An Amish Market Published by Thomas Nelson on February 2nd, 2016
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
All the color and variety of a quaint Amish shop in a charming collection of novellas by four of your favorite authors. Feel free to come in and browse!
An Amish Market is four great novellas by four great Amish authors – Amy Clipston, Kathleen Fuller, Kelly irvin and Vannetta Chapman. When I saw this book, I knew it would be one that my mother would really enjoy just based on the title. I put the same requirements on my mom that I impose on myself – she has to provide a book review based on her opinions. I will say that as she read this book, she took notes on each story as she finished it, so she wouldn’t forget it as she read the next story. Smart lady there!
Without anything else from me, here’s my mom, Gloria’s review:
“I enjoyed reading all four novellas in An Amish Market but I especially loved the story, Love in Store by Vanetta Chapman. What I found with each of these short stories is that I wished they were a full novel in itself.
Love Birds by Amy Clipston:
Ellie Lapp and her mother mourn the loss of her brother Seth. But now with Seth gone, and since her father had died fourteen years ago Ellie and her mother are left alone in the big and quiet house doing their very best to keep their small farm going without Seth. Family and friends including Seth’s best friend Lloyd came by frequently to assist with the chores.
To help her mother, Ellie starts working at the Bird-in-Hand Gifts and Treasurers shop in town to help with the day to day expenses that Seth’s check had taken care of. Seth’s friend Lloyd has a hobby of carving wooden birds. But his father makes it clear that he was expected to take over the family farm someday. Ellie thinks the birds are beautiful and wants Lloyd to sell them in the gift shop where she is working but he objects.
Ellie and Lloyd began to develop feelings for one another as they spent more time together. She is determined to convince Lloyd to sell his wooden birds and while her intentions are good she does not take into consideration what Lloyd truly wants. Lloyd feels Ellie betrayed him. His feelings for her change. How do they come to grips with that betrayal? Will Lloyd be able to forgive and move on?
A Bid For Love by Kathleen Fuller:
This unusual love story begins at the Middlefield market in Middlefield, OH. Both of the main characters are older and reserved. Bringing home-churned butter to her stand inside the main building at the Middlefield Market to sell each week Hannah Lynne Beiler is visited by Ezra Yutzy almost every Monday to purchase some butter that he does not need.
A special heirloom quilt is the center of this story. There is a mix –up with the auction of the quilts that leads to a problem with Ezra’s mother as well as with Hannah Lynn. Their relationship is brought together by several misunderstandings and Ezra is the community’s most confirmed bachelor. Will they eventually reveal their real feelings for each other? Where is the special quilt at the end of this story?
Sweeter Than Honey by Kelly Lrvin:
This is Will Glick’s story that takes place in Bee County, Texas. Will is the manager of the local Combination store that is owned by Bishop Leroy. Isabella Shrock is a quiet, shy girl who had just moved from Tennessee to Bee County with her family for a new start. It’s hard for her to make friends, even in a small, friendly community. She wants to make friends which ones are the right ones?
Will is stuck. He can’t move forward because he was badly hurt when Leila Lantz married his cousin instead of him. Can Isabella help Will get over his hurt? As we read the choices they make traveling along their journey of life, we can see God’s perfect timing for our paths. Forgiveness, trust, God’s timing, and love makes this a wonderful story that you want to go on.
Love in Store By Vannetta Chapman:
Here is a wonderful mystery, suspense, and romance story. It takes place at the Old Mill in Nappanee Indiana. This story is about David Stolzfus a widower who has lost the love of his life, his wife Beverly and is now living with his newly widowed daughter Rebecca and her 3 children and Stella Schwartz living with her sister, who David thinks is a bitter, grumpy, and outspoken woman. Both David and Stella work at the Old Mill and when pranks begins at first and later becomes dangerous at work and around town David and Stella work together to solve the mystery. Who is behind this?
The characters in this story are likeable and in their fifties. Each has their own problems. David loves God and works to live his life for him. He is kind and gentle. Stella thinks no one wants to marry her. Can solving this mystery lead to a romance?
An Amish Market by Amy Clipston, Kathleen Fuller, Kelly irvin and Vannetta Chapman made me believe more that God has a plan for our lives, always for our good, and more in love that can last our life time.
Each novella in An Amish Market has a glossary of Amish (Pennsylvania Dutch) words and ends with a set of discussion questions and would be perfect for use in a reading group or book club—one novella per meeting. Each story author also provides a recipe—perfect for the after-discussion snack.”
I received a paperback copy of this book without cost from the publisher through The Fiction Guild, a Thomas Nelson/Zondervan book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
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