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.
Series: The Amish Cooking Class #3
Published by Barbour Publishing on February 1st 2018
Source: The Publisher
Genres: Amish & Mennonite, Christian, Fiction, Romance
Pages: 320
Return to Holmes County, Ohio, for Amish style cooking class.
Lyle and Heidi Troyer have taken in a brother and sister, who were orphaned when their parents were killed in a car accident. Hoping to help the children adapt and make friends, Heidi decides to hold a series of cooking classes for kids. But kids are always accompanied by an adult—and that is where the trouble arises. Miranda Cooper is living the life of a single mom to her two kids while separated from her husband, but Trent is trying to worm his way back into her heart. Denise McGuire’s life as a wife, mom, and real estate broker is full and spilling over. Darren Keller, single dad and firefighter, and Ellen Blackburn, single mom and nurse, find a few things in common. Will hearts be healed over plates of Amish food?
This is the third book in The Amish Cooking Class series. Book #1: The Amish Cooking Class - The Seekers Book #2: The Amish Cooking Class - The Blessing
Note: Kristin reads and reviews both Christian and secular fiction on A Simply Enchanted Life. Out of respect for my readers, I am including a content review. This content review will help you decide whether this book is suitable for you.
Content Review:
Christian or Secular: Christian
Profanity: None
Sex: None
Violence: None
Trigger None
Disclosure: None
The Celebration is book #3 in the Amish Cooking Class series by Wanda E. Brunstetter. Other books in the series include The Seekers (#1), and The Blessing (#1).
I was really looking forward to this book—in fact, this was one of my anticipated reads for 2018. So, it’s with a heavy heart that I sit down to write what I didn’t like about this book.
I’ll just be honest, there were so many characters that I had trouble keeping up with everyone. The point of view alternated between the following:
1. Heidi and Lyle and their two foster children.
2. Miranda and her two children.
3. Trent (Miranda’s husband—they are separated so they have different POV)
3.Ellen and her daughter Becky
4. Velma and her family (three children and a husband.)
5. Daren and his son Jeremy.
6. Denise and her family (her husband and daughter, Kassidy.)
In addition to the rotating cast of characters, we also revisited with Eli and Loretta as well as Kendra and her daughter from book #1, The Seekers.
The previous books also rotated POVs so that we would get to know each person in Heidi’s class. But, this time it just felt overwhelming. I kept confusing the children and mixing up the parents.
I really wanted to love this book and I do like that I was allowed to see how things conclude for Heidi. I loved the ending of this book. I just struggled with the number of characters. I was overwhelmed and didn’t bond as much with the students as I had in the first two books.
Since this wraps up the series, I’ll go ahead and determine a series rating. I gave book #1 a four-star and book #2 a five. Overall this series rating is a solid 3.66. It’s worth the read. There are memorable characters that I wanted to read through to conclusion. While this last book in the series was not my favorite, I would still read The Amish Cooking Class again in the future.
About Wanda E. Brunstetter
A nationally recognized authority on the Amish community, Wanda E. Brunstetter has sold more than seven million copies of her fiction and nonfiction books. Wanda enjoys an uncommon kinship with the Amish and continues to visit their communities throughout the country. Her books have won numerous awards and topped several bestselling charts.
That’s a lot of POVs
I really struggled with it. This particular series is set up to switch from student to student. This one just felt like it was much busier than the first two.
Sounds that way
I still need to read this one!! Thanks for the heads up about the povs…maybe I should take notes while I read lol
I like how you go about it. I did see that we are rotating a bit. since I did not read the other two books. I am not as confused. I did wish that she would have it based on the children more. Good review none the less. Hope to see you on my blog soon. https://nrcbooks.blogspot.com
Yes, I would have liked to have known more about the children! Thanks, Lindsay!