His Amish Christmas Surprise by Virginia Wise
Series: Sisters of Stoneybrook Farm – Book 1
Publisher: Love Inspired
Publication Date: September 30, 2025
Genres: Holiday Romance | Amish Romance
Pages: 208
Format: paperback
Source: author
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A baby caught between her
Amish world…and his Englisch one.

Former Amish John Mast never expected to return to the community he left behind…or to claim a daughter he never knew he had. To give her the life she deserves, John will do anything, even accept help from Leah Stoltzfus. Resigned to a life of loneliness after a disastrous Rumspringa, finding an abandoned baby on her doorstep is Leah’s chance to experience the family she’s always wanted. Soon, unexpected love blossoms as they raise little Abby together. But when a new job opportunity in the Englisch world tempts him, John must decide if Leah is worth returning to the world he turned his back on…

My Review and Reflections

Geese, babies, rugged men, and an Amish woman…how could I not say yes to this book? Add in a cozy Amish romance, Christmas cheer, and thoughtful reminders of our Savior’s birth, and this story had my full attention right away.

What I Loved About These Characters

I love that this book is about Leah! And that Belinda the Goose is on page one! It’s wonderful to hear Leah’s thoughts, but I’m not liking that John is bringing out the worst in her. More than anything, Leah is afraid of opening her heart again and risking her faith and future on someone who could walk away. I can understand why, since she’s been in love with an Englischer before and was left for someone else. And, to top it off, Leah had taken that relationship “too far,” so it was incredibly painful for her. She is now living with a wounded heart and is doing everything she can to protect herself, including swearing off men, despite her desire for a family.

“She gasped, then froze for a moment. Their eyes locked. John felt a jolt zip through him as she stared up at him, her mouth slightly parted, her eyes wide with surprise.”
p. 60

John is honorable. He steps into his role as a single father without a thought, even though he had no idea about the baby until after the baby was born. That’s why taking a high paying construction job and leaving his only support, even if they were practically strangers, is tempting. The more time he spends with Leah and his family, the more he hears his Amish roots breaking through, like saying “For certain sure.” He fights this with all his being and corrects himself as soon as he hears the slip. Even though he no longer attends church, John still talks with God through prayer and trusts Him in the quiet, everyday moments of life. What holds him back most is not a lack of faith, but the deep fear that he is no longer welcome or seen with grace. Because of this, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing his Amish faith rekindled.

How This Story Made Me Feel

I love a close proximity book, but for this one, the timeline seems much too short to go from enemies to more. Even so, the emotional intensity between the characters was strong enough that I stopped worrying about the clock and focused on what they were working through instead. The story pulled me along so completely that I only noticed the short timeline later, after I went back and counted the days. I’m weird that way. Honestly, the emotional overload was so extreme that I almost had to put it down just to be able to keep going. I now understand how my cat feels when I pet her too much.

“A man who looked as big and tough as John should be rough around the edges. He shouldn’t go around holding babies in barns and looking sweet. It could make a woman start thinking things she shouldn’t.”
p. 96

All of the reminders about the simpler Amish life made me want to slow down and connect with others even more. John was reflective about his Amish upbringing and how he remembered the adults sitting on front porches in the evenings, neighbors coming by with pies, and the community coming together for barn raisings. Because his parents had left the faith when he was 12, he was able to weigh the pros and cons of both lifestyles. It points to how faith and intentional community can create space for rest, healing, and deeper connection with others. It made me curious about the things I could get rid of or reduce to get some of those same feelings, and it made me long for the days when I sat on the porch with my grandparents.

Why You Might Enjoy This Book

If you enjoy close proximity, enemies to more, or single parent books, you’ll love this one. It raises the question, “Can fear of rejection keep us from trusting God and stepping into the life He is offering?” It combines some of the best tropes with themes of spiritual growth, healing, and restoration. For me, the story gently shows that grace, faith, and obedience can lead us back to where we truly belong. I’ll be crushing on this book for a long time to come.

Falling for the Amish Rival by Virginia Wise
Series: Sisters of Stonybrook Farm – Book 2
Publisher: Love Inspired
Publication Date: January 27, 2026
Genres: Amish Romance | Holiday Romance
Pages: 203
Format: ebook
Source: author
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On the farm, they’re enemies…
On paper, they’re falling in love.

Amanda Stoltzfus would love to get married, but most Amish men aren’t interested in a woman who prefers farmwork to housework. Good thing her secret pen pal L.D. values her for who she is, unlike Amanda’s snarky rival, the irritating new goat farmer, David Troyer. But when Amanda arranges a long-anticipated meeting with her pen pal, she discovers it’s David! Soon they find themselves locked in a battle that will make or break the future of both their farms. Can they set aside their rivalry and look beyond the surface to find their perfect match?

My Review and Reflections

Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! This is one of those books that sneaks up on you and suddenly has you feeling everything at once. I kept thinking I would read just one more chapter, only to find myself far more invested than planned and wishing my workday would pause so I could keep reading.

What I Loved About These Characters

The fact that Amanda and David were secret pen pals and couldn’t recognize each other is so fun. This makes their first interaction so odd and strange. And it wasn’t that easy for them to figure out because they both signed with initials that were abbreviations for a nickname. And when the family finds out about the whole secret pen pal situation and them not knowing each other, let the laughter begin. That hidden connection adds another layer to what is already an enemies to more romance, letting emotional closeness develop long before either one is willing to admit what is really happening.

The women in this family sure do protest too much! I can’t stop smiling at Amanda’s behavior toward David. The thinly veiled anger isn’t fooling anyone. Amanda’s pride gets the best of her. Sometimes she realizes it and is quick to admonish herself, and other times she just doesn’t see it. It’s a trial for her because her faith calls her to be humble. This self worth was tied up in the fact that she really is an excellent goat farmer and knows much about the animals. However, this puts Amanda in a very nontraditional role in a very traditional community. It makes her feel that she has to prove herself at every turn and, at the same time, like she was pushing herself further and further away from the husband and children she also desired.

“She so badly wanted to enjoy keeping house. Life would be so much easier if she could. There would be plenty of suitors, then a house full of babies, if she were just willing to swallow her dreams and be someone other than herself.” p. 51

David sees himself as a failure. He believes this makes him unworthy of love. He’s ashamed of his circumstances and that he struggles to support himself and his family. David’s descriptions of Amanda are sweet and endearing. Well, not all of them. He compared her emotional state to that of a snake more than once. They make me want to reach out and hug him. You know, since Amanda won’t. He wanted to follow God’s will but also was scared that His will wasn’t his will. I think many of us have been there. Both Amanda and David are wrestling with identity, pride, and worth, making faith and spiritual growth central to their journey rather than something that sits quietly in the background.

Reflections on Amish Life and Faith

I really like all of the sisters and their brother Benjamin. I was happy to see that Amanda was smitten with someone who was strong in the Amish faith because, so far, she is the first one in the family who hasn’t had to reel someone back into the fold. It really fit with Amanda’s feelings about Amish men and her perceived expectations of what they want.

Once again, Virginia really calls me to take a look at how I live my life and what I can learn from the Amish. The discussion about Englischers wanting to stand out and outdo one another really resonated with me. At work, on the internet, it seems like it’s always happening, and all that can do is lead to feelings of inadequacy. Clearly the Amish aren’t perfect in this regard, or Amanda wouldn’t be battling this at every turn, but things like Instagram only intensify those feelings. That is why the Amish do so much to be similar to one another in the way they dress, occupation, and even down to the color of their homes.

“As she drew closer, the buggy blocked the sun, and his face suddenly came into view. Something slow and terrible registered in her brain. Her chest constricted. She could not quite believe it for a moment.

The man beside the buggy was David. Her rival.” p. 62

Although some of the Amish details are just plain fun and not necessarily life altering, I especially enjoy seeing how Amish decorate. I know that most people believe that they don’t do that at all, but if they use something that is both practical and has a purpose and that also has a decorative function, it works beautifully. Like quilt racks, gardens, and patchwork quilt placemats.

Why You Might Enjoy This Book

There is so much here for readers who appreciate faith woven naturally into romance. Watching Amanda wrestle with humility and David confront his sense of failure made me think about how easily self worth can become tied to performance rather than faith. The story leans into spiritual growth, healing, and obedience, and by the end, I was left with a renewed reminder that trusting God often means releasing our need to measure up.