Showing posts with label Mindy Starns Clark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mindy Starns Clark. Show all posts

Amish Christmas at North Star by Cindy Woodsmall, Mindy Starns Clark and Emily Clark, Amanda Flower, and Katie Ganshert {Review & Giveaway}



Cindy Woodsmall, Mindy Starns Clark and Emily Clark,
Amanda Flower, and Katie Ganshert
Contemporary Fiction / Amish

One night four lives entered the world by the hands of an Amish midwife on the edge of North Star, Pennsylvania. Rebekah's Babies, as they are called, are now adults, and in four heartwarming novellas each person experiences a journey of discovery, the possibility of love, and the wonder of Christmas.

Guiding Star by Katie Ganshert
Curiosity gets the best of Englischer Chase Wellington when he investigates the twenty-five-year-old disappearance of an Amish baby. When he finds adventurous Elle McAllister in Iowa, will his revelations upend her world?

Mourning Star by Amanda Flower
Eden Hochstetler slips from her parents' shop to investigate the death of her friend Isaac. Who is guilty? Isaac's handsome great-nephew Jesse, an angry Englischer, or someone else?

In the Stars by Cindy Woodsmall
Heartbroken Kore Detweiler avoids North Star after Savilla Beiler rejects his love. But when he is unexpectedly called home, he and Savilla must join forces to keep a family together.

Star of Grace by Mindy Starns Clark and Emily Clark
Andy Danner left North Star to join a new Amish settlement in Mississippi. His little brother devises a scheme to bring Andy home for Christmas and unwittingly unleashes the power of forgiveness in a reclusive widower's life.

READ AN EXCERPT

My Thoughts

I usually skip over novellas but at Christmastime I devour them. Some people love Christmas movies, I love Christmas novellas. It's such a treat to snuggle up in the evening with a quick read. Amish Christmas at North Star is an even bigger bonus because it includes four novellas in one book.

Katie Ganshert sets the stage with the backstory of a cold and snowy night when four babies were born by the hands of an Amish midwife named Rebekah Schlabach. The circumstances were so unusual that the new little ones were forever dubbed "Rebekah's Babies".

The novellas then take up the individual stories of the babies twenty-five years later. What I really enjoyed about each story was that the author's personal style shined through. For instance Amanda Flower writes some really great cozy mysteries and her story in the book includes a bit of mystery along with the theme.

All of the authors are some of my personal favorites so I don't think that I could really choose a favorite story among them. While each of the stories relates to the opening they are also very stand alone. In fact other than the main characters being born on the same night and the central story revolving somewhat around North Star I didn't really find much that connected them until the ending that tied it all together nicely.

This book would make the perfect stocking stuffer for the book lover on your list. You could also pair it with a box of hot chocolate and fuzzy socks and it would become a full fledged present. Whatever you decide you can't go wrong with this group of writers.




Now . . . how about a GIVEAWAY?!! We loved Amish Christmas at North Star so much that we wanted to make a way for one of our readers to get their own copy. To do that we have partnered with Family Christian Stores to give one of our readers a $25 Appreciation Certificate so they can purchase the book or anything else they would like either online or in store.

The giveaway is open to U.S. residents and will run through midnight on Wednesday, December 2, 2015. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. The winner will be contacted by email and will have forty-eight hours to claim the prize. If unclaimed, a new winner will be drawn. The winners’ entries will be verified. Please enter the contest using the Giveaway Tools form below. All entries are optional.

The Amish Clockmaker (The Men of Lancaster County, Book 3) by Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner {Contemporary Fiction/Amish Review}

The Amish Clockmaker (The Men of Lancaster County, Book 3) by Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner

Book review disclosure.

The Men of Lancaster County, Book 3
Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner
Contemporary Fiction/Amish

Only Time Will Tell

Newlywed Matthew Zook is expanding his family's tack and feed store when a surprising property dispute puts the remodel on hold--and raises new questions about the location's mysterious past.

Decades earlier, the same building housed a clock shop run by a young Amish clockmaker named Clayton Raber. Known for his hot temper, Clayton was arrested for the murder of his beloved wife, a crime almost everyone--including his own family members--believed he'd committed, even after charges were dropped. Isolated and feeling condemned by all, Clayton eventually broke from the church, left Lancaster County, and was never heard from again.

Now the only way Matthew can solve the boundary issue and save his family's business is to track down the clockmaker. But does this put Matthew on the trail of a murderer?

A timeless novel of truth, commitment, and the power of enduring love, 
where secrets of the past give way to hope for the future.

"Your father said something about time that day, that we can use it or misuse it or waste it but we can't stop it."


My Thoughts

I have enjoyed both Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner's books so when they teamed up for The Men of Lancaster County series I was thrilled. The two women have joined voices to make this an intriguing set of stories that play to each of their strengths. 

The Amish Clockmaker is the final installment and I think it was my favorite. The story centered on a decades old mystery that slowly evolved to a very satisfying conclusion. The present day story is about Matthew Zook and his family. I enjoyed the father-son relationship so much. The two were very different yet they found a way to support and honor each other. 

The mystery comes about when the Zooks are remodeling and expanding the feed store. Years before the Raber family owned the land and were clockmakers but after a horrible family tragedy they sold the land to the Zook family. In the midst of remodeling and expanding the old clockmaker's shop Matthew Zook discovers some surprising circumstances and evidence about the son Clayton Raber. Before Matthew can continue to expand his feed store he must unravel the events of the past.

This story will take you on a heart-rending journey of love, betrayal, forgiveness and healing. It is a story of learning to look beyond the surface to see the person and to understand what is behind their actions. I was totally overwhelmed by Clayton's faithfulness in the midst of such trials. The ending isn't your typical fairytale happily ever after. It is much better than that. It is the picture of what Christ would have us base our lives on. Faithfulness. Hope. And above all else love. 

Connect With The Authors

Mindy Starns Clark



Susan Meissner



Disclosure of materials.




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