I really look forward to December because I try to mainly read holiday-themed books and they usually have happy endings. I found a lot of Amish Christmas books this year to read. There were a handful of non-holiday books, but my season was merrier with all the holiday reads. I also usually read a lot in December as we take evenings off to relax and holiday books tend to be shorter. Here’s what I read in December:
Ever year, I begin my holiday reading with Richard Paul Evans’ newest book. A Christmas Memory is loosely based on Evans’ own childhood. A young boy is faced with a very lonely life after his parents separate, forcing his mother to move them from California to her family’s old home in Utah. Her depression leads to many days where he doesn’t have to go to school and he spends his days wandering the property. He eventually meets an older man who is almost as lonely. An unlikely friendship leads to serious consequences for his whole family. I’d highly recommend this book – not just around the holidays.
Melissa is raising her siblings after their parents died and life is pretty quiet in her hometown until the winter Tucker comes homes for a visit. He is now a famous country singer after writing a song about the time she rejected him in high school. However, as they keep bumping into each other, they learn what they thought about each other might not be true. Christmas After All is a very cute, clean romance novel and would be good for teens and older.
I’ve enjoyed Peggy Rowe’s previous books, which were all humorous memoirs. Her son released Vacuuming in the Nude for free on his podcast, two chapters at a time. I downloaded them for a road trip and it was a very funny book to listen to. It explores her journey as a writer with the theme of never giving up.
Julotta is a very short, Christmas romance set in Sweden. Sigrid is living on her own at the family homestead. Her brother wants to sell the property, but Sigrid is insistent that she has a right to live there as long as she can and wants to. To complicate matters, two men come into her life, both with romantic interest. One has a deadline, which forces her to decide which one – or neither.
An Amish Christmas Kitchen is a book with three short stories all revolving around the kitchen. They were all great stories – about love and loss and forgiveness. Each one could have been turned into a longer book. If you are looking for shorter holiday reads, this book would be a good one.
Sage hurries to her grandmother’s ranch for Christmas to convince her not to sell it. She discovers after her first night that her grandmother has gone to visit her sister and the potential new owner is at the house – Creed. A snowstorm has them stuck together in the house and soon sparks fly. Christmas at Home was a bit steamy, but had a cute storyline for a romance novel.
At a high school reunion, four friends agree to go on a holiday singles’ cruise if they’re all still single later that year. It happens, but while on the cruise, each of them find something new about themselves. The Santa Cruise is a fun read, but slow at parts as it’s very descriptive of people and the setting.
This Christmas is another book with three short stories in it. Each is set around Christmas and is about finding love in the most unlikely places. The first one was the most memorable for me as it was about a married couple finding their way back to each other.
Will Henderson was informally adopted by an Amish couple when his father leaves them in their care and never comes back. He said he left a note explaining why he went away, but it was never found. Just a few weeks shy of marrying, Will can’t seem to ignore the ghost in his past … and neither can his father. Will they find a way to each other in Amish White Christmas Pie?
Once Upon A Christmas is an anthology of 55 holiday short stories. They are almost all religious in nature. Some of them are true stories set during Christmas time. This would be a great book for someone who wants to read just a few pages each day, but make them holiday-themed.
The Christmas Quilt is a typical Amish romance where the relationship ends because one person is not honest with the other one. Rebecca refused Gideon’s offer of marriage years ago, but when he sees her on the news, he is drawn back to the Amish way of life. He had left after being rejected. She is blind now and he wants to see if they can have a second chance. She’s not so sure about letting him back into her heart.
I really enjoyed Amish Christmas at North Star. It’s comprised of four stories that are all tied together by the main characters being born with the help of a midwife on the same night. One was adopted and a reporter tracks her down to do a story on all four children and where they are now. I highly recommend this book as it’s got a very good plot.
Abigail is alone on a large farm after her husband’s death and she is pregnant. After avoiding help, Thomas is sent to her doorstep to help her take care of the house and farm. They both try to keep each other at arm’s length but as the birth of her baby comes closer, Thomas feels the need to protect her. The relationship blossoms as time passes in An Amish Baby for Christmas.
While going through all the main players at the Nativity scene, Scott Hahn reminds his readers of the importance of Christmas. Joy to the World is a good reminder of the real reason for the season.
I enjoyed Ted Dekker books when I was in college and then he started to get a bit dark for Christian fiction. However, when I saw he wrote a children’s series, I wanted to see if it would be good for my daughter. The Boy Who Fell From Stars is about a world where less than 200 people are in a ship above the Earth waiting for nuclear fallout to clear. However, when it’s clear, they discover dragons now live on the Earth and have created a poisonous atmosphere for adults, but not children. A mission is formed to send children to save the Earth from the dragons.
I didn’t enjoy The Christmas House because I found it fairly unbelievable. A woman is caught up in grief over her mother’s death to the point that her husband walks out on their one-year anniversary. Four years later – with no contact – she calls him to help with a water leak and after seeing him, she suddenly wakes up to wanting to get her life in order.
I always enjoy Debbie Macomber’s holiday novels. In The Christmas Spirit, two friends decide to trade places in life for a few days. One is a pastor and the other owns a bar. As crazy as it sounds, they both teach each other ways they can better their lives. They also find some love along the way. It’s a very enjoyable story. I highly recommend this one.
Santa Cruise is a mystery set on a small cruise taken after the holidays, but full of Santas. Two crooks have been stowed aboard and when Santa suits get stolen, the guests are on high alert. The book has some of Clark’s famous detectives on board and they eventually solve the case. The book has a lot of characters and gets a bit confusing at times.
My daughter is reading The Secret Garden for school and I realized I had never read the book. I picked it up and quickly made my way through this classic. I loved how the story shows two children and a man being brought back to life by spending time in nature. I highly recommend this if you haven’t read it yet.
Savor is a devotional that ties in hospitality to daily living. It’s a great devotional for people who like to host events or cook for the people they love. There are even recipes included.
What did you read recently that you loved? Share in the comments!
