Two novellas fill your stocking for the price of one! The
MIDWIFE'S CHRISTMAS SURPRISE by Marta Perry gets us off to
a good start in the romantic wintry season. Anna Zook is
the new midwife in a partnership with an experienced lady,
but folks in her isolated north Pennsylvania settlement of
Lost Creek can't quite accept her. She tends to both Amish
and English clients, which is acceptable, but the locals
are set in their ways. Ben Miller who has been away, seeing
the outside world, for three years, returns wearing jeans.
He has a ready smile for Anna, but she can't forgive him
for leaving her. Anyway, one Christmas family visit can't
change the fact that his family has had to cope without him.
Anna is very interesting. She is allowed to use a cellphone
for her calls, but has to travel with a pony and buggy. The
Amish women don't go for ultrasound scans so the midwife
and her wisdom are hugely important. Anna is allowed to
call the emergency squad if needed. Of course, in heavy
snow, every kind of travel is problematic. Not the ideal
time for romance, but Christmas has a way of bringing out
the best in people.
While the Amish don't have a big entertainment over the
feast, we see that the homes are cleaned thoroughly and
natural greenery spread as decorations. The day after
Christmas is called by the Amish, Second Christmas, a day
for visiting family.
Jo Ann Brown takes up the storytelling with A CHRISTMAS TO
REMEMBER. A shopkeeper finds a small child and young woman
in the snow; the woman claims to have amnesia. What is Amos
Stoltzfus supposed to do with them? He's not even
respectably wed. The little girl says her name is Polly and
the woman's name is Linda, and they are going to see
Polly's grandparents. That's all she knows. Amos decides to
bring them home to his mother. After all, he is obligated
to help those in need. While this gentle tale is a way of
exploring who we are; the sum of our memories, or our
instinctive actions, or the reflection of other people's
opinions; it is also a sweet romance.
AMISH CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS is understated and does what it
says on the back. Anyone who enjoys the books by these
fine romance authors will be keen to look for a copy in
their stocking.
Holiday Greetings From Amish Country
The Midwife's Christmas Surprise by Marta Perry
Three years ago, the man Anna Zook hoped to marry left her
and their Amish community for the English world. Now devoted
to proving her abilities as a midwife, Anna has given up on
marriage and children for herself. But when Benjamin Miller
returns, now a changed man, can delivering a Christmas baby
reunite these two hurting hearts?
A Christmas to Remember by Jo Ann Brown
When a little girl leads shop owner Amos Stoltzfus to an
Amish woman in distress, he rushes them to his family's
farm. "Linda" has no memory and doesn't know if the sweet
child is her daughter or even her kin. As Christmas arrives
and Linda's identity is revealed, will Amos be able to claim
his holiday guests as his own?