An Amish Picnic is a delightful novella collection by four beloved authors of Amish fiction â Amy Clipston, Kelly Irvin, Kathleen Fuller, and Vannetta Chapman. The romances are sweet, characters realistic and appealing. Each shows God's provision and perfect timing. Some stories are drawn from secondary characters in an author's previous series, but each story stands alone.
The stories creatively use various picnic settings and themes â with swimming and volleyball activities in Clipston's Baskets of Sunshine, best friends fishing in Fuller's Reeling in Love, an indoor picnic during a thunderstorm in Irvin's Candlelight Sweethearts, and the rescue of an injured dog in the midst of thick kudzu vines in Chapman's Picnics and Prospects. I especially liked how the characters were so realistically drawn and human in their flaws. Doubts, lack of self-esteem, and misunderstandings play a part, as often happens in real life. Lead characters weren't picture-perfect models. One character stuttered, another suffered with panic attacks. One sweet romance was based on best friends becoming something more, and I thought another romance was going to end before it got started.
These novellas are very enjoyable, heartwarming, and easy to read. Novella collections are perfect for busy times â or any time, for that matter â and I loved every minute spent with these characters. Recommended.
I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
The stories creatively use various picnic settings and themes â with swimming and volleyball activities in Clipston's Baskets of Sunshine, best friends fishing in Fuller's Reeling in Love, an indoor picnic during a thunderstorm in Irvin's Candlelight Sweethearts, and the rescue of an injured dog in the midst of thick kudzu vines in Chapman's Picnics and Prospects. I especially liked how the characters were so realistically drawn and human in their flaws. Doubts, lack of self-esteem, and misunderstandings play a part, as often happens in real life. Lead characters weren't picture-perfect models. One character stuttered, another suffered with panic attacks. One sweet romance was based on best friends becoming something more, and I thought another romance was going to end before it got started.
These novellas are very enjoyable, heartwarming, and easy to read. Novella collections are perfect for busy times â or any time, for that matter â and I loved every minute spent with these characters. Recommended.
I received a copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
An Amish Picnic by Amy Clipston, Vannetta Chapman, Kelly Irvin and Kathleen Fuller contains four heartwarming tales. The four stories are Baskets of Sunshine by Amy Clipston, Candlelight Sweethearts by Kelly Irvin, Reeling in Love by Kathleen Fuller, and Picnics and Prospects by Vannetta Chapman. The picnic theme is carried out through each sweet story. I like how the author's tied romance and picnics together. We get to see a man and woman who are attracted to each other, but there is something standing in the way of them getting together. Fears, misconceptions and miscommunication abound in each delightful Amish tale. I enjoyed reading novella collections because it is an opportunity to sample each author's work and a story from each of their series. While the novellas may be part of a series, each can be read on their own. I liked that Christiana's sister, Phoebe from The Bake Shop by Amy Clipston got her own story. We get to catch up with Christiana and the rest of the Kurtz family as well. Baskets of Sunshine was a cute story that shows you that it takes time to truly get to know a person. In Picnics and Prospects there is an Amish tiny home builder which I thought was unique. Faith and David find a packet of letters from the 1970s along with a puppy. They set out to solve the mystery of the letters. I like it when Amish stories have mysteries in them. It adds another level of depth to this romantic novella. Candlelight Sweethearts features Esther Marie who suffers from a severe stutter. We get to see how people treat her and the comments they make. There is one person, though, to whom it does not matter. Reeling in Love shows that friendship can develop into something more. It is an appealing, humorous story. An Amish Picnic has four Amish love stories that share a common theme but reflect each author's writing style. An Amish Picnic contains four charming novellas that feature sunshine, warm weather, good food, fun and couples falling in love.
