A fun set of sweet romances. Enjoyed these on a hot afternoon by the pool. Highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

A Heartwarming Romance Collection contains three of Wanda Brunstetter's earlier books. Each of these books are about women who take on unusual professions. One is about a girl who has low self-esteem and stutters but decides to become a ventriloquist when she learns that she does not stutter when speaking through her dummy. In book 2, you will learn about the work of becoming a Christian clown. It's not as easy as you think! The final book is about a doll doctor named Sinda, the widower mail carrier next door and his ten year old detective daughter! If you enjoy sweet romances, you'll enjoy these stories set in the state of Washington in the late twentieth century. These are not Amish books as we usually expect from Wanda Brunstetter. I received a complimentary e-book from Barbour Publishing and NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.

The title says it all. This is three books that leave you with a warm sense of love and belonging. You will want to pick up this bundle. Three great reads.

These heartwarming romances will steal your heart away as the characters sweep you through each story with their deep devotions or affections for each other. Will they pine away? Or find that true happiness they are seeking?

In the first story of our collection titled, TALKING FOR TWO, in, A HEARTWARMING ROMANCE COLLECTION, by Wanda E. Brunstetter, Tabitha had made the floppy-eared dog puppet Roscoe talk to her Caring Christian Day Care class.

When Tabitha had turned six, something happened that changed some things in her life and made her very sad. She use to be very talkative and confident in herself. Now that she is older when she talked to anyone, she sometimes hid behind her stuttering. Then one day her best friend talked her into attending a Christian worker's conference. While there she literally ran or bumped into Seth Beyers, a ventriloquist . Will Tabitha and Seth have eyes just for each other? Or will the beautiful red head Cheryl Stone interfere and cause a problem?
I had often wondered how people could throw their voice, or make puppets talk. That always fascinated me. After reading this story, I have some insights as to how they do it.

In this next story titled, CLOWNING AROUND, Lois Johnson started working as secretary for Bayview Christian Church. She wanted to do something meaningful in her life and she thought this might be a good start.
Then Joe Richey came on the scene. He had been on the road for a while and wanted to take a little rest. Just a small vacation. To get away for a while. He had stopped at the cemetery to visit his parents graves on his way home. He hadn't cried a single tear since they both passed away. This part of the story tore at my heart. For Joe, being a clown helped him to hide from the past. So he always wore a smile.

One day while Lois was at a program, Joe happened to be on stage and was about to conclude his routine, and Lois was sitting in the front row. Suddenly a young girl jumped up, grabbed at the balloon flowers from Joe's hand, and in turn, caused him to fall, or drop right into Lois's lap and they looked at each other. Will the fall kindle a small flame between them? Or will her ex-fiance'e want her back, once he finds out? Or will what happened at the end of Chapter Twenty-three, and went on into chapter Twenty-Four cause an end to their romance?

In our last story titled, THE NEIGHBORLY THING, Sinda Shull had moved into what she considered the perfect home, in Elmwood, until she met the next door neighbor. The characters are simply amazing! Before Sinda and Glen's love can bloom, will it all come to an abrupt end? Will someone come between them? Someone she could not fight? Or even try? She could not do that? So she will have to move. Maybe go back to Seattle. It was the only way. Just when she thought she was getting settled in. Trying to make a home for herself. One sad part was at the barbecue., when Sinda went into the neighbor's house. It started out in a good way, but took a turn for the worse. Sadness smacked Sinda right in the face after that. Will she wind up throwing everything away? How much more does she have to lose?

Then something bad happened. What will Sinda have to do? There are so many deep emotions that get stirred up like, anger, deep love, jealousy, and sadness in this story. My heart was touched so deeply, I cried. A beautiful book with wonderful stories. I loved it!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

I truly enjoyed this collection! The first two stories were a part of a short series. One flowed into the next, and picked right up where the first left off about two sisters who were searching for ways they could best serve Jesus. They each ended up dating a guy that had a special talent (one was a ventriloquist, and the other was a clown). The third book was not tied to the other two at all. However, the talent of the woman was again unique. She was a doll doctor.

I truly enjoyed the direction that Ms. Brunstetter took in these stories. They were much different than any stories that I have ever read by her in the past. I love that she is exploring different writing styles. A great author is demonstrated by when they are not afraid to explore writing stories of different styles, genres, and backgrounds, and are able to pull it off like each one is their specialty. This is the best way I can think to describe these three books. I will never tire of reading books by Wanda Brunstetter!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An email came through my inbox offering me to bleeds and review this book and to complete a Google doc if I was interested. It seemed like an easy read with cute storylines so I took it. “A Heartwarming Romance Collection” by Wanda E. Brunstetter is definitely as I assumed it would be.

This collection includes there short stories: “Talking for Two,” “Clowning Around,” and “The Neighborly Thing.” I was a little put off at first when I started reading thinking the storyline of “Talking for Two” was making fun of people who stutter with the first main character, Tabby, having picked up stuttering as a child. While it all made sense for the reasoning, I still struggled to get past this idea.

Tabby goes on to become a ventriloquist instead of just a puppeteer. Her ventriloquist instructor just happens to be the handsome man who ends up trying to help her overcome her insecurities. One day Tabby finds herself following a car that falls off the road. She stops and goes to check on the driver, who’s unresponsive, and finds a little girl in the back seat. The young girl is afraid of Tabby’s stutter. Will Tabby be able to get help while keeping the girl awake and alert?

The reason for Tabby’s stutter was because her self-confidence was crushed when her little sister cane into the world and everyone oohed and aahed about how cute baby Lois was. Their father gave Lois all the attention and basically blew Tabby off. The sisters never got along because of Tabby’s stuttering and Lois getting all the attention.

In “Clowning Around,” Lois finds herself at a crossroads when her fiancé wants to put off their wedding for six more months. Lois was in love with his prestige and money as a lawyer. But he wanted to control everything, which really upset Lois. Feeling hurt and let down, Lois calls the wedding off and quit her job because of the ties to her ex-fiancé. She ends up working as a church secretary at Tabby’s church.

Tabby invites Lois to a church event she will be participating in. Low and behold, a clown literally falls into Lois’ lap! Lois wasn’t too happy to have so much attention on her. After the event, Lois joins Tabby and her husband for lunch when the clown walks in and Is offered to join them for lunch. Being a very serious personality, Lois isn’t too fond of all the joking around Slow-Joe the clown behaves. Being total opposites, can Lois learn to lighten up and Joe learn to be more serious?

The third book, “The Neighborly Thing” is a great storyline, but when the first book led to the second, the third book felt out of placep. It shocked me that it wasn’t also related to Tabby and Lois. This last book in the collection is about a single woman, Sindra, who buys an old house next door to the Olsens, a mail carrier Glen and his daughter, Tara. Sindra has a business repairing old dolls she runs from her home.

Tara is very curious about their new neighbor and finds Sindra to be very different. She spies on Sindra then tells her dad everything she’s been observing. Tara ends up coming to the conclusion that Sindra is buying and selling babies. When Hlen and Tara stop over at Sindra home to confront her, Sindra shows them that she’s a doll doctor. Tara still finds Sindra to be weird and her house creepy when a Sindra finds doll parts in the freezer or refrigerator and Sindra agrees with Tara that the house might be haunted. Will Sindra learn why she’s losing doll parts?

Overall I like these stories in this collection. This book was provided complimentary by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I give this book three out of five stars because I felt that the first story was making fun of people who really do stutter and one story felt out of place after reading the first two. If the characters were somehow associated with Tabby and Lois, I think it would have been a better addition.

Heartwarming Collection by Wanda Brunstetter

This book "Heartwarming Collection" is a three short stories previously published by author Wanda Brunsetter. Like all of Wanda Brunsetter book's, this is no exception of being a book you will fall in love with from the first story.

The first story is "Talking for Two", then "The Neighborly Thing" and "Clowning Around". All the short stories are great, but I always have a problem with having my favorite. My is " Talking for two". It was a story about Tabby, whom signed up for a class because she shudders. The class is on Ventriloquism and taught by Seth Byer. Seth may change Tabby's life forever.

I recommend this book to my family and friends through Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon and my blog
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I give this book a 4 out of 5

This book was a complimentary copy from Barbour and netgalley. I have no obligation to write a review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

After reading all three books I had a hard decision to make: which one is my favorite? I will admit I loved learning so much about ventriloquism and the sweet story surrounding it. I didn't want to put the book down to make dinner. That is the first book, Talking for Two.The second book is Clowning Around which I totally enjoyed also. I've always had this thing about clowns. They make us laugh and I like that. The story is a stand alone as well as a second in the series. I didn't want to put this one down either!The last book, The Neighborly Thing is so interesting, I was captivated and didn't want to stop reading it too! I love a good mystery which this one is. Great characters!
This book is a great bargain! Three good books in one volume. Can't beat that!I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

Talking For Two by Wanda E Brunstetter is a delightful contemporary Christian novel that warmed my soul. It is the third book in the Washington series and also part of A Heart Warming Romance Collection.
The tone is light-hearted and highly amusing at times. The book revolves around the theme of voice – a characters stutters unless she is operating a ventriloquist dummy. We all need to find our voices, if we cannot do it in our strength we can lean on God and do it in His.
Trust is a major theme. We need to trust God because He will never let us down. We need to believe the words He speaks over us and not the words we hear in our heads that put us down.
We witness a character with little self-esteem. Her earthly parents have broken her spirit. In contrast, God will always build us up as He calls us beloved.
I really enjoyed Talking For Two. It is positively charming.
Clowning Around by Wanda E Brunstetter is a wonderful, warm contemporary Christian novel that will have you chuckling throughout. It follows on from Talking For Two.
We met Lois in the previous book but now she knows God, she is a new creation. Her heart of stone is gone as she walks her life in tandem with His.
A character hides their emotions behind humour to protect themselves from hurt. The past is having a huge effect on the present and it needs to be faced. We must be real. The world does not need to see an imitation of ourselves.
The novel is totally delightfully and very funny. I literally laughed out loud. It was wonderful.
The Neighborly Thing by Wanda Brunstetter is a charming contemporary Christian novel. It is the second book in the Washington series.
Over the whole novel there is an atmosphere of love and care. One of the characters repairs dolls for a living. This reminds the reader that when we are broken and hurting, God tenderly bends down and heals us if we let him.
Some people who go to church misrepresent God. They are like the Pharisees who liked to be seen to be being religious but the behaviour in private was a different matter. Going to church will not make you a Christian. It is a relationship with God that is important.
The past has been painful. Others have not always been truthful about situations. The truth needs to come to light, hurts faced and forgiveness given.
God is the God of second chances and new beginnings. He loves to transform our old lives into something new.
I really adored The Neighborly Thing. It made me smile and filled me with hope as the love and care radiated outwards.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

I loved this book!! Great story!! Loved all the stories in the book!! Love this author's books!! Received this book from netgally!!

I recieved this copy from netgalley. It's already out tho.
I enjoy each and one of Wanda's book's. so easy to get in to and never want to put them down.
I hope you grab a copy for you and enjoy this book as much I did .

There are three books in this new collection and even though the characters are all different, they all share the common setting of Washington and the central theme of love and friendship. Wanda E. Brunstetter tells the stories of: a young woman who hopes to learn ventriloquism, despite her stuttering problem; a young girl who is determined to prove that a neighbor is up to no good; and a serious young woman who receives attention from a guy who loves jokes and pranks. All of these people are searching for reassurance and acceptance but perhaps, along the way, they can find friendship and even...love!

These contemporary romance books were written before Brunstetter achieved her great success in writing Amish fiction and I consider them to be entertaining reads, even though they may not appeal to her most ardent Amish fans. Brunstetter's deep Christian faith is evident in all three stories and they are all books that I would gladly share with others. They certainly deserve to be in "A Heartwarming Romance Collection"!

I received a copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and NetGalley. There was no obligation for a positive review and these are my honest thoughts.

#AHeartwarmingRomanceCollection #NetGalley

I didn’t know this author wrote any contemporary fiction so I decided to try this collection of novellas. It was a little disjointed for me. After reading the first two that were clearly connected by the people and the creative gospel ministry theme, I was expecting the third novella to be about Donna and chalk art. It was still interesting and had an unusual creative pursuit but it felt mismatched.
I thought the first two stories gave a lot of interesting information about being a ventriloquist or a clown. I enjoyed the class sessions and getting a glimpse into how one would go about learning how to do those things. It’s a lot more involved than I would have ever thought.

That was the high point of the books for me.

In all three novellas, the men tried to “help” the woman change in an overly simplistic manner. In the third story, there was a little girl that had a very unique trait but she was so annoying it was hard to get past that. It did make for a pretty epic confrontation though.

Thank you to Barbour for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I received this ebook in exchange for an honest and fair review. What a sweet collection of books. I had forgotten how much I truly love Christian fiction. The author is so good at developing her characters to show their strengths and weaknesses. Reading these books made me want to visit the characters and I feel like I know them. Lovely romances that are tender and clean.

A Heartwarming Romance Collection by Wanda Brunstetter
Jul
25
This Book was supplied to me by Barbour Books through Net Galley.

Book Description

Brunstetter’s First Published Novels Brought Back to Print

Enjoy a collectible volume of three early novels by New York Times bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter. Meet three couples from Washington state who are who are surprised by love.

Clowning Around

Always a fun-loving prankster even when not personifying Slow-Joe the Clown, Joe Richey tries to win the heart of always steady and serious Lois Johnson.

The Neighborly Thing

Glen Olsen is rather fascinated by his new neighbor, Sinda Shull, who keeps herself shut away, working at a home business. But Glen’s daughter is trying to prove that Sinda is up to no good.

Talking for Two

Despite stuttering, Tabby enrolls in a class on ventriloquism, but guidance from handsome professional Seth Byers could destroy the little self-confidence she has.

My Review

In this book by Wanda Brunstetter, is 3 short stories. They are Talking for Two, The Neighborly Thing and Clowning Around.

These were 3 short stories and I thought all of them were really good. I love Wanda Brunstetter’s books. The best one in this book was Talking for Two, it is about ventriloquism and that has always intrigued me. I loved it.

The Neighborly Thing was a really good book as well. I think if you like Wanda Brunstetter, you will definitely pickup this book.

Clowning Around, was not a GREAT book, but that is just my opinion. I would pickup and read it if I was you. I love Wanda Brunstetter.

I would suggest you pickup this book and read it, and you won’t be sorry. I would suggest this book to my family and friends. Thank you Barbour Books and Wanda E. Brunstetter for giving me the chance to give my honest review. It has been a GREAT journey.

This entry was posted on July 25, 2020, in Books I Have Read. Bookmark the permalink.
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Heartwarming Romance
The three stories are so enjoyable. A wonderful way to spend some me time. I had read them when they first came out years ago, it was nice to revisit these wonderful stories again. You are in for a real treat!

Enjoy some romance for the heart
In "A Heartwarming Romance Collection. 3 Romances from a New York Times Best-selling Author" award-winning author and one of the founders of Amish fiction, Wanda E. Brunstetter, presents three of her first novels from 2002 and 2003, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
In "Talking for Two" Tabitha Johnson uses her "floppy-eared dog puppet" Roscoe with the children in the "Caring Christian Day Care". Here her stutter does not matter. Seth Beyer sells puppets and they cross paths in a ventriloquist workshop the first time. Seth's impression about Tabitha is not great. Will he destroy her little self-confidence or what will happen when he discovers her secret?
Lois Johnson is Tabitha's sister and the main character of "Clowning Around". She wants to have a similar ministry as they have, but she is also still dealing with the hurt when Michael Yehley postponed their wedding after she became a Christian. Joy Richey uses his skills as a clown to earn money, but also as a tool to spread the Gospel. Will his profession as a clown be a help or a hindrance in his growing relationship with Lois?
Sinda Shull buys herself a house for her business and as a place to live in "The Neighborly Thing". Tara, Glen Olsen's daughter plays detective - snoop in the neighborhood and is not impressed with Sinda as their new neighbor. Is Sinda really the criminal that Tara is convinced of or is there something else going on?
Wanda E. Brunstetter presents three easy-to-read stories that contain well developed and believable characters. I highly recommend this book as an relaxing read for readers who are looking forward to a happy ending, but also want to be inspired in improving their own relationship with God. It is important to note that the first two stories belong together whereas the third story is apart.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#AHeartwarmingRomanceCollection #NetGalley

1. 4/5 “Talking for Two”: I had a hard time getting into it, but once I did, I enjoyed it. After I got past a few awkward phrases, not hearing the other side of a telephone conversation (even though we're in third-person), and on-the-nose themes, I was able to care about the heroine Tabby and then the hero Seth. I felt so sorry for Tabby's stuttering, and it felt very realistic. I especially thought it was interesting that she only stuttered with certain people. Though I felt it ended too quickly, it was still satisfying enough to earn a sigh.

Favorite quotes:
“'You want people to accept you, but you don't think you can ever measure up. Am I right?' Tabby nodded. 'That will all change,' Donna insisted. 'Just as soon as you realize your full potential. Repeat after me – I can do it. I can do it. I can do it!'”

“Seth had used his ventriloquist figure to reach frightened, sick, and even a few autistic children on more than one occasion. They had always been able to relate better to the dummy than they had to him, so maybe the concept would work as well on adults who had a problem with shyness.”

“Seth had told her several times that her speech impediment didn't bother him. It bothered her, though—a lot.” I can empathize.

2. 4/5 “Clowning Around”: I was very surprised to get Lois' story, as I didn't like her at all in “Talking for Two.” Once I realized it was two years and a conversion later, I realized why she had changed so much. It took me longer still to wrap my head around it, though. I actually liked this book even better than the first, as some of the awkwardness of the first had been avoided. I loved the back and forth doubting and the long romance.

Favorite quotes:
“Joe could never understand how his mother could yell at her children one day to pick up their things and the next day sink into such despair that she'd need a bulldozer to clear the clutter off the kitchen table.”

“Even though he would always be little Joey Richey who could never please his mother, everyone seemed to love him when he was a clown.”

“If she could learn to be a clown, maybe Joe would start to show his serious side. It seemed like a fair trade to Lois.”

“In fact, she was learning to be a clown herself, so that must mean she liked his goofy ways and wanted to be more like him—didn't it?”

3. 2/5 “The Neighborly Thing”: Not only was it jarring to have completely new characters unrelated to the previous two stories, but it needed a lot more time and attention to the characters' back story. Most things felt unrealistic, especially near the end where everything just magically worked out for everyone. And even the characters felt very one-dimensional – except for the hypocritical dad, who was the bad guy. And I did not appreciate the elements of horror/suspense. Not what I was expecting from a sweet romantic novella.

Favorite quotes:
“Sinda had noticed a whole lot more about Glen Olsen than the uniform he wore, but she'd never have admitted it—especially not to his daughter.”

(I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own, as was my decision to write a review.)

I love that this book builds on the same characters that you ave come to love in the prior stories. You will enjoy Wanda’s ability to develop her characters and cause you to fall in love with them. A definite must-read - especially if you are already a fan of her books. If you haven’t yet read anything by Wanda E. Brunstetter, this book will have you searching Amazon for more of her novels!

Sweet and satisfying

These three short novels/long novellas are contemporary romances from Ms Brunstetter's earliest days as a writer. I enjoyed all 3.. I enjoyed the easy to follow plots interesting details about ventriloquism, clowning, and doll repair, and gentle messages of faith. This is an ideal book to read amidst the current stressful world environment. Note that it is not a book for when you want something serious or "good literature", it is a nice, gentle read to help a person escape.

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time-constrained e-arc via Netgalley. This review is my own opinion.