The Peasant’s Dream (Hagenheim #11) by Melanie Dickerson

I loved this book. Some of the newer historic authors are coming up with a unique perspective. It makes for fun stories. This is number 11 in a series do now I will need to find the others. I wonder if there will be a number 12.


I read this story in one day (well technically till 4:30 a.m. the next day. I couldn’t put it down.


Frederick is the son of a farmer whose real passion is wood carving. He has to do all the work for the farm since his father is disabled and also abusive. On a trip to town he meets Adela, the youngest daughter of the Duke. She has disguised herself as a maidservant in order to go to the Marketplatz by herself without guards. Frederick is unaware of her social status and they strike up a friendship. She loves painting and so their Artistic inclinations strike a chord for each of them. The problem is that the daughter of a Duke can’t marry a peasant but Frederick is unaware of that problem while Adela is plagued by it.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Twice As Nice Amish Romance Collection by Jean Brunstetter, Wanda E. Brunstetter

This is two segments in the story of twins, Elma and Thelma Hochstetler. The twins are in their 30s and are unmarried. When their grandparents die in an accident they are surprised to find out that they left their house and business to them instead of their father (her grandparents’ only son). Their father and mother also run a general store. The twins decide to move to the small town where their grandparents lived and look over their new property. The house and the store are run down but they forge ahead to make a living on their own. In the first story Thelma, the outgoing twin, meets her match and in the second one Elma, the more businesslike twin finds hers. Any more about that would ruin the stories.


This was highly enjoyable and I would highly recommend it to those who enjoy this genre and especially are fans of the Brunstetters (Wanda and her daughter-in-law Jean).


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Amish Christmas Twins by Shelley Shepard Gray, Rachel J. Good, Loree Lough

This is a wonderful collection of three short stories. I enjoyed reading each one. The first is about foster parents who want to adopt two small children who lost their parents. The kids have been in previous foster placements that were not happy. They want to be adopted. But when the Kurtz’ find out they are expecting twins at Christmas, the children start to wonder if they will be sent to another foster home after the twins are born. The second one is about a widow who has just lost her child and her neighbor who is starting to fall in love with her. She is still broken up over losing the baby but she decides to start healing by donating her baby’s things to a home for teen moms. One of the teen moms is pregnant with twins . . . And the third one is about a couple of sets of twins boys that are cousins and are at that age when they are getting into mischief. A couple of neighbors team up with the two sets of parents to help the boys learn responsibility after an accident caused by their mischief.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading these stories and wish there were more. Highly recommended!

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

An Amish Husband for Tillie (Amish of Pontotoc #4) by Amy Lillard

Tillie Gingerich finds herself in a bad situation. She left the Amish with her childhood sweetheart Melvin Yoder who wanted to live in the English world. But now she is back for Christmas with her family and she is pregnant. She and Melvin are not married. She will have to leave very soon if Melvin does not come back and join the church and marry her. Meanwhile she meets Levi Yoder (no relation to Melvin), who has recently lost his wife and infant son. They become friends and help each other out. It’s quite a conundrum and is resolved in an interesting way.


I really enjoyed this book and will look for previous books in this series to read. I recommend this book to friends who like this genre.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Holding Out for Christmas by Janet Dailey

Conner Branch is an ex-rodeo bullrider who is now a partner in a Christmas Tree Ranch in Branding Iron, TX. This follows some other stories I’ve read about Conner’s partners Travis and Rush in the Ranch but it is not listed as part of a series. Conner was fascinated with Lacy Leatherwood who he saw at the Cowboy Christmas Ball the previous year but he never got to make her acquaintance. He’s hoping to actually meet her this year. A few days prior to the ball he rescues Megan, a cute kindergarten teacher from Nashville, when her car runs off the road in a snowstorm. He is entranced with Megan but still plans to seek out Lacy.



This is a fun story and the characters are likable and interesting. I recommend this to anyone who just wants to read a happy Christmas romance.



I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Morning Star (Maidels of Morning Star #1) by Charlotte Hubbard

This is the first book in a new series by Charlotte Hubbard! I love Charlotte’s books and this series looks to be an enjoyable one. This books is about 5 friends who are around 30 and not yet married. They concoct an idea about starting a marketplace in an old stable and their congregation votes to get involved.


Regina Miller works for Gabe Flaud in his family’s furniture factory putting stain on newly made furniture. She puts her secret artwork in her own stall in the marketplace and it is a smashing success! But Regina can’t tell anyone she is the artist because the Old Order Amish do not allow members to do art. And her uncle is just looking for an excuse to make her move out of her house and under his roof so he can keep an eye on her. Gabe comes to her defense and reveals a secret of his own.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

An Amish Christmas Wedding by Amy Clipston; Kelly Irvin; Kathleen Fuller; Vannetta Chapman

This is a collection of 4 short stories about Amish couples around Christmas time. One is about a Ryan and Lorene that had planned to get married but never did. Now her younger sister is marrying his brother and they are attending all sorts of family get-togethers prior to the wedding. Both are still attracted to each other but wonder if they can forget the past and go forward. The next is about Henry who ends up being the guardian of a young boy whose father was a good friend of Henry’s. The little boy is having a hard time adjusting and Henry is relying on the boy’s teacher Leesa to help him figure it all out. The next story is about Mary and Jakob who have been best friends since childhood but when family and friends pushed them into courting they both felt awkward about the relationship and broke it off. Now they are both attracted to each other but wonder if there is anyway to renew their relationship. And the last story is about two older folks, Micah who was a widower living with his children and grandchildren runs the Amish Tour Company just to get himself out of the house. He partners with Rachel King, an old maid whose parents have died and left her alone. She offers tea to his tour clients in her home.


I enjoyed all these stories and it was great having a short story I could read in one evening and then another the next evening until I had read them all.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

I'm Going to Give You a Polar Bear Hug by Caroline B. Cooney

This is a cute book for toddlers. My g-g-daughter loves hugs and she loves books about hugs The pictures are cute and this is a perfect bedtime (or anytime) story.


I recommend this to grandmas and mamas who want to add some books to their collection for their smallest ones.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Truth and Justice (Sisterhood book 31) by Fern Michaels

The Sisterhood is a vigilante group who goes all over righting wrongs. They are a group of women who are mostly rich and well educated and like to help the law along a little and make sure justice is served. I’ve been reading these books just for entertainment for several years. I don’t agree with their methods but I find the whole thing amusing.


This story deals with a soldier who had a whirlwind impromptu wedding and honeymoon days before he had to deploy. Soon after he leaves his wife stops getting contacted by him and none of her military benefits kick in. She is very discouraged and thinks she made a mistake with this man. She discovers, too late, that her husband had left the paperwork with a friend to pass on to his sister to take care of. And then other things come up missing too and the Sisterhood has to track everyone down and get it all straightened out for this wife.


It’s an involved story, but fascinating and fun to read. I’m not sure I’m happy with the conclusion but it is interesting, all the same.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Minutes to Die (Homeland Heroes #2) by Susan Sleeman

This is a fast paced suspense novel about an FBI agent and an ICE agent who with other members of their special team are tasked with finding out before it’s too late where to find terrorists that were smuggled into this country and tasked with an attack that would kill thousands of people. Kiley is the FBI agent in charge and this is the first time she has been team leader. Evan, the ICE agent, is new to the team, but has worked with Kiley before. Each member of the team has an area of expertise and Kiley and Evan work closely together because of Evan’s experience with terrorists of all sorts.


I really enjoyed this book. Even though some of the terrorist plots were scary for our country if they come to fruition at some point, it was an interesting peek into some of the intrigue being played out in today’s culture. I am recommending this to anyone who wants a good read that will totally involve them and keep them glued to the story until the very last page.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Net Galley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes

Lucy and Dashel grew up together. Dashel was raised by his aunt who was seldom there so he gravitated to Lucy’s family. Lucy’s father loved to tell stories of the past shrouded in mystery. Both children grew up with these stories. Years later Lucy is doing research and applying for a grant about one mystery – a seaman who allegedly turned traitor. Dashel has read about Lucy’s quest and comes to offer his services. He is now a famous astronomer. Together they go to a farm near an old fishing village that is tied into the tale of this seaman. They discover many interesting things here and local lore plays into the research. Dashel and Lucy discover that all their years apart they were both remembering their childhood and each other with fondness.

This is a wonderful mystery story and has many elements – all fun to explore. I highly recommend this book.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Net Galley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Watcher (a Kateri Fisher Novel) by Jennifer Pashley

Pearl Jenkins is missing. Blood is found in her house and there is evidence of foul play but no body has been found. Pearl’s son has been left behind. He is a teenager that holds some of Pearl’ secrets and is considered a suspect.

Kateri Fisher is a detective on the police force that has recently transferred into the area. She is given the case to look into and keeps running up against blank walls because people don’t know much about Pearl since she was a recluse and some just aren’t willing to talk.

This was a fascinating story. I enjoyed watching the story unravel.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Net Galley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Piecing it All Together (Plain Patterns #1) by Leslie Gould

Savannah Mast finds herself adrift when her fiancé cancels the wedding at the last minute. She closes up everything in California and goes to stay with her Amish grandmother in Indiana. She discovers that her childhood friend Tommy Yoder is back in town but the sheriff suspects him of drug trafficking and other crimes. The story is more complicated than that however and Savannah is determined to get to the bottom of it.


Meanwhile, a friend of her grandmother’s, the local quilt shop owner, starts telling Savannah a tale about one of their ancestors and keeps her (and kept me) fascinated throughout.


This is a wonderful story. It is more of a regular novel than an Amish story as the cover portrays it to be. Yes, it has some characters that are Amish but others as well. I recommend this one to all my reading friends.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Net Galley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Other Sister (Family Secret #2) by Donna Hill

I did not read book 1 but this story stands alone.


Kimberly Maitland grew up in Louisiana with parents with some stature in the town. They were the local “gentry.” She married well and also became an attorney and had beautiful twin daughters. She was running for office but abruptly closed her campaign. Her husband was very angry about it but he didn’t know Kimberly had just learned something astounding about her life. Her parents were actually her grandparents and her brother was her father. Her mother was the daughter of a family servant and was black. Her half sister Zoie was the reporter that researched out that information and passed it on to Kimberly. Kimberly knew Zoie only as a relentless reporter and knew that when this was reported it would destroy her. The story gets even more twisted as she reveals what she knows to her husband and her parents. This is a poignant story that explores how people view others based on race, economic backgrounds, culture etc. It is well worth the read.


I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Net Galley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.