Beth Wiseman’s book contains four novellas, each one better than
the last. The four novellas: Rooted in
Love, A Love for Irma Rose, Patchwork Perfect, and When Christmas Comes Again
all tell stories that touch the reader’s heart and include characters that the
reader empathizes with from beginning to end.
In the first story, Rooted in Love, Rosemary Lantz is a
sixteen-year-old young woman, who has lost her mother and is trying to take her
place for the family. In doing so, she
is willing to sacrifice her own desire for love. But, fate has other plans.
A Love for Irma Rose, the second novella,
is set in 1957. Irma Rose is ready to date for the first time, and has more
than one choice. She must choose between
a reckless boy who makes her heart beat faster or a “good” Amish boy, who she
thinks she is expected to pick.
Eli Byler is a widower in the third
novella, Patchwork Perfect. He has two children and is ready to marry
again. He has a few choices when he
arrives in a new town. But, he also has
the responsibilities of two young children.
Eli finds out that where one finds love is not always where one believed
it would be.
When Christmas Comes Again is the
final novella. New widow, Katherine, and
her four children are facing the first holidays since the death of her
husband. She is struggling to run the
home, deal with her grief, as well as her children’s, and, now, a new worry is
on her shoulders, as she catches a strange man following her about. Never expecting the news she receives from
this man, her life will change once again.
Beth Wiseman does a wonderful job
bringing her characters to life, building stories that entrance the readers and
leave them wanting more. The stories are
the perfect length. After turning the
last page of each novella, I went to bed thinking of the characters and how
their lives turn out after the “happy ending.”
