Monday, December 19, 2016

The Amish Christmas Kitchen and #Giveaway





To purchase your own copy, click here.

About the Book





Click here to purchase

The Christmas Bakery at Huckleberry Hill
When shy Katie Rose Gingerich’s dat sends her to Huckleberry Hill to secure a marriage proposal, she never expects to long for carefree Titus Helmuth—or to hope that he might want to spend every Christmas with her . . .
My thoughts: First, the disclaimer. "I was provided a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own." That done, this is actually a novella set by three different authors.  Though this tour is on Jennifer Beckstrand's story alone. Still - a collection with three different stories. You know I'll read them all. :) 

BAKING LOVE ON ICE MOUNTAIN by Kelly Long
Newly married, Clara Mast and Daniel Kauffman have little to give but love during their first Christmas season together. But generous hearts are always willing to be creative in this “Gift of the Magi” inspired story.  
This story is a lot more graphic and based more on pure sexual desire than most Amish novels. It is definitely beyond edgy in an uncomfortable for most Christian romance readers way. There is no real faith message, the story is based on promises Dan made to a dying friend and the blurb above is NOT at all accurate.  They  are NOT married in the book, and are having a cookie bake-off as Dan unlike most Amish men is extremely talented in the kitchen.  Add Clara's pet goat and there are some humorous moments. I used to love Ms. Long's stories before she left the CBA but while still well written, this is not for women who want to avoid "fictional porn." 

THE CHRISTMAS BAKERY ON HUCKLEBERRY HILL by Jennifer Beckstrand
When shy Katie Rose Gingerich’s dat sends her to Huckleberry Hill to secure a marriage proposal, she never expects to long for carefree Titus Helmuth—or to hope that he might want to spend every Christmas with her . . .
I LOVE Ms. Beckstrand's Amish books. She mixes humor with romance like none other.  I absolutely love Titus's grandparents and was glad to revisit them. Add a new tradition of Christmas goats, a blundering smitten hero and an insecure and shy heroine, it is beautiful. I also liked the way the grandparents manipulated the situation to get Titus there and then sat back and let the real "beau" blunder his way out of the picture while Titus becomes increasingly endearing and sweet. Totally loved this book. 

THE SPECIAL CHRISTMAS COOKIE by Lisa Jones Baker
A charity auction, an unexpected friendship, and a stubborn spirit combine in an unusual courtship. But for Emma and Jonathan, overcoming obstacles is just one of the lessons to be learned about special blessings this holiday season.
This is the first book I've read by this author. It's set in Arthur Illinois, and area I've been in multiple times. I toured my first Amish home in this town and was a lot surprised by all the clutter in it. (It makes my house look sparse in comparison!)     

I skimmed this story a lot. It was very clean, and well written, it just didn't draw me in and make me care.  Emma is pushy in a non-intrusive sort of way, another words, you don't think such a mild woman would be so insistent.  I didn't like Jonathon at first either and while the two talked I didn't see any attraction between them.  A complete 180 from the first book in this collection!   

About the Author

Jennifer Beckstrand is the bestselling Amish romance author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series for Kensington Books. Huckleberry Summer was nominated for the RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award and the 2015 RITA® Award, and Huckleberry Hill won the 2014 LIME Award for Inspirational fiction. Both Huckleberry Hill and Huckleberry Christmas appeared in Examiner.com list of top ten inspirational books for 2014.
 Jennifer has always been drawn to the strong faith and the enduring family ties of the Plain people and loves writing about the antics of Anna and Felty Helmuth. Jennifer has a degree in mathematics and a background in editing. She and her husband have been married for thirty years, and she has four daughters, two sons, and four adorable grandchildren, whom she spoils rotten.
 Guest Post from Jennifer Beckstrand
What do you get when you combine Anna and Felty’s earnest grandson, Titus, with a pretty girl who’s practically engaged to someone else, a sleigh full of Christmas bakery orders, and two mischievous Christmas goats?
 A wild, wacky, and wunderbarr Christmas, that’s what.
 Anna and Felty Helmuth are determined to make this the most romantic Christmas ever on Huckleberry Hill, but have they bitten off more than they can chew trying to match their slightly scatterbrained grandson Titus with timid Katie Rose Gingerich? Titus tends to be a little thick in the head when it comes to love, and Katie Rose is too shy to open her mouth. It might take every potholder Anna can knit plus a determined goat and a little Christmas magic to bring Titus and Katie Rose together.
 Titus would do anything for his Mammi Anna, even eat her very bad cooking and learn how to knit, but why does he have to be the one to care for Mammi’s new goat? Goats give him the willies. But when Titus meets the pretty girl staying with his grandparents for Christmas, he doesn’t mind the goat so much. The more he sees of Katie Rose’s gentle ways and loving spirit, the more he wishes he were the kind of boy she would bake a pie for. Can he convince her to love him without offending her boyfriend? And will Mammi notice if he gets rid of her goat?
 After I wrote Huckleberry Hearts, I just knew there had to be someone special out there for Titus Helmuth, Anna and Felty’s lovable grandson. Christmas is the perfect setting for “A Christmas Bakery on Huckleberry Hill” because Titus is one character who seems to have the spirit of Christmas in his heart all year long. When Katie Rose is homesick, Titus does his best to make her feel welcome and comfortable on Huckleberry Hill. He delivers her Christmas goodies, writes poetry for her, and sings Christmas songs. When he finally realizes he loves her, he’s going to have to use both Christmas goats and every trick in the book to convince her to marry him. It’s a fun, heartwarming, wonderful-guteChristmas romance.
 “A Christmas Bakery on Huckleberry Hill” is in The Amish Christmas Kitchen novella collection, and it will definitely get you in the Christmas spirit. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Blog Stops

December 15: Daysong Reflections
December 15: cherylbbookblog
December 16: Karen Sue Hadley
December 16: Jeanette’s Thoughts
December 17: Quiet Quilter
December 17: Moments Dipped in Ink
December 18: The Power of Words
December 18:  A Greater Yes
December 19: Christian Bookaholic
December 19: Lighthouse Academy
December 20: Neverending Stories
December 20: D’S QUILTS AND BOOKS
December 21: Autism Mom
December 22: Bigreadersite
December 22: Splashes of Joy
December 23: Blossoms and Blessings
December 25: Eat, Read, Teach, Blog
December 27: Bibliophile Reviews
December 27: Donna’s BookShelf

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away three copies of Huckleberry Christmas. Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post to earn 9 extra entries in the giveaway! https://promosimple.com/ps/acec

4 comments:

Marilyn R. said...

The Amish Christmas Kitchen is on my TBR list. Thank you for sharing your thought. Merry Christmas.

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