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Her Alaskan Valentine’s Day Matchmaker–frigid setting
Her Alaskan Valentine’s Day Matchmaker
by Melinda Curtis
Welcome to the Alaskan Matchmaker Series. The first book in the series is Her Alaskan Valentine’s Day Matchmaker and is written by Melinda Curtis. It is a novella and authors Anna J. Stewart and Cari Lynn Webb will be writing other books in this series. I don’t know if their books will be novellas or full length romances. I do know that they will deal with some of the same characters that are introduced in Her Alaskan Valentine’s Day Matchmaker.
The setup for this plot is that three bachelors in their twenties wage a bet with their former high school hockey coach. If they win the bet to get three couples together in Kenkanken, Alaska, they get their dream fulfilled of being employed by a hockey team. It’s an outrageous bet, laced with failure, but it gets much worse when Nora and her five week old baby walk into their headquarters, their favorite stools in Coach’s bar. Who is the baby’s father and what does Nora want?
The cold setting is front and center as the men of K-bay all proudly sport winter beards which they don’t shave until spring. Their beards become part of the plot too. As a novella, there is not a lot of time devoted to character development, but there is a surprising amount dedicated to the plot. My favorite character is the baby, little Zoe; everyone falls in love with her. I enjoyed the book and felt like the novella length was appropriate to the story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance, Novella
Notes: 1. #1 in the Alaskan Matchmaker Series
2. I thought the title of the book would grow on me, but it still just seems awkward.
Publication: February 7, 2023—Chelsea Beth Publishing
Memorable Lines:
“How do we get our clients to realize they’ve found true love in the same dating pool they’ve had available for years? I mean, they have only three weeks to fall in love and ring the bell.”
He’d given her a night that was exactly what she’d wanted, but he couldn’t help but feel he hadn’t come close to giving her what she’s really needed.
“Gideon?” The sharp doubt in that one ice-laden word could have punctured the hull of the Titanic.
Matchmaking Can Be Murder–Amish and Englisch worlds collide
Matchmaking Can Be Murder
by Amanda Flower
Already familiar with the little town of Harvest through Amanda Flower’s Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series, I was a a little confused when I found myself in a familiar town, but with a new main character, Millie. Then I remembered that Matchmaking Can Be Murder is the first in a new series. Many of the characters in the first series, which focuses on Bailey, an Englisch candy maker are back in this series. The new series features a sixty-seven year old Amish woman with a knack for knowing if two people are compatible. She returns home after years of caring for Amish kin in various communities.
Harvest is a mixed community with its Amish and Englisch citizens getting along fairly well. It is interesting to learn more about the Amish while watching their interactions with their non-Amish friends and neighbors. Especially fun is the reunion of Millie with her childhood friend Lois, a gregarious lady who has had a lot of husbands and is quite outspoken. Her clothing and jewelry are as eye-catching as Millie’s style of dress is plain. Lois makes many references to contemporary technologies and cultural icons that go right past Millie. More humor is found in the trained goat duo of Phillip and Peter who are Millie’s pets, guard goats, and lawn keepers.
Although Millie is the main character, the mystery centers around her niece Edy, a young widow with three children, whose fiancée is discovered dead in her greenhouse shortly after she breaks off the engagement. Millie and Lois attempt to discover who murdered Zeke, but they uncover more crime and convoluted personal relationships than they could ever have predicted.
It is interesting watching Millie in action as she tries to find out the truth while staying within the limits of what is right. She and Lois have to work at keeping each other in check and out of trouble. A nice touch is the author’s inclusion of Amish proverbs as they come to Millie throughout her day. I enjoy the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries, but this spinoff series is even better!
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: The first book in the Amish Matchmaking Mystery Series, it is a spinoff but it is not necessary to read the series it came from.
Publication: December 31, 2019—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
Sometimes it worked to a person’s advantage to be friends with the biggest gossip in the district. I just had to feed Raellen the right information, and she would take care of the rest.
…”they can only fully commit to the Amish life when they know what the Englisch one is like. If they see the way the rest of the world lives and then commit to our ways, they are more likely to stay here.”
There was no way to rebuild what was shattered, but what we could make was something brand-new, something that was different but stronger than before. That’s what I hoped for the very most.
education pathways 