Friday, September 28, 2018

Review: Amish Celebrations by Beth Wiseman



Book Description

The Gift of Sisters
Hannah and Elizabeth are fraternal twins approaching their sixteenth birthday—a time when they will be allowed to spread their wings and enjoy their rumschpringe. The sisters couldn’t be more different: Hannah is outgoing and beautiful, while Elizabeth is shy and withdrawn. And when newcomer Abraham Stoltzfus arrives in Lancaster County, both women fall head over heels for him, each fighting for his affections in their own ways and driving the sisters to turn on each other. Who will Abraham choose? And will Hannah and Elizabeth reunite after a devastating heartbreak?
A New Beginning
Rebecca and Noah are in love and about to be baptized. But when Noah decides to enjoy one last night of his rumschpringe a few weeks before the ceremony, he does something that causes Rebecca to reconsider his proposal. As Rebecca and Noah navigate the turn in their relationship, Rebecca must learn to forgive Noah or abandon her dreams of marrying him. If Noah won’t forgive himself in time for the baptism, his guilt could cause him to run from his love for Rebecca and leave his community behind.
A Perfect Plan (previously published in An Amish Wedding)
Priscilla King has been planning to marry Chester Lapp since she was sixteen years old, and when Chester pops the question on Priscilla’s nineteenth birthday, wedding plans begin immediately. But everything begins to fall apart as Chester works to build a house for his new bride, only to have one disaster after another occur. Can true love take this couple through the challenges that threaten their union, or will they begin to doubt that they are on the right path, the one God has chosen for them?
A Christmas Miracle
Mary is twenty-seven years old and already has five young children. Married to her husband at age eighteen, she wasn’t quite prepared for motherhood, and exhaustion and frustration are sending her into a downhill spiral as the holidays approach. Too proud and ashamed to ask for help, Mary’s situation begins to take a toll on her marriage. But when an elderly man in a red suit and his sidekick elf befriend Mary, showering her with wisdom and advice, she must choose to accept help, learn to cope with her situation, and ultimately find the true meaning of Christmas.

MY REVIEW: 
I really enjoyed this collection of amish novellas. Sometimes with novellas it is hard to make a story feel complete and well developed, but none of these stories were lacking. Each story is wholesome with a bit of drama and I just adore the author's writing style. Like with any collection I enjoyed some of the stories a bit more than others, but overall they were all enjoyable. I think my favorites were The Gift of Sisters and A Christmas Miracle. I actually cried a bit in A Christmas of Miracle when something lovely happened. While my least favorite (although I still liked it well enough) would have to be A Perfect Plan. The feeling of love and faith throughout the whole book was very prevalent and is something that I really look forward to when reading a good amish romance like this. I am definitely interested in trying out more books by this author. She creates such realistic and wonderful characters. I highly recommend Amish Celebrations. 
 ** I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. **