An Amish Winter

This is two sweet Amish novellas. The first book in the two Novella book was so good. I loved the characters, and I cannot believe they where so developed in this short Novella. I really liked the second book. There was parts of it I loved, but some parts I did not loved. The characters where fun and I loved them. I did not think the second book was as developed as the first one. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Love Inspired) or author (Vannetta Chapman and Carrie Lighte) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

The first thing that caught my attention is the cover of this book. A sweet chubby baby! Probably because of all the bad news and the pandemic reading has become a sweet way for me to escape from the doldrums of society. Stranded in the Snow by Vannetta Chapman is about bachelor Elijah King. Elijah is likable fellow and he is determined to find a wife...in the next 12 months! This is a down to earth short story of a bachelor and a widow. A widow with a baby. What a great story of love and giggles!<br /><br />The next short story, Caring for the Amish Baby is from a new to me author...Carrie Lighte. This fun story caught my heart strings as Leah Zehr and Jonathan Rocke try to help a sick friend. Leah seems to know more about babies than Jonathan but Jonathan comes through at the best of times. Such a fun story!<br /><br />Two stories in one book! Novellas at their best and not to be missed!

Stranded in the Snow by Vannetta Chapman has Elijah King helping Faith Yoder and her daughter, Hannah when they arrive in town during a snowstorm. Elijah has finally decided he is ready to settle down and has been looking for the right woman. Elijah at first thought Faith might be “the One”, but, when he learns her profession, decides she is not the woman God has promised him. Faith is not interested in getting married. She wants to provide for herself and Hannah using her business planning skills. God, though, has other plans for these two stubborn individuals.<br /><br />Caring for the Amish Baby by Carrie Lighte has Leah Zehr looking forward to her month-long vacation in Pinecraft, Florida. She will not have to endure her sister-in-law, take care of any children, nor clean or cook for anyone other than herself. Leah’s cousin, Betty gifted the vacation to Leah who cannot wait to lounge in the sunshine with one of the books she is taking with her. She plans to stop in Fawn Crossing to spend three days with her close childhood friend, Esther Rocke who moved there after marriage. Leah arrives at Esther’s to find illness has struck down Esther and her husband. The only person to care for them and baby Rebekah is Esther’s brother-in-law, Jonathan. Leah doubts Jonathan’s ability to care for the family after noting his sluggish movements. She ends up postponing her departure to help out. When God closes a door, He opens a window. <br /><br />An Amish Winter contains two heartwarming Amish stories. I enjoyed reading Stranded in the Snow and Caring for the Amish Baby. I thought both novellas were well-written with good characters and steady pacing. Vannetta Chapman gave us two stubborn individuals with Faith Yoder and Elijah King. I thought the author provided us with developed characters for such a short tale. I liked seeing how people in the community helped Faith. There is humor and good life lessons in Stranded in the Snow. Caring for the Amish Baby is the first book I have read by Carrie Lighte, and it will not be my last. I thought it was an amusing tale (I chuckled frequently while reading this story). It was such a lighthearted, charming tale that brightened my day. It is wonderful how Leah gave her something so important to her to help her friend. I also appreciated the author delving into seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It is important for people to realize that it is an illness that affects around 3 million people each year. I could understand why Leah wanted to visit Siesta Key. It is a great beach. I like how Caring for the Amish Baby ended. An Amish Winter has two uplifting tales that are perfect to read on a cold afternoon (while snuggled under a warm blanket). <br />

If you want a lighthearted read then I recommend this one.<br />The first story is written by one of my favorite authors and the 2nd one is a new to me author.<br />One of the reasons I love Amish books is the inspirational themes that are Weaver into each story without being too preachy.<br />Another is the theme of togetherness, belonging, family and most of all I love the idea of being a community. Always ready to help each other in need.<br />These two stories has all of this and more! <br />Of course there are always certain parts of a story that I don't/won't like. But, that's with any story.<br />Each author has done an awesome job in making each character realistic and believable. <br />Some you feel like you know all your life and others are harder to know but in the end I didn't want to say goodbye. <br />I really enjoyed these two stories.<br />I recommend this book. You'll love it as much as I did.<br />My thanks to Netgalley/Harlequin publishers for a copy of this book.<br />I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

An Amish Winter is a delightful read with two wonderful novellas that are brand new tales from each author. I appreciate that Harlequin Love Inspired is doing this instead of publishing 2 in 1 for previous book releases. <br /><br /> Stranded in the Snow by Chapman brought tears and smiles. I felt the cold blowing snow and each emotion the characters were facing. Faith and Elijah were true to life with their characteristics. There are some tense moments but learning to see things differently can happen when others are involved. I appreciate how the author brought the story together in a lovely way without it feeling rushed in this novella. <br /><br />Caring for the Amish’s Baby by Lighte had Leah and Jonathan caring for his niece, due to her parent’s illness. Leah initial plans were for a short visit with her best friend Leah but life happens. The unexpected time of being together and recognizing a need brought a nice ending to the story that was sorted unusual for an Amish man. <br /><br />I received a complimentary copy of this book from one of the authors and was under no obligation to write a positive review. I have expressed my own opinion. I look forward to reading more Love Inspired Amish stories by Chapman and Lighte. <br />

I loved this book, two sweet Amish novella's, the only problem was they were page-turner's and finished way to fast.<br />Both take place in the winter, snow flying, and involve darling babies, and broken spirits.<br />There are surprises and ahh ha moments in each book, and somethings you won't see coming.<br />Great cozy reads to get lost in!<br />I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Love Inspired, and was not required to give a positive review.

What a wonderful pair of novellas in this Amish collection! Both of these stories were so enjoyable to read. Even though the stories are shorter than full-length novels, the character development in both novellas was very impressive.<br /><br />In Stranded in the Snow by Vannetta Chapman, Faith’s love for her baby was clear. She had a lot of decisions to make and had come from a very difficult situation. She was not quick to trust Elijah because of all she had been through. Elijah also had to adjust his expectations regarding the role of an Amish woman and accept Faith for who she was.<br /><br />In Caring for the Amish Baby by Carrie Lighte, it was so sweet to see how Leah and Jonathan worked together to take care of not only Jonathan’s niece, but also his brother and sister-in-law. There were some misunderstandings and hurt feelings a couple of times between Leah and Jonathan. These events felt so real and plausible that it made me really empathize with both of them. I was amazed at how much I connected with both of these characters in this novella.<br /><br />I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.<br /><br />You can read this review on my blog:<br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://brittreadsfiction.wordpress.com/2020/12/30/review-an-amish-winter-by-vannetta-chapman-and-carrie-lighte/">https://brittreadsfiction.wordpress.c...</a>

This was such a nice book to read during a stressful time! It was relaxing and sweet and I just loved reading and relaxing. I am happy that I read this feel-good book with two stories from excellent Amish authors because it was a light, happy book. The storylines were excellent and new. I especially loved the first one. Although the stories were of a shorter length, the characters were excellently developed and the stories didn't seem rushed in any way.<br />I would highly recommend this enjoyable and relaxing book for a cold Covid winters day!<br /><br />I received a complimentary copy from the author. All thoughts are my own.

Feeling mixed thoughts about this 2-in-1 story about finding love in the snow. <br />The first novella, Stranded in the Snow by Vannetta Chapman, was charming and a joy to read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️<br />However the second, Caring for the Amish Baby by Carrie Lighte, seemed a little less put together. More than once, names were mixed up (Leah called Esther and Jonathan called Gabriel). May be a downfall to publishing so many books quickly as Harlequinn does each month for the Love Inspired series, as this was more than likely was an editing oversight. The story was sweet but the characters seemed childish and came to conclusions without much communication between the main characters.

This Love Inspire volume had two short stories in one book. I enjoyed the first one by Vannetta Chapman very much, called Stranded in the Snow. I would give this book a 5 star rating. It was a sweet story of a young widow finding love and trusting God with her future that included another man. I am enjoying all of Vannetta’s Amish books.<br />The second book, Caring for the Amish Baby, was by Carrie Lighte. I didn’t like this one as much because the author did not include a glossary of the words she used and they were unfamiliar to me because they weren’t the usual Pennsylvania Dutch words used in any of the previous hundreds of books I’ve read. This is, I believe, the first book I’ve read by this author. So I had to think of what the words could mean in the context of the sentence. That was disappointing and affected the flow of the story. However, I did like the content of this story because she talks about SAD. Which stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. I’ve never seen a Christian author address this illness. It’s often missed by medical doctors. My heart ached for Leah and the difficult life she lived. It also reminded me that we need to be careful what we say and how we judge another, not fully knowing their situation. The only reason I gave this 4 stars and not 5 was because of Lightes lack of a glossary to better understand the words. I liked the content of both books.