National bestselling author Marta Perry captures the spirit of Christmas in this first novel of her all new series set in the quaint Amish community of Promise Glen.After ten years spent keeping house and raising her younger siblings, Sarah Yoder returns home to Promise Glen determined to make a fresh start. Her new job with neighbor Noah Raber’s furniture business seems promising—until she and … promising—until she and the woodworker clash over everything from the best way to reach new costumers to how to raise his mischievous six-year-old twin boys.
Though Sarah longs for a home of her own, she fights the appeal of this ready-made family, resolved to maintain a professional distance. But when she and Noah both agree to help with the school’s annual Christmas program, Sarah finds her heart touched by the motherless boys and Noah’s quiet strength. Thrown together at work and at the school, their feelings continue to grow, and Sarah struggles to keep Noah at arms’ length.
Loving Noah may seem impossible, but with faith, love, and a little help from their close-knit community, there may yet be a Christmas home for them both.
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A Christmas Home by Marta Perry is the first book in The Promise Glen Series. I always enjoy reading books from Marta Perry who has a charming writing style and relatable characters. Sarah Yoder lost her mother when she was eighteen. She has three younger siblings which meant she had to take charge of the household and raise them as well as taking care of her father. Sarah’s three siblings are now happily married and settled so she can have a life for herself. She has chosen not to join her father on his latest move. Sarah has returned home to Promise Glen, Pennsylvania to live in the grossdaadi haus with her grandmother, Etta Miller. She obtains a bookkeeping position with Noah Raber and helps to promote his furniture business. Sarah tries to resist falling for Noah and his busy twin boys because Noah is married. His wife left when the kids were babies and divorce is not an option for Amish. Can you imagine being stuck in a marriage for the rest of your life after your spouse has deserted you? I liked the characters in A Christmas Home from the insightful Etta Miller to Noah’s active twin boys, Mark and Matthew. There is a wonderful community with thoughtful, caring people as well as those who gossip. The book is well-written with steady pacing. The author’s depictions allowed me to visualize the settings and the characters. I could feel the character’s emotions in this heartwarming Christmas story. I like Christmas stories because it is a time of year when people are in better spirits and it seems that anything can happen during this magical season. The phrase I wanted to share from A Christmas Home is “You can always trust God to take care of the details.” There are recipes at the end of the book along with Amish Christmas customs. A Christmas Home is a touching tale with busy boys, furniture making fundamentals, scheming friends, bookkeeping bedlam, and family Christmas traditions.
A Christmas Home is a heartwarming story written by Marta Perry. This story deals with several types of loss, forgiveness, and second chances. The story is definitely written with style and grace. It moves along at a wonderful pace keeping the readers interest until the conclusion. The characters are very likeable and give great depth to this heartbreaking story. The author has taken great care with her characters and storyline.
Sarah Yoder, a young Amish woman, has returned home after many years following her daeds dreams in order to raise her siblings. Now her time has come to return to Promise Glen where her heart has always belonged. Making a new life for herself won’t be easy but she is determined. Noah Raber is a young Amish furniture maker with twin boys. His unfolding story over his wife’s mysterious departure is heartbreaking at every turn. He is stuck in limbo with no wife, no mother to his boys, and not being able to move forward and remarry. When Sarah’s grossmammi sends her to Noah’s to inquire about a job she is blind sided as to Noah’s situation. The journey these two set out on as employer-employee is very touchy and fraught with many troubles. This story is full of emotions that have not been dealt with. I enjoyed Sarah’s story immensely.
I was given an advanced copy of this amazing story to read through the author, Marta Perry. I was not under any obligation to post a favorable review. I have rated this book with five stars for meeting my expectations of a fantastic story that I can highly recommend to others. This is definitely a Christmas must read.
Congratulations to Marta Perry for writing another superb Amish story full of mystery, love, and compassion for her readers enjoyment.
Definitely a 5 star read!!
A sweet, clean, and wholesome read. I think this is the true reason that I love Amish fiction. I love the closeness and they way they try and help one another out in this close knit community. I really enjoyed Martas books to fullest!! I’ve loved her books since I picked up her Pleasant Valley series.
Her writing style is unique and her characters are wonderful and easy to make friends with.
People talk and they always will because they’re people and some just don’t have anything better to do.
I loved this book for the sweet messages it has to offer.
The twins were so adorable!! I loved their enthusiasm about everything. I would love to have their energy. I especially loved their different personalities.
Sarah is delightful too!! I like her quiet strength and the way she taps to the boys like they were grownups instead of talking down to them like most adults do when they don’t know how to talk to children.
I wouldn’t mind having her around as a big sister. She’s not as bad as Emma. I didn’t like Emma at all!!
I think the one that I liked most was Noah. Like most men he really doesn’t show his emotions much and he has a lot to work out.
Can he work things out with his wife’s family? Can he and Sarah find a forever home?
I recommend that you read this book to find out. It really is a great read!!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author with NO compensations received. All opinions are my own.
A Christmas Home
Janie and Noah Raber, Amish married couple with new born twin boys. To the entire Amish community of Promise Glen the couple seemed to be happily married and enjoying their twin sons, Matthew and Mark. That is until Janie disappeared one day without a trace. Noah came in, from his furniture shop, for lunch and heard the babies crying from upstairs in their bedroom. Where was Janie? All her clothes were still in the closet. For days the community searched for her and still she was missing.
Sarah Yoder’s mother died young leaving a motherless family behind with their Daadi. Sarah being the oldest child finds her self filling in for her mother. Caring for her brothers and sisters. Sacrificing her life to keep the family together. Then her father decided to move and leave all that’s familiar in Promise Glen. Ten years later and after many moves Sarah has had enough. With her siblings all grown up and married with families of their own Sarah moves back home to Promise Glen.
Sarah gets a job working as Noahs book keeper for his business. Noah is a man of little words and would rather work alone. His business records are a mess and his filing system is the top of his desk. Layers and layers of invoices and recites. He has been unsociable for the past five years and has a chip on his shoulders against his wife who ran off leaving him and her two sons . Amish people don’t believe in divorce so literally he is still married and unable to go on with his life. Janie is out there somewhere but life goes on. What has Sarah got herself into excepting this book keeping job with this troubled quiet disagreeable man?
A Christmas Home starts a new series for Marta Perry. Each year I choose a writer that I’d like to dedicate more time to reading their books. This year it was Marta Perry. I thought her latest release was very Christmassy. It’s about families and not giving up on the hurting ones we love. I thought the twins Matthew and Mark were very cute. Identical but personalities that were so different in every way. The back of the book contains a Pennsylvania Dutch glossary, Amish recipes, Amish Christmas Customs and an excerpt from Naomi’s Christmas book seven of the Pleasant Valley series.
If you are a fan of Amish fiction, Christian Fiction or love Marta Perry’s books, A Christmas Home is for you. I truly enjoyed reading it and I know you would too.
I borrowed a paperback copy from the local library. A review was not requested. All comments and opinions expressed and shared here are my own.
A sweet Christmas romance
My rating is 4.5 stars
I truly can’t help it. Honestly, I didn’t try very hard. I completely fell in love with Mark!
You don’t need to re-read the synopsis, you didn’t miss anything there. The hero’s name really is Noah. And there isn’t another guy in the picture for Sarah. Unless you count Matty and Mark, Noah’s adorable sons. Matthew is cute with his “boy-sterous” energy and outgoing personality but Mark is the one who captured my heart. Took it for ransom and won’t give it back. This sensitive, shy child with his openhearted trust in Sarah. Talk about a heart-melting sweetness! Each time he leaned against Sarah, taking comfort in her kindness and understanding. . .
I was surprised to find out the reason for Noah’s boys not having a mother. It was a complication that I hadn’t expected. I don’t believe in giving spoilers so I’ll just say that it was a doozy!
I really appreciated Sarah’s take-charge-but-don’t-bulldoze-over-everyone attitude. Her heart was tender and kind, which is why she was so determined to help.
Noah had been deeply hurt and didn’t feel he had anyone to share his burdens. He struggled with anger as a result of the suppressed grief. Yet he knew how to love deeply and was an amazing father to the twins.
Read my review of A Christmas Home by Marta Perry at AmongTheReads.net
I was given a copy of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.
The author gives us a young Amish woman who had to grow up early when her mother died and her younger siblings need her. She also had Dad with wanderlust, and was never able to stay in one place very long. Now she was home, at least where she began and is living with her Grandmother.
Add a struggling Amish man with twin motherless boys, and trying to run a business, and you could see where this story was going, but alas not all is at it first appears, and thus the story.
While I could figure out the end of this book, the author kept my attention and I found the read enjoyable.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Berkley, and was not required to give a positive review.
Sarah and Noah’s story was a wonderful tale of two people struggling with the restrictions placed upon them by their religious community and family needs in A Christmas Home by Marta Perry, book one in The Promise Glen series. After the death of her mother, Sarah Yoder spent ten years keeping house and raising her younger siblings, following the wanderlust of their father. When she returns home to Promise Glen she is ready to make a life of her own. Sarah’s new job is with her neighbor, Noah Raber’s furniture business. Noah is the single father of six-year old twin boys. His young wife ran away, abandoning their family, looking for an adventure. There is no divorce in the Amish community, so Noah is married, but not; single, but not; at loose ends. He needs Sarah’s assistance in organizing his business but acts resentful. The two clash over everything from the arrangement of the work space, how to reach new costumers, or how to raise his mischievous twin boys. Despite longing for her own home, Sarah is conflicted with her feelings toward this ready-made family and especially Noah. When these two are forced to work together on the Christmas pageant, their feelings grow; forcing them to avoid being alone. Sarah knows that loving Noah will not end with a happy ending, but with faith, love, some help from their close-knit community, and maybe some Christmas magic, there might yet be a Christmas home for them both.
I felt sympathetic toward Sarah and Noah as both were in difficult spots. Noah was not a free man, able to pursue his interest in Sarah. As these two worked together, Noah recognized the strengths, kindness, and problem-solving skills that Sarah possessed; traits which made her perfect for him and his sons. Sarah wanted to be loved. Maybe more than that, needed to be loved and appreciated for who she was.
Ms. Perry wrote a sweet love story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with emotions, attraction, chemistry, wonderful dialogue, and endearing characters in an interesting Amish community, all helping Sarah and Noah find a way to their own Christmas home. I highly recommend A Christmas Home to other readers and look forward to future books in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.