Winter of Wishes

Hold onto your seat, because things move "fast and furious" in Charlotte Hubbard's Winter of Wishes!  (If you haven't already done so, you'll probably want to read the first two book in the Seasons of the Heart series before you start this one.  You can check out my reviews for Summer of Secrets and Autumn Winds.)

The Lantz women are back, in as formidable a fashion as any Old Order Amish females could be.  Rhoda's adventures drive this story as she looks for and finds some purpose in her life -- although things become pretty complicated very quickly.  And then there are lots of other folks -- Amish and English -- who make Sweet Seasons Cafe and Willow Ridge, Missouri, sound like great places to visit.  But always casting a shadow over the relationships and plans of the Plain people in Willow Ridge is the intolerant, power-grabbing bishop, Hiram Knepp, whose secrets and plots seem very unfitting for a man chosen to lead these God-fearing people. 

I plan to make another visit to Willow Ridge soon through An Amish Country Christmas and certainly hope Charlotte takes us back at least once more by finishing out her seasons with a spring story!

Thanks to Charlotte Hubbard for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book

Snow is falling, cookies are baking, and Christmas is just around the corner in Willow Ridge, Missouri, where a new season marks fresh beginnings for the residents of the tranquil Amish town…

As another year draws to a close in Willow Ridge, life seems to be changing for everyone but Rhoda Lantz. Her widowed mother is about to remarry, her sister is a busy newlywed, and soon Rhoda will be alone in her cozy apartment above the blacksmith’s shop. An ad posted by an Englischer looking for someone to help with his mother and children may offer just the companionship she’s looking for, but if she falls for the caring single father, she may risk being shunned by her community. Certain she can only wish for things she cannot have, Rhoda must remember that all things are possible with God, and nothing is stronger than the power of love.

About the Author

Drawing upon her experiences in Jamesport, the largest Old Order Amish community west of the Mississippi, longtime Missourian Charlotte Hubbard writes of simpler times and a faith-based lifestyle in her new Seasons of the Heart series. Like her heroine, Miriam Lantz, Charlotte considers it her personal mission to feed people—to share hearth and home. Faith and family, farming and food preservation are hallmarks of her lifestyle, and the foundation of her earlier Angels of Mercy series. She’s a deacon, a dedicated church musician and choir member, and when she’s not writing, she loves to try new recipes, crochet, and sew. Charlotte now lives in Minnesota with her husband and their border collie.