In Shelley Shepard Gray’s fourth book in her Charmed Amish Life series, an unlikely Amish romance reveals that Christmas is a time for family, miracles—and love.
Ever since his father died in a tragic fire, Levi Kinsinger has felt adrift. Newly returned to Charm, Ohio, Levi is trying to fit into his old life, only to discover he seems to have outgrown it.
But when Julia, his young widowed neighbor, asks for his help with a Christmas project, Levi finds a sense of purpose for the first time in months. She and her daughter are new to Charm and could use a friend, a job Levi takes personally. Soon enough, friendship grows into attraction, but Levi can’t help having doubts. There’s something about Julia that doesn’t ring quite true . . .
Like Levi, Julia Kemps has survived her fair share of hardships—but only by hiding the truth of her past. Being an unmarried mother in an Amish community was unthinkable. Feeling hopeless, Julia did the only thing she could do: she moved to a new town and pretended to be a widow. But meeting Levi, she’s hopeful for the first time. Little by little, she begins to imagine telling him her darkest secret, and eventually . . . perhaps even sharing her life with him.
Christmas is a time for family, and as the holiday draws closer, Julia and Levi will have to face their pasts together . . . in order to find the healing, support and love they so desperately desire.
Shelley Shepard Gray couldn’t have written a better ending for the Charmed Amish Life series if she tried. It’s the perfect blend of resolution and sweet love, while staying true to the tone of the other books. Gray’s written a fantastic, realistic series about Amish people dealing with difficult personal issues – it’s unlike any other I’ve read. I appreciate that perspective and have enjoyed reading all four, but this final one might be my favorite.
I’ve probably felt that way about each book in turn, but loved the main characters of this one. Julia is sweet but somewhat jaded from past hurts, and Levi is trying hard to stand strong and alone. They’re my very favorite kind of people: survivors.
I hate that the series is coming to an end. The Charmed Amish Life series is made up of the best Amish books I’ve read in a long time, and An Amish Family Christmas is the perfect ending to it. While I wish the Kinsinger stories would continue, at least it’s ending on a sugary sweet, snowy Christmas note.
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Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
