Book Description:
Can one Amish woman give a struggling widower with five rowdy boys a helping hand—and a chance at love—this Christmas season?
Phoebe Kropf knows everyone thinks she’s a bit odd—and more than a little accident-prone. She doesn’t understand why they fuss over her at home rather than see her as a bright, independent Amish woman. So when a friend asks Phoebe to help care for a house full of young men in nearby Sweetbrier Creek, she leaps at the chance to prove she’s more than her shortcomings . . .
Widower Seth Beiler is in over his head with his five orphaned brieder to care for and all the Christmas orders his woodworking shop needs to fulfill. When he asked for help with some cooking and cleaning, he wasn’t expecting a housekeeper as unconventional—or lovely—as Phoebe. Yet her warm care and holiday traditions win their hearts one by one. And soon, the farmhouse finally starts to feel like home again. When the Christmas season and Phoebe’s time there is nearly at an end, will Seth convince her that the greatest gift would be her staying . . . as part of their familye?
My Thoughts: Absolutely Wonderful!
This story is not at all what I expected. For one, I expected to read a little and then set it aside until I could read more. However, once I got started, I could not put it down until I'd read the very last page. The second unexpected was the wonderful characters in the story. Each one added such a special touch to the story. It was absolutely wonderful!
And what did I love? I loved seeing Phoebe become her own person by overcoming her past and the limitations her family had placed on her. She is extremely unique, loving, intuitive, caring, and such an overcomer.
I also loved seeing Seth's transformation, especially how it seemed to happen without him noticing it. Watching him go through the changes, along with the impact of those changes and Phoebe's influence on him and the brothers, was just sheer joy.
I can't say enough about this wonderful story. I can only add that it is a definite must-read that you don't want to miss.
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: Winnie Griggs
Winnie Griggs grew up in south Louisiana in an undeveloped area her schoolmates considered the very back of beyond. With her two younger siblings and another family of three siblings for playmates, she spent many an hour exploring the overgrown land around her home, cutting jungle trails, building forts and frontier camps, and looking for pirate ships on the nearby bayou.
Once she 'grew up,' she found other outlets for dealing with all those wonderful, adventurous, imaginary friends by filling notebooks with their stories. And somewhere along the way, those scribblings gave way to full-length books.
Eventually, she found her own Prince Charming, a rancher whose white steed takes the form of a tractor and whose kingdom is situated in a small rural community that she loves to call home, and together, they've built their own storybook happily ever after. Their lives together expanded to include four now-grown children who share Winnie's vivid imagination and her husband's steadier influences and are now out in the world pursuing their own adventures.
You can learn more about Winnie and her books, past and future, at www.winniegriggs.com
