Category: book review

In Shelley Shepard Gray’s fourth book in her Charmed Amish Life series, An Amish Family Christmas, an unlikely Amish romance reveals that Christmas is a time for family, miracles—and love.

About An Amish Family Christmas

Ever since his father died in a tragic fire, Levi Kinsinger has felt adrift. Newly returned to Charm, Ohio, Levi is trying to fit into his old life, only to discover he seems to have outgrown it.

But when Julia, his young widowed neighbor, asks for his help with a Christmas project, Levi finds a sense of purpose for the first time in months. She and her daughter are new to Charm and could use a friend, a job Levi takes personally. Soon enough, friendship grows into attraction, but Levi can’t help having doubts. There’s something about Julia that doesn’t ring quite true.

Like Levi, Julia Kemps has survived her fair share of hardships—but only by hiding the truth of her past. Being an unmarried mother in an Amish community was unthinkable. Feeling hopeless, Julia did the only thing she could do: she moved to a new town and pretended to be a widow. But meeting Levi, she’s hopeful for the first time. Little by little, she begins to imagine telling him her darkest secret, and eventually . . . perhaps even sharing her life with him.

Christmas is a time for family, and as the holiday draws closer, Julia and Levi will have to face their pasts together . . . in order to find the healing, support and love they so desperately desire.

My Thoughts

A wonderful continuation in this series by Shelley Sheppard Gray. This books focuses on Levi, who was hit the hardest with his Father’s death and fire at their company. He was so devastated and angry that he actually had to leave his hometown to deal with his emotions. When he returns, he finds he can deal with those emotions but he can’t quite deal with his family all the time. He wants, craves and needs more freedom. Which is what finds him moving out on his own, a decision his family can’t quite understand.

This is where he meets Julia, in a rather unusual manner! Julia is one of the strongest characters I have ever read. She is young, unmarried but trusted someone with her whole heart, and out of this came the birth of her daughter. To hide this pain, she moves as far away as possible from the only home she ever knew. She also hides the truth from everyone around her, which anyone can see is unhealthy but I can relate to her fears about being judged and treated differently.

Their meeting sparks hope, faith and respect. Both of them understand each other on a different level. But both of them hold back just a little out of fear. It is this holding back that causes them the worst pain. They need to learn how to face this pain in order to move forward.

A beautiful story of forgiveness, faith, trust and moving forward. It inspires hope and restores your own faith. I loved every moment of this book in this series (I have to say it was my personal favourite!).

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

In Shelley Shepard Gray’s third book in her Charmed Amish Life series, A Sister’s Wish, a respectable young woman finds herself falling for an Amish man from the wrong side of the tracks.

About A Sister’s Wish

Amelia Kinsinger is the perfect Amish woman—at least according to her neighbors. And while Amelia takes pride in her role as homemaker, she’s also harboring a secret: She’s been in love with bad boy Simon Hochstetler for as long as she can remember. Too bad he’s about as far from “perfect” as an Amish man could get . . . but that’s exactly why she’s so drawn to him.

Life hasn’t been kind to Simon. He ran away from an abusive home at fifteen and things went downhill from there. Eventually, Simon landed in prison. But the experience changed him. Now back in Charm as a grown man, he’s determined to make a new life for himself and not think too much about his wild past . . . unless it pertains to Amelia.

He’s loved Amelia for years. To him, she represents everything good and kind in the world. When he realizes that she returns his affections, he starts calling on her in secret, even though her older brother Lukas—who just happens to be Simon’s best friend—has made it perfectly clear that Amelia deserves better. Simon disagrees and believes he’s the only one who can truly make her happy.

But when Amelia gets hurt, it sets off a chain of events that forces them to consider their future together—and face their past mistakes. There’s a chance for love . . . but only if Simon dares to trust Amelia with the secrets of his past.

My Thoughts

I have always loved Amish fiction stories. They are sweet, full of hope, forgiveness, love and faith. This story by Shelley Shepard Gray is all of that and more.

Amelia is a sweet, kind and loving young girl in her family who takes care of a lot more than her family cares to admit. She is charge of the household, the chores and so much more. She never complains and she loves her job but nor does anyone quite realize all she does and the young woman that she has become. Her long time crush, Simon, returns to their small town. Simon had suffered greatly as a child and it led him down a destructive past. Simon had to go through these hardships in order to become the young man he is today. They helped him with his faith and his understanding of others but it is also a secret he keeps tucked away afraid to show the world. He has always been in love with Amelia but never felt good enough for her. When he realizes she returns his feelings, he feels blessed. Except no one in her family sees how much this relationship means to her.

When Amelia is hurt and the family has to come to the realization that she is now a grown woman who has been looking after a lot more than they expected, it forces them to look at themselves and their way of thinking in ways that no one wants to. No one wants to have admit they are wrong nor do they want to go about fixing it. Thus begins a struggle for understanding, trust, acceptance and faith in each other.

A Sister’s Wish is well thought out, well written and a beautiful story from start to finish.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.