[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Zebra in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
The “Amish Cookie Club,” a group of four friends who meet regularly to bake and chat, had been meeting for 4 years. It started when Wilma’s twins, Rachel and Ella Mae, had turned 16. She wasn’t ready for her “babies” to grow up and needed the support of her friends. Of course, now that they are almost 20, she is ready for them to find husbands and settle down.
To that end, Wilma volunteers the girls to help her friend Edna with her catering business. Edna’s daughter-in-law usually helps with the authentic Amish meals, served in Edna’s home to Englische guests visiting Shipshewana. But Bethany is pregnant and can’t keep up due to her morning sickness. Edna could use the help. But the twins have a reputation for being disagreeable, and they’ve never held a job for very long. In Wilma’s eyes, Edna’s two unmarried sons make her solution of sending the twins a brilliant one.
Unfortunately for Wilma, Rachel and Ella Mae couldn’t be LESS interested in Jeremiah and Jonas. Jonas is a prankster, always teasing and tormenting. And Jeremiah usually follows along as if he doesn’t have a mind of his own. Whatever their mothers might have in mind, these four young people are going to be a challenge for even the most dedicated matchmakers.
Review
This was a good continuation of this fun series. Edna has NOT learned anything about her meddling and matchmaking. I thought this might be the story where there’s some consequences for that, but it didn’t really materialize in the end.
I enjoyed the change in the twins as they had opportunities to work on their own and have individual, separate identities. But I felt like the book told me that these changes were happening more than showing them through the action of the book. I thought this idea for why the girls bickered, and what could help them grow up, was brilliant. But I didn’t get to enjoy the execution of it like I wanted to.
Jeremiah’s reputation as a follower didn’t really play out in the story either. It’s true he didn’t tell Jonas to knock it off when he teased, but the set up had me expecting a different dynamic between the brothers than what I actually saw in the story. I enjoyed the hints at Jonas’ depth. I feel like the author did the most work developing his character over the course of the book. Perhaps trying to tell two romances simultaneously didn’t leave the page space to go as deep into the individual character development as I was craving.
Fans of the series will want to pick this up to see the latest story in the series after The Amish Cookie Club and An Amish Cookie Club Christmas (♥♥♥♥½). In addition to the romance, there are some fun, satisfying pieces here about the development of Edna’s business that I enjoyed, too.
Rating: ♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥ = Good/solid/fine