My thoughts: THE GIFT OF JOY is a sweet read about two childhood friends who decide to marry for a way for both of them to get what they want in a job. What's love got to do with it? Joy has an amazing ability to get into trouble though, so Joshua is constantly having to rescue her. And what about the man who her parents want her to marry and the plans Joshua's parents have for him? This was a fun read and I enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more by this author. If you like Amish romance you will love this book. I was given a copy free and all opinions are my own.

Oh what a heart touching web that has been woven by author Kristin McKanagh in THE GIFT OF JOY.

A well written, interesting look at a different way of life but a life where love still brings people together.

Reviewed for Fresh Fiction by Annetta Sweetko
Complete review: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=78341

Solid story about friends developing into something more. The author doesn’t quite get preachy but certainly makes it clear that trying to get something done via back door channels isn’t admirable. Lucky for Joy, forgiveness abounds (mostly) and she gets her happily ever after in more ways than one. It’s not always about the girl getting the boy!

The Gift of Joy by Kristen McKanagh was such a sweet Amish romance and I enjoyed reading it. I recently found Amish romances and really seem to be enjoying reading them. Here we have Joshua and Joy. Joy was such a likable character. She was fun, caring, and sweet. Joshua is hardworking and loyal. He wants to work with horses, but when his parents need them in their shop, what can he do? Enter Joy with a plan to save them both. As longtime friends who like each other, they can help each other right? But what happens when feelings change everything? This story was heartwarming, sweet and just delightful to read.

Happy reading!

The Gift of Joy by Kristen McKanagh is a charming Amish tale. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the second book in the Unexpected Gifts series. Each book can be read as a standalone (in case you have not had a chance to read The Gift of Hope). I like the author’s writing style. It is engaging and makes the story easy to read. I just loved Joy and Joshua. Joy is such a lively character who brings sunshine and happiness to others. Joy has a big heart. She truly cares about people and wants to help them. Her schemes, though, are often impetuous and land her in hot water. Joshua is usually the one who rescues Joy. However, there are times when Joshua finds himself in a predicament and needs a little assistance. I enjoyed getting to know Joshua and Joy’s families. I can see why Joy pushed the boundaries with the various rules her mother had in place. Joy’s younger brothers are comical. They get into more trouble. Joy and Joshua are kept on their toes with those two boys. I laughed often while reading The Gift of Joy. There are misadventures, miscommunication, mayhem, and marriage. Joy’s impetuous proposal takes these two friends down a different path. What follows is a heartwarming story. I like that we get to catch up with Hope and Aaron from The Gift of Hope. I loved the descriptions of Joy’s beautiful quilts (I wish I could quilt like Joy). The Gift of Joy is a roller coaster of a story. There is romance, friendship, frustration, humor, and so much more. I am glad the author included an epilogue that nicely wrapped up the story. I look forward to reading Kristen McKanagh’s next story. The Gift of Joy is a charming Amish tale with an impetuous proposal, two busy boys, a cute colt, matchmaking complications, miscommunication mayhem, a quilt quandary, benevolent bishop, and a caring community.

In order to mold his people, God often had to melt them.

Nothing reveals our faith more in our relationships. Joshua Kanagy and Joy Yoder have been good friends all during their younger years and beyond. They both value family, the Amish community, and each other. They have always been good friends and never saw each other in a husband/wife way. Joshua also has worked with Joy's family in raising and training horses. That is what he loves to do however, when family changes happen in the Kanagy family, he has to give up his dream. It breaks Joy's heart to see her good friend unhappy, so she comes up with a proposal that will bring them together in a partnership. However, as our feelings and emotions do, our feelings get in the way of our good intentions.

Our faith in God helps with those feelings when we think about others first. Their story is a great example of misunderstanding, communication, faith, and doing the right thing in faith gives us better blessings. Loved these characters as they worked out their faith.

A special thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

The Gift of Joy by Kristen McKanagh, book two in Unexpected Love series, tugs at your heart, holding you hostage until the very last page. This was a story I could not put down, reading it in one day. Through the years Joy Yoder's childhood friend, Joshua Kanagy, has been pulled into being an unwilling, and sometimes willing, participant in Joy's well-meaning schemes. Joshua loves working with horses and helping out at her father's horse business. While that arrangement has been working out just fine, it becomes a problem when Joshua's family needs him to work at their shop, fulltime. Joy knows how much Joshua would love to continue working with horses rather than work at his family's shop, and she knows that he needs a solution for his dilemma. Joy also knows that she needs a solution for her own situations, finding a way to do more with her quilting while doing her best to keep her mother's attempts of marrying her off to the minister's son from becoming a reality. Joy gets inspiration for an idea that she's sure will solve everything for Joshua and her; they should marry each other. Marriage would allow Joshua to continue working for Joy’s father and Joy could work at the store in his place; where she could sell her quilts and teach classes. However, things don’t always work out the way they are imagined, allowing people to learn from their mistakes, misunderstandings, and lack of communication.

Joshua and Joy make a really sweet couple and Joy truly is a joy. She has such a huge heart and genuinely wants to help people and her grand schemes, which can be somewhat impulsive at times, are just her way of helping. Even though Joshua is a little grounded, Joy manages to pull him into her schemes one way or another. That is part of what makes this story such a joy, pun intended, to read. Joy and Joshua's interactions, as well as interactions with the other characters, took me on an emotional roller coaster as they made me smile, sigh, hold my breath, laugh out loud at their shenanigans, and even get frustrated with them a time or two.

Ms. Kanagh wrote a wonderfully sweet and moving story that had me feeling all the emotions; smiling, tearing up, crying of heartbreak, and frustrated with some of the characters. The message of love, faith, and forgiveness stood strong; making this sweet and inspiration read one I could not put down, draw me in, making me forget it was fiction. I highly recommend The Gift of Joy to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

A True Gift of Joy

Joy Yoder's childhood friend, Joshua Kanagy, loves working with horses and helping out at her father's horse business. While that arrangement has been working out just fine, it runs into a snag when Joshua's family needs him to work at their shop. This poses a challenge for Joshua, because he wants to keep working with horses, but he also knows his family is depending on him. Meanwhile, Joy is facing challenges of her own. She's trying to find a way to do more with her quilting while doing her best to keep her mother's attempts of marrying her off to the minister's son from becoming a reality.

Through the years, Joshua has been pulled into being an unwilling, and sometimes willing, participant in Joy's well-meaning schemes. Joy knows how much Joshua would love to continue working with horses rather than work at his family's shop, and she knows that he needs a solution for his dilemma. Joy also knows that she needs a solution for her own situations, which of course gives Joy a grand idea that she's sure will solve everything for Joshua and and for her. However, what she doesn't know is that her plan may just turn out in a way she never would have imagined.

The Gift of Joy is a wonderful story! I was completely drawn in from the first page, and I didn't put it down until I had read the entire book. It was fun, entertaining, heartwarming and just simply delightful. Joy truly is a joy. She has such a huge heart and really just genuinely wants to help people and her grand schemes, which can be somewhat impulsive at times, are just her way of helping. Even though Joshua is a little grounded, Joy manages to pull him into her schemes one way or another. And that is just part of what makes this story such a joy, pun intended, to read. Joy and Joshua's interactions, as well as the interactions with the other characters, had me smiling, sighing, hold my breath, laughing out loud, and even pushed me to frustration a time or two. Yes, it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride for me, but those elements combined are what made this such a wonderful and delightful story that in the end left me smiling and saying, "That story was a true gift of joy!"

***I received a copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. All comments and opinions are strictly my own.

This book lives up to its title, it was an absolute joy to read! Joshus and Joy's story was a heartwarming read and the author brings the book to life with her words. If you are looking for a well written Amish romance grab this book. Loved it! 5 stars all the way!
I received a complimentary copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was my first book by author Kristen McKanagh. It won’t be the last! The Gift of Joy can be read as a stand alone; that’s what I did. But I enjoyed it so much I will be going back and reading The Gift of Hope.

I loved the characters in The Gift of Joy. They were absolutely delightful, if sometimes frustrating. Joshua and Joy both have dreams of what they want to do. Those dreams are at crossroads to what their parents want for them. Or are they? Ready the book and find out.

Heartwarming, it did indeed contain the gift of joy. I highly recommend it!

I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.

The title of this book resonates throughout the read, yes it really is a gift of joy!
Now this is the second book in this series, but it can be read alone!
I found myself quick immersed in this story, and had a feeling of loss when the last page was turned, but did love that an epilogue was included!
This is a sweet read to get lost in, and the Author Kristen McKanagh does a wonderful job of leading us in this page turner!
I’ll be looking for more by this author!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Berkley, and was not required to give a positive review.

I very much enjoyed this read. I love how the author wrote this story and it was so refreshing. I would so very much recommend this book to read. I lived the storyline and how she wrote each character

This is the second book by Kristen Mckanagh in her Unexpected Gift series. I enjoyed the partnership between Joshua and Joy and then Joy suddenly offers Joshua a marriage proposal that may or may not turn into something more. With this plan, will it allow Joshua time for training and raising horses which is his dream or will he be stuck helping out at his family’s gift shop? Will the plan help Joy be able to work in Joshua’s family’s gift shop with her quilts which she loves doing? Will Gods plan be even bigger and better than what they could have imagined? Pick up your copy today to find out.

I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and opinion.

My one and only approval from Berkeley! Yes I did a happy dance too! This publisher definitely has some awesome books.
I loved this story so much that I savored it.
I didn't want to put this book down.
I loved getting to know Joshua and Joy. They are two of the sweetest couple that brought complete joy to my heart.
Once again this new to me author shows us that God can work things out for the good if we only let Him.
I thought this author did very well. She was able to capture my imagination to the fullest.
Joy is a wonderful character and I laughed at her for some of her shenanigans. She was such a cheerful woman.
There were times that I shook my head at this couple but for reasons unknown I guess they had to learn for themselves from the mistakes and misunderstandings that took place in this novel.
I will say again though I really enjoyed this story and I didn't want it to end. I was sad when I had to say goodbye.
The color on the cover is my very favorite and I thought it fit our main character very well. I love the color because it's cheerful and can brighten anyone's day.
My thanks to Berkeley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Quick and very interesting read. Will pick another book by this author to read as, really enjoyed it! Some times we have to wait to get what we'd like!

Title: The Gift of Joy
Series: The Unexpected Gifts, Book 2
Author: Kristen McKanagh
Genre: Amish
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Release Date: April 26, 2022
Format: Kindle (read), Mass Market Paperback, Audiobook
Pages: Unknown
Source: NetGalley
Cover: Attractive & eye-catching.
Description:
A story of two families and each has specific plans for their child. The Kanagy’s operate a family gift shop business and Joshua is expected to work for and with his family in the shop. The Yoder’s raise horses and Joshua has a special talent with horses. Joy Yoder’s mother fully expects (that word again) her to marry the minister’s son, stay home & have “kinner”. Joshua & Joy are good friends. And then, Joy gets this great idea of how to get both of them what they want.

Review:
Joshua has always backed Joy in her schemes. But this one — this marriage schema — well, Joshua isn’t quite sure. But the thought of working every day in the family gift shop instead of working with Joy’s father’s horses — "ach vell, yah" the idea goes from "deerich" to "gute".

I love Amish stories and the description offered had me immediately requesting this book. There were characters to like — Joshua and Joy. And a character to dislike, Joy’s "mamm". The plot was engaging, especially Joy’s approach to solving problems for both of them.

I found "The Gift of Joy" an easy book to lay down and go to take care of chores. Was it the use of more Pennsylvania Dutch words than most Amish fiction? Not really, although I prefer to see the “Amish Words & Phrases” *before* the book begins, not at the end. Always seems to this reader putting this important info at the end is like closing the barn door *after* all the cows got out.

The ending is satisfying — I liked it. But the pacing.
The pacing at various points would blog down which is why it was an easy book to set aside. In addition, one of the parents does a fairly sudden 180-degree turn-around that just did not fit the character as written for most of the book. Thus, the three-star rating.

I received a complimentary e-ARC copy of "The Gift of Joy" via NetGalley from the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

#TheGiftOfJoy #KristenMcKanagh #NetGalley

NOTE: The review will be posted on my review blog one week before publishing date at this link: https://lyndapbookreviews.com/the-gift-of-joy/
Links to that review will be posted in at least one Amish Facebook Readers Group.

This is an Amish Fiction Clean Romance, and this is the second book in the Unexpected Gifts series. I have not read the first book in this book series. This book started off slow, and this book did not pull me in for a while. It also never finally pulled me into the story. I felt the characters where just ok, and I also hate when characters do not talk to each other. I did love the ending. Overall, This book was just ok. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me to read Kristen McKanagh book, The gift of Joy, which will be released, April 26, 2022.

This is the second in her Unexpected Gifts series.

Although a new author to me, Kristen McKanagh, is a wonderful storyteller. This book is one that when you pick it up, you will not want to put it down. It is one you can look forward to reading.

Joshua Kanagy and Joy Yoder have always been best friend, so it should be of no surprise that Joy proposed to Joshua that they marry so he could work for her father in the horse training business and she would,NASP his wife, fulfill his duty to work in his family’s gift shop.


As their wedding approaches, their friendship begins to bring new feelings and although they keep their thoughts to themselves, they begin to believe that possibility God has a bigger plan for their love.

This is definitely a 5-star book. The opinions here are my own, and I was not required to give a positive review.