In An Amish Kitchen three talented writers join together to give us three lovely stories of faith and love. The stories are well written and short but sweet. I highly recommend this book to those that share my fascination with the Amish.

  

Book Description

The Amish Kitchen is the Heart of the Home – and the Ideal Setting for Stories of Love and Hope.
Fall in Paradise, Pennsylvania, always brings a brisk change in the weather. This season also ushers in unexpected visitors, new love, and renewed hope for three women.
Fern has a green thumb for growing healing herbs, but longs for love to bloom in her life. Then the next-door neighbor’s oldest son, Abram, comes running into Fern’s kitchen seeking help for his little sister. The crisis soon leads to a promise of romance—until mistrust threatens to end the growing attraction.
Nearby, Hannah runs her parents’ bed and breakfast, Paradise Inn—but her life feels nothing like Paradise. She longs for a man of integrity to enter her life, but never expected him to knock on the front door looking for a room. Will she be able trust Stephen with her future once she discovers his mysterious past?
When a storm blows a tree onto Eve’s farmhouse, she has little choice but to temporarily move her family into her parents’ home. Outside of cooking together in the kitchen, Eve and her mother can’t agree on anything. But this may be just the recipe for hope in healing old wounds.
Three Amish stories—each celebrating love, family, and faith—all taking place in a tight-knit community where the kitchen truly is the heart of the home.
Also Includes Reading Group Guide and 45 Old Order Amish Recipes

 

 

 Recently I have become swept up by the Amish Fiction movement. Good thing too, since Amish stories are in great demand right now. Kelly Long's A Marriage of the Heart kept me turning the pages.  Three stories in one book is a bonus any time, but this one is outstanding!  I especially enjoyed the second book: Christmas Cradles. I did not put the book down once I started.  Up all night but worth every moment.

 

Book Description

Three Stories That Share the Adventures of First Love and Second Chances.
A Perfect Secret—Rose Bender’s betrothed, Luke Lantz, is safe and dependable, maybe a little too much so. Or so she thinks until she sees him in the woods one night and discovers a secret he’s been keeping. Now his secret haunts her. She wasn’t sure about marrying a man she knew too well. But should she marry a man she doesn’t understand at all?
Christmas Cradles—When Anna Stolis takes over for her aunt, the local midwife, Christmas night heats up with multiple deliveries, three strangers’ quilts, and unexpected help from the handsome and brooding Asa Lapp.
A Marriage of the Heart—Since her mother’s death, Abigail Kauffman has lived alone with her father. She longs to escape the emptiness of the farmhouse that has never felt like home. Joseph Lambert is a newcomer in their close-knit community. Only after suddenly marrying do they begin to understand the tender truths of life-long love.

Dead Wrong by Susan Sleeman

Dead Wrong is the second book in the Justice Agency series. Susan Sleeman does an excellent job of creating characters the reader can't help but care for.  I actually found myself forgetting these aren't real people. Susan's a gifted writer and has given us another book full of suspense that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

Kat Justice and Mitch Elliot both have painful experiences from their past they need to overcome to be able to have a happy relationship. With a killer hot on the their trail it isn't easy. I enjoyed  the fast pace and inspirational quality. Full of twist, I was completely surprised at the ending. Well Done!

Back of the Book
When her client and old college friend is murdered, P.I. Kat Justice knows the killer will come for her next. Her survival depends on finding her unknown enemy first…and working with homicide detective Mitch Elliot, her onetime crush. It'll take all her professional skills to ignore the sparks between them, but Kat can't allow the handsome cop to get close. She's seen too many people she loves die, so she vows just to do her job without getting emotionally involved. Yet keeping her distance may not be the best way to protect her heart—or their lives.

 

 

 

I have enjoyed the Land of Canaan series and looked forward to this newest addition. It's more than your typical Amish story. At first I questioned the idea of an Amish man being willing to leave his faith for an Englisher he isn't in love with. As the story unfolds I found it to be one of the best reads I've had in a long time. I read 4-5 books a week so that says a lot. I did not put the book down until I reached the last page. Beth Wiseman had me in the palm of her hand the entire time.

Book Description

An unplanned pregnancy. An absent father. Can love really endure all things?
Danielle Kent is anything but Amish. But as destiny would have it, she has fallen in love with an Amish man.
Now she’s 18, pregnant, and hopeful that the child’s Amish father—Matthew Lapp—will do the right thing and marry her. She knows Matthew plans to leave his Colorado settlement for a life in the Englisch world. But that plan never included a baby.
When Matthew walks away from her and their unborn child, she has nowhere to turn. Her unlikely friendship with Levi offers some comfort—yet they have so little in common. This wasn’t the plan she had for her life, and she has never felt so alone. She doesn’t want to be pregnant. Doesn’t want to be Amish. Doesn’t want to trust God.
And yet.
God has plans beyond what her mind can imagine . . . loving plans to show a lost young woman that His love never fails but endures forever.

Faithful to Laura, by Kathleen Fuller is the story of an Amish girl who has suffered physical and emotional trauma from the man she thought she loved. She struggles to forgive him as is the Amish way but she instead seeks revenge. She meets an Englisher who's been adopted by an Amish family as a teenager. Their painful pasts bring them together. I would recommend to anyone that enjoys reading Amish romances.

Book Description

Laura’s Amish faith requires her to forgive, but she can only think of revenge.
Laura Stutzman leaves her Kentucky community for Middlefield, Ohio, with one purpose: to find Mark King, the man who pledged his love to her, then left. She can’t move on with her life until he explains why.
Sawyer Thompson is a Yankee who spent his teen years in an Amish home. Now an adult, he has to make a decision—go back to the life he knew as a child or join the church. Having suffered loss at a young age, he understands Laura’s anger, but is determined to follow God’s will and forgive. As their friendship grows, Laura begins to let her guard down.
New information about Sawyer’s past threatens the couple’s budding relationship. Both Laura and Sawyer will need to release the anger they’re storing in their hearts and forgive the people who’ve harmed them. As Laura struggles to trust God, will Sawyer do whatever it takes to remain faithful to Laura?

This is the first of Cara Lynn James' books I've read but not the last. I happy to discover a new author that I plan to keep on my must read list.

Set in the 19th century, A Path Toward Love, is well written and hard to put down. Through Katherine and Andrew's journey we are reminded of forgiveness, and accepting God's will for our lives! Independent and widowed after a bad marriage Katherine is determination to keep her orchard in Florida - something that just isn't done back when women were expected to know their place.Her wealthy parents try to keep her from her dream as well as the man she loves. 

Book Description

Katherine came home to forget her past.
The last thing she expected is a hopeful future.
Young widow Katherine Osborne returns to her family’s rustic camp on Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. She’s determined to live a quiet life, but her socialite mother is equally determined to push her into a new marriage while she’s still young.
Andrew Townsend has known Katherine since they were children. An attorney who is successful, but not wealthy, he knows she is socially out of his reach. But he’s curious what changed the free-spirited girl he once knew into this private, somber young woman.
Katherine has kept hidden the details of her unsuccessful marriage. When past sins come to light, she must turn to God for the courage to be honest. But how can she trust the God she feels has let her down? When she confides in Andrew, their relationship takes a dramatic turn into uncharted territory.
Amid impossible obstacles, two young people must learn to trust enough to walk the path that God has cleared for them. A path that leads to healing and restoration. A path toward love.

A Promise for Miriam by Vannetta Chapman

I enjoy reading stories about the Amish and though familiar with Vannetta Chapman's work, A Promise for Miriam is the first of her books I've had the pleasure of reading. I'm hooked. The characters and backdrop for the story are skillfully written and draw the reader into the story. I found the book both enchanting and hard to put down. The best part - it's the first of a series so I get to go back!


 Book Description:

A Promise for Miriam, the first book in a brand-new romantic series from popular author Vannetta Chapman, introduces the Amish community of Pebble Creek and some of the kind, caring people there. As they face challenges to their community from the English world, they come together to reach out to their non-Amish neighbors while still preserving their cherished Plain ways.

Amish schoolteacher Miriam King loves her students. At 26, most women her age are married with children of their own, but she hasn't yet met anyone who can convince her to give up the Plain school that sits along the banks of Pebble Creek. Then newcomer Gabriel Miller steps into her life, bringing his daughter, an air of mystery, and challenges Miriam has never faced before.

Will Gabe be able to let go of the past that haunts him? He thinks he just wants to be left alone, but the loving and warm community he and his daughter have moved to has other plans for him. After a near tragedy is averted, he hesitantly returns offers of help and friendship, and he discovers he can make a difference to the people of Pebble Creek--and maybe find love again.