Christmas in Apple Ridge Book Review

Christmas in Apple Ridge: Three-in-One Collection: The Sound of Sleigh Bells, The Christmas Singing, NEW! The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodsmall was on the list for Blogging for Books.  I was having a hard time choosing because this sounded amazing and I also wanted to read the other Cindy Woodsmall book on the list.  I didn't even get to look at the other books but I am sure that there were some others that would also interest me.  I truly didn't even read anything about the book just that it was a Christmas book by Cindy Woodsmall and there were only a few more printed copies left so I just had to get it.  I knew that it wouldn't be around if I picked another one first.  It came in the mail super fast and arrived on the doorstep while I was trying to finish another book.  I unpacked it and saw that it was huge!!!  There were three stories in one book so I had my work cut out for me.  I quickly picked this up because I knew I had to read fast to try to get back and see what other books that Blogging for Books had!!!

The Sounds of Sleigh Bells was about Beth Hertzler dealing with her past and the tragic death of her finance.  Beth is still wearing black long after the morning period and at 26 years old is getting too old to find a lasting relationship in the Amish community.  She goes back on the road to promote the buying and selling of Amish goods for her families store.  While traveling, she sees a carving that catches her heart.  She buys it and tells the store that she is interested in getting more to sell to stores that like to stock Amish goods.  In this quest, she sends her aunt, Lizzy, back out to talk to the artist, Johnah.  Her aunt gets an idea and starts her match making.  Make sure you pick up this book to find out what happens with all the meddling.

In the second book, Mattie owns and operates Mattie Cakes in Ohio.  She loves making and decorating cakes for all occasions but something happens and the shop that she has completely remodeled to suit her business goes up in smoke.  She thought that she say her niece so she went back into building so she runs into the burning building to save her and is hospitalized.  After her business is destroyed and she is trying to recover, she goes home to live with her parents in Pennsylvania.  I don't want to give away all the good stuff but there are some characters from the first book that appear again in this one so make sure you read this great second story to find out what happens to Mattie and the characters from the first story!!

The Dawn of Christmas starts off with Sadie dealing with the stress of the day before her wedding to Daniel.  She walks in on Daniel and her cousin in a compromising position and calls off the wedding.  In reaction to the issues, she runs away to working in a neighboring town and doing a mission trip to Peru.  After being away for a long time, her Daed requests that she comes back to town.  During the trip, she takes a forbidden horse ride and hears some noises.  She finds a horse which is follows to the man that was thrown to the ground.  The injured man, Levi, was taken by a ambulance to get a cast and neck brace because Sadie called 911 and got him help.  She asked that he not tell anyone that she was the one who helped since she wasn't supposed to leave the house and he kept her secret.  Their friendship blossomed from there and even with towns apart, they continued to write letters and work together.  Read the book to see what ups and downs happen in the friendship because there are a ton with a surprise that everyone will see coming!

I loved all three stories and even though it was a huge book which was a little hard to carry everywhere that I went (at almost 600 pages).  I enjoyed reading the fast paced story and couldn't put it down.  Even though each story was on its own, they were all related to the small town of Apple Ridge and some of the same characters were in each of the stories at different points in their lives.  I loved the book and read it way too quickly!!!  I think that it is one of those books that you could pick up on a cold winter day for years to come and enjoy the characters all over again.  It is a heart warming story of love that anyone can relate to.  I hope that you pick up this book at your local library or bookstore soon.

* Please note that I was provided this book for my honest opinion and review and I will be posting the review on NOVA Frugal Family, Amazon, Good Reads and Blogging for Books.