An Amish Quilting Bee

This sweet trio of Amish romances from Clipston (The Heart of Splendid Lake), Fuller (Matched and Married), and Gray (An Amish Surprise) combine quilts as emblems of caring, with protagonists recovering from trauma. In Clipston’s “Patchwork Promises,” Joanne Lapp attempts to duplicate the quilt her friend Colin Zook’s grandmother, who suffers from dementia, cries for every night—having forgotten it was lost in a house fire. Despite Colin’s initially surly attitude, neither Joanne nor Colin want to give up their time together once the project is completed. In Fuller’s “A Common Thread,” Alex Lehman discloses his interest in Susie Glic just before departing town to help an injured friend. Susie’s mother’s concern that Alex will leave Susie (just as Susie’s father did) gets in the way of the budding relationship until the local quilting circle steps in to mediate. In Gray’s standout “Stitched Together,” Rosie Raber, who lost her fiancé in an accident, bonds with her would-have-been brother-in-law, Tim Christner, while taking care of rambunctious twin nieces and an escaped hamster, much to the detriment of Rosie’s plan to make a prize-winning quilt for the annual charity auction. Fans of contemporary Amish romances will love these entries. (Dec.)