Good Clean Christian Fiction - so enjoyable. I am rarely disappointed when reading Amish Fiction and Beth Wiseman proves this in this book of Faith and Family.. This book is a great blend of Family, Friends, Faith and Love one another. Please do not let this book pass you by. Great Reading for your TBR list.

I like the idea of a collection of stories based around different celebrations! It can be a wonderful time of coming together with family and friends, and often the special feelings bring an extra dose of happiness. In these stories however, like real life, they come with an extra dose of drama. The characters are entertaining but also a bit exhausting. I had mixed feelings as I read this collection. I think I was in the mood for something a bit more gentle and humorous. The author does a good job of incorporating struggles, flaws, and the efforts it takes to turn things around to make it right again.

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

Great stories that teaches us forgiveness, joy, laughter and love. Each story will pull you in and endear the characters to your heart.

This contains four novellas by Beth Wiseman. They all have to do around celebrations but before the celebrations this happen. I enjoyed all four of them, Beth never disappoints. They were all well written. I recommend this book to others.

If you live your life based on what-if's- What if I get divorced? What if I fall out love? and so on, you're never going to be happy.


A Christmas Miracle- A celebration of Christmas when a little Amish girl Rachel King ends up asking Santa for a Christmas miracle. My mutti needs help. Bruce playing Santa and the mall and his associate Joan playing the elf are surprised when the little Amish girl makes her request. The Amish are not known to be requesting Santa for anything. Bruce is financially able to make miracles come true thinking the Amish girl's family may be in financial trouble, has a check mailed to the Rachel's family. The King family know that they cannot accept this gift and do not understand why their daughter would make such a request. Mary, Rachel's mother has her own insecurities as her own mother died young and raising so many children, keeping the home, she feels inadequate. Taking the check back, the King family unbeknownst to them, have started a relationship with Bruce and Joan. This relationship entails the many miracles only Christmas can bring.

The Gift of Sisters-Rachel and Hannah are twin sisters who look nothing alike and are completely different in personality and characteristics. It is when a boy comes between them, that they both feel that having a sister is a curse and far from being a gift. Rachel has always loved Abraham but when her sister Hannah becomes involved with him, she becomes angry and bitter. Hannah soon finds out that all Amish boys are not who they claim to be. Abraham has been playing fast and hard leaving Hannah hurt and confused. She knows her sister is hurt but she also wants to protect her against the likes of Abraham. A celebration of sisterhood when two sisters climb over the misunderstanding and insecurities that build walls of friendship and love.

A New Beginning- Noah is in the middle of his rumspringa and is currently engaged to be married. However, when he goes to a party with an English friend and meets a girl that he can be totally himself with, he calls of his engagement to Rebecca. A moment decision is never good and he knows he cannot live his life by what if's. New beginnings show how small are world is and that circumstances are not always what they seem. What seemed like an indiscretion to Noah, becomes a celebration of new beginnings for many.

A Special Thank you to Zondervan Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Amish Celebrations is a collection of novellas written by Beth Wiseman.
A novella is a short story. Each novella has a common topic, this one is Amish celebrations.



I received my copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All four novellas have characters that are all planning a celebration of some kind in their lives, but before the celebrating can begin something unplanned happens. It is with their faith in God and his guidance the characters all get through the hardships and their faith gets strengthened. I have enjoyed many of this authors other novellas and full length books.
I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Zondervan Fiction for a review that contains my honest opinion.

Beth Wiseman delivered another book of Amish fiction, each story centers around celebrations and is full of love, happiness, and even sadness but by the end of each story all turns out perfectly.

Enjoyable series of stories. Beth Wiseman never disappoints. This would be a great book to start with if reading Amish based fiction for the first time. It gives you a taste of what a full novel is like.

Amish Celebrations is a collection of novellas by Beth Wiseman. First was A Christmas Miracle. A young Amish girl goes to see Santa at the mall. She stands in line to see him without her mother’s knowledge or permission. What she asks him for is help for her mother. “Santa” is a business man and his elf is his secretary. He interprets help to mean that the family needs money, so he sends a check to the family. When the mother goes to return the check, the secretary determines what the young child meant when she asked for help for her mother. The child’s mother is overwhelmed with four young children and a household to take care of without the support of her family or her husband’s family. In this heartwarming story we see the Amish family learn from English and Amish alike what it means to work together for what is best for their family. Even though it is short, this story will leave you wanting to read more about the characters in this story. This was my favorite of all three stories included. It was hard to put it down and I was sad when it ended.
The second novella is called The Gift of Sisters. It is about Rachel and Hannah who are twins. As they approach their sixteenth birthday, they fight over things that typical sisters fight over—pretty much everything including boys! I found this story to be a little far-fetched and hard to believe. While sisters may argue over boys and things, I didn’t buy into the fact that the parents in this family were encouraging their daughters to begin dating at age 15. Couples begin courting and their Rumspringa (running around years) when they turn 16. As strict as most Amish families are, I wonder if it would be common for parents to allow, let alone encourage their daughters to begin dating earlier than their 16th birthday. Honestly the storyline seemed rather petty. I did not like this story much.
The third novella is called A New Beginning and is about the ups and downs of Rebecca and Noah’s courtship and eventual marriage. As I read this story and watched the turns that it took as it intertwined with young people who were English, I wondered if the author might be able to write a full stand-alone book based upon these characters. She could possibly even write a short series showcasing the different couples in their own books of the series so that she could develop the characters more fully.
The Cover of this book also mentions a fourth novella, A Perfect Plan. This piece was not included in the Advanced Reader’s Copy that I was sent to read but was included in the final print edition that I saw in a local store.
The best part about novellas is that I really didn’t miss a vital piece by not reading the fourth part of the book. It would have been nice to read it, but it was not critical to this review. I give this book four stars, primarily because of The Gift of Sisters.

Keep the tissues close by as you are reading AMISH CELEBRATIONS. Beth Wiseman will have your emotions all over the place. Once I started reading, it was very hard to stop! The twists and turns made it impossible to put down, as I had to know what was going to happen to all of these characters. All of the characters feel genuine and relatable and put your emotions on one heck of a roller coaster ride. As you are reading, you will find yourself cheering for all of them, praying they can work out their problems and be happy once again.

The Gift of Sisters – Hannah and Rachel are twin sisters who couldn’t be more different. Hannah is beautiful and outgoing while Rachel is shy and quiet. Hannah knows that Rachel likes Abraham but that doesn’t stop her from stealing him away. How can her sister let a boy come between them and practically make them enemies? Rachel isn’t sure what happened but she misses her sister and is willing to sacrifice Abraham and her feelings for him from her sister. I personally wanted to strangle Hannah at first for what she put Rachel through. Hannah was being mean and spiteful and Rachel didn’t deserve it! A great story of love and family and how strong the bond can be.

A New Beginning – Wow, this was a crazy story as far as Amish fiction goes. Six people, three Amish and three Englisch all come together for NEW BEGINNINGS. But when the story ends, the numbers are changed. Rebecca and Noah are in love and are going to married. When Noah is at the end of his running around time, he goes to a party and meets an Englisch girl and now his whole life is thrown upside down and the same can be said for Rebecca. Once I started reading this interesting story I could not stop. The ending blew me away and I had tears in my eyes and a huge lump in my throat! The characters are all believable and easy to like and feel for. The emotions in the story reach out and draw you right in!

A Perfect Plan – Wow, Priscilla is actually an Amish Bridezilla! She drove me crazy with everything having to be perfect and exactly as she planned it. Her fiance Chester was really patient with her but I really wanted to give her a good shake and tell her to chill! She worries about every little thing and she almost pushed Chester away. He tries to remind her that God has a plan for them and they need not worry. Will she be able to put her trust in God once again?

A Christmas Miracle – Rachel Marie is worried about her mother. She is a bit overwhelmed taking care of five small children and Rachel hears her crying in the bathroom over and over again. She is desperate to help her mom so she finds a line for Santa in a store and waits her turn. The Amish don’t believe how in Santa but Rachel is determined. This story will pull at your heartstrings and you will want to run to Marie and help her out too. Joan is a true Christmas angel and finds her calling in helping this family.

Just because AMISH CELEBRATIONS is four novellas doesn’t mean you will feel cheated. Each story is just the perfect length to meet and care for each character. If you have never read anything by Beth Wiseman, this book would make a perfect introduction to the reader. Each story involves a family celebration that is sure to pull at your heart strings. Get comfortable in your favorite chair and be ready to be totally entertained by this wonderful author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Zondervan through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Amish Celebrations is such a outstanding book of powerful four Novellas. These Novellas are marvelous, Faithful, gracious and enchanting. The first Novella is about jealousy, coming of age, heart break, love, choices and reunification -forgiveness.The next Novella is about love, Faith, commitment, forgiveness, agonization, abandonment, immaturity, The next one is about a newly married couple with continual anxiety, loss of trust in the LORD, dis-harmony in life and marriage, feeling of hopelessness and constant disaster after another but will they trust in the LORD to carry them through? The last one is about emotional emptiness, blame of GOD, physical tiredness, being overwhelmed,, difficulty, blame, touching another's life, generosity and GOD's direction. The author really goes into detail about the Amish life and traditions. She makes everything very authentic for you - she always does. I received a copy of this book from the Publisher and Netgalley; all the opinions expressed in this review are all my own.

I've enjoyed all of the Beth Wiseman books I've read and this one is no exception. This one has 4 novella stories in it. They all focus on celebrating something but before the celebrating can begin something goes wrong but with faith in God and his guidance the characters get through it and their faith gets strengthened. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more by this author.
Pub Date 10 Jul 2018
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Zondervan fiction through NetGalley All opinions expressed are my own.

Amish Celebrations by Beth Wiseman is a collection of Amish novellas. The Gift of Sisters is the story of Hannah and Rachel, fraternal twins, who will shortly turn sixteen and enter their rumschpringe. The sisters have always been close, but newcomer Abram Stoltzfus comes between them. Hannah, the beautiful and outgoing sister, quickly catches his attention knowing her sister was interested in him. Gideon has been friends with the twins their whole life, but he has fallen in love with Rachel. Does he stand a chance against the charming Abraham? Will the twins let a man come between them?

A New Beginning takes us to Paradise, Pennsylvania. Noah will soon be baptized and then marry Rebecca Fisher. He decides to enjoy a last Englisch party before his rumschpringe ends. Noah spends the evening talking with McKenna. Two weeks later, Noah calls off his wedding to Rebecca. Paul Fisher, Rebecca’s brother, has yet to be baptized and has been quietly meeting with McKenna. After seeing McKenna hug Noah, he jumps to conclusions and quits seeing her. What made Noah change his mind? Will there be a happy ending for these two couples?

In A Christmas Miracle, young Rachel Marie King sneaks off to visit Santa and his elf at the local toy store to request help for her mother for Christmas. Bruce Hanson, the Santa and Joan, the elf, are touched by the little girl’s request and send a check to the family. Mary King has five children under the age of seven and she is overwhelmed and exhausted. Gabriel, Mary’s husband, does not understand why Mary cannot keep a clean house and take care of the children as well. He is tired of sandwiches and coming home to a disorganized home. Mary visits Bruce to return the check which gives Joan a chance to talk with Mary. Joan feels God is calling her help the worn-out mother and begins visiting her with Bruce tagging along. Bruce has been at odds with God since the loss of his wife but being around the King family is helping him resolve his issues. See how God helps these individuals during the holiday season.

The fourth novella, A Perfect Plan was previously published in An Amish Wedding. I enjoyed reading these lovely Amish stories. They are well-written and engaging. My favorite novella was A Christmas Miracle. It is such a sweet, heartwarming story with good characters, special message, humor and a satisfying ending. I like how the Christian values and themes were incorporated into the story. We see the importance of having strong faith, the power of prayer, how God has a plan for our lives, events happen in God’s timing—not ours, the value of helping others and how God is always there for us. Beth Wiseman creates delightful characters. Though each story is short, we get to know them and see them develop. My least favorite story was The Gift of Sisters. I felt the two sisters were too young to become serious about a beau (they are considering marriage). It is realistic with two sisters fighting over a boy, but I thought it was predictable. My rating for Amish Celebrations is 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it). Amish Celebrations contains stories that will touch your heart.

Amish Celebrations is four novellas that find their characters in different stages of life trying to find their way. Each character is in some way lost and struggling to find the path that God is laying before them. They find love, forgiveness, and direction. The characters show growth and understanding that only those truly lost can find.
Each of these stories were complete and I did not feel cheated out of a fast ending like some novellas. I could relate to the characters as I thought back to times in my life. Beth Wiseman has a way of writing that makes you want to turn the pages and find out where the character is going next. I highly recommend this book to all. I received a copy through Netgalley.. A review was not required.

These short stories are not your typical short stories. They aren't the type of short stories that feel rushed at the end. They are well timed and full stories just in short form. The author does such a good concise job of writing a story plot, developing characters, and tying up the ending that they don't feel like a typical short story. These stories are great for a quick read when you don't have time to read an entire book. Each story stands alone and can be easily read in a single sitting, maybe an hour if you're a faster reader. I loved A Christmas Miracle best. I felt like I could relate to it in my stage of life. Wiseman accurately captured life for a young mom. She writes about the struggles and feelings of inadequacy moms feel when they can't get a handle on all of the aspects of being a mom, especially one without much help from family. I feel like this story was the most well developed of the 4. The characters are deep and real. There are multiple story lines going on with the different characters in the book. They come together to make a wonderful story. My 2nd favorite was A Perfect Plan. It highlights all the challenges God presents us with in order to help us learn to trust him more. I feel like this is something everyone struggles with so it is easy to relate to this story as well. I love when themes and lessons learned within books can be applied to our own lives. The Gift of Sisters was a cute story but I felt like it was a little overly dramatic for my lifestage personally. I struggled with the petty jealousy between the sisters. But I still liked the story it just wasn't as relatable for me as the others were. Finally, A Perfect Plan, was a nice addition because it didn't just focus on how happy Amish people are to be Amish. The character questioned his desire to be Amish and wondered what it would be like to be in the world. I loved how the ending wasn't what I expected. I was pleasantly surprised.

Overall this book was great. I love that it didn't leave me feeling frustrated that the author spent so much time developing a story and then had to write a quick ending. It wasn't like that at all.

I received a copy of this book from BookLook Blogger program. This has in no way influenced my review. I was not obligated to write a review. All thoughts are my own.

Beautiful cover for a beautiful book. There are four novellas included in this book and they are all written by Beth Wiseman. I have enjoyed many of her Amish books in the past and this was another to add to the list of why I enjoy reading books by this author.

All clean and interesting stories that hold your attention and show interesting situations, which were believable and interesting. I could envision the twin sisters as they found themselves interested in the same guy and how things got a bit rivalous between the two.

I think anyone interested in Amish fiction will enjoy these stories of love of family and friends.

I received an ebook copy from NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Follow an Amish family struggling with raising a large family when two English people enter there lives to help them. The strong friendship that develops beteeen them and the blessings bestowed on everyone is a delight to read. Then we read about some Amish and English young adults that have life changing decisions to make and the challenges they face before they can make the final decision of who they will spend their lives with. Wonderful stories bringing insight into the Amish way of life.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book by Zondervan and Net Galley for my honest review.

I loved each one of the four Amish fiction novellas in Amish Celebrations.
The Gift of Sisters is about twin sisters, Hannah and Elizabeth. As they are soon to be turning sixteen years old, their parents have given permission to date. Elizabeth has felt that Hannah has always been the prettier one and the one the boys first notice. Elizabeth is upset when Hannah begins to date Abraham, knowing that Elizabeth is interested in him. Little does Elizabeth know that someone is interested in her and has been for a long time.
A New Beginning is the story of Rebecca and Noah. They have plans to be married and will soon be baptized into their church and officially engaged. Rebecca has a list of things for each family member to get done before the wedding. Rebecca and Noah are both in their rumschpringe and Noah goes to a party with his Englisch friend and allows things to get a little out of hand causing him to doubt if he should join the church and marry Rebecca.
A Christmas Plan is about a young wife and mother with five children, one who has health problems. Mary had grown up as a single child, has lost her mother and has no one to teach her how to run a household and manage children. She feels overwhelmed and incompetent.
While shopping one day, her daughter escapes and stands in line to tell Santa her Christmas wish, which goes against Amish beliefs. Rather than asking for a special toy, the little girl simply asks for 'help for her maam.' Santa and his Elf helper both have big hearts, but will the Amish family allow assistance from the Englisch?
All are lovely stories that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Zondervan through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

AMISH CELEBRATIONS by BETH WISEMAN

The Gift of Sisters

I loved the story which featured two sisters. They were different in personalities but have fallen for the same young man. Jealousy is an ugly thing that can lead to bitterness and hurt. Rachel is so envious of her sister Hannah, that I'm not sure their relationship will recover . I'm not sure that Abraham is right for either sister when he tries to force Hannah to do something she isn't comfortable with. The story is so good and shows how lies can cause a friend or family member to question a person's reputation. I loved how the author took a subject that all young women face and handled it with grace.

A New Beginning

I knew from the beginning pages that Noah was going to cause lots of problems. When he gets a taste of the English world, he forgets about his fiancee Rebecca and soon trouble follows . I was heartbroken when Noah does something to devastate Rebecca. Is he making the right choice? Has the outside world influenced him to not follow through with his commitment? I liked reading how Noah struggled with his faith . I think we all do at some point in our life. The story is a nice look at forgiveness, temptation and guilt. I liked a very special character named McKenna. She is such a loving person who so desperately wants to be loved and accepted. I cheered for her as well as Rebecca and Noah. Will Rebecca forgive Noah? Can McKenna find happiness? I loved the ending and thought the characters were easy to relate to.

A Perfect Plan

Every bride wants to have the perfect wedding. They plan everything and picture the perfect day. Priscilla is excited for her big day but things start to go wrong as the big day approaches. It's hard for Priscilla to relax and her anxiousness overwhelms her. I liked how the author shows us how worry and doubt can cause us to lose faith in God. He has a plan for us, but sometimes it not exactly what we had envisioned. I loved finding out new traditions the Amish have. I didn't know that the newlyweds stayed with the brides parents for about two months after they marry. During that time they would visit friends and family and collect wedding presents. Priscilla and Chester will need that extra time at the brides parents' house as it seems their new house is having building problems. I could sense how hard it was on Priscilla as she continued to worry about everything. Have you wanted something so bad, you worries yourself sick? Will Priscilla and Chester have the perfect wedding? Can Priscilla let go of her worry and trust God?

A Christmas Miracle

As a mother it can be very trying as you change diapers, do laundry, clean house and cook. Mary has five children with one of them with a heart condition. Mary and her husband are doing the best they can, but some days it is too much for them. I remember when my boys were younger. I worked full time , then came home tired knowing that I needed to give the kids baths, do laundry and make sure everyone was fed. There were days I wanted to run away and wasn't sure I could do it all. My husband was a big help, but I prayed for just one day for myself. Mary feels like she can't keep up and is starting to doubt herself. The story is filled with joy and I loved how a special couple came into Mary's life. It's hard to decide which couple made the most impact on the other, but I know they were blessed and the ending is truly an inspiration.

I received a copy of this book from the author . The review is my own opinion.