I chuckled. I laughed out loud. I guffawed.
This was a fun read.
Esther is pregnant. Quite pregnant. She runs a quilt shop and creates beautiful quilts. Her husband’s distant cousin Menno Eicher and his children arrive uninvited to stay with her family for a month. A MONTH!!! You see, Menno is a widower and he needs to get married by the end of the month. He has a To-Do list to find the “perfect wife”, you won’t believe it when you read it. He wants Esther to make a list of maedels who fit his requirements. Menno is hard-headed with about as much romance in him as the tinest thimble ever made. And he frustrates Esther and just about anyone he meets.
Joanna Yoder is no longer a young maedel. She creates and sells lip-smacking desserts. She hears about Menno before she meets him and doesn’t know who he is at first. His children are charming and … well, she already knows that she is NOT interested. Who could marry a man who goes about choosing a wife like he would a can of corn?
There is one young woman in the community who seems to be VERY interested in pursuing a marriage with the To-Do list man. And another that is interested but only part of the time.
The dialogue in this story just kept me entertained. There is one scene where Joanna makes it VERY clear to Menno that she is not interested in being on his “possible” wife list and Menno interprets 180 degrees the other direction.
What many don’t see is Menno quietly feeling some days he is “drowning in his responsibilities”. Ever felt like that? Most of us reach that point sometime in our lives. And we all handle it the best we know how. And Menno handles it with careful planning (i.e., To-Do lists).
Menno also can put his foot in his mouth and shove it past his kneecap to his hipbone. There’s the time he tells Joanna she is an …. no, I won’t spoil that scene for you. And as usual, Menno ends up wondering how anything he said was wrong. After all, it was all true. The man is oblivious.
I’m giving this book 5 stars. I’m expecting several errors will be corrected in the published release. I had a hard time putting this one down. It was so much fun to read. Oh — the character I didn’t like in this one is Menno’s bishop. See if you feel the same way.
I received a complimentary DRC (digital review copy) of The Amish Quiltmaker’s Uninvited Guest via NetGalley from the publisher, Kensington Books | Kensington. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Rating: 5 stars
Cover: Disliked. I mean I truly disliked it. The picture is fussy unless viewed in a large size and the yellow title & author are awful. Doesn’t look professional.
Pages: 286
Publish Date: 25 June 2024
#TheAmishQuiltmakersUninvitedGuest #NetGalley #JenniferBeckstrand
