Christmas in July -- An Amish Country Christmas

Yes, I know it's July -- but the weather has been  unseasonably cool, and there is nothing wrong with a little Christmas at any time of year!  I found a very nice touch of the holiday this week in An Amish Country Christmas by Charlotte Hubbard and Naomi King.  

This book is an anthology of two stories written by the author's self-described "both of me."  (For anyone who doesn't know, Charlotte Hubbard writes under two different names for separate publishers.)  These stories bring together characters from the Seasons of the Heart series and the Home at Cedar Creek/One Big Happy Family series -- and they fit together quite nicely.

Both stories feature fast-paced romances between some of the livelier supporting characters from Willow Ridge and Cedar Creek -- developing much more quickly than would likely happen in a real setting.  But remember . . . it's Christmas time in a fictional location, and just about anything can happen at this magical time of year.  When you mix the scheming Coblentz twins with the Kanagy brothers and the spunky Hooley aunts with a couple of bishops, you are bound to come up with fun times.  And the extra large collection of recipes for Christmas goodies that Charlotte/Naomi shares at the end of the book is a special bonus.

I recommend An Amish Country Christmas for a good read at any time of the year. 

About the Book

In Willow Ridge, Missouri, the Christmas season is a time when faith brings peace, family brings warmth and new romance brings sparkling joy. . .

 “The Christmas Visitors”

For spirited Martha Coblentz and her twin Mary, the snow has delivered the perfect holiday and birthday present to their door—handsome brothers Nate and Bram Kanagy. But when unforeseen trouble interrupts their season’s good cheer, it will take unexpected intervention—and sudden understanding—to give all four the blessing of a lifetime. . .

“Kissing The Bishop”

As the year’s first snow settles, Nazareth Hooley and her sister are given a heaven-sent chance to help newly widowed Tom Hostetler tend his home. But when her hope that she and Tom can build on the caring between them seems a dream forever out of reach, Nazareth discovers that faith and love can make any miracle possible. . .

About the Author

Drawing upon her experiences in Jamesport, the largest Old Order Amish community west of the Mississippi, longtime Missourian Charlotte Hubbard (a.k.a Naomi King) writes of simpler times and a faith-based lifestyle in her Amishseries. 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.