kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Huckleberry Christmas is the third heartwarming installment in Jennifer Beckstrand's charming Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series. In this outing, matchmaking grandparents Anna and Felty Helmuth are pairing up their widowed great granddaughter Beth Hostetler with Tyler Yoder.
Beth and her young son Toby are living with Anna and Felty after her return to town following her husband's death. Her marriage was far from idyllic and she has absolutely no plans to remarry. Beth is prickly and she fiercely guards her newly found independence. She is a little hot tempered, but once she cools off, she is quick to admit when she has made a mistake. Beth uses humor to deflect attention from her past but behind her cheerful facade, she is trying to put the ghosts from her marriage behind her.
Tyler is serious, even-tempered and unflappable. Having had his heart broken when his engagement ended, he is not looking for love when he meets Beth. He respects her need for independence but he finds ways to work around her objections to accepting some of his assistance. He takes her temper in stride and he is quick to forgive.
Tyler and Beth's romance begins as friendship and their relationship evolves slowly over several months. Their interactions are light-hearted and laced with humor. As their friendship deepens into love, Beth is quick to push Tyler away but it is not until her past collides with the present, that she truly begins to heal. As she begins to let go of her anger toward God, Beth is finally able to recognize the blessings in her life.
Huckleberry Christmas is a wonderful novel of love, family and friendship. Once again, Jennifer Beckstrand's gentle lesson of faith is thought-provoking and easy to relate to. The storyline is refreshingly unique with richly developed and likeable characters. Old and new fans are sure to enjoy this heartfelt and engaging addition to The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series.
Huckleberry Christmas is the third heartwarming installment in Jennifer Beckstrand's charming Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series. In this outing, matchmaking grandparents Anna and Felty Helmuth are pairing up their widowed great granddaughter Beth Hostetler with Tyler Yoder.
Beth and her young son Toby are living with Anna and Felty after her return to town following her husband's death. Her marriage was far from idyllic and she has absolutely no plans to remarry. Beth is prickly and she fiercely guards her newly found independence. She is a little hot tempered, but once she cools off, she is quick to admit when she has made a mistake. Beth uses humor to deflect attention from her past but behind her cheerful facade, she is trying to put the ghosts from her marriage behind her.
Tyler is serious, even-tempered and unflappable. Having had his heart broken when his engagement ended, he is not looking for love when he meets Beth. He respects her need for independence but he finds ways to work around her objections to accepting some of his assistance. He takes her temper in stride and he is quick to forgive.
Tyler and Beth's romance begins as friendship and their relationship evolves slowly over several months. Their interactions are light-hearted and laced with humor. As their friendship deepens into love, Beth is quick to push Tyler away but it is not until her past collides with the present, that she truly begins to heal. As she begins to let go of her anger toward God, Beth is finally able to recognize the blessings in her life.
Huckleberry Christmas is a wonderful novel of love, family and friendship. Once again, Jennifer Beckstrand's gentle lesson of faith is thought-provoking and easy to relate to. The storyline is refreshingly unique with richly developed and likeable characters. Old and new fans are sure to enjoy this heartfelt and engaging addition to The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series.
loverofromance's review
5.0
Huckleberry Christmas is book three in the "Matchmakers" series by Jennifer Beckstrand. Even thoug the first books had some issues, I am still so charmed by the world building of a Amish romance, with the strong sense of community, faith centered traditional living and non preacy feminist dialogue. I adore the way that this author is able to show strength of women without being on a soap box, where it just feels so down to earth and genuine. What really ended up working for me in this one was seeing the romance develop between these two and a fun trope that I see very rarely, I just don 't see it common in romance like I used to. We do deal with some challenging issues that the author was willing to tackle, and I really admired the way in which it was handled.
The set up of the story is where our heroine, Beth, is a widow and a single mom. She is also recovering from an emotionally abusive husband although its hinted at that there was more than that. Then we have our hero, Tyler, who has recently been burned and jilted at his own wedding. Beth's grandparents are determined to matchmake them together, but Beth is against any marriage in the future. She blames God for what happened to her, and the abuse that she suffered. And even though Tyler appears to be honest and good, she doesn't want to suffer again. But as Tyler and Beth grow closer, they will be tested when Beth will have to reconcile her past and learn to trust again...
I absolutely adored just about everything about this book. Its my favorite so far in this series and I had such a fun time seeing these characters come together like they do. It definitely kicks off with a great start, and I adored the way that they instantly have a connection. Now even though I didn't always approve of Beth's action, I definitely understood it from a certain point. It did get a bit dragged out in the end, but I loved how the hero stands up to beth in what he deserves and it helps Beth to reevaluate her decisions and come to terms with her issues and reconcile with God and her faith and learning to forgive and fight her battles. I did enjoy how protective Tyler could be while at the same time, he let her fight what she needed to.
There was so many laughs in this one, despite the difficult issues that come into the story. I delighted in seeing the manner in the way of the sense of family and community, the way these grandparents attempt matchmaking these two together and the atmospheric vibe of Christmas time. It just had me wanting to put some Christmas carols on and put up some mistletoe. I really enjoyed seeing some characters from previous books, and the way the child aspect was implemented into this one here. The more I read this author, the more I become hooked on her stories. I can't recommend this one enough if you want to get a solid Christmas romance or just want to try out a Amish romance. I will say that even though this is closed door in the heat level, I will say that there are some amazing kissing and affection scenes portrayed.
Overall I found Huckleberry Christmas to be utterly delightful, charming in its portrayal and genuine in the character building and the romance that will speak deeply to your heart!
The set up of the story is where our heroine, Beth, is a widow and a single mom. She is also recovering from an emotionally abusive husband although its hinted at that there was more than that. Then we have our hero, Tyler, who has recently been burned and jilted at his own wedding. Beth's grandparents are determined to matchmake them together, but Beth is against any marriage in the future. She blames God for what happened to her, and the abuse that she suffered. And even though Tyler appears to be honest and good, she doesn't want to suffer again. But as Tyler and Beth grow closer, they will be tested when Beth will have to reconcile her past and learn to trust again...
I absolutely adored just about everything about this book. Its my favorite so far in this series and I had such a fun time seeing these characters come together like they do. It definitely kicks off with a great start, and I adored the way that they instantly have a connection. Now even though I didn't always approve of Beth's action, I definitely understood it from a certain point. It did get a bit dragged out in the end, but I loved how the hero stands up to beth in what he deserves and it helps Beth to reevaluate her decisions and come to terms with her issues and reconcile with God and her faith and learning to forgive and fight her battles. I did enjoy how protective Tyler could be while at the same time, he let her fight what she needed to.
There was so many laughs in this one, despite the difficult issues that come into the story. I delighted in seeing the manner in the way of the sense of family and community, the way these grandparents attempt matchmaking these two together and the atmospheric vibe of Christmas time. It just had me wanting to put some Christmas carols on and put up some mistletoe. I really enjoyed seeing some characters from previous books, and the way the child aspect was implemented into this one here. The more I read this author, the more I become hooked on her stories. I can't recommend this one enough if you want to get a solid Christmas romance or just want to try out a Amish romance. I will say that even though this is closed door in the heat level, I will say that there are some amazing kissing and affection scenes portrayed.
Overall I found Huckleberry Christmas to be utterly delightful, charming in its portrayal and genuine in the character building and the romance that will speak deeply to your heart!
bindingthepages's review against another edition
5.0
Now that Anna Helmuth has two successful matchmaking schemes under her belt, she’s ready to dip her fingers back into the pie and get her granddaughter, Beth, married off. Unfortunately, Beth is a widow hellbent on never entering another marriage again after the terrible marriage that she’s survived through. Having just escaped her abusive in-laws, she’s staying with her grandparents while she raises her son and gets her dressmaking business off the ground. What she doesn’t know is that Anna is determined to match her up with Tyler Yoder.
One of my friend’s recommended Jennifer Beckstrand’s books and this is the first series that I’ve picked up from her. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous two books in the series, but I was excited that Beckstrand mixed things up a bit and had Anna trying to get one of her granddaughters married off. The previous two books follow two different grandsons and the young ladies Anna thought would be perfect matches for them. This time around, she looked at Tyler Yoder and knew he’d be perfect for her granddaughter, Beth.
Tyler is a character we got to know well in the second book. I like him a lot, so it was great that we got to see him find love again in this installment. We also meet a new character, Beth, who has just moved back home. Her previous marriage wasn’t a happy one, so I felt awful about the things that she had gone through. I do think that she needed more time to heal, but you know Anna. She gets something in her mind and runs with it!
It was great following Beth and watching her rediscover herself, her joys, and figure out what she does want from life now that she has a choice again. Her character development is very realistic, and I felt very invested in her as a character from the start. I think that she might be one of my favorite characters so far, right behind Anna and Felty of course, and I’m looking forward to seeing her pop up in future books in this series.
There’s also a nice touch of Christmas throughout the book. This is a particularly hard Christmas season for me since I lost my grandpa this year and dealing with Christmas music, movies, and such has been difficult. This book was light enough that I felt like I was in a warm and caring embrace while I read. I might’ve gotten misty a few times from my own grief, but I think this is probably the only Christmas media I didn’t run away from this December. This series has a huge heart and I just want to hang out in this world because there’s a lot about both Anna and Felty that reminds me of my grandpa.
One of my friend’s recommended Jennifer Beckstrand’s books and this is the first series that I’ve picked up from her. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous two books in the series, but I was excited that Beckstrand mixed things up a bit and had Anna trying to get one of her granddaughters married off. The previous two books follow two different grandsons and the young ladies Anna thought would be perfect matches for them. This time around, she looked at Tyler Yoder and knew he’d be perfect for her granddaughter, Beth.
Tyler is a character we got to know well in the second book. I like him a lot, so it was great that we got to see him find love again in this installment. We also meet a new character, Beth, who has just moved back home. Her previous marriage wasn’t a happy one, so I felt awful about the things that she had gone through. I do think that she needed more time to heal, but you know Anna. She gets something in her mind and runs with it!
It was great following Beth and watching her rediscover herself, her joys, and figure out what she does want from life now that she has a choice again. Her character development is very realistic, and I felt very invested in her as a character from the start. I think that she might be one of my favorite characters so far, right behind Anna and Felty of course, and I’m looking forward to seeing her pop up in future books in this series.
There’s also a nice touch of Christmas throughout the book. This is a particularly hard Christmas season for me since I lost my grandpa this year and dealing with Christmas music, movies, and such has been difficult. This book was light enough that I felt like I was in a warm and caring embrace while I read. I might’ve gotten misty a few times from my own grief, but I think this is probably the only Christmas media I didn’t run away from this December. This series has a huge heart and I just want to hang out in this world because there’s a lot about both Anna and Felty that reminds me of my grandpa.
honniker's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars because I liked it more than the second book but not as well as the first.
fromjesstoyou's review
4.0
"4 out of 5 stars, two Amish grandparents are up to more matrimony scheming by trying to bring together their granddaughter Beth--a widow with a toddler son who plans to never remarry--and Tyler. This charming romance deals with serious issues yet is still lighthearted throughout with Anna and Felty Helmuth's anecdotes and Beth's humor."
Read more of this review and THREE teasers here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2014/09/feasted-on-matchmakers-of-huckleberry.html (Review will be posted on September 7th 2014.)
Read more of this review and THREE teasers here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2014/09/feasted-on-matchmakers-of-huckleberry.html (Review will be posted on September 7th 2014.)
More...