An Amish Cookie Club Courtship by Sarah Price

An Amish Cookie Club Courtship

Book Summary

An Amish Cookie Club Courtship by Sarah Price has Edna Esh getting coerced by her friend, Wilma into hiring her twin daughters Rachel and Ella Mae.  Edna serves a mid-day meal to Englischers during the tourist season in Shipshewana, Indiana.  Edna has resisted hiring Rachel and Ella Mae in the past because the twins bicker constantly which would be a turn off to her guests and a headache for Edna.  Wilma wants to marry off her last two daughter’s and hopes they will take a shine to Edna’s unmarried sons Jeremiah and Jonas.  As predicted, the twins squabbling is getting on Edna’s nerves and she is forced to separate them.  After Edna’s son, Jonas begins hanging around the kitchen, she notices a difference.  Edna decides to help along the matchmaking efforts by finding ways for the two couples to spend time alone together.  She feels that Rachel and Jonas would be a good match and pairs Ella Mae with Jeremiah since their temperaments are similar.  What Edna is unaware of is that Rachel has taken a liking to Jeremiah and Jonas has been finding way to be with Ella Mae.  Which pairing does God have in mind?  

My Thoughts

An Amish Cookie Club Courtship by Sarah Price is the 3^rd installment in The Amish Cookie Club series.  Each book can be read as a standalone, but they are entertaining to read as a whole.  I was drawn right away into this humorous Amish tale.  Edna Esh is a busy woman with her family and home to take care of plus fixing the noon meal for Englischers three days a week during the tourist season as well as baking cookies to sell at Yoder’s and MayFest fast approaching (which means more cookies).  I felt bad for Edna when her friend, Wilma Schwartz pressures her into hiring her twin daughters to assist her with the meals.  Edna can use the help, but she cannot stand the twins constant sniping at each other.  The Amish Cookie Club as the four ladies are called who bake the cookies have done a little matchmaking in the past with the latest success story being Edna’s son, John and Mary’s daughter, Bethany who are expecting their first child.  Wilma is hoping her twin daughters will take a liking to Edna’s two sons, Jonas and Jeremiah.  I laughed often while reading this story.  I felt bad for Edna having to endure the bickering going on between Rachel and Ella Mae.  I thought it was funny that the twins are not even aware that they do it.  These ladies have spent too much time at home with each other for company.  Jonas was a lively character.  He likes to tease, goad, and play pranks.  It would take the right woman to deal with Jonas.  I liked how we got to see different sides of Jonas, Jeremiah, Rachel, and Ella Mae.  That what you see in the beginning is not all there is to a person.  People have hidden depths.  An Amish Cookie Club Courtship is a wonderful escapist novel.  It was just what I needed this week.  I hope there will be another story in The Amish Cookie Club series.  An Amish Cookie Club Courtship is a diverting Amish tale with a colossal number of cookies, Mayfest madness, squabbling siblings, a bonus building, and mother’s playing matchmaker.  

An Amish Cookie Club Courtship publishes October 27 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon*.  The other two novels in The Amish Cookie Club series are The Amish Cookie Club and An Amish Cookie Club Christmas. You can find more novels by Sarah Price here. The pictures I included today show Amish women baking like the ladies in our story and the MayFest annual buggy race in Shipshewana, Indiana.  Edna is busy baking cookies with her friends for MayFest plus hosting Englischer dinners. Rachel gets a chance to experience MayFest in the story.  Thank you so much for joining me today.  Tomorrow I am showcasing Gear, Grills, and Guns by Tonya Kappes.  It is the 13th A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery.  I hope that you have a productive day.  I am still cleaning and sorting at my house.  If in doubt, throw it out has become my new mantra.  My mother is getting better at letting go of things we have not used in many, many years.  I am off to sort through yarn.  I have six totes of it in a closet (my stash).  Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Amish Cookie Club by Sarah Price

Welcome!  Love of the Witch by Deanna Chase is out today.  It is the sixth book in Witches of Keating Hollow series.  Cherry Scones and Broken Bones by Darci Hannah is out on June 8 along with A Shot of Murder by J.A. Kazimer.   

The Amish Cookie Club by Sarah Price takes us to Shipshewana, Indiana in April.  Edna Esh, Wilma Schwartz, Mary Ropp and Verna Bontrager get together every other Friday to bake cookies that will be enjoyed by their respective church districts after worship on Sunday.  It allows the four friends to share what is going on in their lives and provide support to each other.  Verna Bontrager’s forthright daughter, Myrna has just lost her latest job at the local grocery store.  Myrna has managed to be fired from every job she has held.  Even her father does not want her working at his hardware store after the last incident with a customer.  She also does not have a beau which worries her mother.  Edna suggests that it might be best if Myrna worked in an Amish home as a companion or mother’s helper.  She soon hears that widower Ezekiel Riehl needs someone to take care of his home and watch his children.  Verna accepts the job on Myrna’s behalf and escorts her out to the Riehl farm to meet Ezekiel or Zeke as he prefers to be called.  Myrna is shocked at the mess inside and out plus she has never taken care of children being the youngest child.  But then Zeke gives her permission to organize the house as she sees fit and Myrna is in heaven.  Myrna is taken with Zeke, but rumors have her doubting that a relationship between them could work.  Will Verna need to plant extra celery this season or will Myrna be looking for another job?

The Amish Cookie Club is a cute Amish romance novel.  I enjoyed the four main characters who gather together every other week at Edna Esh’s to bake cookies for their respective church districts to be enjoyed after the worship meal.  Their children are grown up, but they are still causing problems for the women.  Edna suggests that they come up with a plan for each child starting with Myrna Bontrager, Verna’s daughter.  Myrna is outspoken with certain ideas and a whiz at organizing.  Unfortunately, her employers have not appreciated her skills including her own father.    When Edna hears that Ezekiel Riehl needs someone to take care of his home and kids, it seems like the perfect place for Myrna.  And a mother can always hope that romance might blossom.  I liked Myrna with her zest for organization and planning.  She certainly has her hands full with four children to watch, a house to clean, laundry, gardening, canning, and cooking (wears me out just thinking about all the chores).  Cookies are a recurrent theme throughout the book and the ladies soon find themselves making more cookies after being cornered by the bishop’s wife.    There are recipes at the end too!  My favorite lines from The Amish Cookie Club is “. . .we can’t change the past.  Only try to do better tomorrow.”  I enjoyed reading the engaging The Amish Cookie Club.  It is a light-hearted story that will have you laughing and craving cookies.

The next book in The Amish Cookie Club Series is The Amish Cookie Club Christmas which features Bethany Ropp and John Esh.  It will be released on September 24, 2019.  Thank you for joining me and reading my review.  I am featuring Crepe Expectations by Sarah Fox tomorrow.  It is the fifth A Pancake House Mystery.  I hope you have a sweet day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader