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After receiving
An Amish Harvest from
BookLook, I wasn’t sure I would be
able to finish the book in the time allowed. It’s a pretty big book!
It is a collection of four separate novels from four separate authors.
The novellas included in An Amish Harvest are:
Under the Harvest Moon by
Beth Wiseman
Love and Buggy Rides by
Amy Clipston
A Quiet Love by
Kathleen Fuller
Mischief in the Autumn Air by
Vannetta Chapman
Realizing I needed to get started, I opened the book up to the
prologue. Sometimes it takes me a few chapters to really get into the
book. This time, I was completely captivated by the first page of the
prologue from Under the Harvest Moon. I love Amish romance books and
this one did not disappoint. Naomi, the main character, has suffered
physically and emotionally in her short lifetime. At the age of 27 and
the mother of 2 young girls, she becomes a widow. It’s harvest time and
Naomi is without a husband. She is also pregnant so her father hires
his friend, Brock, to bring in the harvest. Naomi’s father pays Brock
for his work but insists that Naomi feed Brock three good meals per
day. Those meals become the foundation for relationship building
between Naomi and Brock. The relationship eventually reaches beyond the
kitchen table and Brock becomes a regular part of Naomi’s family. He’s
not Amish and he is much older than Naomi but he is young at heart and
Naomi is mature beyond her years. Will Naomi fall in love again? Is
she even capable of trusting a man again after enduring an abusive
relationship before her husband’s sudden death? Would Naomi leave her
community and her faith to marry and Englishman? Could Brock give up
his English ways and become Amish?
Janie is sitting at a picnic table eating her lunch alone when she
witnesses an accident. A driver slams into an Amish buggy, injuring
passengers and Jonathan, the buggy driver. Jonathan is shaken up so he
can’t remember if he signaled his turn or not. Janie saw that he did.
Still, the driver of the car insists that Jonathan didn’t signal.
Jonathan is blamed for the accident. Not only did Janie witness the
signal. She witnessed something else. She might be the only one who
knows. Should she obey her father and let the English handle the
accident without her involvement or should she tell everyone what she
knows?
Janie and Jonathan have lunch together every day after the accident.
They enjoy each other’s company but Jonathan is 10 years older than
Janie. Would Janie’s father approve? Even so, how would the
relationship work out since Jonathan plans to go back to Maryland after
the Amish harvest?
A dramatic incident at the end of the story changes hearts in a huge
way. This story captured my attention from the very beginning. You
won’t want to miss those last few pages!
Dinah’s mother pushes her to spend two weeks visiting with her aunt.
Dinah doesn’t want to go. Would she be accepted? Would her aunt’s
family make fun of her stuttering? She would much rather stay home with
her pets. She is just fine spending time alone enjoying poetry in her
room. When Dinah arrives at her aunt’s home, there isn’t much time for a
traditional welcome. She arrives just in time to help her aunt’s
family deal with an unexpected accident. Her only comfort is found in
her aunt’s step-son, Amos. Amos is warm, friendly, and thoughtful.
He’s different . . . special. Dinah helps Amos around the farm during
her visit. She grows closer and closer to Amos. Learning that Amos is
likely Autistic doesn’t stop Dinah from spending time with him and
learning about his special gifts. Can a young woman who stutters and a
young man with Autism find love? Will their families approve?
Martha is 40 years old and a new widow. Her husband died suddenly and
Martha is left to decide what to do. Her aunt offers to let her come
live with her, but she must follow rules. She must go to church, help
around the house, and plant a garden. Martha decides to go live with
her aunt and work in an auction house. One day, Martha notices two
suspicious bidders and alerts her boss, Eli. They are strangers and
they were overbidding – way overbidding. Martha grew more suspicious.
What are they up to?
It turns out that the pieces of furniture for which they paid too much
have pieces of maps etched onto the bottoms. There are 7 pieces in
all. Why are they so important to the buyers? Where do the maps lead?
What do they lead to? Will Martha and Eli’s search for answers lead
them to another kind of treasure . . . love?
An Amish Harvest has pleasantly served to deepen my love for Amish
stories. As I read the stories, I felt like I was there in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania – in Ohio – in Indiana – riding in buggies beside freshly
harvested fields, eating Amish meals, and loving the Amish people. If
you love Christian books, romance, and mystery as much as I do, then you
will want to read the four stories compiled in this book.
Oh! There are several pages of Amish recipes in the back of the book. :)
