I received a complimentary copy of this book from The Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review. No compensation was received for sharing this review and all opinions are my own.
Published by Zondervan on January 9th, 2018
Source: The Publisher
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Christian, Clean & Wholesome, Fiction, Romance, Small Town & Rural
Pages: 432
Love is in the air in these four sweet romances!
Love and Buggy Rides (previously published in An Amish Harvest)
Janie Lantz is a cashier at Lancaster Souvenirs and Buggy Rides, where Jonathan Stoltfuz is a buggy driver. A frightening accident brings Janie and Jonathan together in a blossoming friendship, yet daunting obstacles stand between them and something deeper. Can love kindle into flames that burn away fear and regret—and lead them to a life together?
A Home for Lindsay
From Amy Clipston’s beloved Kauffman Amish Bakery series comes Lindsay Bedford’s story. Lindsay is happily looking forward to the day she becomes Matthew Glick’s wife and is excited for the plans he has for the house he will build her. So, when Matthew suddenly calls off the wedding, she is blindsided. She knows there is more to the story than what he is telling her, but will he open up and let her in on his own heartbreak?
Where the Heart Is
Tobias Smucker is back home, and it’s no secret he and his father are still not on the best of terms. But what is surprising is that his little sister’s best friend, Mariella, has been harboring her own secret feelings for Tobias. With her help, he begins to unravel a family mystery and learns that everyone has their own hidden depths, including his father.
Love Birds (previously published in An Amish Market)
While Ellie Lapp and her mother are still mourning the loss of her brother, Seth, Ellie starts working at one of the gift shops in town. Seth’s friend Lloyd is talented at carving wooden birds, but his father disapproves and expects him to take over the family farm someday. Ellie sees the beauty in Lloyd’s creations and insists Lloyd sell the birds in the gift shop where she works. As Ellie and Lloyd spend more time together, they begin to develop feelings for one another, but she accidentally betrays his trust. Will she lose any hope of a future with him?
It’s almost Valentine’s day and that is all I could think of when I first saw this mostly red cover with the title, “Amish Sweethearts.”
If you’re a fan of Amy Clipston, you’ll be super pleased to know that this novella collection is all Amy! Every novella penned by Amy…every single sweet romance..all Amy! Holy ellipses abuse! Can you tell I’m a bit of a fan? Well, I am. It’s true. I’m a shameless Amy Clipston fan so I was super excited to have the opportunity to read this novella collection.
First off, let me disclose that two of these novellas were previously published in other novella collections. However, we also get two new delectable Amish romances and trust me—you don’t want to miss them!
Love and Buggy Rides (previously published in An Amish Harvest)
These characters were extremely well-developed. Often with a novella, I feel that the romance is rushed. This book had a nice flow. Though Janie and Johnathan fell in love rather fast—it was believable. Adorable even.
A Home for Lindsay
I have not read the Kauffman Amish Bakery series yet (It is on my TBR pile!) and this story is apparently a spin-off. Luckily, I wasn’t lost and I was able to gather some of the backstory. This took care of the rushed romance trope that so often grates on my nerves with novellas. I wanted to strange Matthew a few times in this novella but I was happy with the ending so…all’s well that ends well!
Where the Heart Is
If you’ve read Summer Storm which is included in An Amish Summer novella collection; you’ll be happy to see that this novella is about Arianna’s brother, Tobias. If you haven’t read An Amish Summer, that’s okay! You’ll still be able to follow along. This novella was my favorite in the collection. I loved revisiting characters that I already had formed an attachment to.
Love Birds (previously published in An Amish Market)
I loved rereading this novella! I first read Love Birds in 2016 when it was included in An Amish Market. I loved these characters so much. Lloyd and Ellie were adorbs—yes, I said adorbs…again. I’m making quite a habit of that. But, it’s true, these are lovable characters. The best thing? Lloyd and Ellie knew each other their whole lives. No insta-love! Amy does such a great job of pulling together novellas in a way that doesn’t feel as if the romance is completely rushed and trope-y…is that a word? Probably not, but I’m using it anyway.
I loved this novella collection and would recommend it to fans of Amish fiction. This book would be such a cute Valentine’s Day gift for a fan of Amish romance.
About Amy Clipston
Amy Clipston has been writing for as long as she can remember. Her fiction writing “career” began in elementary school when she and a close friend wrote and shared silly stories. She has a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan College and is a member of the Authors Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America. She is the author of the bestselling Kauffman Amish Bakery series with Zondervan, which is part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, mother, and four spoiled rotten cats.
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