Covert Amish Christmas | Book Review, Guest Post + Giveaway

ABOUT THE BOOK

Fleeing to Amish country might be the only way to survive Christmas…

Hiding in Amish country, former CIA agent Victoria Kauffman’s determined to find evidence to catch the corrupt agents who killed her partner. But when her Christmas refuge is discovered, the sole person she can trust is Amish widower Aaron Shetler. With ruthless—and dangerously powerful—enemies after them, Victoria must use all her training to make sure they live through the holidays.

Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense

Release Date: November 10, 2020

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MY REVIEW

What a fun Christmas story! I love to read a lot of Christmas romances, but most of them do not include suspense, action, and danger—making Mary Alford’s Covert Amish Christmas a refreshing change of pace.

It proves to be a wild ride from the start as former CIA agent Victoria Kauffman’s plan to collect the evidence necessary to bring justice to her partner’s death goes awry when her Amish-country location is discovered. Danger lurks at every corner, and Aaron Shetler seems to be the only person she can trust—but is she putting the life of this Amish widower in danger needlessly? Can they survive the holiday season?

Covert Amish Christmas is an exciting (and thus, very quick) read. I enjoyed the twists and turns of this story, and if you need something action-packed right now, I suggest you pick it up.

★★★★

I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today Bestselling Author, Mary Alford, loves giving her readers the un-expected, whether it be in a rugged mountain setting or a peaceful Amish community.

Her titles have appeared on the USA Today Bestselling List, Publisher’s Weekly Bestselling List, and have been finalists in the Daphne Du Maurier award of excellence, The Beverly, The Maggie, and The Selah Awards.

Mary lives in Texas with her husband, two very spoiled cats, and a sweet rescue dog name Cody. Mary is very active online and would love to connect with readers on Face-book and Twitter or any social platforms listed at www.maryalford.net.

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GUEST POST FROM THE AUTHOR

When you think about the Amish, you don’t usually associate their simple ways with spies and covert happenings, but that’s the beauty of the imagination. Anything is possible.

As I sat down to pen Covert Amish Christmas, I wanted to create a story that would bring to life the differences between the two worlds and I wanted it to have a Christmas setting to back-drop the story.

Covert Amish Christmas takes place in the breathtaking world of the Amish of Montana where mountains rise to the sky, and snowy woods create the perfect winter wonderland. Christmas is in the air. And so is danger…

I don’t know about you, but I love Christmas books so much because they allow me to return to my favorite time of the year no matter what day is written on the calendar.

And as Christmas quickly approaches, it means it’s time to bake all those delicious holiday treats we all love so much.

One of my favorites is Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting. They are both delicious to eat and fun to give away.

So, I hope you enjoy them, and Covert Amish Christmas, and I pray this year, the Spirit of the season will remain with you all year long.

Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

-2 1/2 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting work surface
-2 tsp cornstarch
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
-1/4 cup all vegetable shortening (unflavored), at room temperature
-1 cup granulated sugar
-1 large egg
-1 large egg white
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp peppermint extract
-Crushed candy canes, for topping

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

-4 oz cream cheese, softened
-4 Tbsp unsalted butter
-1/2 tsp peppermint extract
-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, then whisk it just a few times, set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, on medium speed, whip together butter, shortening and sugar until very pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scrapping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in egg and mix until combine, then add egg white, vanilla and peppermint extract and mix until combine. With mixer running, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine. Transfer dough to an airtight container and refrigerate 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375 during the last 10 minutes of refrigeration.

Scoop dough out about 3 Tbsp at a time and roll into a ball. Place dough ball on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle top lightly with flour, then using something flat and smooth (such as the storage container lid), press and evenly flatten dough to 1/2″ thick. Transfer flattened dough to a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet and repeat process with remaining dough (you’ll have to use 2 cookie sheets). Bake in preheated oven 9 – 11 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.

For the frosting:

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy. Add peppermint extract and powdered sugar and mix until pale and fluffy.


Blessings always,

Mary Alford

GIVEAWAY

To celebrate her tour, Mary is giving away the grand prize package of an autographed copy of Covert Amish Christmas along with a gift basket containing Spa Gift Basket – Bath and Body Set with Vanilla Fragrance by Lovestee (Bath Gift Basket Includes Shower Gel, Body Lotion, Hand Lotion, Bath Salt, Eva Sponge and a Bath Puff). Enter below, and be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway.

TOUR SCHEDULE

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