The Christmas Quilt
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
From the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author comes the latest novel in her new inspirational romance series, featuring the independent King sisters, who run a historic Inn in the Northwest Pennsylvania Amish community of Shadow Lake Township. Will appeal to readers of wholesome and inspirational romance and fans of Charlotte Hubbard and Amy Lillard.
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 . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Worth (The Forgiving Quilt) wraps up the Shadow Lake series with a haphazard Amish romance that untidily mixes blackmail, family secrets, and hopes for a Yuletide happily ever after. Colette King's beau Matthew Mueller has been gone for six months, tending to his dying uncle Saul in Missouri. When Matt returns to Pennsylvania in November, he has Shelah Frantz on his arm, who announces that the two are engaged. Matt explains to Colette that the engagement was his uncle's deathbed wish (Saul was Shelah's guardian). Matt's trying to get out of the arrangement—which is easier said than done, since Shelah's using a dark family secret to blackmail him. Colette and her sisters sense that something shady is keeping Matt in the engagement, and work to uncover the secret. At the same time, Colette tries to mend her wounded heart by sewing a Christmas quilt that depicts her and Matt's relationship, starting with the Christmas they fell in love. There are flashes of intrigue, and the mystery of the Mueller family's backstory, which involves some questions about Matt's parentage, is engrossing, but the novel fails to come together as a cohesive whole—Matthew and Colette's romantic arc drags; several disasters, such as a buggy accident, feel like plot devices; and the Christmas quilt story line never joins up with the rest of the narrative. It's a lackluster finish to the series.