An Amish Christmas at North Star

An interesting collection of Amish novellas that all have one common thread. Four babies were born on a stormy winter night by one midwife. It was the talk of the town and of the nation. Decades later one reporter wants to do a follow up piece and see where the Amish babies are now. Each novella in this collection focuses on a different baby. One is a murder mystery with a fudge shop, another is about an adopted English girl that discovers her birth family was Amish. In another, a woman breaks off her engagement with her beloved over mysterious circumstances. And in the last a twelve year old boy will stop at nothing to get his older brother home for Christmas. All have ties to the North Star Amish community, and all the stories take place at Christmas. I actually did enjoy all four. I wouldn't mind reading another collection like this!

Wishing on Willows

As I've mentioned before, Christian Romances generally aren't my cup of tea, author Katie Ganshert however, has once again made me change my opinion on this often overlooked genre.

In her second novel (and sequel to "Wildflowers from Winter") Ganshert does an excellent job of breathing life into her characters. They're realistic and face real problems, they don't just breeze past them with God's grace as in many other Christian romance novels. They struggle and fail and pick themselves back up again like real people. It's actually quite refreshing.

This story takes place about four years after "Wildflowers from Winter" and features Robin as the main character tather than Bethany (although she is still in the story). For all those that never read the first book, never fear, this novel easily stands alone and explains things in enough detail that you're always in the know. Anyhow, Robin is struggling to keep her Willow Tree Cafe in business and to raise Caleb as a single mother (her husband Micah died in the first book). As if she didn't have enough on her plate, a developer comes into town and wants to buy her property to tear it down to build condiminiums. Not only would she lose her business, but "One Life" a charity organization, would lose theirs as well. She has to fight the charming developer, Ian McKay, with all she's got in order to save her passion and the well being of the town.

Overall, I found this to be a great read. It's believable and you start to root for the characters as you go along. You know it has to have a happy ending but it keeps you guessing til the very end as to how everything is going to turn out. It's a page turner about love and second chances and you won't want to miss out!