Christmas in Apple Ridge (Review)

Are you looking for some good Christmas reading? Christmas in Apple Ridge is a 3-in-1 collection of Cindy Woodsmall’s Christmas novellas. 

I discovered Cindy Woodmall’s books last year and have really enjoyed the books I’ve read, including The Christmas Singing, which is one of the three novellas included in this volume.

Each of these stories tells an Amish love story set at Christmas time. In The Sound of Sleigh Bells, Beth is determined to live her life as a single Amish businesswoman. Her wounds from a previous failed relationship had caused her to close herself off emotionally from others and she has convinced herself that she is happy in her current life. However, a chance encounter with a woodcarver and the meddling of her aunt make her reconsider her plans.

The plot of The Christmas Singing deals with an Amish woman who has been jilted by the man she loved. Several years later, after moving away, finding a new relationship, and opening a business, her old beau comes back into her life and she begins to discover that  the past was not what she had believed it to be.

In The Dawn of Christmas, Sadie lives an very unconventional life for an Amish woman. After a broken engagement, she left her community to live in a Mennonite community and feels a calling toward foreign missions. However, her family is determined to bring her back home.

Although they take place in the same communities, the novellas stand alone. Characters from previous books make an occasional appearance, but reading them in order is not necessary.

As you might tell, all three of these novella plots have a similar theme. Still, the stories are different, and I found each of them enjoyable.  None of the stories were the type I’d stay up all night to finish, but I did find them well-written and entertaining.

One of my Christmas traditions is to spend time curled up near our tree with a cup of tea reading Christmas-themed books. These stories were perfect!

Want to know more? Read Chapter 1 of Christmas in Apple Ridge here.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. All opinions are my own.