MY REVIEW:
A Christmas Haven is another heartwarming Christmas novella by the team of Cindy Woodsmall and her daughter-in-law Erin. In this book readers will revisit characters from last year’s Christmas novella, The Christmas Remedy. Not only will they catch up with Holly and Joshua but Holly’s sister Ivy takes center stage along with a couple of totally new characters.
The story itself actually covers a number of months but concludes during the Christmas season. Ivy finds the strict rules of her Old Order Amish community to be restrictive and has already begun to make plans to leave when Arlan and his sister Madga take refuge in her family’s home. The brother and sister are members of an even more conservative Amish group and find the Old Order practices to be quite liberal in comparison to how they have been raised. Over time both Arlan and Ivy begin to question their personal beliefs and decisions they have made.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Christmas Haven and appreciated the spiritual journey that several characters traveled during the course of the book. I encountered a number of very quotable passages during my reading and particularly liked the conclusions that Arlan came to about grace.
A Christmas Haven is another keeper for my growing collection of Christmas themed books. Readers who enjoy Amish fiction should love this one.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Waterbrook Multnomah. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
For fans of holiday romances and Amish life comes a new Christmas tale of surprising expectations and discovering miracles.
Old Order Amish Ivy Zook is wrestling with her need to shed her community’s ways so she can grow the business of her dreams: planning parties. As long as she’s stuck living without modernization, she can barely get her business on its feet. But if she leaves too soon, she’d cause trouble for her sister, Holly, who is planning her wedding to Joshua Smucker. All of their plans become twice as complicated when an old car crashes into the storefront of Greene’s Pharmacy, carrying a Swartzentruber (ultra-conservative sect) Amish man, Arlan, and his very ill sister.
The Zooks take in Arlan and Madga, tending to the woman’s illness and Arlan begins helping around the family farm. Ivy and Arlan are on different tracks, one wanting to leave her community and the other to return to his. But both young people are trying to discover what God has in store for their futures and what miracles might lie around the corner this Christmas season.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Cindy Woodsmall is the “New York Times” and CBA best-selling author of eighteen works of fiction. She’s been featured in national media outlets such as ABC’s “Nightline” and the “Wall Street Journal.” Cindy has won numerous awards and has been finalist for the prestigious Christy, Rita, and Carol Awards. Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in Flowery Branch, GA.
Erin Woodsmall is a writer, musician, wife, and mom of three. She has edited, brainstormed, and researched books with Cindy for almost a decade. She is very excited about their first coauthored book.
Find out more about Cindy and Erin at http://www.cindywoodsmall.com.
