The Teacher's Christmas Secret: An Uplifting Inspirational Romance (Seven Amish Sisters Book 3) by Emma Miller

Book Details: 

Title: The Teacher's Christmas Secret 

Series: Seven Amish Sisters Book 3

Author: Emma Miller

Publisher: Love Inspired

Pages: 203

Release Date: September 26, 2023 

Genre: Clean & Wholesome Romance

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Book Description:

The Amish school brings them together

Will his secret break them apart?

When widowed schoolteacher Tobit Lapp is injured, he reluctantly agrees he needs Cora Koffman’s help. Cora’s still upset Tobit got the job at the Amish schoolhouse, but she agrees to teach his class till he’s able. As they work together on lessons, a surprising friendship blossoms between them, but Tobit’s heart is torn. He’s falling for Cora—yet his secret could ruin everything…

My Thoughts: Secrets

I really enjoyed watching Cora and Tobit move forward from their strained beginnings to a blossoming relationship. However, secrets are usually not a good thing, and in Tobit's case, his definitely was not. While the story really drove home the far reaching repercussions of secrets, it also drove home the far reaching blessings of love, forgiveness and second chances making it a lovely story that is well worth the read. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.  All comments and opinions are voluntary and completely my own.

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About the Author:  Emma Miller

Emma Miller is a wife, mother and a grandmother who lives a quiet life in Delaware. She's the author of the Hannah's Daughter's series and is at work on her next Amish romance novel.

The Christmas Quilt (The Shadow Lake Series Book 3) by Lenora Worth

Book Details: 

Title: The Christmas Quilt 

Series: The Shadow Lake Series Book 3

Author: Lenora Worth

Publisher: Zebra Books

Pages: 290

Release Date: August 22, 2023 

Genre: Amish Romance

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Book Description:

As the holidays approach, Colette King is eager for Matthew Mueller’s return to Shadow Lake. Especially now that she has finally surrendered to the truth—that the friend she has known forever, the first man she ever kissed, is the one she longs to spend her life with. So when Mattie shows up at her sister’s wedding with another woman on his arm, Colette’s hopes are shattered. To heal her broken heart, she begins a quilt honoring her memories of Mattie. But every square she adds only makes her yearn for him more . . .

Matthew’s new inheritance comes with a lot of responsibilities—including his late-uncle’s deathbed request that he marry the woman who was his ward. But from the moment Mattie sees Colette again, he wishes he could escape his familial duty, even though doing so could bring scandal upon his mamm and daed. Will his desire to protect his parents cost him the life—and the love—he dreams of? Or can faith work a Christmas miracle that blesses all . . .

My Thoughts: A Great Mix of Romance and Intrigue

The Christmas Quilt is a great mix of romance and intrigue. It kept me turning pages with one surprise after another which included a sensitive topic which the author handled flawlessly. I was drawn into the characters and taken through a myriad of emotions as I felt all that they were feeling. It kept me wondering how Matthew and Collette's story would turn out, especially with Shelah in the mix. While she was not my favorite character, I found myself trying to figure out what made her tick. Finding the answer to that one brought yet another surprise which resulted in an interesting turn of events. This blend of romance, twists and turns, perseverance, trust and intrigue resulted in a fantastic story that is sure to be enjoyed by all who read it. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.  All comments and opinions are voluntary and completely my own.

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About the Author: Lenora Worth

Lenora Worth is an ACFW Honor Roll member. She writes inspirational fiction for Harlequin's Love Inspired and sweet romance for Tule Publishing. She also writes for Kensington Books. She helped launch the Rodeo Knights Western Romance imprint. Her LIS Body of Evidence made the NY Times Bestseller list and she is also a USA Today and Publishers Weekly Bestselling author. In 2016, she received a Romantic Times Pioneers of Fiction Award. Three of her books have been nominated for the ACFW Carol Award and she is an RWA RITA finalist. Lenora has written 80+ books and has an estimated 3 million books in print. She loves cheesecake, shoe shopping, walking on the beach and reading.

https://www.lenoraworth.com/

The Flower Quilter (The Heart of the Amish) by Mindy Steele

Book Details: 

Title: The Flower Quilter

Series: The Heart of the Amish Book 1

Author: Mindy Steele

Publisher: Barbour Fiction

Pages: 259

Release Date: September 1, 2023 

Genre: Amish Romance

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Book Description:

Full of faith, hope, and romance, this new series takes you into the Heart of Amish country.
 
Barbara Schwartz was born into a family of quilters, but she would rather eat dirt than partake in another quilting frolic or sew on another binding. When her parents send her to Indiana to help her grandmother in her quilting shop, she finds herself amongst a very different community. It’s only one summer and then she will be back in Kentucky where she belongs.

Melvin Bontrager’s world stopped six years ago when his parents died. Now when his only means of providing for his widowed sister and niece is threatened, Melvin finds his landscaping business disappearing too. When spring delivers a newcomer who is immune to his salty moods, Melvin does something he has never done before, accepts help. 

What blooms is the last thing Barbara ever expected, and everything Melvin could ever want. 

My Thoughts: Square Peg in a Round Hole

Have you ever tried putting a square peg into a round hole? It's not going to happen, and yet that is exactly what Barbara Schwartz's family was trying to do to her. But no matter how hard she tried, Barbara was not cut out to be a quilter. Now if you talk to her about gardening and flowers, she is top notch, which is, much to his surprise, exactly what Melvin Bontrager is about to find out. 

I loved Barbara and Melvin's story. Mindy Steele has a way of flawlessly putting two unlikely characters together in a way that you would never imagine, and it always works. Yes, there are ups and downs, but that is the best part of the journey. She also adds real places and describes them is such a way that you feel like you are right there seeing it up close and personal. And if that's not enough, she adds some great secondary characters that add much to the story. The entire combination will keep you smiling and glued to the pages up to the very end. It's just that good.

Book Quotes:

One cannot know another's day without walking in his shadow. 

He might not understand Gott's plan for his life, but he believed in his heart that trusting Him was imperative.

I was provided with an advanced copy of this book.  All comments and opinions are voluntary and completely my own.

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About the Author:  Mindy Steele

Raised in Kentucky timber country, Mindy Steele is a 2022 Readers Choice winner, and a best-selling author who writes in favor of her rural surroundings. Her books are peppered with humor, and sprinkled with grace, charming all the senses to make you laugh, cry, hold your breath, and root for the happy ever after ending. A storyteller at heart, she enjoys coffee indulgences, week end road trips, and researching her next book. 

https://mindysteeleauthor.wordpress.com/ 

An Amish Cinderella (The Amish of Apple Creek Book 3) by Shelley Shepard Gray

Book Details: 

Title:  An Amish Cinderella

Series: The Amish of Apple Creek Book 3

Author: Shelley Shepard Gray

Publisher: Kensington Books

Pages: 

Release Date: September 26, 2023 

Genre: Amish Romance

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Book Description:

Now that her friends are all marrying or moving away, Heart Beachy has started feeling lonely. Worse, everyone keeps asking when she’s going to find a man of her own. Don’t they realize Heart has her hands full at home with her widowed dad, too many chores, and a menagerie of needy, small animals? Besides, she doesn’t understand the fuss about marriage.
 
Newcomer Clayton Glick is utterly charmed by Heart—and completely confounded. He can’t figure out why this beautiful woman is as awkward as a teenager whenever he’s around, which is often now that he’s an apprentice to her blacksmith father. So Clayton starts assisting with Heart’s never-ending tasks, even helping her corral her unruly pets. How else can he court an adorably flustered woman who doesn’t know the first thing about courtship? Because courting is exactly what he intends . . .
 
Heart doesn’t know why her pulse hammers every time she sees Clayton. She only knows yielding to such emotions will mean trouble. . . . But maybe with a little faith—and the loss of a shoe—Clayton can convince her to join him on the road to happily ever after.

My Thoughts: Finding Love in Unexpected Places

When the rough and gruff Levi Beachy takes on Clayton Glick as an apprentice without informing his daughter, Heart Beachy, little did he know that things would begin looking and feeling a tad bid different. Such was the case for him as well as for Heart and Clayton. Surprises were in store for each of them and no one was quite ready for where things were going. Fortunately for them, some puppies and a mouse were there to help keep them in check. When you combine all of that together, you have a story of finding love in unexpected places which is sure to tug at your heart strings.  

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.  All comments and opinions are voluntary and completely my own.

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About the Author:  Shelley Shepard Gray

Shelley Shepard Gray is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author. She's published over a hundred novels and has over a million books in print. She currently lives in northern Ohio and writes full time.

Shelley lives just an hour from Holmes County, where many of her Amish-themed novels are set. She currently writes contemporary romance and Amish fiction for a variety of publishers. When not spending time with her family or writing, she can usually be found walking her two dachshunds on one of the many trails in the Cleveland area.

She also bakes a lot, loves coconut cream pie, and will hardly ever pull weeds, mow the yard, or drive in the snow.

Shelley also spends a lot of time on line! Please visit her website, www.shelleyshepardgray.com to find out her latest news or to sign up for her newsletter. Shelley can also be found on FaceBook, Instagram @shelley.s.gray, or on Twitter @ShelleySGray.

 

Moving Forward (A Woodland Park Firefighters Romance Book 2) by Shelley Shepard Gray

Book Details: 

Title:  Moving Forward

Series: A Woodland Park Firefighters Romance Book 2

Author: Shelley Shepard Gray

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 302

Release Date: August 22, 2023

Genre: Clean & Wholesome Romance

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Book Description:

Former Army captain Greg Tebo loves his new life in Woodland Park. In the two years since he joined the WPFD, he’s gained a reputation as a fearless firefighter, and after being stationed all around the country and overseas, he can’t wait to settle down with a wife and kids.

When a call comes in about a possible heart attack at the scene of a fire at the Garden Center, Greg assumes they’re going to be helping an elderly customer—not the beautiful, feisty proprietor in her late twenties. Kristen Werner has been determined to pretend everything is fine. She refuses to leave the company she’s carefully nurtured and move home to her loving but meddling family in Houston. Since her devastating diagnosis caused her fiancé to dump her, she’s given up on love and thrown herself into cultivating her blooming business instead—even if the hard work further weakens her heart.
 
Greg is drawn to Kristen’s vibrant, independent spirit and hopes romance will flower. But she’s had enough trouble with her heart to last a lifetime, and can’t trust Greg not to break it—especially if he finds out she can never give him the houseful of children he longs for....

My Thoughts: Sweet and Endearing

This is a lovely story about two wounded souls that need saving and need love. I fully enjoyed their sweet story, but I especially enjoyed getting to know the rough and tough Greg Tebo. It was so refreshing to see his sweet and caring disposition come through. My heart went out to him as he remained steadfast and would not  give up, no matter the situation.  And Miss Kristen Werner most certainly gave him quite the run for his money in his endeavor to remain steadfast. The story is sweet and endearing and promises to definitely put a smile on your face as it reminds you that if you want to see change, you've just got to keep moving forward.  

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.  All comments and opinions are voluntary and completely my own.

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About the Author: Shelley Shepard Gray

Shelley Shepard Gray is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author. She's published over a hundred novels and has over a million books in print. She currently lives in northern Ohio and writes full time.

Shelley lives just an hour from Holmes County, where many of her Amish-themed novels are set. She currently writes contemporary romance and Amish fiction for a variety of publishers. When not spending time with her family or writing, she can usually be found walking her two dachshunds on one of the many trails in the Cleveland area.

She also bakes a lot, loves coconut cream pie, and will hardly ever pull weeds, mow the yard, or drive in the snow.

Shelley also spends a lot of time on line! Please visit her website, https://shelleyshepardgray.com/ to find out her latest news or to sign up for her newsletter. Shelley can also be found on: 

FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/ShelleyShepardGray?fref=ts  

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shelley.s.gray/?hl=en 

Twitter https://twitter.com/ShelleySGray