The Beloved Christmas Quilt

What happens when not one, not two but three Brunstetter women write a book? Three great stories from a family of master storytellers!
Luella Ebersol is a friend and caregiver to her friend Dena Zook. When Dena gifts Luella with a special quilt, requesting she pass it on down to Luella’s own daughter someday, Luella is sure she will never have a daughter because none of the young men in her district hold any appeal to her longing heart.
Following her friend’s death, Luella continues to visit the Zook household on a daily basis to care for Dena’s young son and her husband Atlee, who truly seems lost without Dena. As the Zook family, son and father, becomes more precious to her, Luella’s family begins to express caution for her growing feelings for Atlee Zook. Following her initial protests to the contrary, Luella begins to realize she is indeed developing very strong feelings for the recent widower.
Having accepted her feelings for Atlee Zook, Luella begins to struggle with the rightness of it as he is recently widowed, it is surely too soon for him to begin a new relationship. And Dena was her best friend, how could she betray her this way? Perhaps more importantly, Dena is young, much too young for a full gown man like Atlee Zook. Luella’s Promise by Wanda Brunstetter
Karen Allgyer is lonely for her family and friends following her move with her husband to another village. While her husband is happy and thriving in his new home, his job begins to become stressful due to a new coworker. Karen struggles daily to find her place while raising three young girls and with yet another boppli on the way, how will she handle four young children without the support of her family and friends? With her husband seeming so preoccupied lately, she just isn’t sure how it’s all going to work out for the best.
The new baby is a delight; always happy and smiling. Everyone is entranced by her happy countenance, including Karen, but she contracted German Measles while she was pregnant and even though the baby continues to receive great wellness checkups, Karen continues to struggle with worry.
When a tragedy occurs, Karen and her husband must come together to work together, but instead they are at odds with each other. With the holidays coming, they will be visiting with both of their family and friends. Karen longs for their support, she even wants to move back home, but her husband steadfastly refuses. How will this family survive with all the turmoil?Karen’s Gift by Jean Brunstetter
Roseanna Allgyer is in love and soon she is to be married to her John, John Beiler. When the day finally arrives, everyone is excited but Roseanna is the most excited of all, for she will soon marry the love of her life. While she anxiously awaits to take her wedding vows with John, he suddenly bolts out of the tent and runs. He does not come back, in fact, John leaves town.
Roseanna is grief stricken and hurt beyond measure; she soon learns it is not the first time John has left a bride at the altar. As time goes by and Roseanna begins to understand that John is not coming back, the pain lessens. When a former beau begins to show attention to her, she struggles with whether to accept his request to court her. Gradually, Roseanna realizes that Adam is not the man for her; she and John must speak. John, having worked through his own struggles, also decides that he and Roseanna must speak. What happens next is truly a miracle. Roseanna’s Groom by Richelle Brunstetter

I really enjoyed these 3 stories of a beloved quilt, family, romance and the Amish faith! Three women with such strong faith made these stories you can relate too.. Loved them!
I was gifted a copy and my review is voluntary..

The Beloved Christmas Quilt: Three Stories of Family, Romance and Amish Faith
by Wanda E. Brunstetter, Jean Brunstetter and Richelle Brunstetter

All three stories are tied together by a beautiful quilt that is passed down from generation to generation. The lives of these Amish women all face life challenges, loss, romance and love, second chances and faith. There is hope and God’s promise within the scripture verse lovingly stitched into the quilt, “For Thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for Thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Psalm 31:3”, (KJV…one of my favorite verses) that in time bring comfort, hope and peace to each woman. A collection of heartwarming stories.

1-Luella’s Promise by Wanda E. Brunstetter
2-Karen’s Gift by Jean Brunstetter
3-Roseanna’s Groom by Richelle Lynn Brunstetter

~I received a copy of this book from Barbour Publishing/author (no monetary gain were exchanged), this is my honest review~I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255~

The Beloved Christmas Quilt, an excellent set of novellas penned by three generations of Brunstetter women, is a must-read Christmas gift for the discerning Amish fiction reader. Each is the perfect length to read in an evening. What ties each generation of women together is not only a beautiful Christmas quilt, but the scripture verse that became a priceless statement of faith linking mothers and daughters. The characters are each beautifully detailed; their dialog and behaviors reflect who each one is.

The first novella is “Luella’s Promise”. Luella has been hired by Atlee Zook to care for his wife and young son Daryl during his wife’s illness. Dena’s heart is failing. At first they thought that she wouldn’t live until Daryl was an adult, but that estimate was drastically cut. Before she died, Dena asked Luella for a promise that she would take care of Daryl and Atlee after she was gone. She insisted that Luella take home the quilt as an early Christmas gift; Dena had received it from her mother the first year she and Atlee were married. After Dena went to heaven, people worried about how much time Luella spent taking care of Daryl; her parents didn’t want her to work for him any more after they were seen together in what others in the community questioned.

In “Karen’s Gift”, Karen is an Amish wife with three young girls, from an infant to a five-year-old. She had German measles during her last pregnancy, so she watches the infant carefully. Her husband worked in a job that he enjoyed, and didn’t understand how isolated she felt away from her family who live in another town. She adored her daughters and husband, but was weary from doing everything alone. She wants to be a supportive wife, but struggles with faith and loneliness.

“Roseanna’s Groom” shows us a young woman who works as a seamstress. Roseanna made a beautiful dress for her wedding to John, and the big day arrives. Early in the wedding ceremony, John runs out of the tent. Roseanna follows him but could only learn that he just couldn’t get married. Her father announced that a wedding would not take place but everyone could enjoy what would have been the bridal dinner. Weeks later, she literally runs into Mark, who recently moved back to town. He wants to take her out, just as he had wanted to court her before he had moved away.

In general, I like the easy to read format. Each novella builds on the previous, and each are coordinated seamlessly with regards to the characters, scripture, and quilt. I love how the scripture verse links mothers and daughters along with the beloved quilt on which the verse is quoted. Dena’s generosity for the young caregiver who became her close friend encourages three generations in the same way that these timeless stories are perfect for mothers to give their daughters with a treasured family heirloom.

The plots are uniquely different; the love the women give to and receive from their husband has its own blessings, challenges, and joys. What is similar in each romance is how each woman must rely fully on the Lord through challenges they face, seeking His face and direction. In two of the stories, I didn’t know what the final resolution would be. The raw emotions each woman feels are keenly emoted. I highly recommend The Beloved Christmas Quilt! Each of the Brunstetter ladies has an amazing talent!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

This is THE BEST Brunstetter clan book I’ve ever read! I was fascinated by the first story written by Wanda. It was interesting and had a bunch of unique elements to the storyline. It wasn’t predictable at all. I was annoyed a little by Eugene’s character. He seemed like a whiny baby but I think this added a unique real human element to the story. While I hated his whining I loved how he didn’t win in the end. The love story in this book were so sweet and well developed. It wasn’t oh we met and now it’s the next page and we are in love. It was a natural development that I wasn’t surprised about but still didn’t see it as “predictable”. The 2nd story in the book was written by Jean Brunstetter and was also good. I loved how it was a continuation (but not immediate following the previous story in terms of timeline… but it jumped to the adulthood of the youngest child born at the end of the previous story) of the previous story. I was glad to see what was going on in the lives of the characters I had just met. Loved the addition of a deaf child. We don’t see “handicaps” in Amish stories often. I love this addition. And I loved how the characters reacted in a real way. They weren’t immediately accepting of this challenge. The addition of marital struggles was also one you don’t see often. I love when Amish fiction authors get real and don’t romanticize the Amish lifestyle. Great story. The 3rd story written by Richelle got going slowly but then bam! Conflict from the beginning! I loved it. Characters met hardship and struggled but then pulled through and were even better off than they were before the struggle. Loved the raw emotion. Characters were well developed and there were plenty of plot twists and cliffhangers that kept me interested. Can’t wait to read more from this author. She has a great writing style and way with plot that makes the reader want to keep reading. I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Beloved Christmas Quilt: Three stories of Family, Romance and Amish Faith by Wanda E. Brunstetter, Jean B. Brunstetter and Richelle Lynn Brunstetter. We get to see how one quilt with a Psalm 31:3 embroidered on the back helps and guides three generations. Luella’s Promise by Wanda E. Brunstetter is set in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. Luella Ebersol was hired by Atlee Zook to care for his dying wife, Dena Zook and young son, Daryl. Before Dena passes away, she gifts Luella with a special quilt that Dena and Atlee received as a Christmas gift from Dena’s mum the first year they were married. It is a quilt that is to pass from mother to daughter. After Dena’s passing, Luella continues to work for Atlee and care for little Daryl. Slowly the pair begin to care for each other, but Luella’s parents are not pleased with the pairing (age difference). Without her parents blessing, Atlee and Luella cannot have a future together. Is there a chance for them to have a happily ever after?

Karen’s Gift by Jean Brunstetter takes us to Lykens, Pennsylvania. Karen and Seth Allgyer moved to Lykens two years prior to get away from the commercialized Paradise. Karen misses her family especially now with newborn, Nancy Anne in the house along with her other daughters, Roseanna and Mary. Karen is worried about Nancy Anne who was born early and is afraid the little girl might suffer from the effects of the German measles Karen had while pregnant. Seth is having trouble at work with a co-worker and he cannot handle any more stressful news. How will the family cope during this worrying time?

Roseanna’s Groom is by Wanda Brunstetter’s granddaughter, Richelle Lynn Brunstetter (her first published story). Roseanna Allgyer is marrying John Beiler. She is excited and nervous to start her new life with the man she loves. They are standing before the Bishop while he discusses their responsibilities when John suddenly flees. Roseanna is hurt and confused. John goes away, and old beau, Mark returns to town wishing to court Roseanna again. Roseanna is afraid to trust another man with her heart. What choice will Roseanna make?

The Beloved Christmas Quilt contains three sweet stories. I liked how we get to experience three generations of the family. It was nice that the characters from Luella’s Promise are in all three tales. My favorite one is Luella’s Promise. It is well-written, good pace, and engaging characters. I like the messages or themes in the novellas. They include friendship, power of prayer, kindness, compassion, overcoming adversity, and following God’s path for your life. My rating for The Beloved Christmas Quilt is 4 out of 5 stars. Roseanna’s Groom is a nice story and for Richelle Brunstetter’s first published work, she did a good job. Karen’s Gift, though, was not as enjoyable. I was not fully engaged by this short story. It lacked the nice, easy writing style that readers prefer (and we get from Wanda Brunstetter). The Beloved Christmas Quilt has three inspiring, romantic stories that will leave you with a warm feeling in your heart.