The Christmas Remedy

I've loved Cindy Woodsmall's writings for a while, and now she's collaborating with her daughter-in-law, Erin, and together they are making beautiful, novel music together. I know Cindy best for her Amish fiction, and now that she's collaborating with Erin, her Amish fiction has taken a step up in the quality department.

The Christmas Remedy is the kind of book that reaches to the dark corners of the heart and awakens them. Holly works as a pharmacy technician by the permission of her bishop. She did have to get her GED first, and now she's working toward her LPN degree to be more active in the health of the Amish people. With her nursing license, she could answer questions about the medications the doctors prescribed.

Because Holly delivers prescriptions for the Greene Pharmacy, she met Joshua Smucker. He is a sweet Amish man who has a distinct interest in Holly. Holly is equally interested but she's committed to her path of becoming a nurse, and she believes that precludes marriage.

Romance is not all that Cindy and Erin have put into this book, there is a bit of intrigue and investigation. Someone has framed the pharmacist for filling prescriptions without a doctor's order, and it takes all the resources of the pharmacy to find out the truth.

This is a five star book, a quick read, two thumbs up, and a fried apple pie, the Amish Way.

Waterbrook/Multnomah provided the galley I read through NetGalley.com. All they asked was a review with my honest opinion.

Wow! What a super book by Cindy & Erin Woodsmall. Different than the stereotypical Amish romances in so many ways - the book deals with health care & pharmacies as well as working wives within a small Amish community in Illinois. Characters are very believable. Romance is very subtle and sweet. GREAT book!

The Christmas Remedy is an extremely unique yet deeply touching and well written story about the Amish. And it was a story I will be returning to again and again. It is unique in that the main character, Holly Noelle, has a deep personal passion for helping bring healthcare to her Amish community, and that she has the permission and blessing of her bishop to do so. Holly works with her employer, pharmacy owner Jerry Greene, to help her community gain access to affordable medications and to screenings for preventable illnesses. This passion is rooted in her lasting sadness over her fathers' passing years earlier
Jerry Greene owns a small town pharmacy, and resists efforts from "big box" pharmacy chains to buy him out, as he desires to help the Amish and others who are uninsured. When he becomes ill, Holly works with his son and with local young Amish man Josh Smucker, to keep his pharmacy going amidst new threats. Holly also fights her feelings for Josh, who makes no secret of his deep interest in her.
I highly recommend the Christmas Remedy. Cindy and Erin Woodsmall have created a deeply faceted story!

It didn't take long to understand why this one is titled with 'Remedy,' and I enjoyed the fresh perspective on Amish fiction. I love reading these stories, but occasionally you want something a bit less formulaic...this fit that bill. We've got Englischers intermixed with Amish, and some Amish who are straddling the line quite effectively. There are past relationships, struggles with finding one's place in the world, and issues with dishonestly and crime. A mixed team must work together to solve the mystery at hand, and they have to do it without getting in trouble with the bishop... Of course, love eventually comes out on top. A few things that interested me were learning about how the Amish approach healthcare and about the pharmacy industry itself, all as part of this story.