Rating: 3 stars ~ Genres: Amish, Christmas ~ Pages: 286 ~ Publish Date: 24 Sep 2024
A CHRISTMAS REUNION by Shelley Shepard Gray ~ Rating: 4.5 stars
I loved this novella. It made me chuckle. Smile. It has all the things that make a pleasant story good. Did I have issues? Yeah, I did. The acceptance of Tricia’s parents of Brandt (an ‘Englisher’) was a little too smooth. The Amish proverb given before this first story applies very well. “Pleasant days are just ordinary days made better by good people.”
WE GATHER TOGETHER by Lenora Worth ~ Rating: 2.5 stars
A short story has to have good characters and a meaningful plot. This one had too many characters. And when that happens, the plot gets lost. And with no story — well, I was glad it was a novella.
HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES by Rachel J. Good ~ Rating: 3 stars
Here’s where my personal knowledge bangs against the plot … the part where Andrew is offered a job teaching piano. I have had two major careers in my life and one is a piano teacher. Just because you can play piano beautifully does not mean you can teach it. I had good teachers. A couple of awful ones. Who didn’t know HOW to teach so most of what I learned was wrong. I was a good teacher, a very good teacher but I worked hard at it and studied how to teach music concepts rather than just notes.
Overall rating: 3 stars ~ not a great recommendation. If you do decide to read this Christmas trilogy, read #2 first followed by #3, and finish with #1.
I received a complimentary DRC of “The Christmas Gathering” via NetGalley from the publisher, Kensington Publishing | Kensington. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Rating: 3 stars
Cover: Pretty but maybe too ornate for the Amish
Pages: 286
Publish Date: 24 September 2024
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