Christmas in Wisconsin: An Amish Romance

by Linda Byler

A sweet Christmas tale of two intertwining love stories

Laura is the oldest of seven children in a close-knit Amish family in Wisconsin. Life is good in the Slotzfus home—Amos and Mary are loving and supportive parents who bring their family to church and show them the love of Jesus. But as Laura begins rumspringa, a time of “running around” with the other youth, she finds herself in the tumultuous waters of attraction and romance. Will she ever find the kind of love her parents share?

Meanwhile, Lydia Beiler is getting older and feels stuck in the rural Wisconsin Amish community. She tries to throw herself fully into life as a teacher and accept God’s will for her life. But still, as Christmas nears, she finds herself longing for love and children of her own. When Ben King shows up at the schoolhouse unexpectedly in the midst of a blizzard, she feels a spark ignite in her heart. Is it just her imagination, or might he be interested in her, too? 

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Amish

240 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Linda Byler grew up Amish and is an active member of the Amish church today. Growing up, Linda Byler loved to read and write. In fact, she still does. She is well known within the Amish community as a columnist for a weekly Amish newspaper. Linda and her husband, their children and grandchildren live in central Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short Amish book about several people who get together in the book. One is a school teacher, who has never married. She finds the love of her life. when she turns 60 years old. I really liked the characters in this book and thought it was a very easy to read.

[K H · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first time for reading a book from this author.

I really wanted to like it and could maybe give it 3.5⭐️

My main drawing point was because it was based in Wisconsin, Amish and Christmas. So I figured why not.

I get that not all states are like WI. Yet snow in November is nothing new or surprising. Plus a lot of snow for the most part also isn’t surprising. So that was a really hard one for me.

Then the storyline was alright, but right at the start it had a hard time pulling me in. I can’t say that it’s the Amish aspect as I have read many books with Amish in it.

I would say there were some parts that drew me in. Yet I have been spoiled by the books that pull me in immediately.

If someone hasn’t read from this author before I would recommend trying the sample that a few retailers offer for digital books.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: The onset of winter in Wisconsin came suddenly.

Amish fiction is not my typical read although I have read Amish stories here and there. This one has a modern-day Wisconsin setting, and it's a Christmas-ish setting as well. It tells a few (disjointed at least to me) stories. Lydia Beiler is a 'spinster' schoolteacher--Amish, of course--who has spent decades teaching and never had a romance of her own. Laura Slotzfus is a young Amish woman--a teenager--who is being courted. Lydia's suitor is the father of Laura's suitor. Neither romance is fleshed out. And I don't mean in a fleshy-worldly way. I mean in a fictional-literary-basics way. Characters need to actually be developed and stories need to be developed as well. Romance stories should feature romance. I'm not talking steamy romance. I'm talking scenes where the characters are together be that talking about the past, the present, the future OR talking about hopes and dreams and such OR just talking about the day, the weather, anything.

I wanted LYDIA to have a story beyond the guy that she had a crush on as a teenager coming back to the community with his grown son and him showing up with a basket of fruit and them becoming essentially engaged within thirty seconds. Her: I had a big crush on you as a teenager but you never noticed me. Him: I noticed you and wished I'd picked you instead of the woman I married. I ended up not liking her at all. Do you want me to marry me in three months?

The other romance was about the same except I'm not sure we actually spent much time with them. It was mostly HIM talking to his dad and others about how much he thought of Laura but she was barely eighteen and he didn't think she'd be interested in marrying him. And with Laura, well, we didn't even get to know Laura that much. I mean we read that she was confused why after sitting together at a wedding why he didn't show up ready to court her within a few days. But essentially no characterization there.

More time is spent on Laura's parents--Amos and Mary--than on Lydia OR Laura.

I felt the first half had potential. I felt it was going somewhere probably. The second half was just ALL telling and no showing. There was no relationship development, no character development, no plot. And the last chapter was the worst type of ending to a book where the author dumped forty-million bows onto the story. In other words, it wasn't just one story wrapped up with a pretty little bow. It was let's give happy endings to every character for several generations and all the side characters that were mentioned too.

All this being said, I think for readers who LOVE and adore Amish fiction, this one might work. I mean the author has a LOT of Amish novels fiction published and they obviously have an audience. I am positive that there are readers out there who do enjoy this type of read. I'm just not the target audience.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 A simple story, which I needed during a busy season. It ended rather abruptly I thought, but it was a simple story with a glimpse into a different way of life.

[Stefani Bentrott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! I love reading about Amish people and getting to see things in the world through their eyes!