An Amish Christmas: December in Lancaster County: Four Amish Christmas Novellas

This is the first book I have read in awhile! It has sparked my interest in reading again. As soon as I finished this book I went on to purchase other Amish Romance Novels. I especially love the three short stories, I picked my favorite author and purchased her other books. Defiantly a great book for the Christmas season!

This book was very interesting in the Amish ways and the stories were passionate and about caring people. It made you want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. I recommend these stories.

I loved this book. All three stories were amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves to read Amish books.

The first thing I'd say is if you are thinking about buying this book but don't think you'll get to it until after Christmas, don't worry - it really isn't all that "Christmasy". There are references to decorating and get togethers and things like that, but they really don't take up a lot of the story. Second, if you love quilting and cooking like I do, you will really love this book. I read all the novels I can find that have cooking or crafts in them and this is just as good if not better. There are even some really good recipes in the back of the book. The book itself if made up of three different stories about 3 women in the same town. The first was my favorite, about Seth and Miriam who are working to get together after an upsetting incident when they were in grade school. The second story was the longest and it's about Miriam's sister, Lydia, who is reconnecting with someone from her past also. The third one is about a non-Amish couple who get stuck in a snowstorm and have to spend the night with one of the Amish families. The woman is pregnant, and the woman she stays with wants a baby but has miscarried. The book was written really well and was one of those that just makes you feel good after you are done reading. I highly recommend it.

I love to read about Amish life in today's world. These 3 novellas by 3 different authors weave a beautiful pattern of Amish life, and help explain how and why the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, choose to accept some modern methods, while rejecting others. In them, the importance of developing honest relationships and relying on inner character rather than outward appearances are stressed. Each story adds more details about Amish Christmas customs while developing love relationships between 3 different Amish couples. The first story is told from the viewpoint of a young Amish woman, Miriam and her beau, while the second story is about her older sister, Lydia. The last story is about Miriam's best friend, Sarah. In the first story, "A Miracle for Miriam," author Beth Wiseman masterfully weaves a tale of how a boy (Seth) and a girl (Miriam) relate first as children and later as young adults, after Seth undergoes a dramatic change of heart following a car accident during his Rumpschpringe. On the lighter side, it was fun to learn about quilting and wood-working, making apple pies, and such. In the second story ("A Choice to Forgive"), author Kathleen Fuller takes us into the world of Miriam's older sister Lydia at a later stage in life. After her first sweetheart, Daniel, disappeared just before they were to be married, Lydia eventually married his brother Elam and raised their children until Elam died of a heart attack. Suddenly, Daniel returns and secrets are eventually revealed that highlight the tension between telling all and keeping secrets. Which is more important, protecting the family reputation or being honest with the individuals affected in the family? I especially loved the last story ("One Child," by Barbara Cameron) in which an Amish couple who cannot conceive (Sarah and David) open their home to a non-Amish couple (Kate and Jason) on Christmas Eve and help deliver their baby in the midst of a blizzard. It was delightful to learn both couples were reading the same baby book to prepare for the births of their first children. The author did a beautiful job of developing the characters of both couples. Kate and Jason begin to discover how much their new baby will change their perspective on family versus work, and on caring for each other. Sarah and David learn to finally accept the miscarriage of their own first child when new life is born on Christmas, the most special birthday of all to Christians around the world. Definitely recommended.