To make her hardest choice, this new mother must follow her heart.
’Tis the season of love, forgiveness…and goodbyes?
Unwed and heavily pregnant, Eve Shrock faces a difficult Christmas—soon her baby will arrive and be adopted by another Amish family. Though Eve finds a friend in Noah Wiebe, the baby’s uncle-to-be, she can’t afford to fall for him. He might just make her wish for a future that seems impossible…one with her baby in her arms and Noah at her side.
From Harlequin Love Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.
A Precious Christmas Gift is such an emotional story written by Patricia John's in her Redemption's Amish Legacy series. This story is so charged with many emotions. It brought me to tears in one part. This storyline moves at a great place keeping the reader turning pages. The characters are very likeable and realistic. I really enjoyed getting to know these characters. In this story the importance of family, friends, and forgiveness are very strong at Christmas.
Eva Schrock was drugged and abused at a part as a teenager and now has to deal with the consequences of becoming an unwed mother. With a plan in place to put her baby up for adoption she must choose just the right Amish family to raise her baby. With so many decisions looming over her the last thing she thought she wanted to do was make a friend. Noah Wiebe discovers Eva going thru donations for a family who lost everything in a fire and finds out she is a distant relative of the family. As they work together on the charity drive a special friendship developes. With Eva placing her baby up for adoption and returning home after there is no chance of anything more between them. The conclusion to this story is so heartbreaking for some and heartwarming for others.
I was not given a complimentary copy of this book to read and review. I was not approached to post a favorable response. All opinions expressed are my own. I have rated this story with five stars for meeting my expectations of a wonderful story that I can highly recommend to others.
Congratulations to Patricia John's on releasing another truly inspiring story.
I have this book one star because I have never felt more offended about being English. And I don’t offend easily. The author made it sound like the English were horrible people and the Amish were perfect.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A Precious Christmas Gift is an emotional read but true to life in what happened to Eve Schrock when she attended an Englischer party. She was sent to live with her aunt and choosing a family for her unborn child was not easy. Meeting Noah Wiebe at the donation sight for his friend and family gave way to some tense and tender moments. There are unexpected events that brought tears to my eyes at different times throughout this story. How will Eve decide which Amish family she wants to adopt her baby, when all she ever wanted was a husband and family?
I received this book as a gift and was under no obligation to write a review. I have shared my own opinion.
This was such a sweet romance. A story of love that blossomed in a situation that could've created havoc, but Eve and Noah took a chance. Eve became with child in a very trauatic situation. Noah becaome her best friend after she left her home to go live with her aunt for the duration of her pregnancy. The stress of the story lies within her decision to allow Noah's brother and sister in law to adopt her baby. Can she possibly make a life with Noah, living so close to her own babe?
A Precious Christmas Gift by Patricia Johns (Redemption's Amish Legacies, 2) Book 2 of 3: Redemption's Amish Legacies To make her hardest choice, this new mother must follow her heart. ’Tis the season of love, forgiveness…and goodbyes? Unwed and heavily pregnant, Eve Shrock faces a difficult Christmas—soon her baby will arrive and be adopted by another Amish family. Though Eve finds a friend in Noah Wiebe, the baby’s uncle-to-be, she can’t afford to fall for him. He might just make her wish for a future that seems impossible…one with her baby in her arms and Noah at her side. This is Eve Shrock and Noah Wiebe's story. “You’re new around here,” he said. “Aren’t you?” He was only being polite. Obviously, she was. He knew everyone in their Amish community, and he’d remember meeting a woman like her. “Yah, just visiting,” she said. The wind was bitingly cold this December morning, and Noah Wiebe hunched his shoulders against the probing chill as the Englisher snowplow ground on past Redemption Carpentry. The driver—a man in a baseball cap with cold-reddened ears—nodded at Noah in a silent mutual acknowledgment as the giant blade scraped across the asphalt, snow accumulating in a tumbling avalanche in front of the vehicle. Noah nodded back and headed across the street toward the town center roundabout where Redemption Carpentry had built a nativity stable to collect donations for a local family in need. Wollie Zook’s family, more precisely. Noah had known Wollie since they were both boys, and they’d been good friends. Wollie left the community when he fell in love with an Englisher girl, and when their house went up in flames a week ago, he’d asked for help. He and his wife had four kinner, the youngest of which was still a toddler. He was doing his best to provide, and he had a decent job and some insurance, but he needed help to get through the Christmas season. Wollie had been talking to his parents about returning to the Amish life, but whether or not he could make that happen with an Englisher wife and children was anyone’s guess. This one had hit Noah hard—but no matter how much Noah liked to get things organized and into line, he wasn’t going to be able to help Wollie without the town’s cooperation. And Noah had a personal investment in bringing ex-Amish home again. Noah carried a clapboard sign under one arm, and he stepped aside and politely nodded as an Amish woman with three little girls in tow passed him on the sidewalk. The clapboard had the times that the nativity would be open written in black paint so that passersby would know when to bring the donations that might be in danger of being stolen so that they could be brought back to a safe location. If the Zooks were going to get settled again, they needed everything from forks and spoons up to beds and furniture. I highly recommend reading. A Precious Christmas Gift by Patricia Johns is a wonderful well written 5 star book. I am looking forward to reading more books by Patricia Johns.
Second in the 'Redemption' series. The first book was about younger brother Thomas, and this is about older brother Noah. And no, they really can't be read separately. You need Thomas' story to understand this one.
In the last book, Thomas marries a barren girl who can't give him babies, which he desperately needs because he had a kid out of wedlock years ago (raised Englisch) who isn't assimilating to being Amish. Whilst worrying that his 'Englisch' Mennonite-Amish-Mennonite-Amish mother might corrupt the kid. Don't. Even. Ask.
In *THIS* book, Noah meets Eve, a girl who was date raped on rumspringa, and is staying with her Aunt in his community during her 'showing'months of pregnancy. She's thinking she's gonna give the baby away, and Thomas/Patience want it. So does she, but she also wants a family in the future, and bringing a half-Englischer baby into it won't work, as most Amish are prejudice as hell, hate the Englisch, and treat them like shit. ((I'm not paraphrasing - I used to live in Amish country. I was of the devil, and they wouldn't let their kids within six foot of my three year old. They're A$$holes. And hypocrites, but don't get me started.))
Allz I really wanted in this book was for Eve to miscarry. It really would've made everything just fine. No baby for her, no baby for Patience, everything working out to the best. BUT. NO. It gets SUUUUUUUPer stupid, in that Eve has the baby, gives it away, CHANGES HER MIND AND GOES AFTER IT... you just want to whack the book against a table a few dozen times by the end of the whole dramatic, ridiculous thing.
Noah's nice. He's great. Eve isn't even that bad. But the story is just SOOOOO annoying, I can't even tell you.
Plus the confusion. Not only do we have Englisch rapists, but Mennonite-not-Mennonite-Amish-not-Amish, Half-Englisch, and then Amish-gone-Englisch-before-Baptism-so-it's-okay, but that's not explained, you're just supposed to *KNOW* that Wolly is good to go, because he never took vows. Except that doesn't get put over in the book - it comes off like 'shunning? There's no such thing as shunning. You can come and go and join and leave and go Mennonite and mingle with Englisch on rumspringa and *NOOOOO problem*!!!'
Johns also apparently doesn't know the difference between 'Dutch' and 'Deutsch'. Amish speak 'Deutsch, a version of German. Dutch is a WHOLE 'nother language, but she keeps referring to their dialect as 'Dutch'. Yes, it's 'Pennsylvania Deutsch', but not Dutch, hello. She. Clarifies. NOTHING.
In the last book, we're told there were 'tells' that gave away that Rachel wasn't born Mennonite, like her stitching isn't neat, her baking leaves something to be desired, and her German was kinda stilted. Now in *THIS* book - after ten years of being outside the Amish community, on pg 84 we're told that Rachel's "Dutch" was 'flawless'. ?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!! WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!! If she didn't have it ten years before when she was living Amish, how'd she become fluent after LEAVING?!!
BAD, BAD, BADwriting!!!!
I just... I do enjoy a good Amish story. Patricia Johns has not YET written a good Amish story. Now Patricia Davids? She's worth your time. Emma Miller, too.
But this? It's kinda sub-par on just about every level.
Amish fiction is a guilty pleasure for me. Love Inspired novels are 'weekend reads' - quick, not too long or too complicated - and most of their Amish themed stories are decently clean in terms of romance, and even if the plot gets a little eye-rolling, the moments don't last long enough for complete dislike! They're mostly 'forgettable' but fun. So, I don't bother even rating or reviewing most of them. But this one...!
We have read this book at least three times now, actually purchased a Kindle version, and it has become a Christmas must-read. It's GOOD. Yes, there is an unwed mother, but because of the circumstances, it was not at all an immoral situation. There is a lonely man; a family torn apart by circumstances trying with love and understanding to weave their lives back together; a prodigal son struggling to come home with honor and purpose; and a community that moves around them, completing the picture. Most of all, there is a mother who loves her baby desperately, hopelessly. And you are going to root for her so hard it's going to hurt!
This book is sad; I'm not the kind of person who usually cries during books, but I'm crying inside through so much of this story. But it's beautiful. So, so beautiful. It's beautiful and complicated and complete. And I love it. This book is complex. You have about four different themes rolling at once: adoption, honoring parents, friendship, and, in general, doing the right thing. And that might be the best part of it. You don't have this simple, one-step plot. It's like life. Usually life isn't one, clear-cut issue at a time; it's a dozen messy, tied-up-in-the-details issues at once, all circling around unresolved. This book is Christmas! The love and compassion of the main characters only emphasizes the Christmassy elements happening around them. If you like clean romance, Christian fiction, and tear-jerking Christmas stories, this book is for you!
(It is part of a series, but we read it standalone, and you honestly don't need any of the other books to make it work.)
This is not a warm and cozy Christmas story. I can only imagine it was a hard story to write because it was a hard story to read; many things start tugging at your heartstrings all at once.
After being drugged and raped at an English party, Eve finds herself pregnant. She leaves her home community to give birth in secret and then give the child away.
One of the themes that surfaced in this book was the difficult theme of prejudice. Eve is oozing with all sorts of hard opinions about Englishers. At the same time, pregnant Eve herself is the object of Amish gossip and finger pointing. Because of the fear of being ostracized by her community as an unwed mother and her child being forever seen as illegitimate, Eve decides to give her baby to a perfect Amish family so he/she might grow up truly Amish, and so that Eve herself could have a chance at a proper Amish marriage.
But in Redemption, Eve's plans and prejudices collide with the Wiebe family -- really a collection of people with several ties to the English world and plenty of problems of their own. By striking up friendship with Noah Wiebe, seeing the unconditional love and forgiveness given and received among the family, participating in caring for her ex-Amish cousin and his English family, Eve's prejudice starts to crumble. Falling in love with Noah and suffering the pain of letting go of her newborn baby upends every carefully laid out plan Eve ever had. She learns that what people may consider a mistake, God can turn into an incredible blessing.
Because of a number of sensitive and heart wrenching issues in this book, for me, it was a difficult book to read. I liked Eve, though. Even with her judgmental opinions, fears, her youth and inexperience, she is a good, real, round, and dynamic character. Anyone looking for a Christmas story with deep conflict, faith, and happy ending would like reading this book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was a very enjoyable read, but also a heart wrenching one. Eve's struggle was so real. Although this is a work of fiction, the way the author described Eve's feelings was so realistic. I could feel the pain that she felt with the decision she had to make. All the while, Noah stood by Eve's side befriending her, getting to know her better, and supporting her through everything. I loved how Eve and Noah's journey unfolded, and the strength they had in their faith was so moving and inspirational. All of these elements made this a wonderful and moving story that I greatly enjoyed.
Book Quote: "Not everything that is said is worthy of being heard."
Victim Blaming and Shaming is vile. It was bad enough that Eve was drugged and violated. The way that the God-fearing Christians treated her was disgusting. Pressuring her to give away her child that was born out of wedlock?! Amish are supposed to believe that all children are a blessing so why compound her trauma?!
This was a real tearjerker. I can’t even imagine being put in the situation Eve was put in and all the advice she was given. Most of the advice was wrong. I can’t say more because I’d spoil it for the reader. I’m so glad I read the first book in this series. Although this is a stand alone book, I had a fuller understanding of the characters reading them in order.
This is the 1st book I read by Patricia Johns. I loved ❤ this book's storyline. This book's storyline was sad 😞. I loved ❤ the Christian theme in this story. I loved ❤ Eve's character. I felt sorry for Eve. I loved ❤ Noah's character. I loved ❤ the ending. Awesome job Ms. Johns.
Second in the series, this book drew me in even more than the first. The characters were well developed and the storyline made it hard to put the book down.
Just finished this book about an hour ago. I just love this author and on my way to reading all her books. I find her books are just so good, comforting and I feel like I am at home as I read them. You must try them! Patricia Johns is a fantastic Canadian author!
I’m such a soft I cry all the way through this story. It’s so well told and you can connect with the characters . I’m so glad they got there happy every after.