Friday, June 2, 2017

Book Review, Blog Tour, and Giveaway: "Return to Huckleberry Hill" by Jennifer Beckstrand


About the Book

Return To Huckleberry Hill
Click here to purchase
Book: Return to Huckleberry Hill
Author: Jennifer Beckstrand
Genre: Inspirational Amish Romance
Release Date: May 30, 2017
When it comes to matchmaking, Huckleberry Hill, Wisconsin’s unstoppable octogenarians Anna and Felty Helmuth never seem to run out of opportunities—or grandchildren…
Reuben Helmuth is plenty bitter. John King, his best friend—or so he thought—is engaged to the girl Reuben loved. Humiliated, Reuben flees from Ohio to his grandparents’ home on Huckleberry Hill, where he knows he’ll find comfort. He’s enjoying wallowing in his misery—until John’s sister, Fern, shows up. She won’t stop pestering Reuben about forgiveness—or trying to help him find love again. Yet Fern’s efforts only reawaken Reuben’s long-buried feelings—for her…
With her brother too ashamed to face Reuben, it’s fallen to Fern to help mend fences. But as she and the Helmuths do all they can—even organizing a knitting club event filled with eligible girls—it may take one more challenge to inspire Reuben to forget his heartache, recognize his own blunders, and embrace the true love that’s right in front of him…
My Thoughts
Jennifer Beckstrand is one of those authors where I see she has a new book and I have to read it. I just know I'm going to like it! "Return to Huckleberry Hill" is a delightful book and full of all the things I expected. I love Anna and Felty and their (or rather, Anna's) matchmaking schemes. And her cooking! You just have to smile about them. Fern was sweet and self depreciating and I could feel her pain and longing. Sometimes I wanted to shake Reuben and make him wake up to how he was acting and what he was missing out on. There is character growth from the beginning of the book to the end and I was happy to see the change. I can't wait for more "The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill" books. Anna and Felty had 13 kids, so they've got to have lots of grandkids to match. 

About the Author

jennifer Beckstrand 1Jennifer Beckstrand is the award winning Amish romance author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series and The Honeybee Sisters series for Kensington Books. Jennifer has always been drawn to the strong faith and the enduring family ties of the Plain people and loves writing about the antics of Anna and Felty Helmuth and the Honeybee sisters’ aendi Bitsy. Jennifer has a degree in mathematics and a passion for Jane Austen and Shakespeare. She and her husband have been married for thirty-two years, and she has four daughters, two sons, and soon-to-be six adorable grandchildren, whom she spoils rotten.

Guest post from Jennifer Beckstrand

Anna Helmuth is starting a knitting club, but that’s not all she’s got up her sleeve.
SCAN0129-1
My family. I have five sisters and no brothers. I think my mom made every dress in this photo, including her own.
In Return to Huckleberry Hill, Anna Helmuth and Fern King decide to start a knitting club in order to introduce Anna’s grandson Reuben to some girls from Bonduel, Wisconsin. Anna is a very good knitter, with years of practice making baby blankets, scarves, mittens, and potholders. One of Anna’s scarves actually saved someone’s life, and her potholders have helped her make many a match.
When I was a young teenager, I learned how to knit and crochet. My mom taught me how to sew and quilt, and I made several of my own dresses in high school. I never learned to love sewing, but it was an invaluable skill that I am so grateful to have. Now that I’m a little older, I love putting together simple quilts for baby gifts and making quilts for the local children’s hospital. There is nothing like a homemade gift to say, “I care about you.”
I have a friend who is a wonderful cook. Making a delicious, beautiful meal is how she tells her family she loves them. I don’t consider myself a great cook, but I still take pride in putting something nutritious and satisfying on the table for my family.
It seems to me that some of the “home arts” that our mothers and grandmothers practiced are dying out. Who knows how to tat anymore? Or embroider? Some of these arts have died because of expediency. Who doesn’t think today’s stocking choices are more comfortable and practical than knitted wool ones? Others have died out because so few people want to learn.
What about you? Do you still practice any of the home arts that your grandmother did? What do you want to pass on to the next generation?

Blog Stops

May 23: cherylbbookblog
May 24: A Greater Yes
May 25: Just Commonly
May 30: Quiet Quilter
May 31: Bigreadersite
June 2: Pause for Tales

Giveaway

e5f4939d-cd96-45de-b748-8fb15bc1a0af
To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away a $15 Amazon gift card to three lucky winners!! Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/b3b2
"Return to Huckleberry Hill" is available in paperback:
  • Series: The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill
  • Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Zebra (May 30, 2017)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1420144111
  • ISBN-13: 978-1420144116
  • Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.9 x 6.7 inches

and in Kindle edition:
  • File Size: 1163 KB
  • Print Length: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Zebra (May 30, 2017)
  • Publication Date: May 30, 2017
  • Sold by: Penguin Random House Publisher Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B01LJKQGDO

I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received.

5 comments:

Heidi Reads... said...

My grandma taught me to crochet and quilt. I love having those skills and plan to pass them down to my daughters as well :)

Emma said...

I enjoy cooking and sewing, and sure hope my daughters pick up those skills as well!

Becky Dempsey said...

I actually tat! I taught my girls, too.

Sabrina said...

I knit a little and crochet a little. I am an uber beginner at both arts. :)

Linda Moffitt said...

No I wish I did but I really don't do anything like that except read books