, too--and she'll be chiming in here on the blog tour whenever she gets a chance! The nice thing about anthologies is that you get to sample other authors' stories and maybe find a new author you'll love! Thanks so much for chiming in here!

Unknown said...

This would be a awesome Christmas gift since Christmas books are so fun to read during the season. Thanks for the chance!

CharlotteHubbard said...

You're so welcome, Lynn! I think we've just solved your shopping for lots of folks you know, right?!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks so much for stopping by, Kristie! "Christmas on Ice Mountain" is a lead-in to Kelly's Ice Mountain Amish series, so we hope you'll enjoy her story!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks for stopping by, Lynn!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Kristie, I might've confused the blog "machinery" here--I wrote a reply and it hasn't shown up, so I'll try again! Kelly's "Christmas on Ice Mountain" leads into her Ice Mountain Amish series, so if you enjoy her story, you'll no doubt love her new books, as well! Thanks for stopping by!

Serena S. said...

I liked the review, it makes you want to read them too. =)

Linda Ortiz said...

What A great book! Can't wait to read them.

Strgth4yu(at)hotmail(dot).com

Emma said...

I Like reading Amish books. Thanks for the chance!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks so much for stopping by, Linda! We love your attitude! : )

CharlotteHubbard said...

I agree, Serena! Jo Ann did a nice job of enticing you!

CharlotteHubbard said...

You are so welcome, Emma! We hope you'll enjoy our stories.

MomJane said...

Great excerpts. All the stories sound great/

Deanna Stevens said...

Wonderful selection :)

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thank you so much, MomJane! We hope you'll enjoy them!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks, Deanna! We hope you'll give our stories a read--and we all have Amish series the stories connect to! Glad you stopped by!

bn100 said...

Nice cover

Sonja said...

Your books are so good. And the Amish genre has become my favorite. Can't read enough of them

Jennifer said...

Thanks, Cheryl! I hope you love our stories.

Jennifer said...

Yes, there are a lot of contemporary elements to the Amish romances. They mostly fit in the inspirational category.

Jennifer said...

Thanks, Terri! You are so kind. I think you will love all the stories in this collection.

Jennifer said...

Thanks, Lynn! My sister is giving lots of these for Christmas. :)

Jennifer said...

Thanks, Sonja. I think so many people are drawn to the simple life of the Amish.

Jennifer said...

Joann,
Thanks so much for hosting us today. I really appreciate your kind review. We are so excited for this collection of stories. I wrote A Perfect Amish Christmas in February, and it made me long for Christmastime. :)

Mary Preston said...

I love Amish stories.

Unknown said...

Love reading Amish stories. Thanks for a chance at winning.

seraphinangel7(at)aol(dot)com

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks! We were happy to see this pretty cover, too!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks so much for your compliments, Sonja! And thanks for stopping by to enter!

Dana Wilkerson Spille said...

Would love love love to read this book .I love to read Amish book's

CharlotteHubbard said...

What a lovely thing to say, Sonja! Thanks for stopping by!

Unknown said...

Does Anna Helmuth offer matchmaking services outside her family circle? I could use some help! Seriously, though, I'm interested in this anthology because I enjoy stories set during Christmastime ... and each of the three novellas would be about the right length to savor with a mug of hot cocoa in between all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. I like that a quilt will be part of each story.

CharlotteHubbard said...

We're glad you stopped by, Mary! We love the simple life of faith the Amish live, as well!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Thanks for joining us here, Juanita!

CharlotteHubbard said...

And we would love for you to read it, too, Dana! ;) Thanks for your enthusiasm!

CharlotteHubbard said...

Your cocoa and kick-back idea sounds wonderful, Katherine! Thanks for joining us here!

Rita Wray said...

Sounds like a wonderful book.

CharlotteHubbard said...

Rita, thank you so much and thanks for stopping by! We hope you'll give our stories a try!

Jennifer Hibdon said...

This sounds like such a fun read!!!

CharlotteHubbard said...

We had a lot of fun writing them, too, Jennifer! Hope you'll enjoy reading them--and thanks for stopping by!

Bizard and the Big Bunny Bizness by Chrissie Krebs

When Bizard the Bear Wizard’s friends decide to try to help him grant wishes, it turns out that two magic wands are so much worse than one. ...