Virtual Book Tour for An Amish Country Christmas by Charlotte Hubbard and Naomi King

An Amish Country Christmas

Join author Charlotte Hubbard/Naomi King on her Virtual Book Tour for An Amish Country Christmas, presented by Pump Up Your Book! from October 14, – December 13, 201.  Please leave a comment or question for Charlotte to let her know you stopped by.  You can follow the rest of Charlotte’s tour here. 

An Amish Country Christmas

by Charlotte Hubbard, Naomi King

Seasons of the Heart Series

Publisher: Zebra Books

Release Date: October 1, 2013

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About the Book:

“The Christmas Visitors”: For spirited Martha Coblentz and her twin Mary, the snow has delivered the perfect holiday and birthday present to their door—handsome brothers Nate and Bram Kanagy. But when unforeseen trouble interrupts their season’s good cheer, it will take unexpected intervention—and sudden understanding—to give all four the blessing of a lifetime.

“Kissing the Bishop”: As the New Year’s first snow settles, Nazareth Hooley and her sister Jerusalem are given a heaven-sent chance to help newly widowed Tom Hostetler tend his home. But when her hope that she and Tom can build on the caring between them seems a dream forever out of reach, Nazareth discovers that faith and love can make any miracle possible.

Purchase your copy at AMAZON or at Kensington Books.

About the Author:

I’ve called Missouri home for most of my life, and most folks don’t realize that several Old Older Amish and Mennonite communities make their home here, as well. The rolling pastureland, woods, and small towns along county highways make a wonderful setting for Plain populations—and for stories about them, too! While Jamesport, Missouri is the largest Old Order Amish settlement west of the Mississippi River, other communities have also found the affordable farm land ideal for raising crops, livestock, and running the small family-owned businesses that support their families.

Like my heroine, Miriam Lantz, of my Seasons of the Heart series, I love to feed people—to share my hearth and home. I bake bread and goodies and I love to try new recipes. I put up jars and jars of green beans, tomatoes, beets and other veggies every summer. All my adult life, I’ve been a deacon, a dedicated church musician and choir member, and we hosted a potluck group in our home for more than twenty years.

Like Abby Lambright, heroine of my Home at Cedar Creek series, I consider it a personal mission to be a listener and a peacemaker—to heal broken hearts and wounded souls. Faith and family, farming and frugality matter to me: like Abby, I sew and enjoy fabric arts—I made my wedding dress and the one Mom wore, too, when I married into an Iowa farm family more than thirty-five years ago! When I’m not writing, I crochet and sew, and I love to travel.

I recently moved to Minnesota when my husband got a wonderful new job, so now he and I and our border collie, Ramona, are exploring our new state and making new friends.

You can visit her website at www.CharlotteHubbard.com

Her latest book is An Amish Country Christmas.

Visit her website at www.charlottehubbard.com

My Review

Reminding us of a simpler way of life and the true meaning of the holidays, Charlotte Hubbard’s An Amish Country Christmas was a joy to read.  Two light hearted romances, well developed characters and good dialogue kept me turning the pages to discover what would happen to the four couples involved.  While a part of the Seasons of the Heart series (due to being set in Willow Ridge and Cedar Creek, Missouri), this book can easily be enjoyed on its own.

In The Christmas Visitors we are introduced to two sets of siblings, twins Mary and Martha Coblentz and brothers Nathan and Bram Kanagy.  While from different “Plain” communities, these are young people enjoying their youth and preparing for their futures.  Meeting by chance, due to an encounter at the local mercantile in Cedar Creek, these young couples strike an immediate attraction, pair up, have a difference of opinion and falling out and then reunite, all while spending their Christmas/New Year’s holidays together. 

Fun and lighthearted, Ms. Hubbard’s story reminds us of the importance that faith in God, love for their families, and a willingness to live a life without all of the “modern” or “English” contraptions many of us have somehow come to depend on.  I really enjoyed how she developed all of the characters and how she introduced a sweet romance into their lives. 

In Kissing the Bishop the author takes us out of Cedar Creek and takes us to Willow Ridge, a neighboring “Plain” community three hours away.  Here we meet middle aged sisters Jerusalem and Nazareth Hooley, and two widowed bishops, Tom Hostetler, the newly appointed bishop of Willow Creek, and Vernon Gingerich, the bishop of Cedar Creek.  While the bishops have gotten together to discuss church matters, the maiden sisters have agreed to cook and tend house during their meeting. 

While this is a romance focused on “older” characters, it is no less sweet, and focuses a bit more on the actual relationships between a husband and a wife.  While both Jerusalem and Nazareth Hooley thought that marriage was an experience in life they would never experience, both Tom Hostetler and Vernon Gingerich remind us that we can fall in love, and be willing to make life changes, at any time.   Ms. Hubbard did an excellent job developing these four characters and I was really sorry to reach the end of this story.

Overall An Amish Country Christmas is a clean, excellent romance, which I am happy to recommend to anyone who wants to read a sweet Holiday romance!  I know I’ll be getting the rest of Ms. Hubbard’s Seasons of the Heart books to read over the holidays myself.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review.