A Lancaster Amish Christmas - by Anne Blackburne & Amy Clipston & Amy Lillard & Mindy Steele (Paperback)

Enjoy four Amish stories that take place during Christmas time. The first tale is, "Lucy's Christmas Sunbeam." Lucy, although young, took over raising her infant sister, Millie, after her parent's deaths. Millie has Down's Syndrome, and because of that, Lucy's boyfriend dropped her like a hot rock. She hasn't thought of romance since. Lucy loves Millie more than anything else, but now someone is trying to take her away. Perhaps Jacob, the new owner of the hardware store, can help Lucy. The second book, "A-Bird-in-Hand Christmas," features a young widow, Makayla, and her small son, Luke. They are spending the holidays with her parents; the first time Luke has gotten to do that. As soon as they arrive, Makayla runs into her former boyfriend, Wyatt. He broke her heart years ago when Wyatt began dating someone else. Now, he is working for her parents, and wants to worm his way back into her life. Makayla will not let him, despite Luke loving Wyatt. "Christmas Lily," is the third installment. Little Jacob would like a mom for Christmas, specifically, his new teacher. But his dad, and the teacher, Lily, have not gotten off to a good start. In fact, Lily doesn't want anything to do with him. But then a Christmas snowstorm threatens to strand her with Jacob and his dad. In "Leaving Lancaster," out-of-the-blue, their father announced he had sold their home. They will all move hundreds of miles away. Louise has a thriving business, and is worried about being successful in the new location. Leah doesn't want to leave her long-time boyfriend--who has never gotten around to proposing to her. The sisters feel that they have no choice but to follow their father's plans. But both are filled with dread about this move. All four of these stories make a nice Christmas escape. They are clean, charming tales that will bring a smile to your face. This five-star book is just the thing to bring in the Christmas spirit for Amish fans, and everyone else. Thank you, Barbour Books, for providing Tickmenot with a book to review.

A Lancaster Amish Christmas contains four novellas by Anne Blackburne, Amy Clipston, Mindy Steele, and Amy Lillard. I enjoyed all four stories, but Lucy’s Christmas Sunbeam is one that really touched my heart. All four stories had good characters and plots. I did feel that Leving Lancaster had a little too much going on. I wish the story had focused on Louise and left the twins stories for another novella. There is a recipe for jam at the end of Leaving Lancaster. Christmas Lily by Amy Lillard had my favorite character, Jacob Bontrager. He is a young boy who loves his temporary teacher. I liked the humor in this story. We get to learn about Amish Christmas traditions in each novella including their school Christmas program and making Christmas cards. Faith is nicely woven into each tale. Family, friendship, second chances, romance, forgiveness, and faith are some of the themes. I enjoyed the four uplifting holiday novellas. A Lancaster Amish Christmas left me smiling and ready for the holidays.

I was well pleased with all four of these romance novellas that left me wishing they were longer as I didn’t want them to end. I know they are supposed to each be a quick read but I enjoyed them so much that I was like more please. I don’t want to elaborate on each one separately as it would spoil them since they are short but I found each compelling for different reasons. I loved that Lucy was raising her Down’s syndrome sister and held out on romance until they could be a package deal. Makayla and Wyatt are an example of how important it is to have open communication so that assumptions and lies don’t cause unnecessary pain and confusion. I loved young Jacob and how he helps his dad find love again. I wanted to be a part of the Wickey family as I found their deer farm fascinating. All in all this is a great collection that gives you that warm fuzzy Christmas feeling. I highly recommend adding to your Christmas reading list as soon as possible. You will be glad you did. I received a complimentary copy from the author. The honest review and opinions are my own and were not required.