An Amish Cradle is a collection of novellas that describes real life worries and concerns after the romance has happened--and a fun collection of stories about Amish babies and their parents.
In His Father's Arms by Beth Wiseman is a story about young parents who have courted, married, and now are expecting their first child together. When Ruth Anne has her baby, she and her husband find that the little guy has Downs syndrome and some congenital problems that go with the syndrome. Finding God's plan in all this is confusing and unsettling.
A Son for Always by Amy Clipston continues the story of Carolyn and Joshua from A Mother's Secret. Now Carolyn and Joshua are expecting their first child together, but Carolyn is still working at the Lancaster Grand Hotel. She'd feel better about staying home, but she feels that she needs to keep working in order to provide for her son Ben, who was born out of wedlock. It's not until she overhears a conversation between Joshua and Ben that she finally is able to see God's place for her.
A Heart Full of Love by Kathleen Fuller nearly broke my heart. Ellie and Christopher are expecting twins, but Ellie's mother, Edna, can't let Ellie deal with her daughters on her own. Ellie is blind and Edna feels that she must step in and do everything for Ellie. The conflict boils up throughout the story until Christopher tells Edna she's hindering more than she's helping. Ellie does need the help, but she doesn't need to have everything done for her.
An Unexpected Blessing by Vannetta Chapman is a bit predictable but is still a compelling story. Etta and Mose think their quiver is full until at age forty-two Etta finds she's pregnant again. Throughout the book, Etta prays for her six children, but most of her prayers center on her son, David, who left and hasn't been heard from for two years. There's quite a bit of excitement when Etta goes into labor and on the way to the birthing center, they get stuck in a snow drift. Neighbors help them out of the snow drift and get them to the birthing center with not much time to spare. Vannetta has even more excitement built into her story but I'm not going to spoil the rest of the story.
All four of these authors are accomplished in their craft, and do not disappoint in these novellas. The characters are fully developed, the plots are easy to follow, compelling, and will lure the reader in like a worm on a fishing line.
Five stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a baby to hold.
Thomas Nelson provided this book in exchange for my honest review.
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