Amish Sweet Shop

The Amish Sweet Shop by Laura Bradford, Mary Ellis and Emma Miller contains three sweet stories set in Blue Bird, Pennsylvania. We start with The Sweetest Courtship by Emma Miller. Jacob Beechy creates the sweet treats sold at Beechy's Sweets run by his mother, Clara and himself. Clara is ready for her son to settle down and provide her with grandchildren to spoil. She will be leaving town to assist her expectant niece and convinces Jacob they need help in the store. Jacob is unaware that Clara is interviewing the applicants in the hopes of finding him a bride. When Rose Bontrager arrives, Clara believes she has found the right woman for her son. Clara takes her leave and hopes sparks will fly between the pair.

The Sweetest Truth by Laura Bradford features Sadie Fisher who works at Bluebird Quilts. Sadie is happy for her best friend, Miriam who is getting married. But it makes her sad that she does not have any prospects and Sadie believes she will be a spinster because of the scars on the right side of her face. Sadie received the scars when she rescued animals from her families burning barn. Miss Jenny says the right man will come along who can see Sadie for what is inside her heart. It does not help that an English teenager torments Sadie each day on her way home. Unexpectedly, someone starts leaving little gifts for Sadie on the back porch of Bluebird Quilts. Does someone see Sadie for the kind, caring woman she truly is?

Hannah Kline is a recent widow in Nothing Tastes So Sweet by Mary Ellis. Hannah and her husband lived above the hardware store where she works. Hannah discovers she is pregnant shortly after her husband dies in a work accident. When Hannah learns that Mr. & Mrs. Howard are selling the hardware store, she wants to buy it. Unfortunately, Hannah does not have enough money for the down payment on her own. The Howard's suggest that Hannah partner with Seth Miller who also wishes to purchase the hardware store. To obtain the Bishop's approval, Hannah must clear Seth's name of an incident that caused him to leave the Amish. Their talents and work experiences complement each other making a good working relationship. Can their work association lead to something more?

The Amish Sweet Shop contains three pleasant Amish romances. I found the stories to be nicely written and they work well together. They contain likeable as well as relatable characters. Beechy's Sweets is the link that ties the three novellas together plus they are all set in the small town of Bluebird, Pennsylvania. There are sweet treats mentioned in the books that will have you craving chocolate. All three stories are clean, Amish romances with Christian messages (such as looking beyond the surface to the person within). While they do have expected endings, the novellas are diverting. The Sweetest Courtship is my favorite story. I enjoyed the banter between Jacob and Rose as well as the humor sprinkled throughout it. Clara was not subtle with her matchmaking. The Amish Sweet Shop is the perfect book to read on a cold winter day in a comfy chair with a hot drink and a box of chocolates.