An Amish Christmas Bakery
Four Stories
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
From four bestselling authors of Amish fiction come four delicious stories perfect for celebrating love, joy, and the holiday season.
Cookies and Cheer by Amy Clipston
Alyssa Byler wants to build a sugar cookie nativity scene for her bakery’s Christmas window display—all she needs is the right cookie cutters. She turns to handsome blacksmith Kyle Smoker. Using Kyle’s handmade cutters, Alyssa created a striking display that brings more customers than she can handle. She soon realizes she’s been too busy to focus on the true meaning of Christmas—and too distracted to explore her feelings for Kyle. Together, they put aside the holiday rush to celebrate the season that brought them together.
Loaves of Love by Beth Wiseman
Katie Swartzentruber has been left in charge of her family’s bakery, but she soon finds herself overwhelmed with orders during the holiday season. She is tempted to move her Old Order family into the modern world by using propane ovens. Meanwhile, her childhood friend Henry Hershberger is trying to find the courage to tell Katie that he’s harbored a secret crush on Katie for years. As the demands at the bakery intensify, both Katie and Henry must find the courage to go after what’s important.
Melting Hearts by Kathleen Fuller
When her aunt Carolyn begs for help during the busy Christmas rush, Mattie Shetler eagerly packs her bags and heads to Birch Creek. She doesn’t know her uncle has also asked for help with the bakery’s new expansion from Peter Kaufman, Mattie’s sworn enemy. As the two work together, Mattie discovers not all is as it seems. With Christmas just around the corner, Mattie and Peter open their hearts for the greatest gifts of the season: forgiveness and maybe even love.
Cakes and Kisses by Kelly Irvin
Martha Ropp works hard at her family’s bakery, making cakes and pies for community celebrations. To help during the busy Christmas season, Martha’s mother hires Ambrose Hershberger to make deliveries. Martha remembers Ambrose as a gentle giant from her school days. But the more they work together, the more they want to spend time together outside of the bakery. When both are too timid to make the first move, the town matchmakers step in.
Four stand-alone romantic holiday novellasIncludes a glossary of Amish wordsIncludes discussion questions for book clubsA perfect gift or stocking stuffer for the reader in your life
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Four bestselling writers of Amish fiction offer sweet, romantic Christmas novellas. In Clipston's "Cookies and Cheer," Alyssa Byler's window display made of Christmas cookies leads to a business boom at her bakery. But as the season approaches, Alyssa struggles to balance work, Christmas preparations, and a newfound love. In Wiseman's "Loaves of Love," Katie Swartzentruber is at the center of a love triangle. She's always cared for Henry Lambright, even though they have never dated. Henry is going to ask her out, but discovers she's already dating someone else. However, when Henry starts dating someone else, Katie wonders if she's missed an opportunity. Kathleen Fuller throws two sworn enemies together in "Melting Hearts," in which Mattie Shetler comes to help at Yoder's Bakery during the Christmas rush, where Peter Kaufmann is at work building an addition to the bakery. Peter cheated on Mattie's best friend and the two despise each other. But working together forces them to question their opinions of each other. A 30-year-old neurodivergent man is at the center of Irvin's "Cake and Kisses." Ambrose Hershberger believes he'll never be smart enough to be a husband or father. When Martha Ropp helps him after he is targeted by bullies and begins tutoring him, he struggles with his feelings, believing she could never love him. For fans of the authors, these compact, heartwarming romances will make for a nice holiday treat.
Customer Reviews
Wonderful Christmas read!
An Amish Christmas Bakery is a great Christmas read! There are four short stories about romance and life during the Christmas season among Amish people. Each story is by a different author. Each story is well-written. I would definitely not claim to be an expert on the Amish life, but from all I know and have read, the stories are true to life. My personal favorite was "Cakes and Kisses." Kelly Ervin wrote the story about Ambrose, who is a very kind, hardworking, sweet-spirited man with "Special Needs," and his friendship with Martha. Martha is a gifted bakery employee who is struggling with grief over losing her mother, lonely at times, and dealing with a hectic holiday season. When she sees some young men bullying Ambrose, she steps in to help, and is criticized for washing his hair, which is considered improper by some since she is a female giveing personal assistance to a maie to whom she is not married. Both Ambrose and Martha have pretty much given up on love, due to their own circumstances. Will their common experiences bond their friendship - and might they even become even more than friends? I LOVED this story, because it shows that God doesn't set the same strict and narrow criteria as we human sosmetimes do, for friendships, romance or the the definition of intelligence. I loved how it emphaiszes the strengths of individuals who may have been written off by some people. After finding out that the author had a personal reason for writing this paritcular story, it became even more poignant. I won't give away the reason, nor any more of the story. If you like heartwarming Christmast stories that are honest about relationsihps and faith, you will enjoy this book. I would love to see more story collections like this, and I will definitely be looking for more writing by Kelly Ervin! Wish I could give MORE than five stars!
Four heartwarming Amish Christmas stories
An Amish Christmas Bakery by Amy Clipston, Beth Wiseman, Kelly Irvin and Kathleen Fuller contains four Amish Christmas stories filed with joy, hope, faith, and love. I thought they were all well-written with steady pacing and relatable characters. I enjoyed reading each of the four tales. While the stories are cohesive (bakery theme), each novella has the authors distinctive writing voice. Cookies and Cheer was such a sweet story with the sugar cookie nativity scene (sounds lovely). I liked the characters and the moral of the story (the true meaning of Christmas). It has Amy Clipston’s engaging writing which made Cookies and Cheer a pleasure to read. Each novella has a life lesson, Christmas cheer and romance. In Melting Hearts, we see the importance of forgiveness. I could relate to Martha Ropp in Cakes and Kisses with her severe migraines (poor thing). My favorite phrases came from Cakes and Kisses. It is “We are all the same in God’s eyes.” Wouldn’t the world be a different place if everyone viewed individual’s in this manner! Each of these stories will have you smiling and sometimes laughing. An Amish Christmas Bakery contains four heartwarming novellas with mouthwatering baked goods, the true meaning of Christmas, good friends, and tender romance.