The Christmas Gathering by Shelley Shepard Gray; Rachel J. Good; Lenora Worth  
Published by: Kensington Publishing
Publication Date: September 24, 2024
Genres: Amish Romance / Christian Romance / Holiday Romance / Novellas & Short Stories
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
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Filled with faith, family, and a whole lot of heart, New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray joins Lenora Worth and Rachel J. Good for three all-new, faith-affirming holiday stories celebrating the spirit of the season, the warmth of simple Amish traditions, and the joyful gathering of loved ones for Christmas.

A CHRISTMAS REUNION by Shelley Shepard Gray
Tricia Troyer is thrilled when Brandt Massey, her cousin’s English friend, joins the Troyers’ holiday gathering for the second year in a row. The sparks between them are clear to everyone. When Brandt asks Tricia to be his girlfriend, they both know she’ll have important choices to make about her future. But the two aren’t as different as some believe—and with open hearts and understanding, their very own Christmas miracle just might be possible . . . 

WE GATHER TOGETHER by Lenora Worth
When Lucas Myer meets Kayla Hollinger on the shores of Lake Erie, he’s smitten. Their families are even staying at the same inn, for different gatherings. The two plan to meet again—but soon enough they discover a problem: their relatives are locked in a longtime feud and forbid them to socialize. Fortunately, Lucas and Kayla are old enough to make their own decisions—and they decide to create a Christmas miracle of forgiveness and love . . . 

HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES by Rachel J. Good
Years ago, Andrew was banished by his Amish family when he chose a career in music. It still hurts, especially during the holidays. And now, just before Christmas, he and his band find themselves stranded after their manager absconds with their money. Desperate, Andrew is offered a job teaching piano—but that’s just the first miracle. His work will not only bless others in need, but a longtime fan might just capture his heart—and even lead him home . . .

My Review and Reflections

Three Christmas stories by bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray with Lenora Worth and Rachel J. Good that interweave on the themes of faith, family, and, of course, love.  

Fighting families, unrequited love, and being stranded and alone—sounds like Christmas, right? Find out how anger, hurt, and sorrow transform into love, redemption, and forgiveness in this story collection. 

This collection contains three stories. The first story, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙂𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜, by Gray is an interfaith romance. Brandt Massey is an Englisher who is best friends with Mark, an Amish man. Secretly, he’s been writing to Mark’s cousin Tricia since they first met a year ago. And, even more of a secret, Tricia’s fallen for Brandt. How could this even work? What will happen if she admits her feelings? What does this mean for her faith?  

𝙒𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 by Worth is a sweet story of love that blossoms between Lucas Myer and Kayla Hollinger. They have a chance meeting on the shores of Lake Erie where they are both attending family functions. But, as it turns out, these two Amish families do not like each other at all and have been feuding for… well, forever. Can they ever be together when their families don’t want them to have anything to do with each other? 

𝙃𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 by Good is the story about an Amish music lover, Mark, and the hard choices he has to make between God, his family, music, and love.  After being kicked out of his family for choosing music, he and his band find themselves abandoned by their manager, without a dime. To keep from being on the streets, Mark takes a job as a music teacher and finds himself enamored by one of his fans. How will Mark choose with so many possible paths in front of him?  

When collections are put together like this, there is typically a variety of tropes and writing styles, so each story is independent, and you get a feel for each writer. In my experience, there are usually two stories that stand out and one that is good but not quite as strong as the others. That’s what I noticed with this collection. Honestly, the only issue with any of it was that Worth’s story had a feuding family trope, which is not one I care for. However, her writing is strong, and her character development is good, so I’m looking forward to reading more from her.

Other than the feuding secondary characters in 𝙒𝙚 𝙂𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, there wasn’t a single character in this set of stories that I didn’t like. Although I don’t personally know any Amish people, I found that the storylines were what I would expect from an Amish-style romance, in terms of setting and the things allowed or not allowed in the community, as well as moments where someone might question their faith or the Ordnung. Well, perhaps Good pushed the envelope a little with 𝙃𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨, but it was, as her name suggests, in a good way.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙂𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 carried one of my favorite tropes, which is that of inter-faith love. This was such a good story and the ending so unexpected. Gray typically provides the unanticipated, which is why he’s one of my favorite Amish fiction authors. She knows how to write compelling and gripping stories, even with Amish romance which some might assume are typical. I just do not find that true with any of Gray’s stories and was not disappointed, only surprised, with this one.

I have read many of Good’s stories and books before but I have to say 𝙃𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 is now my favorite Good read. It really made me think about my own faith. The ending was so exciting and satisfying that I literally set down my iPad and clapped. My husband looked over at me, smiled, and said “I guess you don’t get tired of Amish romances,” to which I responded, “No, never.”

Since the stories are short, you can read one in an afternoon and go to bed feeling pleased with the feel-good vibes at the end. None of these stories dragged or felt like a chore to read and were thoroughly enjoyable. If you love story collections, or Christmas, or Amish romances, this is a great book to add to your collection. If you’re like me, you’ll even clap at the end.

If you were to define your love story, or the one you hope to have, as a trope.
What would it be?

Thank you to Kensington Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.