Christmas at Rose Hill Farm

Christmas at Rose Hill Farm: An Amish Love Story by Suzanne Woods Fisher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Bess, raised Plain, has never forgotten her first love at fifteen, Billy Lapp. Even years later, as she plans to wed gentle, patient Amos, she finds her mind drifting back to the day he had a terrible argument with his father and brothers and left the farm for good. When a rose rustler is needed to name the lost rose found in the family's greenhouse on Rose Hill Farm, Bess is shocked when Billy arrives from Penn State. Billy keeps up a hard veneer but over time Bess can see it begin to crack and the old Billy begins to appear. Will Amos still be able to claim Bess as his bride by Christmas?

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The Pecan Man

The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Looking back Ora, now in her 80s, decides to set the record straight on what happened back in the summer of 1976...

In 1976, widowed and childless Floridian Ora Lee Beckworth hires a homeless black man, named Eddie, to mow her grass and tinker in her garden - which causes an upheaval both in the community and with her friend and maid, Blanche. Eddie, nicknamed the Pecan Man, lives in a wooded area off of downtown and is not trusted by the white Floridian ladies in her small town. But Ora sees something in Eddie and still does, even when he's charged with killing the police chief's son. Ora also finds out a lot about her own character...

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The Christmas Cat

The Christmas Cat by Melody Carlson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Garrison Brown, freshly back long term mission stint in Africa, is home to sort out his late grandmother's estate, which is a house and six cats. However, Garrison is severely allergic to cats and his grandmother left strict stipulations on who could adopt her beloved felines. Who would think that Garrison would fall in love with long-haired Harry, the cat, and a neighbor named Cara?

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Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good

Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Father Tim is back from Ireland and still trying to get used to retirement. There's a balancing act between being bored and overwhelmed when in an emergency he's asked jump back in the pulpit while also filling in at the Happy Endings bookstore. Sammy, Dooley's brother, is causing havoc and the town seems to be falling apart. How can the good pastor find the contentment he is so desperately seeking?

As in all the wonderful Mitford series I tried to slow down(I really did!)and savor each page, but found myself eagerly wanting to read ahead. Many of our favorite Mitford small town characters are back..Helene Pringle, Dooley and Lace, J.C. and Ester Bolick for another memorable novel.

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