About Me I am a retired librarian and I now support books and authors through my reviews.

I have always loved to read and I was able to share that love through my work as a public librarian for 22 1/2 years. I now promote literacy by reading, and then writing reviews. I love to support authors by sharing my reviews with others!

Saturday, March 7, 2020

An Amish Picnic: Four Stories: Review Tour with Celebrate Lit


About the Book



Book:  An Amish Picnic
Author: Amy Clipston, Kelly Irvin, Kathleen Fuller, and Vannetta Chapman
Genre: Amish; Christian Romance
Release Date: March 3, 2020

From bestselling authors in the Amish genre come four sweet stories about picnics and romance.

Baskets of Sunshine by Amy Clipston

Kevin Weaver has lived with his brother’s family since his parents passed away when he was young, but he craves a home and family to call his own. Freeman Kurtz owns a successful brick mason business, and Kevin takes the job as Freeman’s apprentice to pursue his own financial freedom.
Phoebe Kurtz is helping her sister with her booth at the marketplace when she notices Kevin, her father’s employee. Their friendship grows, but Kevin is convinced that the difference in their ages makes a relationship between them impossible. Amidst summer outings, Kevin and Phoebe must decide if taking a chance on love is worth the risk.

Candlelight Sweethearts by Kelly Irvin

Esther Marie Shrock loves her job at Valley Grocery Store where she’s worked for four years. Despite a stutter that has plagued her since childhood, she thrives filling orders from a steady stream of customers. Still, at 25, she and her family wonder if romance is in her future.
Jasper Cotter isn’t good with people, but he’s found himself obligated to take over day-to-day operations of the family owned grocery store—a store he doesn’t have the first clue how to run. Thrown together, Esther Marie and Jasper don’t exactly see eye to eye. One night, the store loses power, and the candles aren’t the only things shooting off sparks. Esther Marie and Jasper are suddenly forced to discover common ground when it matters most, and they might be surprised with 
love along the way.

Reeling in Love by Kathleen Fuller

Nina Stoll and Ira Yoder are just friends. Just friends and fishing buddies. Every Saturday afternoon, they have a picnic at their favorite fishing hole and see who can out fish the other. Until Nina starts to wonder if there’s more.
Her plans to share her feelings go awry, and circumstances seem destined to keep Nina and Ira apart. With both Nina and Ira confused and hurting, it’s going to take courage, some help from the community matchmakers, and a little bit of divine intervention for Nina and Ira to realize they’re each other’s perfect catch.

Picnics and Prospects by Vannetta Chapman

Faith Troyer is claustrophobic, and David Lapp builds tiny houses. They went on a date years ago with disastrous results. Now that they’re in their late twenties, their families and friends are beginning to wonder if either will ever find that special someone. When a picnic outing is diverted by the discovery of a package of letters dating back to the 1970s, they take it upon themselves to find answers to a mystery that causes them to rethink their past and consider their future.

Click here to get your copy!

MY THOUGHTS.....

This Amish collection from Zondervan is a collection of four novellas from authors who are each known for their wonderful Amish stories. Each novella is about 100 pages long so they are perfect for when reading time is limited. So did I read one and then put the book down? No, I kept on reading because the stories in An Amish Picnic are so good! All four of the stories center around picnics and the anticipation of eating good picnic food while being outside and enjoying nature. In these four stories, there are also some mysterious happenings, lots of misunderstandings, and best of all, romance and love.

The first novella is Baskets of Sunshine and Amy Clipston gives Phoebe Kurtz, a young girl first mentioned in The Bake Shop, her own chance to shine.  Phoebe is interested in an Amish man who works for her father but  Kevin Weaver believes that she is too young for him. He is also afraid of risking his job if he gives in to his own romantic feelings. Will Kevin allow fear to influence his life?

Kelly Irvin touched me with her tale of Esther Schrock, a young Amish woman who has a stuttering problem.  It is even more pronounced when she is around Jasper Cotter, the man she has known since childhood. Jasper might not seem a hero to most but he is in Esther's eyes and a picnic might help their relationship. But can you have a picnic during a thunderstorm? Candlelight Picnic offers the answer.

Reeling in Love features two fishing buddies who truly value their friendship. Other people see the possibilty of a romance between Ira Yoder and Nina Stoll but they themselves  question this. Is a courtship worth losing your best friend? Not to mention your fishing buddy! Kathleen Fuller once again gives readers a fun story.

Vannetta Chapman shares a little mystery in Picnics and Prospects and I enjoyed the efforts of Faith Troyer and David Lapp to uncover the secrets of some letters that were written 100 years ago. As they work together, they discover a special connection that has somehow eluded them in the past. I especially enjoyed the mystery of the letters and this story is a reminder that misunderstandings can change lives forever!

All four of these novellas have the faith messages and Amish values that we have come to expect from these authors. I highly recommend An Amish Picnic to all who enjoy Amish fiction and Christian romance.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celebrate Lit and NetGalley. A positive review was in no way required and these are my own thoughts.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

About the Author




Amy Clipston is the award-winning and bestselling author of the Kauffman Amish Bakery, Hearts of Lancaster Grand Hotel, Amish Heirloom, Amish Homestead, and Amish Marketplace series. Her novels have hit multiple bestseller lists including CBD, CBA, and ECPA. Amy holds a degree in communication from Virginia Wesleyan University and works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC. Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, and four spoiled rotten cats. Visit her online at AmyClipston.com; Facebook: AmyClipstonBooks; Twitter: @AmyClipston; Instagram: @amy_clipston.




Kelly Irvin is the bestselling author of the Every Amish Season and Amish of Bee County series. The Beekeeper’s Son received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, who called it a “beautifully woven masterpiece.” The two-time Carol Award finalist is a former newspaper reporter and retired public relations professional. Kelly lives in Texas with her husband, photographer Tim Irvin. They have two children, three grandchildren, and two cats. In her spare time, she likes to read books by her favorite authors. Visit her online at KellyIrvin.com; Instagram: kelly_irvin; Facebook: Kelly.Irvin.Author; Twitter: @Kelly_S_Irvin.




With over a million copies sold, Kathleen Fuller is the author of several bestselling novels, including the Hearts of Middlefield novels, the Middlefield Family novels, the Amish of Birch Creek series, and the Amish Letters series as well as a middle-grade Amish series, the Mysteries of Middlefield. Visit her online at KathleenFuller.com; Instagram: kf_booksandhooks; Facebook: WriterKathleenFuller; Twitter: @TheKatJam.




Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She is the author of sixteen novels, including the Pebble Creek Amish series, The Shipshewana Amish Mystery series, and Anna’s Healing, a 2016 Christy Award finalist. Vannetta is a Carol award winner and has also received more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She was a teacher for fifteen years and currently resides in the Texas hill country. Visit Vannetta online: VannettaChapman.com, Twitter: @VannettaChapman, Facebook: VannettaChapmanBooks.

Read an Excerpt


Read an excerpt HERE


Blog Stops

Batya’s Bits, March 6
The Avid Reader, March 6
Bigreadersite, March 8
Quiet Quilter, March 10
Splashes of Joy, March 15
Artistic Nobody, March 18 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
EmpowerMoms, March 18

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