The Christmas Singing: A Romance from the Heart of Amish Country

Cindy Woodsmall creates wonderfully vivid characters, not so much by the description of their looks, but by the immediate sense of who they are as people. She infuses each character with human flaws and imperfections, yet they are immensely appealing. In "The Christmas Singing", Mattie Eash is a talented and artistic cake baker who is at times somewhat absent-minded. When her heart was broken by her childhood sweetheart, Gideon Beiler, Mattie left her home in Pennsylvania and moved to Ohio. She made a new life, and found someone safe and predictable, Sol Bender, with whom to keep company. While she enjoys the security and steadfastness of her relationship with Sol, she cannot forget her first love, Gideon. His apparent interest in a show more life outside their Amish world, and his attraction to "Englisch" women leaves Mattie deeply hurt and unsure of herself. However, Gideon has secrets of his own, and he let Mattie go because he thought she would be better off without him and his troubles. When an accident brings them back in each other's world, old feelings and hurts come to the surface. Will Gideon finally reveal the secrets he has held from Mattie? If so, can Mattie forgive him and accept him as he is? Emotions run high during the holidays, and love stories are especially poignant during this time of year. "The Christmas Singing" will touch your heart and leave you filled with the spirit of the season. Some of the recipes for the wonderful cakes described in the book are included as an extra treat!

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Review Copy Gratis Library Thing show less

Mattie has a pretty fulfilling life. She has her own cake shop and she enjoys making special cakes for people, but there is something - and someone - she avoids even thinking about. She came to this town to start her shop, where she had relatives, running away from her home when the love of her life broke up with her. Dire circumstances forced Mattie to return home, and she must face Gideon once again. But Gideon has not been truthful with Mattie, and he, too, must account for what he did and for what he didn’t say. Author Cindy Woodsmall has penned a short but meaningful tale about relationships and forgiveness. Good intentions to protect someone sometimes backfire, and you end up hurting the one you wanted to spare. A cautionary show more tale yet entertaining. show less

Gideon Beiler and Mattie Eash have been in love with each other since they were children and many assumed they would eventually marry. However, when Gideon gets devastating news he finds an excuse to break up with Mattie. Mattie’s heart is broken but she moves on, opening her own cake decorating business and dating Sol Bender. Gideon too has gone on with his life but has never really stopped loving Mattie. Unfortunate circumstances have brought Mattie back home and into Gideon’s life – will her return rekindle their romance or is it too late?

Set in the Amish community, “The Christmas Singing” is a nicely done, at times poignant, novel about someone who loves his girlfriend so much he is willing to do whatever it takes to save show more her from hurt, even if it means ending their relationship. This would make an excellent novel for book clubs as Gideon’s actions, while noble, are ripe for discussion. Author Cindy Woodsmall does an excellent job of showing just how much not only the reason for Gideon’s decision has cost him but how the decision itself has hurt him. Woodsmall also does an excellent job with Mattie’s character. She is a bit scatterbrained (at times devastatingly so), a talented cake decorator, and worried about her mother’s health. People, including Gideon, seem to want to protect her and don’t realize how strong she is – Woodsmall does an excellent job of developing that aspect of her character. Also well done, if a bit sad, are the reasons Mattie is dating Sol. Again, all of this would make a good book for a book club discussion. Finally, having the novel set at Christmas adds a lot of magic to the story.

“The Christmas Singing” is a nice romance. show less

For the most part I enjoyed this novella by an author whose books I have loved a lot. I guess it didn't quite grab me as much as some, but perhaps I read it at the wrong time (a month after Christmas.) Mattie seemed at some times whiny and at other times strong. Gideon had sacrificed a lot for her, but she took a long time to appreciate it. I'm glad that it had a happy ending.

I thought this story was incredibly sweet and left the reader wanting to read more about the characters. The story was about finding courage to forgive someone for a past mistake and find love. This is a great quick read set around the holidays in two Amish towns. This story will not disappoint. I am hoping for another story on Mattie and where the next chapter of her life leads. I definitely recommend to others to read.

Although somewhat predictable, this was an enjoyable read. I enjoy Amish settings in Christian fiction so this was my kind of book. I read it in two sittings. Short and sweet, it focuses on a young Amish woman and her misconceptions about the reasons her longtime boyfriend broke up with her. He was protecting her but all she felt was hurt and betrayal. She moves near one of her brothers in another state to begin a new life for herself. All is going rather well until her bakery burns to the ground. She must return home for the holidays and her ex happens to be working on the building of her cousin's new home. They run into each other and things get a little complicated before it's all over.

Sweet. This is the word I would use to describe this story- sweet. It is a shorter story- it comes right around 200 pages and is easily read in one sitting. The pacing in the story was excellent and the story was well told. I found myself rooting for all of the characters. I loved that Mattie was a cake decorator- that doesn't seem to be a typical Amish character (from what I read). It was fun to read about all the cakes that she made. I especially enjoyed the recipes from the cakes mentioned in the story.Cindy Woodsmall does a wonderful job creating an excellent story in so few pages. The characters are likable and although the story was predictable- that didn't take away from how enjoyable it was. This would make an excellent stocking show more stuffer or present for a family member or friend. show less