Review: The Christmas Remedy by Cindy Woodsmall and Erin Woodsmall

Add caption

About:

When an Old Order Amish woman takes a job at a small-town pharmacy struggling to survive in a world of "big box" stores, her motive is to help her Plain community. But the advent of the holiday season brings an unusual mystery to the surface--and possibly love.

Twenty-four-year-old Holly Zook lives a unique life for a young Amish woman. Years ago, her bishop allowed her to continue her education and become the lead technician for Greene's Pharmacy, an old-timey drugstore that looks out for the Amish community--a group largely without secure healthcare plans. She knows she can't marry and hold onto her professional job. She's Amish, and she can only have one or the other, so she spurns love and works toward addressing treatable diseases--like the one that claimed her father's life.

As long as Holly continues to avoid Joshua Smucker, the one man who draws her like a warm hearth in winter, she should be fine. When something unexpected threatens Greene's Pharmacy, Holly and Joshua must work together to unravel what's happened and find the "missing" patient before the Board of Pharmacy shuts them down. As the snows of December arrive, with Christmas in the air, will Holly succumb to the generous spirit of the season?

My Thoughts:

Holly is an Amish girl who has dreams and goals that are quite out of the ordinary for one in her shoes. She is not a typical Amish girl who cannot wait to be married and begin her household, no she works for the pharmacy and is working quite hard to get her LPN. This story really opens up some interesting tidbits about the Amish and their healthcare. How much do they let modern medicine into their lifestyle is a balancing act that Holly is dealing with. And this dilemma is especially close to her heart after losing her beloved father to a treatable sickness.

There are a few characters lives that this story delves into. Holly and her mission and Josh the guy that would like to be her beau even though she does not want marriage and children. There is Lyle the pharmacist and his estranged son Brandon.

I will say that I was a little stressed reading this book. There are a lot of stressful circumstances these characters must circumvent to get to a better resolution. All in all this was an interesting little Christmas read with romantic and familial relationships front and center.

I received a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.