This book starts as a comfy, cozy fake relationship. A lot of warm Christmas reflections. I do not handle comfy, cozy well, normally. But everything changed as I got further into the book. I could not stop thinking about how love is work, sacrifice, and compromise, something that Jesse and Fannie did not seem to understand.
About the Book
An Amish Bookshop Courtship by Patricia Johns
Series: Amish Chocolate Shop Brides – Book 2
Publisher: Love Inspired
Publication Date: November 25, 2025
Genres: Amish Romance | Holiday Romance
Pages: 208
Format: paperback
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Can the end of one chapter
be the start of their own love story?
Returning home to sell his late father’s bookstore, the last thing Amish carpenter Jesse Kauffman expects is to be roped into a pretend romance…with his childhood best friend. But Fannie Flaud is determined to shape her own future and will do anything to avoid the matchmaking plans of her well-meaning family. As they spend time together and rebuild their friendship, real feelings begin to grow between them. Now torn between Fannie and the life he has planned in Indiana, Jesse must decide: Can he let go of his past to stay with the woman he’s always loved?
My Review and Reflections
The soft and comforting feel of this book sits well with the fuzzy socks and sweaters of winter. You can slip in and out of it, depending on your mood, but still want to go back to it. But just as you’re about to snuggle up and hunker down for that sweet second half, everything starts to feel different. You wonder if you misjudged it all along.
What I loved About These Characters
Jesse is a little infuriating. He knows he’s supposed to forgive, it’s what his religion teaches. It’s what God teaches. But he flat out refuses. Jesse refuses to see himself as more than just his father’s son. A father who did not extend love and was abusive. Yet at the same time, he had a tender heart for the Lord. Jesse leaned into Christmas, relished the story of Jesus’ birth. But his unforgiveness pulled him away from everything and left him isolated. Even if he didn’t see it that way.
“Let the whole community talk. Let them gasp and whisper, but Fannie Flaud was worth having a man publicly court her.” p. 126
Fannie struggles a little with her calling and purpose, but other than her love of God and her hometown and Jesse there is one thing that she truly loves and it’s Jesse’s late fathers bookstore. Or just books in general, which she waxes eloquently about during the second half of the story. A girl after my own heart. Fannie also knows what she doesn’t want. And that’s to be pushed into marriage, especially to Dieter, who is a much older widower with five kids to care for. Talking to her Aent and Ankel didn’t seem to work because they thought the arrangement would be for her own good and would give them peace of mind. Of course, since talking didn’t do much for her, she needs Jesse to help her out with a fake courtship. It would probably be the way I’d go too.
How This Story Made Me Feel
Honestly, I was struggling with this book at first. I need a real emotional upheaval right away. Something that makes me cry, yell, or laugh. It was doing none of that. But then an epiphany hit. What this story means to me and how it made me think about my relationship with God. And how that relationship with God impacts how we interact with others.
God, with His love that knows no bounds, did that for us. He works through us and in us by giving us His Word. It is our job to be in it. He sacrificed His only Son to die on the cross so that we can be saved. We must sacrifice too, to give up the things of this world that pull us from Him. The Old Testament is full of God’s compromise; just look at His relationship with Moses. And we compromise by giving our time and attention to Him instead of the TV or social media. The same is true in relationships with others, whether it be a spouse, relative, friend, or coworker. Sometimes it takes a little fiction to make me realize all the important things I missed. Now, I must go back and continue my conversation with God. Only He can help me truly see.
Why You Might Enjoy This Book
Romance book lovers who enjoy a sweet, warm story will relish this story. And holiday romances are the best when a fake relationship is included. Of course, you can’t ignore that this is a book about books, and really, what can be better?
“I could escape in those books,” she went on. “My life might not have been very exciting, but those books let me live a hundred different lives – they let me have adventures I’d never experience on my own.” p. 37
But if you’re like me and you need that emotional pull. That reminder of God. There are so many questions woven throughout this book. How can we forgive an abusive parent? Why should we forgive? Is it ever too late to start again? These questions will nag at you while you read and help you discover that it’s never too late and forgiveness is about you and your relationship with God.
In some instances, I receive complimentary copies from publishers, authors, or NetGalley, which is always noted under Source. Receiving a complimentary copy never influences my opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.
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